Today, we discovered that Harmonix is not only one of the most talented developers out there, but also one of the most romantic. The team understands love on a deeper level than we could ever hope to tap into, evidenced by the V-Day DLC pack video past the jump.
You might think that the developer of the Rock Band franchise would currently find themselves doing a victory dance over the grave of the recently buried Guitar Hero franchise -- however, Harmonix's John Drake recently posted the studio's very tasteful response to the news over on the Rock Band forums. "We were sad to hear yesterday that Activision was discontinuing development on Guitar Hero," Drake said. "Our thoughts are with those who are losing their jobs, and we wish them the best of luck."
The statement acknowledges that sales in the music genre have slowed, but pledges, "In short, the beat of Rock Band marches on." Drake later adds, "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." Yeah! Maybe one day, after the wounds of battle have healed, you guys could get together, and form up some kind of supergroup-jam-band! You could call it Guitar Band, or Rock Hero, or, perhaps, Damn Yankees.
Hey there, lonelyheart. Need some musical accompaniment for a Valentine's Day spent in romantic anguish? This week's Rock Band 3 update has your back -- not only is it eschewing the game's usual DLC schedule, dropping the tracks this Friday so that they'll be available on Valentine's Day, but each of the songs is an absolute heartbreaker. Though, ironically, most of them feature duets, which is kind of a slap in the face to lonely-folk like yourself. Check out the tracks from Meatloaf, Bonnie Tyler, Stevie Nicks and more after the jump!
Bob Marley Pack 01
- “Bend Down Low”
- “Burnin’ and Lootin”
- “Coming in from the Cold”
- “Kaya”
- “Lively Up Yourself”
- “No More Trouble”
- “Small Axe”
- “Them Belly Full (But We Hungry)”
- $13.49/1080 MS Points/1350 Wii Points
- individual songs for $1.99/160 MS Points/200 Wii Points
- “Them Belly Full” can be upgrade for Pro Guitar and Pro Bass [...]
If you've got a contact high from playing "Get Up, Stand Up" and the entire Legend album a hundred times, Harmonix wants to keep the party going by delivering more Bob Marley tracks in an eight-pack next week. The latest DLC from the reggae icon includes "Burnin' and Lootin'," "Kaya," and "Them Belly Full (But We Hungry)." Get a case of the munches by checking out the full update details after the break.
Cambridge, Mass. - Harmonix today announced that a pack of classic songs from legend Bob Marley will be available beginning Feb. 8 in the Rock Band 3 Music Store of downloadable content for the Xbox 3 ...
Harmonix has been hard at work on a major title update for Rock Band 3 -- today, we finally get a look at the fruits of the studio's labor. The update -- which is live now on Xbox 360, and is expected to drop on PS3 within the next 24 hours -- addresses a diverse load of problems; for instance, pausing the game too many times while playing a song disables scoring, which prevents players from using the pause-rewind feature to artificially boost their scores. Also, that Stage Kit you dropped a Benjamin on a few years back? The game now supports it in a limited capacity.
Our personal favorite patch is one that fixes a crash that cropped up whenever the player chose a "particular eyebrow asset," which, henceforth shall be known as the "eyebrow of death." Sadly, that power has been extinguished by the update, and now rests solely in the forehead of Mr. Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. Check out the full list of updates after the jump!
Sure, there are some Clash songs available for Rock Band 3, but how about the entirety of the band's most famous (and arguably best) album, London Calling? Coming February 1, you can get just that.
Out of the legendary album's 18 tracks, five have "Pro" guitar and bass functionality available for an extra $1 each, while all of them have thoroughly enjoyable music and lyrics. As per usual, individual tracks are available for 160 MS Points/200 Wii Points/$1.99, and the entire album can be purchased (at a hefty discount) for 1600 MS Points/2000 Wii Points/$19.99.
Sure, there are some Clash songs available for Rock Band 3, but how about the entirety of the band's most famous (and arguably best) album, London Calling? Coming February 1, you can get just that.
Out of the legendary album's 18 tracks, five have "Pro" guitar and bass functionality available for an extra $1 each, while all of them have thoroughly enjoyable music and lyrics. As per usual, individual tracks are available for 160 MS Points/200 Wii Points/$1.99, and the entire album can be purchased (at a hefty discount) for 1600 MS Points/2000 Wii Points/$19.99.
All you need to know about next week's Rock Band DLC featuring David Bowie is: Ziggy played guitaaaaaaaaaaar! Also, he believed in "fame" and "modern love" with "young Americans" named "Blue Jean." Check out the full details after the break.
Hope you like metal, because next week's Rock Band DLC is full of it -- if you'd consider a three-track release form the band Stone Sour "full." Check out the details for one of the smallest updates we've seen in a long time after the break.
The first track pack from nu-metal group Linkin Park, featuring six songs from across the band's discography, will come to Rock Band 3 on January 11 for $10. All the pertinent details for next week's DLC release can be found just below the break. You'll note the selections differ from the newer ones available in Guitar Hero, so if you want to play as many Linkin Park songs as possible, you'll need to indulge both video game rhythm rivals.
#rumor
A copy of the disc-only version of Rock Band 3 currently sells for $49.99 at GameStop. According to The Wall Street Journal's sources, that's exactly how investment group Columbus Nova paid to take Harmonix off Viacom's hands. More »
Got $50? Sorry, buddy, you totally missed out on buying Harmonix. All Things Digital's Peter Kafka reports that the Rock Band and Dance Central studio's re-independence cost investment group Columbus Nova $49.99.
Of course, the math gets a little tricky from there: Harmonix's buyers assumed responsibility over liabilities, including "music rights fees ... responsibility for lots of unsold games and equipment sitting on warehouse shelves." The sale will reportedly net Viacom $150 million in tax benefits -- it spent $175 million to buy the music company in the first place.
Kafka also notes the "fire sale price" can't be comforting to Harmonix employees, as he believes the studio is "likely going to be facing a very serious restructuring."
The next Rock Band DLC update will include a track pack from the legendary Johnny Cash and a free pack of various artists for Xbox 360 and PS3. The Cash bundle includes classics like "I Walk the Line" and "Folsom Prison Blue," while the free pack includes tracks featuring RBN and Harmonix go-to bands like Bang Camaro and The Main Drag.
The update will be available next week on Xbox 360 and Wii, while the PS3 update will also include last week's DLC, which was not added due to the holidays.
Earlier this year, Joystiq EIC Chris Grant and I were invited out to Sir Studios in Hollywood to see a secret unveiling of Rock Band 3, weeks before the embargo dropped for the public. To be honest, we weren't sure what Harmonix still had to offer beyond a new peripheral and a bigger setlist -- Activision had just revealed the silly Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock, and it looked like the music game genre really was as done as all of the analysts routinely claim it is.
But the press conference that day (that kicked off with Huey Lewis' "Power of Love") was pretty astounding. On the ride back from the event, Chris and I couldn't stop talking about what Harmonix had done -- rethought everything that a Rock Band game was, seriously considered and reviewed every single problem with the genre, and really pushed forward the interplay of music and gaming. And when the game finally came out in October, it fulfilled all of the promises Harmonix made during that reveal. Rock Band 3 really is the pinnacle of what these rhythm games have become.
#2010yearinreview
Greg LoPiccolo didn't have to leave his office in a brick building near Boston this year to see how two of the biggest trends in the last half-decade of video games were playing out. There were doubters outside. Inside? More »
Yesterday's Harmonix announcement of re-independence from global media conglomerate Viacom left questions hanging about the intellectual property rights to the studio's two main franchises. Joystiq has been informed by sources that Harmonix will "own the IP rights" to both the Rock Band and Dance Central franchises after the split, meaning it can continue to create new installments if it chooses.
We've also been informed that the developer's DLC support of both titles will continue "unaffected by the sale" and that its distribution relationships with EA and Mad Catz for the Rock Band series, and with Microsoft for Dance Central, also remain "unaffected."
What we currently understand of the situation, from sources involved, is that Viacom and MTV Games providing licensing muscle isn't as necessary as it once was -- before the music genre became established over the past few years. It appears relationships have been set that now allow Harmonix to license music for its games without the aid of Viacom.
The post-Yule Rock Band DLC update from the newly-reindependent Harmonix will celebrate with tracks from Paul McCartney and Wings' 1973 album "Band on the Run," which was remastered earlier this year by the same team that did the Beatles' catalog. There will also be songs from Inhabited and Siouxsie and The Banshees released.
The update will be available next week on Xbox 360 and Wii, while PS3 updates go on hiatus until January 4. Run on past the break for the complete DLC details.
