PlayStation LifeStyle » Rock Band

Rock Band 4 Won’t be Jamming Out this Year

Cameron Teague — Fri, 06 May 2011 16:50:19 +0000

In another sign that the music game genre just isn’t what it used to be, Harmonix has stated that they will not be releasing a Rock Band 4 this year. Chris Rigopulous, VP of strategy and business at Harmonix told Game Informer that the company will however continue to support the franchise with new DLC.

While sitting down with Game Informer, Chris let the following titbits loose concerning discs and DLC:

Comparing profitability of discs vs. DLC is really an apples-to-oranges thing. Ideally, they should be complementary parts of the whole. DLC represents an ongoing opportunity to improve the economics of the disc release. This is substantial enough in our case that it might affect how we think about our retail strategy.
For example, the price for Rock Band 3 was recently reduced to $19.99. A price cut like that has much more compelling economics when you consider that each unit sold represents the potential creation of a new DLC customer. For all of these reasons, we’re not planning a Rock Band 4 disc release in 2011.

Seeing as how the game between 2 and 3 didn’t change as significantly as some may have wanted, this is smart thinking to just take the existing product and support it with loads of DLC, especially since the newest thing a retail release would most likely bring is new music.

In the same interview, Chris revealed that the company had “hit a significant milestone”, with the series surpassing 100 million songs downloaded.

I should probably take this opportunity to express our sincere thanks to all of our fans who have propelled us to these heights and to all of the artists whose music lies at the heart of the Rock Band experience.
Rock Band 3 is a big game with lots of available music content and lots of new goals and challenges. We want to give our fans the time to explore that fully. But rest assured that Harmonix is still developing new ideas and concepts to advance the Rock Band franchise, and we look forward to sharing those when the time is right.

[Source]

Harmonix Responds to Guitar Hero Receiving the Axe

Paulmichael Contreras — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 23:52:35 +0000

The gaming world was shaken (though perhaps not too unexpectedly) by the news that the Guitar Hero franchise has been effectively ended. Competing developer Harmonix caught wind of this downfall, and have released a statement in an attempt to calm any fears fans of the Rock Band series may have.

As spotted on the Rock Band forums, Developer John Drake stated that the team was “sad to hear” the news, and that their “thoughts are with those who are losing their jobs.” He also mentions that the “discontinuation of Guitar Hero is discouraging news for fans of the band game genre,” also acknowledging that retail sales of both series of games have slowed over time. But the company has remained “focused on building a robust digital platform for music gaming and have recently crested 2,500 songs available for play within Rock Band 3.” Mr. Drake goes further to explain that Harmonix is “looking forward to the imminent release of the Fender Squier Stratocaster Guitar Controller, a fully functional guitar which doubles as a Rock Band Pro controller.” The Rock Band Network is also set to undergo a relaunch, which will apparently allow for bands of all sizes to get their content up for sale on the platform in a different way than before. The posting ends as such:

It’s been a wild battle of the bands since 2007, but we respect and appreciate all of the hard work and innovation of our peers who have shared the music gaming space with us, and we look forward to rocking in the future.

So, will a relaunch of the RBN and continued focus on digital content save Harmonix from suffering from the same fate as Guitar and DJ Hero, or has their recent departure from MTV Games/Viacom already sealed their fate? Let us know what you think in the comments below.

This Beatles: Rock Band Bundle Deal Will Make You Twist and Shout

Mike Hartnett — Sat, 05 Feb 2011 09:22:23 +0000

Every so often you come across a gaming deal that just makes you go “Wow”. Well, we have one for you today, and it’s for The Beatles: Rock Band Special Edition Bundle.

We almost couldn’t believe it when we saw it, but Toys R Us is currently running an absolutely insane deal on The Beatles: Rock Band Special Edition Bundle for the PlayStation 3. They’ve gone ahead and marked down the full bundle to $50… you heard me right… $50. That’s every piece of Rock Band equipment, with a game, for less than the price of your typical new release title. If you’ve held out on the Rock Band series, now would probably be the best time to jump into the fray.

And if The Beatles really aren’t your style, grab the bundle and then snag the original Rock Band, which has dropped in price significantly. Note that this deal is valid through February 5th on the Special Value Edition bundle, not the Limited Edition bundle which includes Paul McCartney’s bass and Beatles drum set.

For all the latest and greatest deals in gaming, be sure to stay tuned to PlayStation LifeStyle!

Rock Band Devs Are No Longer Subject to “The Man”

Corey Schwanz — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 21:16:49 +0000

After fours years of working with one publisher for their music video games, developer Harmonix is singing the lyrics of a different tune. So what will happen to all their games out now?

After first creating the ever-popular Guitar Hero franchise, Harmonix was dropped by Activision and bought by MTV Networks, a subsidiary of media conglomerate Viacom. As the music game genre begins to slow down, regardless of the games’ quality, it looks like Viacom was no longer interested in keeping Harmonix on their payroll. After announcing the sale of the studio, the two companies have no made it official. Harmonix has returned back to “an independent and privately owned studio,” with investment company Columbus Nova now supporting the newly created Harmonix-SBE Holdings LLC.

But what will happen to the ever-growing Rock Band Network, Harmonix’s distribution platform for music? Fret not living room rockers, for while Viacom owned Rock Band, the split has been on amicable terms. Harmonix PR rep John Drake has stated that “the DLC schedule marches on for Rock Band, we will continue our support of previously released titles.” While some doors close, new opportunities arise, and Harmonix definitely looks to be heading toward the future.

[Source]

Rock Band 3 – Trophy Guide

Jeff Belote — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 01:07:24 +0000

Rock Band 3 is the latest installment into the Rock Band franchise. This new addition introduces the Keyboard, Pro Guitar/Bass, Pro Drums and Vocal Harmonies. There are a total of 50 trophies to earn including 33 bronze, 15 silver, 1 gold and 1 platinum.

Rock Band 3 Completionist (Platinum) – Won all Rock Band 3 trophies.

Earn all other trophies in the game.

Tune Up (Bronze) – Calibrated your system for optimal performance with Rock band 3.

Calibrate your audio and video settings.

Self-Made Dude or Lady (Bronze) – Created a Character.

Create you own character.

Best. Name. Ever. (Bronze) – Renamed your Band.

Create a band and change the name from the one given to you.

The Endless Setlist III (Gold) – Successfully completed “The Endless Setlist III”!

The endless setlist can be completed at any time by going to “Play Now” and choosing to play a setlist. There are 83 songs that you will have to complete in order to get the trophy. You can pause the game or even change instruments if you need a break. Just make sure you don’t exit back to the menu or you will have to start over again.

You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet (Bronze) – Maintained overdrive for 60 seconds.

This should come pretty easy over time by just playing naturally. Fill up your entire overdrive bar and then deploy it. Try to chain your overdrive with your band members so that there is a constant overdrive. Chances are you will hit more white notes during your overdrive and will be able to extend it a little bit.

Millionaire Club (Bronze) – Got 1,0o0,000 on one song.

This will require you to play with a 4 member band. The higher difficulty you play at the better chance you will have at getting to 1 million points. Try to keep your multiplier up and chain your overdrive together to keep them going as long as possible.

Rock Band Master (Bronze) – 5 Starred on Medium (or 3 Starred on a higher difficulty) 50 Rock Band 3 songs.

Earn 5 stars on 50 different songs at medium difficulty of higher. If you are playing on either hard or expert difficulty you only need to earn 3 stars for that song.

Note: This only counts for the songs that come on the Rock band 3 disc.

Rock Band Legend (Silver) – 5 Star every song in Rock Band 3 on Hard.

Earn 5 stars on every son on the Rock Band 3 disc while playing on hard.

Rock Band Immortal (Silver) – 5 Starred the Rock Band 3 disc on Expert.

Earn 5 stars on every song on the Rock Band 3 disc while playing on expert.

Alex’s luggage Combination (Bronze) – Beat a Rock band 3 score of 12,345,678.

Earn a total score of 12,345,678 over the course of your career to earn this trophy. This will come easily over time.

Hometown Threwdown (Bronze) – Completed the “Hometown Throwdown” Road Challenge.

See Mile High Club.

Real Nor’easter (Bronze) – Completed the “The Wicked Awesome Tour”.

See Mile High Club.

Hell Defrosted (Silver) – Won all rewards on the “Hell Freezes Over” Road Challenge.

See Ultimate Road Warior.

Wilderness Survival (Bronze) – Complete the “Through the Wilderness, Eh?” Road Challenge.

See Mile High Club.

Major Mileage (Silver) – Got 90 or more spades on “The Long Drive South” Road Challenge.

See The Connoisseur’s Connoisseur.

Party Animal (Bronze) – Completed the “Total Debauchery” Road Challenge.

See Mile High Club.

The Connoisseur’s Connoisseur (Silver) – Got 90 or more spades on “The European Connoisseur” Road Challenge.

While playing each song during the road challenges you will need to complete objectives to earn spades. You can earn a total of 5 spades and 5 stars. At the end of your setlist your stars will be turned into spades which gives you a total of 10 possible spades per song. Earn 90 of them during the “The European Connoisseur” road challenge to get this trophy.

Mile High Club (Bronze) – Completed the “Really Frequent Flyers” Road Challenge.

Play all of the songs in each stop of the road challenge to get this trophy.

Ultimate Road Warrior (Silver) – Won all awards on the “Really Frequent Flyers” Road Challenge.

You will win awards by earning spades. Earn the max amount of spades to earn all awards.

HOPO-cidal Maniac (Silver) – Killed 53,596 Hammer-ons and Pull-offs.

Successfully hit a total of 53,596 of any combination of hammer-ons and pull-offs during your career to earn this trophy.

Bleeding Fingers (Silver) – Get 85% on all Guitar Solos in Rock Band 3 on Hard or Expert.

Hit 85% of the notes in every guitar solo on the Rock Band 3 disc while playing on hard or expert.

Guitar Perfectionist (Bronze) – Got 100% accuracy on Expert Guitar.

Score a 100% on any song while playing guitar on expert.

Guitar Apprentice (Silver) – 5 Starred on Easy Guitar ( or 3 Starred on a higher difficulty) 25 Rock Band 3 songs.

See Rock Band Master.

Bass Streaker (Bronze) – Get a streak of 500 notes on Bass.

Get a 500 note streak on bass. You may need to play on medium or higher to get this.

Most Authentic Strummer (Bronze) – Hit 100% of the notes, only strumming up, on Hard Bass.

Hit 100% of the notes on any song while playing bass and only strumming up on the strum bar.

Bass Apprentice (Silver) – 5 Starred on Easy (or 3 Starred on a higher difficulty) 25 Rock Band 3 songs.

See Rock Band Master.

Drum Roll, Please! (Bronze) – Nailed a drum roll.

Successfully complete a drum roll. Drum rolls only appear on pro drums while playing on expert difficulty. They will be the notes that are grouped together in an outline.

Faster Feet (Bronze) – Hit 90% of the Kick notes in a song on Hard Drums.

Hit 90% of the kick notes in any song while playing drums on hard.

Note: This must be on regular drums and not pro drums.

Drums Apprentice (Silver) – 5 Starred on Easy Drums (or 3 Starred on a higher difficulty) 25 Rock band 3 songs.

See Rock Band Master.

Keys Streaker (Bronze) – Got a streak of 350 notes on Keys.

Get a 350 note streak on any song while playing the keyboard.

Keys Apprentice (Silver) – 5 Starred on Easy Keys (or 3 Starred on a higher difficulty) 25 Rock Band 3 songs.

See Rock Band Master.

Pro Bass Apprentice (Silver) – 5 Starred on Easy Pro Bass (or 3 Starred on a higher difficulty) 25 Rock band 3 songs.

See Rock Band Master.

Drum Trainer Initiate (Bronze) – Completed the introductory Pro Drum Trainer lessons.

Complete the first set of lessons for pro drums.

Drum Trainer Graduate (Bronze) – Completed the final Pro Drum Trainer lessons.

Complete the last set of lessons for pro drums.

Play a Real Guitar already! (Bronze) – Played “The Hardest Button to Button” on Pro Guitar.

Play the song “The Hardest Button to Button” by the White Stripes on pro guitar to earn this trophy.

Pro Guitar to the Max (Bronze) – Maxed out your Score multiplier meter on Pro Guitar.

Get your score multiplier up to 4x and then deploy overdrive while playing pro guitar.

Power Chords (Bronze) – Completed the “Power Chords” lessons in the Pro Guitar trainer.

Complete the ‘Power Chords” lesson for pro guitar.

Complex Chords (Bronze) – Completed the “More Chord Holding and Arpeggiation” on Pro Guitar lessons.

Complete the “More Chords holding Arpeggiation” lessons for pro guitar.

Pro Guitar Apprentice (Silver) – 5 Starred on Easy Pro Guitar (or 3 Starred on a higher difficulty) 25 Rock band 3 songs.

See Rock Band Master.

Pro Keyboardist (Bronze) – Hit at least 90% of the notes in 3 songs on Expert Pro Keys.

Hit at least 90% of the notes in any three songs while playing pro keys on expert.

Pro Keys Graduate (Bronze) – Completed the final Pro Keys trainers.

Complete the final set of lessons for pro keys.

Pro Keys to the Max (Bronze) – Max out your Score Multiplier meter on Pro Keys.

Get your score multiplier up to 4x and then deploy overdrive while playing pro keys.

Pro Keys Apprentice (Silver) – 5 Starred on Easy Pro Keys (or 3 Starred on a higher difficulty) 25 Rock band 3 songs.

See Rock Band Master.

Triple Awesome (Bronze) – Got a Triple Awesome while playing with Vocal Harmonies.

While playing on vocal harmonies get a triple awesome rating on a section of a song.

Is This Just Fantasy? (Bronze) – Nailed all triple awesomes in “Bohemian Rhapsody”.

See Triple Awesome.

Vocals Showmanship (Bronze) – Deployed overdrive four times in a single song as a vocalist.

As a vocalist deploy overdrive four separate times in a single song.

Tambourine Master (Bronze) – Hit 100% of the notes in a percussion section.

Percussion sections are when you have to tap the mic against your hand. Hit 100% of the notes in a percussion section to get the trophy.

Vocal Virtuoso (Bronze) – Earn an Awesome rating on at least 90% of the phrases in 6 songs on Hard Vocals.

Earn an awesome rating on at least 90% of the phrases in six different songs on vocals while playing on hard.

Vocal Apprentice (Bronze) – 5 Starred on Easy Vocals (or 3 Starred a higher difficulty) 25 Rock Band 3 songs.

See Rock Band Master.

Bob Marley Coming to Rock Band

Matt Baker — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 20:01:21 +0000

After endless speculation, Harmonix and MTV Games have announced legend Bob Marley and The Wailers album, Legend, will be added next week to the Rock Band Music Store of downloadable content.

Legend will be available for download on September 21nd in the Rock Band Music Store via the PlayStation Store.

“Is This Love”
“No Woman No Cry”
“Could You Be Loved”
“Three Little Birds”
“Buffalo Soldier”
“Stir It Up”
“One Love/People Get Ready”
“I Shot the Sheriff”
“Waiting in Vain”
“Redemption Song”
“Satisfy My Soul”
“Exodus”
“Jamming”

Ziggy Marley, Bob Marley’s son, said:

“My father was interested in bringing reggae music to the entire world, and now that his music is coming to Rock Band, as the first reggae artist in the game, we are excited to open the doors to reggae music to a whole new group of young people.”

Paul DeGooyer, senior vice president of electronic games, music and programming for MTV Networks stated:

“We are thrilled to have ‘Get Up, Stand Up’ in Rock Band 3 and to offer the other incredible tracks from Bob Marley’s Legend album for download on the Rock Band platform. We can’t think of a better way for Rock Band to help a new generation of fans discover reggae than through his important, pioneering and infectious music.”

Each track from the Album can be purchased for $1.99. Altertinvely, the whole Legend Album can be downloaded for $19.99.

Snoop Dogg Set to Drop Some Beats On Rock Band

Paulmichael Contreras — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 14:41:57 +0000

Snoop Dogg seems intent on invading music-based rhythm games, with a recent appearance on DJ Hero 2′s setlist, and now the recent news of a decently-sized collection of his songs coming to the Rock Band Network soon. Take a look at the full list of songs after the jump!

Snoop Dogg is quoted in a recent Rock Band press release as stating:

“I consider myself an OG gamer, and to be chosen as the first hip hop artist to appear in Rock Band…well, it doesn’t get any better than that, ya dig?!?…I know my fans gonna get down with tha Pound with this one and tha youngsters really gonna realize who started this gamer ish, u hear me?!?”

Here is the complete list of tracks:

“Beautiful”
“Drop It Like It’s Hot”
“Ridin’ In My Chevy”
“Sensual Seduction”
“Snoop’s Upside Ya Head”
“The Shiznit”
“That’s Tha Homie”
“Who Am I (What’s My Name)?”

These songs will launch in North America on the PS3 on September 7th to buy as individual tracks for $1.99 each, and on September 8th in Europe for £0.99/€1.49. ”That’s Tha Homie” will be unavailable on the PlayStation Network until September 14th in NA (15th in Europe). For those looking for a bundle of every song, that will release for $13.49 USD (£8.99/€13.49 in Europe) on September 21st in NA (22nd in Europe), and the bundle will be titled the “Snoop Dogg Pack 01.” All content will appear on the Xbox Live Marketplace on September 7th (including “That’s Tha Homie”) for equivalent Microsoft Points. So buy each song for $16 when they release, or wait two weeks to buy the whole bundle and save $2.50? Your call, homie.

This Week in PlayStation – May 28th

Kyle P. — Fri, 28 May 2010 16:59:59 +0000

As announcements for new games and hardware come and go, it’s easy to lose sight of the momentous events that shaped the gaming world into what it is today. This Week in PlayStation highlights Sony’s rich videogame heritage, which dates back to the 1980′s. Step back in time with us as we put the spotlight on events big and small that have significantly altered the gaming culture.

This Week in PlayStation May 22nd – May 28th

May 22nd

2001 - The awesome-cult title, Red Faction, releases exclusively to the PlayStation 2.
2002 - Take-Two reveals development on Conflict: Desert Storm. The game is scheduled to release for the PS2, PC, GameCube and Xbox, in the Fall.
2006 - Banking on the early success of the wildy-popular show, LOST, Ubisoft announces development on a videogame based on the IP.
2008 - In a rather unorthodox move, Take-Two reveals that they are announcing the cover athlete for NBA 2k9 during an intermission of the first game of the NBA Finals.

May 23rd

2008 – The title that could never match the original hype gamers had for it, Haze, becomes available to North American PS3 owners.

May 24th

2007 - Two-time FIFA Player of the Year, Ronaldinho, is announced as the cover athlete for FIFA Soccer 2008.

May 25th

2000 - Gamers get their robot on, as Super Robot Taisen Alpha releases for the PlayStation.
2001 - CART Fury Championship Racing releases to North American retailers, for the PlayStation.

May 26th

2009 - The first portable title of its kind, Rock Band Unplugged for the PSP, releases to North American and European retailers.
2009 – Sucker Punch’s highly anticipated PS3-exclusive, inFamous, shocks North American retailers.

May 27th

2003 - Hulk terrorizes PlayStation 2 owners, as it ships to North American retailers.
2008 – The final competition of Electronic Arts’ FIFA Interactive World Player 2008. Alfonso Ramos defeated Michael Ribeiro, 3-1, to become the best FIFA player in the world, and in doing so, won a $20,000 USD cash prize and the invitation to attend the FIFA World Player Gala, in early 2009.
2009 - EA details the games they will presenting at the 2009 E3 convention. Topping the list include Brutal Legend, Battlefield: Bad Company 2, Spore, Dante’s Inferno, Dragon Age: Origins, FIFA 10 and The Saboteur. Geeks around the world nearly explode with excitement.

May 28th

2008 - Teaming up with Allen Carr, Ubisoft announces development on a Nintendo DS game that will help smokers quit their addicting habit. The game is based on the series of books and videos that have sold over 10 million worldwide.
2008 - Just a sign of the times: Take-Two announces the once-Xbox 360 exclusive, Bioshock, is coming to the PS3. The new version will have additional content that Xbox 360 owners did not receive.

Rock Band Named Culprit for Saggy Viacom Sales

Kishen Patel — Tue, 04 May 2010 06:01:00 +0000

Electronic Arts and MTV Games’ Rock Band series took what Activision started with Guitar Hero into a whole new level. With its frequently updated roster of downloadable tracks, superior online multiplayer, and new features added on such as the upcoming Rock Band Network, it is hard to believe that the Rock Band series has lagged in profitability since the inception of the franchise.

Once again, the parent company of MTV, Viacom, is up in arms about the lack of financial return on the Rock Band franchise. Evidence of this was made apparent when analysts pointed out the game’s lack of presence on sales charts and even when Harmonix decided to pull the plug on the PSP title, Rock Band: Unplugged. According to Viacom’s chief financial officier, Thomas Dooley:

“Worldwide ancillary revenues declined seven percent, reflecting lower sales of Rock Band music video games.”

In the financial report, it was revealed that sales of the first quarter dropped four-percent with Rock Band an influential factor to the drop. With Green Day: Rock Band releasing soon, profits for the next quarter should rise. Anyways, do you consider yourself a supporter of the Rock Band franchise or are you not surprised by these reports?

[Source]

Green Day: Rock Band Track List Revealed

The Great Thomasio — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 01:40:09 +0000

Considered by some as one of the original Punk Rock bands to shape the scene back in the 90s, it was only time before Green Day received their very own music title. With the game being set to release on June 8th, Harmonix has let the cat out of the bag and the track list is now live for you rockin’ pleasure.

The full list of Green Day: Rock Band tracks has been released and is available below. One thing is for certain — the track list of 47-songs is sure to please old school and new fans alike. The track list contains two FULL albums: ‘Dookie’ and ‘American Idiot’, which are arguably their two most popular to date. Take a gander at the list of songs (and locations!) below:

The Warehouse

Dookie (1994)

“Burnout”
“Having a Blast”
“Chump”
“Longview”
“Welcome to Paradise”
“Pulling Teeth”
“Basket Case”
“She”
“Sassafrass Roots”
“When I Come Around”
“Coming Clean”
“Emenius Sleepus”
“In the End”
“F.O.D.”

Milton Keynes

American Idiot (2004)

“American Idiot”
“Jesus of Suburbia”
“Holiday”
“Boulevard of Broken Dreams”
“Are We the Waiting”
“St. Jimmy”
“Give Me Novacaine”
“She’s a Rebel”
“Extraordinary Girl”
“Letterbomb”
“Wake Me Up When September Ends”
“Homecoming”
“Whatsername”

Warning (2000)

“Minority”
“Warning”

Nimrod (1997)

“Hitchin’ a Ride”
“Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)”
“Nice Guys Finish Last”

Insomniac (1995)

“Brain Stew”
“Jaded”
“Geek Stink Breath”

The Fox Theater, Oakland

21st Century Breakdown (2009)

“Song of the Century”
“21st Century Breakdown”
“Before the Lobotomy”
“Last Night on Earth”
“Peacemaker”
“Murder City”
“¿Viva La Gloria? (Little Girl)”
“Restless Heart Syndrome”
“Horseshoes and Handgrenades”
“The Static Age”
“American Eulogy”
“See the Light”

And if you buy the ‘Plus’ edition of the game, you’ll receive the following six songs, all from ’21st Century Breakdown’, a $12 value, for free!

Downloadable Content (Free with ‘Plus’ Edition)

“21 Guns”
“Know Your Enemy”
“East Jesus Nowhere”
“Last of the American Girls”
“¡Viva La Gloria!”
“Christian’s Inferno”

Green Day: Rock Band rocks out on June 8th. All you Green Day fans best not to miss it or lead singer Billie Joe might just go crazy on you.

[Source]

This Week in PlayStation – April 2nd

Kyle P. — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 15:51:03 +0000

A common stereotype about gamers is that they have short attention spans. As announcements for new games and hardware come and go, it’s easy to lose sight of the momentous events that shaped the gaming world. This Week in PlayStation highlights Sony’s rich videogame heritage, which dates back to the 1980′s. Step back in time with us as we put the spotlight on events big and small that have significantly altered the gaming culture.

This Week in PlayStation March 27th – April 2nd

March 27th

2008 – Aussies down under get to enjoy Viking: Battle for Asgard, as it finally releases for the PS3.
2008 - Eric Brown is announced as EA’s newest Chief Financial Officer. Brown is joining the video game studio, only after leaving a long stint with McAfee.

March 28th

2006 - North American PlayStation 2 owners finally got to experience the latest game in the long-standing Tom Clancy game series, Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter.
2006 - EA Sports announce that Bill Cowher will grace the cover of their first football manager simulation, NFL Head Coach.
2006 - Square Enix’s Kingdom Hearts II hits North American PS2′s. Gamers finally get their hands on the adventure Japanese fan’s have been experiencing for four months.
2008 - Electronic Arts announces that it has come to an agreement with New Line Cinema, that would extend the studio’s exclusive Lord of the Rings license.
2008 – European viking fans get their hands on Viking: Battle for Asgard, with the region’s official PS3 release.
2008 - In what would make national media, Electronic Art’s renews their Take-Two buyout offer, and gives an extended deadline for the Board of Directors of Take-Two to come to an agreement.

March 29th

2006 - Take-Two announces that Grover C. Brown now has a seat in the company’s Board of Directors.
2009 - North American gamers get to finally rock out with their favorite band of all time, Metallica! Guitar Hero: Metallica rocks out to a North American PS3 release.

March 30th

2006 - From Software’s latest PS2 title, Another Century’s Episode 2, hits the land of the rising sun, Japan.
2006 - Capcom treats Japanese PS2 audiences with the release of Black Cat:Kikai Shikake no Tenshi.

March 31st

2006 - Based on the film of the same name, the PS2 title Æon Flux, hits European retailers.
2006 - Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter hits European PS2.

April 1st

1998 - Asylum Studio’s teamed up with Eidos Interactive to bring Deathtrap Dungeon to PlayStation’s all across Britain.
1999 - Gremlin Interactive’s Actua Ice Hockey 2 skates onto British PlayStation’s.
1999 - Bloodlines, Radical Entertainment’s latest PS1 title, hits British stores.
2003 - Square Co. and Enix Corporation officially merge, forming the Japanese behemoth, Square Enix.

April 2nd

2007 – Harmonix, MTV and Electronic Art’s announce the first true competitor to the long reigning music champ, Guitar Hero. Rock Band is set to release later in the year and will feature a drumkit and microphone, two things that, at the time, Guitar Hero did not have.
2009 - Guerilla Games release the tech-demo/video, “Killzone 2 Behind the Bullet”, onto the PlayStation Store. This revolutionary tech demo showcases the immense detail GG put into the game, and allows for unique, environment changing alterations to take place, all in real time.

Viacom Wants Their Money Back

Kyle P. — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 20:39:41 +0000

A recent SEC filing suggests media-giant Viacom is looking to reacquire the money they initially loaned to Harmonix some years back. This comes on the heels of one of the worst years for music games, as sales have plunged, due in large part to market saturation and the high cost of peripherals.

Viacom believes they are “entitled to a refund”, although the final amount has “not yet been determined.”

“…in 2008, we paid $150 million, subject to adjustment, under this earn-out agreement related to 2007 performance. At December 31, 2009, we believe that we are entitled to a refund of a substantial portion of amounts previously paid, but the final amount of the earn-out has not yet been determined,”

This certainly implies Viacom was not pleased with the lukewarm sales of the studio’s latest title, The Beatles: Rock Band. And it is certainly a shame, because back when music games were in their prime, Harmonix consistently put out excellent titles.

Viacom Looks Back on Rough Rock Band Year

Kyle P. — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 05:37:18 +0000

Media giant Viacom, parent company of MTV Games, and owner of the profitable Rock Band series, recently released their calendar year 2009 figures. Viacom’s “Media Networks” division (MTV Games and subsequently, Rock Band) saw 2009 revenue drop 5%, to 8.29 billion, and fourth quarter revenue drop 6%, to $2.3 billion. In a conference call, Viacom’s CEO and president, Philippe Dauman, expressed the company’s take on the numbers, and how they’ll move forward.

Dauman plans to institute a more cost-effective business model within Rock Band: choosing songs or artists that can affordably give rights to MTV Games.

“… It certainly was a challenging year in 2009 for the video game industry in general and certainly for our Rock Band franchise.
“As we go forward, we are continuing to focus more on software than hardware, looking to reduce the cost structure associated with Rock Band, being selective in the music titles that we choose for Rock Band based on their cost. The music industry will assist with this category to make sure that it can continue on a profitable basis in the future and then finally we think we have the best games in the category [and] we’ll continue to roll out exciting products.”

Time will tell whether this business model will work for Viacom. In the meantime, stick with PlayStation LifeStyle, as we’ll keep you up-to-date on this developing situation.

Beatles: Rock Band to Share the Love

Max Murray — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 19:52:35 +0000

Beatles: Rock Band was announced and debuted last E3 during Microsoft’s press conference, and even showcased former members Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr to promote it’s development. During the event, Microsoft announced exclusive content was to be released solely for the Xbox 360. Now, just over 5 months after its release, “exclusive” needs a new definition…

EA released a press statement early yesterday that the Beatle’s hit “All You Need is Love” will be making its way from the Xbox 360 to not only the Wii, but PS3 as well. Although the Wii’s version hits later this month, owners of the PS3 version can expect to see the title on the PSN Store March 4th.

The track was originally available from the game’s release as DLC on the Rock Band Music store for the 360, and as a joint promotion by Apple Corps Ltd, MTV Games, Harmonix and Microsoft, the proceeds of the track were donated to Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). The effort has raised over $200,000 for the organization thus far. No word yet on where the profits gained from the other two consoles will be directed.

Guildford, UK – 11th Feb, 2010 – Apple Corps, Ltd., MTV Games and Harmonix, the world’s leading developer of music-based games and a part of Viacom’s MTV Networks (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), today announced that The Beatles’ track “All You Need Is Love” will be available for purchase as downloadable content in The Beatles™: Rock Band™ Music Store for Wii™ system on Feb. 16, 2010, and PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system on March 4, 2010.
…
“All You Need Is Love” and other downloadable content for The Beatles: Rock Band is available for purchase on Xbox LIVE, PlayStation®Network and via the in-game The Beatles: Rock Band Music Store for Wii™ using Wii Points purchased through the Wii™ Shop Channel.
The Beatles: Rock Band offers players an unprecedented, experiential progression through the music and artistry of The Beatles and is available for Xbox 360, PlayStation3 system and Wii. The game is compatible with all The Beatles: Rock Band and Rock Band™ instrument controllers, as well as most Guitar Hero® and other authorized third-party music video game peripherals and microphones.

Given the blow of lost DLC exclusives for the 360 recently, it’s hard not to draw conclusions about Microsoft’s actions. Although profits did no go to Microsoft for the song, the extra title was the incentive to purchase the 360 version over others, and now that it’s gone do you think they made the right choice? Or do you think they spent more on the 5 months and conference debut than they made up in sales?

[Source]

Rockin’ Update Hits Rock Band 2

Kyle P. — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 04:38:02 +0000

The lead designer for Rock Band 2, Dan Teasdale, recently posted on the PlayStation Blog, and eluded to an upcoming software update coming to Rock Band 2, for the PlayStation 3. This update contains loads of new features and updates that the community has wanted for some time now.

The update, which will go live tomorrow, was inspired by what the community has wanted for some time now. Harmonix, according to Teasdale, has been listening to the community feedback, and has created an update that hopefully addresses some of those issues. The full list of updates, courtesy of Teasdale:

“Sort by Stars” in Quickplay. If you hit the “Sort” button on the Song Select screen, you’ll come to a brand new sort that orders songs by the star ratings that you’ve achieved on each song. Each star rating gets a category, as well as an “Unplayed” category for songs that don’t have a star rating recorded. Finally, you can record your progress towards gold starring every song in your library!
Improved “Sort by Stars” fix: Players will not have to beat a previous high score to record a star rating for their songs.
Chord HOPO improvements: If you’ve played The Beatles: Rock Band, you’ll notice much more robust handling of chord hammer-ons and pull-offs. This patch implements those changes in Rock Band 2 to provide a more natural chord hammer-on/pull-off experience.
Velocity Sensitivity on Ion Drum Kits: Ion Drum kits now support velocity sensitivity in both drum fills and Drum Freestyle mode.
Rock Band Network Store Support: When the Rock Band Network goes live, select songs will be available for PlayStation 3 users through a new storefront available in game. Stay tuned for more information closer to the launch of RBN!
SingStar Wireless Microphone Support. Rock Band 2 now supports the SingStar Wireless Microphones currently available through Europe! Finally, you can now have a fully wireless Rock Band experience on your PlayStation 3!

The update is free, and will go live tomorrow.