When was the video game Rock Band first introduced?
Rock Band (video game)
"Rock Band" was first announced on April 1, 2007. Harmonix CEO Alex Rigopulos said in the announcement that "Rock Band" "takes the core premise of "Guitar Hero" and expands it tenfold. It lets you create a complete collaborative band." "Rock Band" was a featured game at the 2007 E3 convention and provided one of the exhibition's highlights; Harmonix employees and Microsoft executive Peter Moore played the game on-stage, performing The Hives' "Main Offender". Moore paused the game twice when he accidentally hit the guitar's Xbox Guide button.
Rock Band 2
Rock Band 2 is a 2008 music video game developed by Harmonix. It is the sequel to "Rock Band" and is the second title in the series. The game allows up to four players to simulate the performance of popular songs by playing with controllers modeled after musical instruments. Players can play the lead guitar, bass guitar, and drums parts to songs with "instrument controllers", as well as sing through a USB microphone. Players are scored on their ability to match scrolling musical "notes" while playing instruments, or by their ability to match the singer's pitch on vocals.
Rock Band 3
The game includes a list of 83 songs, fully upgraded to Pro — many emphasize the keyboard instrument. Existing game content, including prior downloadable content and songs from the Rock Band Network, carry forward into the game, with the full "Rock Band" library reaching 2,000 songs at the time of game launch (surpassing 4,000 songs by the end of October 2012, almost a year after its re-release). "Rock Band 3" is designed as a platform to take advantage of players' existing libraries by providing user-created set lists and challenges and tools to easily search and select songs from the library.
Rock Band 2
"Game Informer" considered "Rock Band 2" their "Game of the Month" when it was released, and went on to include it in their list of "The Top 50 Games of 2008" and then in their list of the 200 best games of all-time.
Rock Band (video game)
At launch, the game software was made available in a bundle that packaged it together with the instrument peripherals, as well as for purchase separately. Individual instrument peripherals were released at a later date. The game has received widespread critical acclaim, with sales of four million units and global revenues of $600 million. Players have made over 100 million downloadable song purchases since "Rock Band"s release. The game's success prompted the release of six sequels: "Rock Band 2", "", "Lego Rock Band", "", "Rock Band 3" and "Rock Band 4".
2017 in downloadable songs for the Rock Band series
Starting from October 6, 2015, all music added to the downloadable content catalog is exclusive to "Rock Band 4". In addition, due to changes in the charting format and gameplay of "Rock Band 4", the released songs no longer support keyboard or Pro guitar and bass (future downloadable content will continue to support vocal harmonies and Pro drum charts), and most songs no longer display "family friendly" or "supervision recommended" ratings. Downloadable content from previous "Rock Band" titles (excepting "") is forward-compatible in "Rock Band 4" within the same system family (Xbox 360 downloads are usable in the Xbox One version and PlayStation 3 downloads are usable in the PlayStation 4 version) at no additional cost.
Rock Band (video game)
Like the "Guitar Hero" series, "Rock Band" has had a significant impact on culture. Alex Rigopulos and Eran Egozy, the founders of Harmonix, were together named in "Time Magazine"'s list of the 100 most influential people of 2008 for their creation of "Rock Band". In the article, guitarist Steven Van Zandt claims, "in the history of rock 'n' roll, "Rock Band" may just turn out to be up there with the rise of FM radio, CDs, or MTV."
List of Rock Band track packs
Harmonix released a fifth track pack for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, and PlayStation 2. The disc features 21 songs, and for the first time includes songs never before seen in the "Rock Band" series. These songs were exclusive to Rock Band Country Track Pack for a limited time before being released to the "Rock Band" Music Store by late 2009 and early 2010. The Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions also include a code to export the songs to a hard drive for use in other Rock Band games. The Track Pack can also be played as a standalone game for all systems in the same manner as the "AC/DC Track Pack" and "Track Pack Vol. 2".
Rock Band
Prior to "Guitar Hero" and "Rock Band", Harmonix had already established itself as a company that made game products that focused on music interactivity. Born out of Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Media Lab, the first product made by Harmonix was "The Axe: Titans of Classic Rock" for DOS-based computers, challenging the player to use four keys on the keyboard to match notes in several songs. Looking to find a place for this type of game, Harmonix' founders Alex Rigopulos and Eran Egozy looked to Japan where music games like "PaRappa the Rapper" were becoming popular. This led to the creation of "Frequency" and its sequel "Amplitude" for the PlayStation 2; both games featured the concept of matching notes for specific instrument tracks along lanes. However, in retrospect, Harmonix found that players had initially difficulty understanding the game, as the presentation was an abstract concept that did not immediately connect the gameplay to the music. The idea of making an easy connection between the game and the music was used as a basis for their "Karaoke Revolution" games, which including using avatars singing and dancing in time to the music to strengthen the connection; this series was financially successful and helped grow the company.
The Beatles: Rock Band
"The Beatles: Rock Band" was the fourth high-selling game across all platforms in its first week of release in the United Kingdom. According to the NPD Group, "The Beatles: Rock Band" sold 595,000 units across all offerings for the Xbox 360, Wii, and PlayStation 3 versions during September 2009, respectively in the United States, making the game the 5th, 10th, and 20th top sellers for the month, respectively; only "Guitar Hero 5" for the Xbox 360 placed in the top 10 titles selling 210,800 units. Total sales across all platforms in the United States was 595,000 units with revenue between $59 and , and was the second highest revenue-generating game behind "" driven by sales of the bundled units. Though MTV Games was pleased with the sales performance of the game, the sales numbers fell short of the projected values by industry analysts, attributing it to the slow recovery of the video game market from the late-2000s recession. As of December 2009, Harmonix has stated that the game has sold more than copies worldwide. NPD Group data through the end of 2009 reported North American sales of the game at 1.18 and . In considering the comparison of "The Beatles: Rock Band" sales in North America to the nearly units sold by "Guitar Hero 5", the magazine "Advertising Age" identified the ability of MTV Games and Harmonix to leverage the music of the Beatles and their other partners in novel and experimental methods among more traditional means. In an October 2010 interview Alex Rigopulos claimed that "The Beatles: Rock Band" sales were "respectable", having sold "well over three million units", though had not exceeded sales of other "Rock Band" games.
Crooked X (album)
Crooked X is the first and only album by heavy metal band Crooked X, released in January 2009 by Capitol Metal. The band's musicians were all 14 years of age when the album was released, but tracks were written when members were as young as 11 (for example, "Nightmare"). "Nightmare" is featured in the music video game "Rock Band", while "Gone" and "Rock 'N' Roll Dream" are featured as downloadable content for the "Rock Band" series.
List of songs in The Beatles: Rock Band
"" is a 2009 music video game developed by Harmonix, published by MTV Games and distributed by Electronic Arts, in association with Apple Corps. It is the third major console release in the "Rock Band" music video game series and is available on the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Wii consoles. The game allows one to six players to simulate the performance of songs by the Beatles by providing the players with peripherals modelled after musical instruments (a guitar peripheral for lead guitar and bass gameplay, a drum peripheral, and a microphone). The are similar to those found in other "Rock Band" games, in which players use the instrument controllers to match scrolling on-screen notes in time to the music to score points.
List of downloadable songs for the Rock Band series
In 2008, Harmonix began to offer owners of "Rock Band" games for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 the option of integrating songs from various titles in the series for use in other "Rock Band" games. With "Rock Band 3", Wii players are also able to export songs; however, only "Green Day: Rock Band" and "Rock Band 2" can be exported, and song files are downloaded individually.Following the release of "Rock Band", Harmonix and EA began to form partnerships with different companies and bands to provide promotional content.
Rock Band 4
The main mode for "Rock Band 4" is a Band Tour career mode which IGN described as a role-playing game. Within the narrative of the Band Tour, the players' band starts off as a small town group with a handful of fans. En route to becoming more popular and successful, the players are tasked with the option of what types of gigs they want their band to play, with various risks and rewards that influence: how many fans the group attains per geographic region; what future gigs they will have available; and how much in-game money they earn (which can be spent customizing their band's clothes and instruments). While there are a number of possible sets that the band can select from with more unlocked as the players progresses in the game, the primary means of advancing the band's narrative is through multi-part Tours which consist of 3 to 6 different shows to be played in order. At the start of each of these Tours, the players will have two options that will affect what type of song sets they will see on the tour and the benefits of completing each set and the overall Tour. For example, players are able to have their band take a corporate-sponsored gig, which will earn the band a large amount of in-game money, but may impact their band's reputation and limit future venues, while taking on smaller shows will not produce as much money, but increase the band's renown and open more possible gigs. Subsequent Tours may require the players to earn more stars from other, single Sets that are available, before that tour is available.
Rock Band (video game)
The game software was made available for purchase individually at the game's launch, allowing players with a USB microphone or a compatible guitar controller to take advantage of the vocals, lead guitar, and bass guitar gameplay. Individual "Rock Band"-branded instruments became available in retail stores later, starting with the drum kit on February 12, 2008. An individual wireless guitar became available on April 8, 2008.
The Beatles: Rock Band
The game was released internationally on September 9, 2009. The game's release was planned to coincide with the release of the new, remastered CD versions of The Beatles albums. Footage from "The Beatles: Rock Band" was revealed for the first time on April 18, 2009, during Paul McCartney's performance at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. McCartney continued to utilize gameplay footage during his concert performances while touring during the months prior to the game's release. The game was formally showcased on June 1, 2009 at E3 2009. Presented by Harmonix at the beginning of the Microsoft press conference, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr briefly took the stage to discuss the games. Yoko Ono and Olivia Harrison also made a brief appearance. The game's E3 demo booth was modeled as a recreation of Abbey Road Studios.
The game's official website was revealed early in 2009, showing only images of the Abbey Road studios and the game's release date. Over time, images of the Beatles' favored instruments appeared in the studio as their game peripheral replicas were announced. On May 5, 2009, the website was updated to include general information and promotional media. Customers who pre-ordered the game from selected vendors received an access code to view exclusive images and media on the site before it was eventually made public.
Rock Band (video game)
"Rock Band"'s gameplay and on-screen interface uses a combination of elements from "Guitar Hero" and "Karaoke Revolution". "Rock Band" has up to three tracks of vertically scrolling colored music notes, one section each for lead guitar, drums, and bass. The colored notes on-screen correspond to buttons on the guitar and drum peripherals. For lead and bass guitar, players play their notes by holding down colored fret buttons on the guitar peripheral and pushing the controller's strum bar; for drums, players must strike the matching colored drumhead, or step on the pedal to simulate playing bass drum notes. Along the top of the screen is the vocals display, which scrolls horizontally, similar to "Karaoke Revolution". The lyrics display beneath green bars, which represent the pitch of the individual vocal elements. When singing vocals, the player must sing in relative pitch to the original vocals. A pitch indicator displays the singer's accuracy relative to the original pitch. The remainder of the screen is used to display the band's virtual characters as they perform in concert.
Green Day: Rock Band
The game is the first Harmonix game to feature a full album in the game as shipped, with the entirety of "American Idiot", "Dookie" (except for hidden track "All By Myself"), and "21st Century Breakdown" being playable. The inclusion of the full album of "American Idiot" was the centerpiece of the game's development, according to Harmonix' Chris Foster, due in part to the thematic nature of the album which is meant to be listened as a whole, as well as the album's success and Broadway musical. This led the team to also including "21st Century Breakdown", an album similar to "American Idiot" that is meant to be heard as one complete work; as Harmonix had already released six songs from the album as downloadable content, they did not want to make those that had purchased the songs have to pay for them again in the full game, and instead designed the game to immediately incorporate those songs into the game if the player had already purchased them. Once these two albums were selected, Harmonix' CEO Alex Rigopulos determined that they needed to include the full "Dookie" album, the major label debut of the band and one of the most requested albums by "Rock Band" fans, in order to complete the experience. Though Harmonix had considered including material from the earliest Green Day albums, "1,039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hours" and "Kerplunk", master multi-track recordings required by the "Rock Band" game engine to provide proper feedback when playing were not readily available. According to Cool, while the master tapes for "Kerplunk" exist, they are in poor shape and the process to digitize them would destroy the tape; as such, Cool stated "We’re making sure we have the right dudes to do it" as potential future downloadable content for the game. Harmonix opted against using live versions of songs on these albums, feeling that the game needed to stay with the studio versions of the songs. Once Harmonix had selected to focus on the three albums, they decided against including any additional non-Green Day songs, instead focusing on rounding out the group's history to present a complete Green Day experience.
List of Rock Band Network 1.0 songs
The following songs have been released to the "Rock Band Network" 1.0. RBN 1.0 songs are playable in "Rock Band 2" and "Rock Band 3", while RBN 2.0 songs are only available in "Rock Band 3". All songs can only be released individually; All songs utilize the song's master recording. New songs are released every day exclusively for Xbox Live for 30 days. After 30 days, songs are eligible to be brought over to the Wii and PlayStation 3. Dates listed are the initial release of songs on Xbox Live. Starting March 4, 2010, all downloadable songs are available in US, Canada, UK, France, Italy, Germany, Spain, Sweden, and Singapore, unless noted. All songs are capable of being changed or removed at any time.
Rock Band Network
The Network started in private Beta in September 2009, A patch to "Rock Band 2" for Xbox 360 users posted in late 2009 included the addition of the "Audition" mode that allowed those in the Beta to try their songs in the game. The development tools and additional documentation were released to the general public in early October 2009. Though originally expected that the Network will become available to general players in November 2009, the open service was not expected to launch until early 2010. An open beta, allowing any player with an Xbox 360 and XNA account, was opened on January 19, 2010. The Rock Band Network Store was opened on March 4, 2010, with over 100 songs available at launch. On opening, it was announced that T-Mobile would help sponsor the store, highlighting an "Artist of the Month". Harmonix will continue to author songs for release as normal downloadable content alongside the Network. Further interactions between regular downloadable content and Network songs will depend on the performance of the Network. Harmonix noted that the delays in getting the Network out was due to lack of internal deadlines within Harmonix as well as difficulties adapting the XNA system to their needs. Harmonix also identified issues with the closed beta period, during which they used mock-ups of songs instead of real ones for the beta testers to review, as when real songs were then added, a number of new concerns were suddenly apparent. Harmonix also noted that legal discussions on the addition of user-generated content added several months to the release of the Network.
Wendy Starland
Starland co-wrote and produced sixteen songs that are featured in the video game Rock Band 3 as well as Ubisoft's video game, "Rocksmith," alongside the Rolling Stones, Aerosmith, and Red Hot Chili Peppers on Xbox and PlayStation 3. Starland is a "Featured Artist" on the mobile app called SongArc where she exclusively pre-released her song "Raven," cowritten and produced by multi-platinum producer, Ivo Moring who won "Hit Of The Year" in 2012.
Rock Band (video game)
Prior to the game's release, "Rock Band" was featured at the 2007 E3 convention, garnering attention and several awards, including the Game Critics' "Best of E3 2007" awards for "Best of Show," "Best Hardware/Peripheral," and "Best Social/Casual/Puzzle," 1UP.com's "Best of E3," and GameSpot's "Best Stage Demo" and "Best Xbox 360 Game."
Rock Band 2
If the band chooses to "Start Tour", they will enter the game's equivalent of the original "Rock Band"s Band World Tour mode, allowing the band to play gigs and tour a virtual representation of the world. Once setup is complete, the band can begin playing concerts in small venues in their hometown until they unlock vans, tour buses and private jets, which unlock more cities and different continents. Unlocking and completing new gigs unlocks additional songs for play across all game modes. Successful performances also earn the band fans, stars, and in-game cash. Most cities and larger venues require the band to achieve a certain number of fans and stars before they are unlocked. The band must complete unique sets of activities at each venue. Performances consist of single songs, multiple song sets, "make your own" setlists, and mystery setlists. For certain performances, bands are faced with an optional challenge that requires the band to average a certain number of stars for their gig in order to reap the rewards. Bands can also hire personnel, including band managers, roadies, and sound guys.
Rock Band
Harmonix has created a series of "Track Packs" that contain up to twenty songs previously featured as downloadable content that can be played as a standalone title with reduced features (such as no character customization and limited game modes). These titles were initially intended for users of "Rock Band" on platforms that lacked network capabilities, specifically the PlayStation 2 and the Wii. However, the second Track Pack was made available for all four console systems, and allows users on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 to download these songs for use in the main games. A third Track Pack provides all the tracks from AC/DC's "Live at Donington" album in a similar manner to the second Track Pack, including exporting them to the main games. More recent Track Packs have been genre-specific such as classic rock, country, and metal. Some Track Packs have included songs not yet available through downloadable content, though Harmonix has released the exclusive tracks from the Country Track Pack and the Metal Track Pack in Music Store for purchase.
Rock Band (video game)
The "Special Edition" bundle includes the game software, as well as guitar, drum, and microphone peripherals. The PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, and Wii bundles include a wireless guitar, whereas the Xbox 360 bundle contains a wired guitar (a separate wireless guitar is currently available for the Xbox 360). Initially, a USB hub was only included in the Xbox 360, Wii, and PlayStation 2 bundles, in order to increase the number of available USB ports on the console. The more recent PlayStation 3 bundles now include a USB hub, with a sticker on the box indicating so. MTV originally announced "Rock Band" would be released for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on November 23, 2007, Black Friday, one of the busiest shopping days in the United States. However, the release date was eventually moved to November 20, 2007.
Rock Band (video game)
The game appeared in demo kiosks at Best Buy, Wal-Mart, and Sam's Club stores. The demo contained 15 songs and supports gameplay for all 4 instruments (although the actual in-store setup varied). The demo's drum set lacked a bass pedal, with the game automatically playing bass drum notes.
Rock Band
Rock Band is a series of music video games developed by Harmonix and MTV Games, and distributed by Electronic Arts for the Nintendo DS, iOS, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PSP, Wii, Xbox One and Xbox 360 game systems. The series, inspired by Harmonix's previous efforts on the "Guitar Hero" series, allows up to four players to simulate the performance of popular rock music songs by playing with controllers modeled after musical instruments. Players can play the lead guitar, bass guitar, keyboard, and drums parts to songs, as well as sing into a USB microphone. Players are scored on their ability to match scrolling musical notes while playing instruments, and by their ability to match the singer's pitch on vocals.
Hard Rock Casino (video game)
Hard Rock Casino is the title of several gambling video games released between 2003 and 2007, and based on the Hard Rock Casino brand. The first "Hard Rock Casino" game, developed by MumboJumbo and published by Jamdat Mobile for Microsoft Windows, was released in the United States in 2003. The game was subsequently published by MacPlay for Macintosh in the United States, in January 2004. Later in 2004, Jamdat Mobile developed and published a version for mobile phones in the United States.
Rock Band 4
"Rock Band 4" represented Harmonix's return to the franchise after an almost three-year hiatus, following the diminishing popularity of the rhythm game market that started in 2009. Announced on March 5, 2015, "Rock Band 4" refocuses on the core gameplay of the franchise, reducing the emphasis on musical instruction that was employed by its predecessor, "Rock Band 3", while emphasizing the game's social interactions, as well as new features enabling players to incorporate improvisation into their performance—such as "freestyle solos" on guitar, and "freeform melodies" on multi-part vocals.
Rock Band
Harmonix aimed to provide a wide range of music to players through additional content, stating that "Rock Band" is a music platform for discovering music. The developer released new songs, compatible with both games, through regular weekly downloadable content (DLC). including various singles, artist packs featuring three or more songs from the artists, and full albums. Downloadable songs are compatible with "Rock Band" and "Rock Band 2". A portion of the downloadable song catalog is also compatible with "Lego Rock Band", based on the songs' appropriateness for the game's family-friendly content rating. While "The Beatles: Rock Band" also supports downloadable content, the game does not share such content with the other "Rock Band" games, nor can it use content from the other "Rock Band" games. "Green Day: Rock Band" does not have its own catalog of downloadable content but a select number of songs from the "21st Century Breakdown" album were released to the Music Store prior to the game's release. These songs integrate with "Green Day: Rock Band", enabling the player to play the complete "21st Century Breakdown" album in the game. Downloadable content released on or after October 26, 2010 is restricted for use with "Rock Band 3", "Rock Band Blitz", and "Rock Band 4" while content released on or after October 6, 2015 is restricted for use with "Rock Band 4" only.
Rock Band 4
In an interview with "Vice" in June 2015, Sussman stated that the game would not ship with support for online play, as surveys taken prior to release, and their own tracking, showed that only about 10% of previous "Rock Band" players used the online feature, and thus focused on building out the local play features first for release. Sussman commented that it may be released as part of future patches to the title. The game at launch did support online leaderboards and score tracking at launch, and has added additional asynchronous features since. In April 2016, Harmonix announced that it will add in synchronous online play by the end of 2016. In December 2016, Harmonix delayed the online addition until January 25, 2017 to make sure this feature covered all edge cases that they had encountered in testing.
Rock Band (video game)
Prior to release, EA CEO John Riccitielo remarked that the company would not be able to meet the high demand for "Rock Band" in the 2007 holiday season, stating, "We're not going to be able to put enough inventory to meet demand in North America or Europe this calendar year or this fiscal [year]." This prompted many retailers to limit the number of preorders they sold before the game was released.
Rock Band
By 2009, the market for rhythm games in general started to fall. The market had become saturated with titles, mostly from Activision's expansion of the "Guitar Hero" series, and consumers affected by the late-2000s recession were less likely to buy costly instrument controllers. Viacom had already reported significant losses on the "Rock Band" series, and sales of "The Beatles: Rock Band" did not meet their expectation. Viacom sought a refund on the $150 million already paid for the 2007 bonuses following its reassessment of the series' 2009 performance. Harmonix, anticipating the slowness of the market, developed "Rock Band 3" with the introduction of several new features, most notably including the capability to connect real MIDI keyboards, MIDI guitars, and MIDI electronic drum kits, to create a "disruptive" game in the ailing rhythm game market by expanding to include real instruments.
Rock Band
The band U2, after declining an option to place themselves in a "Rock Band" game in 2008, were reconsidering their stance after seeing the success of "The Beatles: Rock Band", according to bassist Adam Clayton. Similarly, Queen were in behind-the-scenes talks about a possible title for their group within "Rock Band", according to Brian May. Even though no game based on the band was released, Lego avatars of the band members appeared in "Lego Rock Band". Roger Daltrey of The Who had stated that a "Rock Band"-title based on his group's music would be available in 2010; however, no such title was released in 2010, or after that year for that matter. Though Janie Hendrix had stated she allowed for Jimi Hendrix's works to be used for a "Rock Band" game to be released in 2010, this was later clarified as licensing several full albums from Hendrix to be made as downloadable content. Harmonix had also considered standalone band games for Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin, but neither project proceeded past developing concept art and cinematics.
Rock Band
Harmonix also was involved with "", released in November 2013, which for a time was referred to as "Rock Band 3.1".
In 2015, Oculus VR announced at The Game Awards that they would be partnering with Harmonix to make a virtual reality Rock Band game for the Rift titled "Rock Band VR", to be released in 2016. Harmonix began work on the title in October 2015. The game, focused solely on guitar players, uses the Oculus Rift Touch controllers in addition to the headset, one which is attached to the guitar controller. These provide the player with a first-person view of their guitarist on stage which reacts to the player's movements. In a demonstration at the 2016 Game Developers Conference, the game was set up so that the player could see the note tracks located on the floor monitors on the virtual stage, requiring the player to look down to track them, but Harmonix stated they were exploring other means to provide this input. The player can engage other actions in the VR world by looking at certain stage elements, such as by keeping their focus on a foot pedal, they can activate pyrotechnics on the virtual stage. The game was released on March 23, 2017 and shipped with 60 songs on release. It was nominated for "Best Game Audio Article, Publication or Broadcast" ("Steve Pardo: Creating Rock Band VR") and "Best VR Audio" at the 16th Annual Game Audio Network Guild Awards.
Rock Band
"Rock Band 3" was released in 2010 as an expandable platform for that console generation, expanding the game's realism by introducing critically praised "Pro" features; which allow for connecting and playing real world MIDI keyboards, guitars, and electronic drum kits simultaneously with legacy (button) controllers locally and through Rock Band Network online.
Green Day: Rock Band
Drummer Tré Cool later confirmed that the band was approached by Harmonix during the development of "The Beatles: Rock Band" for the band-specific game, while Armstrong stated they first experienced a "Rock Band" game, specifically "The Beatles: Rock Band", at a cast party for the "American Idiot" musical performance in Berkeley, California. The game was formally unveiled on December 12, 2009 at the Spike TV Video Game Awards 2009. Green Day announced the game via a video and showed the first trailer. A subsequent press release by MTV Games confirmed that the game would arrive on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Wii with the entire setlist being exportable to other "Rock Band" titles. A 2010 release date was also stated. In addition, previous Green Day downloadable songs released for "Rock Band" and "Rock Band 2" would be included in the game as well.
Rock Band 3
Initial sales figures from the United Kingdom showed that, for the two days that the game was available, only about 7,400 units were sold across all platforms, placing "Rock Band 3" as the 26th-best-selling title during the week ending October 30, 2010. The title was the 15th best selling game in North America for October of that year based on sales data from the NPD Group. In an interview with "Edge" after the holiday season in February 2011, Alex Rigopulos stated that "Rock Band 3" hadn't "yet sold to the level we hoped it would out of the gate", but believed that there would still be significant potential in the title, in considering the then-recent discontinuation of the "Guitar Hero" series and then-pending release of the Fender Squier PRO guitar unit. Though exact numbers had not been revealed by Harmonix, Rigopulos did state that "Rock Band 3" had trailed Harmonix's other game, "Dance Central", also originally released in 2010, which had reportedly sold 1.2 million units in North America by the end of the 2010 holiday season. On the eve of the release of "Rock Band 4" in October 2015, 1.2 million units of "Rock Band 3" had been sold, with 400,000 of those units sold after Mad Catz had taken over publication of the game.
H-Blockx
H-Blockx is a rock band founded in Münster, Germany in 1991. After the success of their debut album in 1994, "Time to Move", the band received a nomination for Best Breakthrough Artist at the 1995 MTV Europe Music Awards. In 1999, the World Wrestling Federation contacted them to record a song, "Oh Hell Yeah", for wrestler Stone Cold Steve Austin, and their song "Countdown to Insanity" appears in the European version of the 2007 video game "Rock Band". Between 1994 and 2012, H-Blockx released seven studio albums.
Cultural impact of the Guitar Hero series
"Guitar Hero" and "Rock Band" have been considered a boon to the music industry in a manner similar to music videos in the 1980s. Both licensed and indie bands whose works have been included in the "Guitar Hero" games have gained further popularity from this inclusion. Both record companies and retailers have experienced increases of 200% to 300% in sales of songs after their inclusion in the series. Every "Guitar Hero III" song tracked by Nielsen SoundScan (62 of 70) saw an increase in digital download sales the week ending December 30, 2007, when many who got the game as a gift were playing it, and every song included in "Guitar Hero III" and "Rock Band" saw downloaded sales increase during 2007 between 15% to 843%. A survey conducted by Brown Universitys Kiri Miller found that 76% of the players of "Guitar Hero" bought the music they heard in the game. Indie group Bang Camaro's recognition increased after their song "Push Push (Lady Lightning)" appeared in "Guitar Hero II". The band DragonForce, whose song "Through the Fire and Flames" is featured as a bonus song in "", saw a 126% increase in CD sales in the week after the release of the game, and downloads of the song, selling fewer than 2,000 weekly, rose to more than 10,000 after "Guitar Hero III"'s release and approached 40,000 the week ending 2007-12-30. Even older, established groups such as Aerosmith saw an increase in sales at the same time "Guitar Hero" games containing their songs were released, such as a modest increase in download sales for its "Same Old Song and Dance", which rose to 2,041 from 374 copies the previous week; a 40% increase in the band's catalog was seen in the weeks following the release of "Guitar Hero: Aerosmith". According to Activision CEO Bobby Kotick, "Guitar Hero: Aerosmith" has made more money for Aerosmith than any of their previous albums. Both "Guitar Hero" and "Rock Band" are seen as new methods of music distribution; an analysis for market research company NPD Group states that "As the video games industry grows, it's becoming an ever-more attractive promotional outlet for all kinds of industries." The games have also been seen as a way to introduce younger generations to music of the past; bands such as Living Colour, Warrant, The Grateful Dead, Poison, and Ratt have seen interest in their music rise due to the inclusion of their songs in the "Guitar Hero" or "Rock Band", as well as other music video games. Joel Peresman, president and CEO of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, attributes surges in attendance to the museum in 2008-2009, particularly in families with young children, in part to the success of "Guitar Hero" and "Rock Band". The popularity of downloadable content for music games has led the UK Official Download Chart to consider including these sales in their compilation of sales performance data.
Rock 'n Ball
Rock'n' Ball, released in Japan as , is a Family Computer video game that was originally released in 1989. The video game was released in both Japan and North America. In the North American version, fictional human characters are used instead of the licensed Namco characters; four male characters and two female characters are at the player's disposal.
Rock Band (video game)
"Band World Tour" is the game's primary multiplayer mode. It allows any combination of 2-4 local players to create a virtual band, play gigs, and tour a virtual representation of the world. Although online play is not supported for Band World Tour, players can use the "Band Quickplay" mode to play together as a band online. For the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of the game, Band World Tour mode lets bands play in 41 different venues spanning 17 cities, including Los Angeles, Seattle, Boston, New York, London, Sydney, Stockholm, and Rome. After creating their band, characters, and logo, the players can begin playing concerts in small venues in their hometown until they unlock vans, tour buses and private jets, which unlock other cities and continents. Successful performances also earn the band fans, stars, and in-game cash. Most cities and larger venues require the band to achieve a certain number of fans and stars before they are unlocked. In-game venues are inspired by real-life venues and often display local art styles from each of the represented cities.
Rock Band 4
The first paid expansion, "Rock Band Rivals", was released on October 18, 2016. The expansion includes two new game modes. The Rivals mode allows up to ten players to form Crews which their collective scoring across songs in an asynchronous manner will be used in challenges against other Crews. This mode includes online scoreboards, weekly challenges, and new rewards in the form of avatar clothing and instruments. Crews compete to be ranked across six tiers based on total score for three spotlight songs and experience gained from other songs in the weekly challenge; only Crews with the highest average rankings based on set percentages of total Crews can be promoted to higher tiers, while Crews with low average rankings could be demoted. Rivals mode was designed to address the issue that trying to coordinate all members of a band to play at the same time could be difficult. The second mode is a story-driven Rockudrama, which use live-action footage as part of the narrative, inspired by documentaries such as "Behind the Music". These segments bookends various sets, and includes selected comments that reflect on the performance, good or bad, that a given player might have during that. Players gain Fame by earning stars in these sets, which are needed to progress further in the Rockudrama, and by achieving a specific amount of fame over several sets, the player can unlock new venues that will appear in other gameplay areas of "Rock Band 4". "Rock Band Rivals" itself did not include additional songs at launch, although those who pre-ordered the expansion received up to twelve new songs for free; these songs were later released for sale to other users. The December 2016 update to "Rivals" provided twelve free songs to all owners from local Boston bands that were part of the interviews for the Rockumentary game mode. The January 2017 update added the Online Quickplay mode and one additional free song to "Rivals".
List of Rock Band track packs
Rock Band Track Pack Vol. 2 (Rock Band Song Pack 2) is an expansion disc for the "Rock Band" series featuring 20 master recordings previously released as downloadable content on the Xbox Live Marketplace and PlayStation Network Store. Unlike the first expansion, "Vol. 2" is available on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 as well as the Wii and PlayStation 2. Much like the "AC/DC Live" pack, the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions also include a code to download the songs to a hard drive for use in other "Rock Band" games.
The Cars
In 2008, the band's first album was released for the video game "Rock Band".
Rock Band 3
"Rock Band 3" was initially released worldwide during the last week of October 2010 for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii and Nintendo DS. The game received universal acclaim from critics, with praise for the addition of keyboards that broadens the potential music library for the series and the revamped career structure to keep players invested in the title. The game's Pro mode was particularly highlighted by reviewers, who stated that the mode brings the rhythm game genre to the point of teaching players to learn real instruments and have fun doing so by disguising practice into gameplay. "Rock Band 3" is cited by some to be one of the greatest games of all time while also considered a pinnacle of the genre. It was also the last "Rock Band" game to be distributed by Electronic Arts as Mad Catz signed on to produce future "Rock Band" games.
Rock Band (video game)
On July 10, 2008, Konami filed a separate lawsuit against Harmonix, Viacom, and MTV attempting to block the sale of "Rock Band", over infringement of their patents on a "musical-rhythm matching game" issued in 2002 and 2003, including . An MTV spokesperson expressed that the lawsuit was "extremely surprising" and that they intend to defend themselves against the suit. On December 2, 2008, Viacom issued a countersuit against Konami, claiming that "Rock Band" significantly improves on Konami's original patent, and that their "Rock Revolution" game uses controllers that are similar to "Rock Band". Both suits were settled for undisclosed terms in September 2010.
Rock Band Blitz
Though the game's formal announcement was tied to its premiere at the 2012 Penny Arcade Expo East convention, the game was shown to members of the press during the 2012 Game Developers Conference.
2015 in downloadable songs for the Rock Band series
Starting from October 6, 2015, all music added to the downloadable content catalog is exclusive to "Rock Band 4". In addition, due to changes in the charting format and gameplay of "Rock Band 4", the released songs no longer support keyboard or Pro guitar and bass (future downloadable content will continue to support vocal harmonies and Pro drum charts), and most songs no longer display "family friendly" or "supervision recommended" ratings. Downloadable content from previous "Rock Band" titles (excepting "") is forward-compatible in "Rock Band 4" within the same system family (Xbox 360 downloads are usable in the Xbox One version and PlayStation 3 downloads are usable in the PlayStation 4 version) at no additional cost.
List of songs in Rock Band 3
Eighty-three songs are included in "Rock Band 3", a 2010 music video game developed by Harmonix, published by MTV Games and distributed by Electronic Arts. The game, the third main title in the "Rock Band" series, was released in October 2010 for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, and Nintendo DS. "Rock Band 3" allows one to seven players to simulate the playing of rock music by providing the players with peripherals modeled after musical instruments. These include a guitar peripheral for lead guitar and bass gameplay, a drum kit peripheral, a keyboard peripheral, and up to three microphones. "Rock Band 3" is the first game in the series to include a "Pro" mode, which allows players to use more realistic peripherals to play the game's songs note-for-note as they would be played on an actual instrument.
List of songs in Green Day: Rock Band
"" is a 2010 music video game developed by Harmonix, published by MTV Games and distributed by Electronic Arts. The fifth major release in the "Rock Band" series, the game was released in June 2010 for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Wii. It allows one to six players to simulate the performance of songs by Green Day by providing the players with peripherals modeled after musical instruments. These include a guitar peripheral for lead guitar and bass gameplay, a drum kit peripheral, and up to three microphones using the same vocal harmony technology as "".
Rock Band (video game)
In selecting the soundtrack for "Rock Band", the developers recognized that they needed to select songs that were recognizable, particularly on vocals; in contrast, when they were selecting songs for "Guitar Hero", they were able to pick songs that played better even if they were less recognizable. They also consider songs that would help players come together socially, such as in The Who's "Won't Get Fooled Again", where they retained the long synthesizer solo such that the band members would all start playing again after it for a big finish. The team were able to introduce songs from smaller artists that they felt were good additions, such as "Maps" by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and "Electric Version" by the New Pornographers to help also introduce players to those classes of music. For about half the songs, they hired a studio to sing along to the lyrics as a crowd would at a stadium, such that during the game, when players are performing well, the additional crowd sing-alongs would add to the performance experience.
Rock Band 3
The majority of songs from previous "Rock Band" games, including both on-disc songs and songs offered as downloadable content, are playable in "Rock Band 3", which led to more than 2,000 songs already being available when the game was released. "Rock Band" Network can also be played in "Rock Band 3" and, unlike in "Rock Band 2", they can be played in all game modes. A new version of "Rock Band" Network, called "Rock Band" Network 2.0, allowed songs to be authored with harmonies, Basic and Pro keys, and Pro drums, but did not support Pro Mode real guitar and bass charting due to the complexity of authoring those parts and a lack of qualified users able to test them.
2016 in downloadable songs for the Rock Band series
Starting from October 6, 2015, all music added to the downloadable content catalog is exclusive to "Rock Band 4". In addition, due to changes in the charting format and gameplay of "Rock Band 4", the released songs no longer support keyboard or Pro guitar and bass (future downloadable content will continue to support vocal harmonies and Pro drum charts), and most songs no longer display "family friendly" or "supervision recommended" ratings. Downloadable content from previous "Rock Band" titles (excepting "") is forward-compatible in "Rock Band 4" within the same system family (Xbox 360 downloads are usable in the Xbox One version and PlayStation 3 downloads are usable in the PlayStation 4 version) at no additional cost.
Queen (band)
Queen have also been featured multiple times in the "Rock Band" franchise: a track pack of 10 songs which are compatible with "Rock Band", "Rock Band 2", and "Rock Band 3" (three of those are also compatible with "Lego Rock Band"). Their hit "Bohemian Rhapsody" was featured in "Rock Band 3" with full harmony and keys support.
The band also appeared in the video game "Lego Rock Band" as playable Lego avatars.
Rock Band (video game)
Around 160 developers had been involved on "Rock Band", though Harmonix noted they likely needed to hire more. They found the various department leads overwhelmed with tasks, despite being those that also offered the most creative input on the game's design. Harmonix also found during development that they jumped head-first into some technical approaches which initially seemed to work but failed on larger-scale tests; the online functionality went through several such iterations.
Rock Band 4
In March 2016, Harmonix launched a crowd funding campaign through the Fig platform to produce "Rock Band 4" for personal computers, to have been released in the last quarter of 2016. Harmonix estimated the game would cost $2 million to make, of which they would contribute $500,000 towards if they can raise the remaining $1.5 million. The port would have been primarily handled by Sumo Digital, integrating the updates that Harmonix will continue to provide in the main game. The game would have been released via Steam, allowing users to use the Steam Workshop to create their own songs and distribute it to others, with curation by Harmonix to avoid copyright infringements, in a manner comparable to the Rock Band Network but at a lower cost; they have already ported the previous Rock Band Network tools to offer to backers of the campaign. Harmonix planned to allow compatibility with all existing instrument controllers from the various PlayStation 2, 3 and 4, and Xbox 360 and One platforms, and had begun working through details with Sony and Microsoft. The game would have shipped with the same 65 songs as the console version, and at least 1700 songs for downloadable content (all those currently available for "Rock Band 4" on consoles), though, as with the console versions, users would have had to repurchase these songs on the PC and cannot transfer over songs they already own on either platform. The funding campaign failed to reach its goal, only obtaining about $793,000 of the $1.5M target; Harmonix has not ruled out approaching a personal computer version in the future as they are aware there is some demand for "Rock Band" there.
2008 in downloadable songs for the Rock Band series
The "Rock Band" series of music video games supports downloadable songs for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Wii versions through the consoles' respective online services. Users can download songs on a track-by-track basis, with many of the tracks also offered as part of a "song pack" or complete album at a discounted rate. These packs are available for the Wii only on "Rock Band 3". Most downloadable songs are playable within every game mode, including the Band World Tour career mode. All downloadable songs released before October 26, 2010 are cross-compatible between "Rock Band", "Rock Band 2" and "Rock Band 3", while those after only work with "Rock Band 3". Certain songs deemed "suitable for all ages" by Harmonix are also available for use in "Lego Rock Band".
Green Day: Rock Band
Green Day: Rock Band is a 2010 music video game developed by Harmonix, published by MTV Games and distributed by Electronic Arts. It is the fifth major console release in the "Rock Band" music video game series and it allows players to simulate the playing of rock music by using controllers shaped like musical instruments. The game's setlist consists of songs by the American punk rock band Green Day. "Green Day: Rock Band" features virtual depictions of the three band members performing the songs in new venues designed for the game.
Rock Band 4
Harmonix stated that it had "aggressively" worked with console manufacturers on means to allow guitar and drum controllers from the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions of "Rock Band" to be forward compatible with "Rock Band 4"; Harmonix and Mad Catz both agreed that while technically difficult to complete, this compatibility was necessary to support the "Rock Band" community. "Rock Band 4" on PlayStation 4 natively supports PlayStation 3 "Rock Band" instruments by means of the USB dongle that they require to operate. Achieving backward compatibility with Xbox 360 instruments was more difficult, as they had used the console's native wireless controller capabilities instead, which had changed between the Xbox 360 and Xbox One. On Xbox One, standalone copies of "Rock Band 4" are bundled with a "Legacy Adapter" to allow use of wireless Xbox 360 instrument controllers, including those developed to support "Guitar Hero" games. Due to the inclusion of this hardware, the retail price of "Rock Band 4" on Xbox One was higher than the PS4 version.
Rock &amp; Roll Band
"Rock & Roll Band" is a song written by Tom Scholz and first released by the rock band Boston on the band's eponymous debut album. It is one of six songs Scholz worked on in his basement in 1974 and 1975 before Boston got its record contract, five of which eventually appeared on the "Boston" album. The "Rock and Roll Band" demo was finished in 1974, along with three of the six. However, Scholz had begun writing the song years earlier, in the early 1970s. The drum parts of this and other early Boston songs were developed by Jim Masdea, but this is the only song on the "Boston" album on which Masdea plays drums. Scholz plays clavinet and all the guitar parts, including bass guitar, and Brad Delp sings the vocals. Boston consistently open with "Rock and Roll Band" while playing at live concerts.
Rock Band
Harmonix has released four mainline titles in the "Rock Band" series: "Rock Band" (2007), "Rock Band 2" (2008), "Rock Band 3" (2010), and "Rock Band 4" (2015). Each game provides from 57 to 84 songs on-disc with support for additional songs to be purchased as downloadable content. The games feature a variety of modes, including single player career modes, offline and online cooperative modes as part of a band, and competitive modes. Most songs from earlier iterations can be exported for play in future versions for a small licensing fee. However, premium or upgraded DLC content cannot be transferred to "Rock Band 4".
Rock Band 4
The first major update released on December 8, 2015 includes addition of "variable breakneck speed" which allows players to change the rate of scrolling notes on screen, and an auto bass-kick option that will remove the need for drum players to hit the bass pedal and focus only on the drum pad notes. "Brutal mode" is a challenge mode where, as the player continues doing well on a song, the notes on the scrolling highway will disappear some time after they appear on it, but will still need to be played on time; the speed at which they disappear is based on how well the player is playing, and by clearing the song with what would normally be gold stars, the player earns "Crimson Stars" instead. A new "Score Challenge" gameplay mode will allow players to track what their friends are playing and then asynchronously challenge their scores on the same song, including light-hearted taunts should they win.
Rock Band Unplugged
Rock Band Unplugged is an expansion of the "Rock Band" series of music video games released for the PlayStation Portable. The game is developed by Backbone Entertainment in conjunction with Harmonix, published by MTV Games and distributed by Electronic Arts. The game was released in North America and Europe on June 9, 2009.
Rock Band (video game)
Upon release, many players reported hardware issues with "Rock Band" peripherals. Many complaints stemmed from the bass drum pedal snapping in two, the Stratocaster controller's strum bar being unresponsive, and it occasionally lagging when tilted to activate Overdrive. In response to these issues, Harmonix admitted the guitars bundled with initial shipment of the game bundles were subject to manufacturing issues and stated that they would replace all faulty peripherals. Players affected by faulty peripherals were able to take advantage of the 60-day warranty on the peripherals and obtain replacements from EA. However, a class action lawsuit was issued against Harmonix, MTV Games, Viacom, and Electronic Arts over the failures of the bass drum pedal, claiming the companies conspired to force consumers to pay for repairs or upgrade to the "Rock Band 2" drum kit. Attempts were made to settle the lawsuit in 2008, but were unsuccessful. In September 2009, the original plaintiff dropped the lawsuit.
2011 in downloadable songs for the Rock Band series
The "Rock Band" series of music video games supports downloadable songs for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Wii versions through the consoles' respective online services. Users can download songs on a track-by-track basis, with many of the tracks also offered as part of a "song pack" or complete album at a discounted rate. These packs are available for the Wii only on "Rock Band 3". Most downloadable songs are playable within every game mode, including the Band World Tour career mode. All downloadable songs released before October 26, 2010 are cross-compatible between "Rock Band", "Rock Band 2" and "Rock Band 3", while those after only work with "Rock Band 3". Certain songs deemed "suitable for all ages" by Harmonix are also available for use in "Lego Rock Band".
Rock Band 2
Eric Brosius, Harmonix's Audio Director, described the process of selecting songs for "Rock Band 2" as organic, allowing the set list to grow as needed with influence from fans' reaction to the first game but without any specific vision of the final list, and knowing that tracks that failed to make the main disc content would end up as content for download. The team often licensed several songs from a single group, and then selected one that would be the most satisfying for all players in the game; additional songs not used in the main set list will likely appear as downloadable content in the future, though the initial twenty songs to be made available immediately after "Rock Band 2"s release featured new bands. The final setlist features songs with harder drum and vocal parts compared to "Rock Band", in consideration that a "second generation" of players now exist who are familiar with the instruments on the first "Rock Band". Songs were censored where necessary to achieve the desired game ratings; however, the team did not alter songs that had suggestive themes. Brosius stated that the inclusion of Guns N' Roses "Shackler's Revenge" was due to the team knowing they wanted a Guns N' Roses song, then determining that they wanted one off the "mysterious" "Chinese Democracy" album; Axl Rose helped the team to select the specific song.
Harmonix
Harmonix released "Rock Band" in November 2007. As Harmonix's first game as a part of MTV, "Rock Band" expanded upon the design of "Guitar Hero" by incorporating three different peripherals: guitar/bass, microphone, and drums. Harmonix continued to support the game after its initial release by offering a variety of downloadable songs to PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 players on a weekly basis. As of March 2013 over 4,000 songs have been made available as downloadable content, with over 100 million songs downloaded.
In October 2008, Harmonix, along with MTV Games, announced an exclusive agreement with Apple Corps, Ltd. to produce a standalone title based on the "Rock Band" premise and featuring the music of The Beatles, to be released late in 2009. "" features a visual and musical history of the Beatles, and includes 45 songs from their 1962-69 tenure with EMI, using United Kingdom-released versions of their albums "Please Please Me" through "Abbey Road". The developers have worked with Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr to gain input on the game, and are using Giles Martin, son of Sir George Martin who produced most of the Beatles albums, as music director for the game. Harmonix stated, despite building on the "Rock Band" gameplay, this will not be a "Rock Band" branded title, and that the songs will not be available as downloadable content for the "Rock Band" series. The agreement had been in discussion for more than 17 months before the announcement.
Rock Band (video game)
The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions of the game support downloadable songs. Users can download songs on a track-by-track basis, with many of the tracks digitally bundled together in "song packs" or complete albums at a discounted rate. Harmonix has likened the "Rock Band" game to a new platform for future music releases, and the company built the library of downloadable content up to hundreds of songs within the first year of the game's release by releasing new content on a weekly basis. Fifteen songs were made available at the game's launch date. To date, over 1,480 downloadable songs are available and over 100 million song purchases have been made by players. Downloadable songs are playable within every game mode, including the Band World Tour career mode. All downloadable songs released before "Rock Band 3" came out are cross-compatible between "Rock Band" and "Rock Band 2". Downloadable albums have been a major selling point for the game, with nine albums having been released to date. Currently, most song packs containing three songs are priced at $5.49/440 Microsoft Points, while most individual songs are available for the standard price of $1.99/160 MSP. Occasionally, certain songs are initially priced at $0.99/80 MSP for a limited time. The prices for albums differ, depending on the number of songs the album contains.
As both the PlayStation 2 and Wii version lack downloadable content, Harmonix released a series of "Track Pack" standalone games that are sold in retail stores. Each volume contains several of the tracks available as downloadable content for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. "Track Pack Vol. 2" saw an expanded release on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, as well. One Track Pack, exclusively featuring the songs of AC/DC's 1991 "Live at Donington" concert, was released in November 2008.
Rock Band 3
Despite previous success of rhythm games, the genre as a whole saw nearly a 50% drop in revenues in 2009; sales of top-tier titles "The Beatles: Rock Band" and "Guitar Hero 5" were significantly off from initial projections. Part of this has been attributed to the late-2000s recession limiting new purchases, but other analysis have speculated that consumers had grown tired of purchasing new iterations of instrument controllers for the same gameplay. While designing "Rock Band 3", Harmonix sought to capture the playing experience that "really started this whole phenomenon in the first place", according to project director Daniel Sussman. Harmonix's CEO, Alex Rigopulos, stated that "Our ambition for "Rock Band 3" was really to re-energize and reinvigorate the (music game) category and advance it and move it forward." In introducing the game to journalists at a closed media event about a month prior to the 2010 Electronic Entertainment Expo, Harmonix called "Rock Band 3" a "disruptive title" for the music game industry. Another aspect that Harmonix considered was "a ground-up rebuild of the "Rock Band" platform" and how players could interact better with the game and music library, according to Sussman.
List of songs in Lego Rock Band
"Lego Rock Band" is a 2009 music video game developed by Harmonix and Traveller's Tales, and published by MTV Games and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. The game, the fourth major console release in the "Rock Band" series, was released in November 2009 for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, and Nintendo DS. "Lego Rock Band" allows one to four players to simulate the playing of rock music by providing the players with peripherals modeled after musical instruments. These include a guitar peripheral for lead guitar and bass gameplay, a drum kit peripheral, and a microphone.
List of songs in Rock Band 2
"Rock Band 2" is a 2008 music video game developed by Harmonix and distributed by MTV Games and Electronic Arts. The game, a sequel to "Rock Band", has been released for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii and PlayStation 2. "Rock Band" allows one to four players to simulate the playing of rock music by providing the players with peripherals modeled after musical instruments (a guitar peripheral for lead guitar and bass gameplay, a drum peripheral, and a microphone). The gameplay in "Rock Band 2" is nearly identical to the original "Rock Band", while also comparable to that in "Guitar Hero".
2012 in downloadable songs for the Rock Band series
The "Rock Band" series of music video games supports downloadable songs for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Wii versions through the consoles' respective online services. Users can download songs on a track-by-track basis, with many of the tracks also offered as part of a "song pack" or complete album at a discounted rate. These packs are available for the Wii only on "Rock Band 3". Most downloadable songs are playable within every game mode, including the Band World Tour career mode. All downloadable songs released before October 26, 2010 are cross-compatible between "Rock Band", "Rock Band 2" and "Rock Band 3", while those after only work with "Rock Band 3". All songs that are available to "Rock Band 3" will be playable in "Rock Band Blitz". Certain songs deemed "suitable for all ages" by Harmonix are also available for use in "Lego Rock Band".
2010 in downloadable songs for the Rock Band series
The "Rock Band" series of music video games supports downloadable songs for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Wii versions through the consoles' respective online services. Users can download songs on a track-by-track basis, with many of the tracks also offered as part of a "song pack" or complete album at a discounted rate. These packs are available for the Wii only on "Rock Band 3". Most downloadable songs are playable within every game mode, including the Band World Tour career mode. All downloadable songs released before October 26, 2010, are cross-compatible between "Rock Band", "Rock Band 2" and "Rock Band 3", while those after only work with "Rock Band 3". Certain songs deemed "suitable for all ages" by Harmonix are also available for use in "Lego Rock Band".
Rock Band
"Rock Band Unplugged" was developed by Backbone Entertainment and was released for the PlayStation Portable in North America on June 9, 2009 and later that year in Europe. The game uses the PSP's Wi-Fi capabilities to provide an online store for additional downloadable content from music providers. The gameplay is similar to the previous Harmonix games "Frequency" and "Amplitude", with the player using the face buttons on the PSP to match notes; after completing a length of a phrase on a given instrument, that instrument will then play by itself for a while, allowing the player to switch to another instrument. The DS versions of "Lego Rock Band" and "Rock Band 3" use a similar gameplay system to "Rock Band Unplugged".
A mobile phone version of "Rock Band" was developed by EA Mobile to work with various phones; the game was released to Verizon users on September 16, 2009. The game features many of the same modes as the main "Rock Band" series, including the ability to play with other users through the software. The game offers the ability to play any of the four instruments on 25 songs selected from the existing "Rock Band" library. A version simply titled "Rock Band" for iOS was also released in October 2009, with gameplay described as similar to "Tap Tap Revenge" and allowing up to four people to play together with Bluetooth connections. "Rock Band Reloaded" was released on December 2, 2010.
Rock Band (video game)
By May 2011, over 100 million songs had been downloaded from the "Rock Band" music store. Viacom estimated that it is averaging the sale of 1 million downloadable songs every 9 days. Sales of songs were in favor of hard rock bands; Mötley Crües single "Saints of Los Angeles", debuting as a "Rock Band" track at the same time as the release of the album of the same name, saw 48,000 "Rock Band" downloads and 14,000 iTunes downloads during its first week of release. The popularity of some tracks also led to groups considering releasing more material for the game. Rushs alternate version of "Working Man" released only for "Rock Band" was met with so much praise from players of "Rock Band" that the group released the song for download through iTunes, as well as considered making full albums available, which they went on to do for their 1981 album "Moving Pictures", released for the game two months later.
Rock n' Roll Racing
Rock n' Roll Racing is a vehicular combat-based racing video game developed by Silicon & Synapse (now known as Blizzard Entertainment) and published by Interplay Productions for the Mega Drive/Genesis and the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1993. The game prominently features a number of popular heavy metal and rock songs in its soundtrack, hence the game's title. The game was ported to the Game Boy Advance in 2003.
Rock Band (video game)
By October 9, 2008, the game sold four million units and generated global revenues of $600 million. The sales of "Rock Band" helped Viacom to become the fifth-largest video game publisher in the United States, although analysts estimated that Viacom was only breaking even on sales of the game. In a March 2011 list, the NPD Group listed "Rock Band" as the fifth-highest-grossing video game in the United States since 1995, earning $670.7 million in revenue.
2019 in downloadable songs for the Rock Band series
Starting from October 6, 2015, all music added to the downloadable content catalog is exclusive to "Rock Band 4". In addition, due to changes in the charting format and gameplay of "Rock Band 4", the released songs no longer support keyboard or Pro guitar and bass (future downloadable content will continue to support vocal harmonies and Pro drum charts), and most songs no longer display "family friendly" or "supervision recommended" ratings. Downloadable content from previous "Rock Band" titles (excepting "") is forward-compatible in "Rock Band 4" within the same system family (Xbox 360 downloads are usable in the Xbox One version and PlayStation 3 downloads are usable in the PlayStation 4 version) at no additional cost.
List of Rock Band Network songs
The "Rock Band" Network in the music video games "Rock Band 2" and "Rock Band 3" supports downloadable songs for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Wii veins throughout the consoles' respective online services. The Rock Band Network Store became publicly available on March 4, 2010 for all Xbox 360 players in selected countries (US, Canada, UK, France, Italy, Germany, Spain, Sweden, and Singapore). Rock Band Network songs became available on the PlayStation 3 in five song intervals through their own Rock Band Network Store on April 22, 2010. Starting on April 12, 2011, up to 10 songs were added weekly to the PlayStation 3 platform until June 14, 2011 when it reverted to five song intervals. Also, starting on June 14, 2011, PlayStation 3 Rock Band Network songs will only be compatible with Rock Band 3. Rock Band Network became available on the Wii in six to 10 song intervals from September 7, 2010 to January 18, 2011. Rock Band Network songs will be exclusive to the Xbox 360 for 30 days, after which a selection of songs will be made available on the PlayStation 3 and Wii. As of January 18, 2011, no further Rock Band Network songs will be released on the Wii platform due to Nintendo's small online install base, limited demand for the songs and the significant amount of work each song needs to convert to the Wii.
Rock Band
The primary mode of play in both games is a "Band World Tour" mode (renamed "Tour" for "Rock Band 2"); in the first "Rock Band", this was limited to a band of two or more players playing locally, but "Rock Band 2" expanded this to any number of players, locally or online. After choosing a band name and hometown city, the band members can create their own rock characters, as well as a band logo. Once setup is complete, the band can begin playing concerts in small venues in their hometown until they unlock vans, tour buses and private jets, which unlock more cities and different continents. Unlocking and completing new gigs unlocks additional songs for play across all game modes. Successful performances also earn the band fans (used as a metric of measuring the band's popularity), stars (which accumulate based on the success of each individual song performed), and in-game cash (which each player can spend at the "Rock Shop"). Most cities and larger venues require the band to achieve a certain number of fans and stars before they are unlocked. In the process, bands can loop through cities multiple times, eventually playing larger venues in cities they have already visited. In-game venues are inspired by real-life venues and often display local art styles from each of the represented cities.
Rock Band
"Rock Band", "Rock Band 2", "Rock Band 3", and "Rock Band 4" featured soundtracks containing 58, 84, 83, and 65 songs, respectively, spanning many genres of rock music from the 1960s to 2010s, and including licensed music from both well-known artists, as well as independent groups. The majority of songs for "Rock Band" are master recordings, with a handful of cover versions (mainly used in Rock Band's early stages), while all the music from "Rock Band 2" onwards are master recordings.
"Rock Band" also supports migration of content across games. This enables players to access music that was featured in other "Rock Band" titles within a single game. "Rock Band 2" currently supports content imported from the original "Rock Band", "Lego Rock Band", and "Green Day: Rock Band". "Rock Band 3" allows players to not only access these songs but content exported from "Rock Band 2" as well. While "Lego Rock Band" and "Green Day: Rock Band" allow players to export the full soundtrack from each game, "Rock Band" loses three songs from its soundtrack (four in the European version) during the export process due to licensing restrictions. "Rock Band 2", likewise, will not allow players to export fourteen of the eighty-four songs offered on the disc (however nine of these missing songs were offered as a free download following the release of "Rock Band 3"). Two additional songs from the original "Rock Band" export were previously unavailable within "Rock Band 3", however they have since been returned to availability through a patch. Two further songs which were released on-disc in the European version are unavailable in "Rock Band 3", regardless of whether the songs were obtained through a disc export or through purchase as DLC (for the North American region). Due to the licensing agreement with Apple Corps, "The Beatles: Rock Band" does not allow any exporting of its content whatsoever. "Rock Band Blitz" shipped with twenty-five songs on its soundtrack (twenty-three of which are new, two of which were offered in "Rock Band 2" but not exportable to "3") and all twenty-five songs are cross-compatible with "Rock Band 3". "Blitz" itself is also able to use the full range of content offered on the "Rock Band" downloadable content catalog (including future content, previous imports, and RBN songs), integrating the existing charts into its own gameplay system. Harmonix is working to assure that as much as a player's existing song library will be playable within "Rock Band 4" within the same console family.
March of the Pigs
Thirteen years after its release, it debuted at #9 and peaked at #6 on the Canadian Singles Chart.
The song was released as a track for the video game "Rock Band" on February 26, 2008 for Xbox 360 and on February 28 for PlayStation 3. It was available as a standalone download or as part of the 'Nine Inch Nails' song pack (also including "The Perfect Drug" and "The Collector"). It was also featured on "Rock Band Track Pack Vol. 1" for the PlayStation 2 and the Wii, alongside the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.
Lego Rock Band
Industry rumors circulated in early 2009 of the game's existence and appeared to be true when mention of the game was shown in a slide (that was later removed) in Harmonix's Dan Teasdale's presentation at the 2009 Game Developers Conference. The game was announced officially on 21 April 2009.
TT Fusion's head of animation, Matt Palmer, stated that Harmonix had approached Traveler's Tales who, in turn, approached TT Fusion on the game concept around October 2008. At that time, about 50% of the studio was against the concept, but had come around by the end of 2008, realizing that they "weren’t just skinning one franchise on another". Despite skepticism for the viability of the game, the game is stated to combine "two compelling properties" by Traveller's Tales managing director Tom Stone, and has been called "a social game experience that crosses every generation and every genre of rock" by MTV Games senior vice president Bob Picunko.
Rock Band (video game)
"Official Xbox Magazine" published the first review of "Rock Band", scoring the Xbox 360 version a 9.5/10 and calling it "gaming's most intensely rewarding co-op experience." "OXM" also commented that the game's "payoff isn't visceral or technical; it's emotional." IGN awarded the game a 9.4/10 score and an Editor's Choice Award for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions. IGN largely praised the game, calling it "one of the must-have games of the year" and suggesting it "may just be among the best party games ever released." 1UP.com gave the next-generation versions of the game an A, stating that ""Rock Band" unquestionably, unequivocally rocks." GameSpot rated the next-generation versions of the game a 9.0/10, calling "Rock Band" "one of the best party games of all time." They also gave the game their Editor's Choice award. The Xbox 360 version of "Rock Band" has an average critic score of 92%, according to Metacritic, tying it for the 24th-highest-scored Xbox 360 game. Similarly, the PlayStation 3 version of "Rock Band" has an average critic score of 92% on Metacritic, making it the 25th-highest-scored PlayStation 3 game.
Rock Band
"Rock Band" features instrument controllers designed for the game. However, Harmonix and other companies have attempted to provide compatibility between competing instrument controllers and music games, allowing "Rock Band" to be playable without use of specific controllers, and to reuse "Rock Band" controllers in other music games. Prior to "Rock Band 3", most instrument controllers were made by MTV Games and Harmonix, with several third-party vendors supply alternate versions. On January 4, 2008, video game peripherals manufacturer Mad Catz announced it had reached an agreement with MTV and Harmonix to produce peripherals for "Rock Band". This agreement also gives MadCatz the ability to bundle and sell their products with "Rock Band" game titles. Mad Catz continued to support the series for the release of "Rock Band 4" in 2015, but in early 2016 announced financial difficulties due to weak sales of "Rock Band 4". Harmonix subsequently announced that starting in 2016, Precision Designed Products will be producing and supporting instrument hardware for "Rock Band 4".
Rock Band (video game)
Gameplay was designed to be focused around the feeling of being in a band. Initial playtests showed that there was a lack of cohesion if each member of the band just played their parts. Harmonix created its Harmonix Design Cabal from senior designers and veterans of the studio to play around with the gameplay and UI to help identify means that would encourage a more unified band. This Cabal led to the introduction of saving failing teammates, unison bonuses, bass grooves, guitar and drum solos, and Big Rock Endings in the final game. For networking, they opted to use the Quazal networking scheme rather than the platforms' current network offerings, which allowed them flexibility in "Rock Band" and future games. Large scale testing and debugging for their network and server capabilities was done by renting time on a supercomputer to simulate 100,000 simultaneous connections. In visual style, Harmonix used the keyword "authenticity", which drove the appearance of the costumes, based on various music genres, the in-game instruments, and the animations used during a song to simulate a music video.
Rock Band (video game)
A software update was released on March 21, 2008, which added new features to the game. The update included an in-game music store with preview and sorting options, revised microphone performance, and faster downloadable content loading.
The Beatles: Rock Band
"The Beatles: Rock Band" was well received by the press, both as a genuine means of experiencing the music and history of the Beatles and as a standalone music video game. Although the game's sales were considered respectable, with more than half a million units sold during its first month of release in the United States, analysts had projected larger sales volumes and attributed the lower sales to waning interest in the rhythm game genre and the video game industry recovery from the late-2000s recession.
List of songs in Rock Band
"Rock Band" is a 2007 music video game developed by Harmonix and distributed by MTV Games and Electronic Arts. The game is available for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, and Wii game consoles. "Rock Band" is based on Harmonix' previous success with the "Guitar Hero" series of video games in which players used a guitar-shaped controller to simulate playing rock music. "Rock Band" expands on the concept by adding a drum and microphone peripheral, allowing up to four players to participate in the game, playing lead and bass guitar, drums, and vocals. The gameplay in "Rock Band" is comparable to that in "Guitar Hero" along with elements from Harmonix' "Karaoke Revolution".
Rockstar San Diego
Rockstar San Diego, Inc. (formerly Angel Studios, Inc.) is an American video game developer based in Carlsbad, California. Founded by Colombian artist and businessman Diego Angel in 1984, the initial focus of the company laid on creating animations and visual effects for various multimedia productions, including films and music videos. Following Angel's business strategy of not focusing on high-risk business sectors, the company started working in the video game industry in the mid-1990s, their first video game project being additional work done for "Mr. Bones" (1996).
Rock of Ages (The Band album)
The 2005 retrospective Band box set "A Musical History" contains several "Rock of Ages" tracks newly remixed from the multitrack tapes, as well as a previously-unissued performance of the song "Smoke Signal" from the December 28 show. A hybrid SACD reissue of the original album was released on the Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab label in 2010. The song "Chest Fever" from this album is available as downloadable content for the video game "Rock Band".
Rock Band 2
The Xbox 360 version of "Rock Band 2" was the third best-selling game in North America during September 2008, selling 363,000 copies. and also has an average critic review score of 92% on Metacritic, tying it for the 11th highest-rated game for the Xbox 360 and the 7th highest-rated game on the PlayStation 3. The Xbox 360 version continued to sell more than 119,000 copies in October 2008, while a similar number of units were sold of the PlayStation 3 version following its October debut. "Rock Band 2" sold 1.7 million units across all platforms in North America in 2008, about half as many as "Guitar Hero World Tour".
Rock Band (video game)
MTV and Harmonix promoted "Rock Band" heavily in the months leading up to the game's release. The game made a nationwide promotional tour of the United States. Several tour buses made stops at major American cities to set up demo stations and showcase playable versions of the game for fans. Many of the locations included college campuses. Additionally, fan-created "bands" were able to audition on-stage by playing the game; their performances were recorded and sent to MTV casting directors, who selected two bands to appear on "Total Request Live" in a "battle of the bands." The promotional tour commenced with a featured showcase at the MTV Video Music Awards in Las Vegas on September 9, 2007.
Rocksmith
"Rocksmith" has its origins in a project called "Guitar Rising". "Guitar Rising" was developed by Game Tank, a small startup business, and was showcased at the 2008 Game Developers Conference. The game, at that time, was more of a technology demonstration, to display the ability of proprietary hardware – a USB cable that plugged into the audio-out jack of nearly any electric guitar – to determine what notes and chords the player was performing, instead of the typical note-matching gameplay of games like "Guitar Hero" or "Rock Band". The demonstration at GDC featured gameplay elements that would be taken into "Rocksmith"; the interface would show notes colored by string and numbered by fret, and that as the player progressed in the song, the difficulty or note-density would change to reflect how well the player was doing, as to avoid frustrating the player with too-difficult charts. Jake Parks of Game Tank had stated at the time that they were looking to release the game in late 2008, anticipating a soundtrack of about thirty songs depending on licensing. Later, the title was pushed to a 2009 release.
Rock Band
The concept for "Rock Band" was formed while Harmonix was working on the "Guitar Hero" series, with the idea to expand the note-matching gameplay into multiple instruments. When their "Guitar Hero" partner, RedOctane, was acquired by Activision, Harmonix was acquired by MTV Games, a division of Viacom, allowing them to pursue the title. The first game in the series, "Rock Band", was released in 2007 and its sequel "Rock Band 2" was released in 2008. As the rhythm game market began to flounder in 2009, Viacom put Harmonix up for sale, but investors were able to buy the company, making it an independent studio. Harmonix would go on to expand the series, including obtaining the lucrative licensing needed for "" in 2009.
Rock Band (video game)
Development started around February 2006, working with industrial designers J. Hayes and contract manufacturer Canyon Creations for prototyping instruments. One of the first needs for developing "Rock Band" was new hardware, specifically for the drums, since they already had experience with guitar controllers from "Guitar Hero". Working in tandem between software and hardware development, Harmonix spent time working on a drum controller prototype and how its track would be shown on screen. One difficulty faced was the drum bass pedal's visual representation; the four drum pads were generally matched in visual space as to the onscreen note track, but using a standard note "gem" for bass pedals threw testers off. They eventually came to the solution of using a bar that spanned the note track for bass pedal, which worked well. Once the drum prototypes were done, they started working on the guitar controllers. Preliminary hardware pieces were completed by April 2007, leading to mass production in China for release. Harmonix noted that they had not started their discussions with their Chinese manufacturers early enough, as they needed to push a team to be in China during the principle production months from June to September 2007 to make sure initial production was completed and in transit to meet release.
Rock Revolution
Rock Revolution is a music video game developed by Zoë Mode and HB Studios and published by Konami. It was revealed on May 15, 2008, and released on October 15, 2008 for the Nintendo DS, PlayStation 3, Wii and Xbox 360. As with similar titles, the game uses various controllers to simulate the performance of rock music, primarily using guitar and drum controllers on its Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions.
List of Rock Band track packs
AC/DC Live: Rock Band Track Pack (AC/DC Live: Rock Band) was announced on September 29, 2008, and was released for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 on November 2. The Wii version was released on November 16, 2008. The pack contains all 18 tracks from AC/DC's "Live at Donington" DVD. The game, through pre-existing licensing deals that AC/DC has with the retail chains, was only available at Wal-Mart and Sam's Club. This exclusivity agreement was only applicable in the United States, and ended on November 4, 2009 when GameStop began selling new copies of the game for $20. Each copy of the track pack includes a code that can be redeemed online to allow Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 owners to download the content to their console for use in other "Rock Band" titles. The game can also be played as a standalone title, including a number of Achievements for Xbox 360 owners, but otherwise does not feature many of the gameplay elements of the full "Rock Band" titles, such as character creation or customization, online play, or a World Tour mode. The track pack retails for $30 for the PS2 version and $40 for other consoles. Harmonix has confirmed that the songs will remain exclusive to the disc release, citing AC/DC's preference to sell their music as full albums instead of singles. They have not ruled out releasing the content in the future should the band's views change.
Rock Revolution
"Rock Revolution" would be officially announced and presented by Konami at a press event in San Francisco on May 15, 2008. An early version of the game was demonstrated at the event, featuring songs by Twisted Sister, Avril Lavigne, The Ramones, and Quiet Riot, among other tracks. The Xbox 360 version was demonstrated with guitar controllers from "Guitar Hero", but a newly designed drum controller specifically designed for "Rock Revolution" was also demonstrated. Associate product manager Mondona Akhazan stated that "Rock Revolution" would be a more drum-focused game, by contrast to other band games, which developers felt were putting more focus on the role of the guitarists. As such. the "Rock Revolution" drum kit featured a layout containing 6 drum pads (as opposed to the four-pad layout used by "Rock Band"), the largest being a snare drum located directly in front of the player.
Mountain (band)
Mountain's video game debut came in 2007 on RedOctane's "Guitar Hero III", featuring "Mississippi Queen" as a playable track. The song is also featured in the Harmonix video game "Rock Band", although the version featured is a cover of the studio recording.