Wii Game World

The Beatles are a tough act to follow. And so, several weeks from the release of Green Day: Rock Band, publisher MTV Games has some promoting to do. MTV Games GM Scott Gutherie recently explained the reasoning behind picking the younger, less “classic rock”-oriented band for its next single-act music game following The Beatles: Rock Band.

“We were pleased with the performance of Beatles: Rock Band, but we were expecting higher sales,” Guthrie said. “Our core audience of 16- to 34-year-old males are much more familiar with Green Day music than The Beatles.” Targeting the core gaming audience with a band active during their lifetimes certainly seems like a sensible business move, though it does signal a move away from the kind of market expansion MTV and Harmonix were attempting with Beatles. However, Guthrie’s suggestion that “Green Day probably has a much higher awareness than perhaps The Beatles did” seems like a stretch. Everyone knows The Beatles.

The clear market advantage that the Green Day game does have is the benefit of being compatible with Rock Band’s existing and ever-growing library, as its tracks are exportable (for a fee) to Xbox 360 and PS3 hard drives and playable in the main iterations of the series. Though Guthrie didn’t say as much, it’s possible Beatles sales suffered because the game was a standalone project, which didn’t mesh well with the Rock Band ethos and its core demographic.

Green Day: Rock Band more familiar to ‘core audience’ than The Beatles, MTV Games says originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 14 May 2010 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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• Team up with a partner on a Nintendo DS Lite in Roadie Mode for an all new level of competition.
• Super Bundle comes complete with the Band Hero game, wireless guitar, wired microphone and drums.
• Try All-new Sing Along Mode – Sing together karaoke style on any song you choose.
• Import your favorite Guitar Hero World Tour and Guitar Hero downloadable content straight into Band Hero.
• Enjoy 2-4 player local multiplayer support in co-op and competive modes and 2-8 player support online.

Product Description
This November, family and friends will come together to ascend the virtual stage and rock their way to superstardom with Band Hero. Brought to you by the makers of Guitar Hero, one of the best-selling video game franchises of all time, Band Hero features the hottest chart-topping hits from everyone’s favorite acts including Taylor Swift, Lily Allen, The All-American Rejects and Jackson 5. Headlined by some of the biggest names in music as in-game artists and play… More >>

Wii Band Hero featuring Taylor Swift – Super Bundle

Clearly, it’d been way too long since we last used our Rob Halford tag here at Joystiq, so it was convenient when Harmonix announced today Judas Priest’s “British Steel 30th Anniversary” album as next week’s Rock Band DLC. This collection is taken from the 2009 30th anniversary tour when the band played the entirety of its nine-song 1980 thrasher, British Steel, for the first time live.

“Breakin’ the Law” live? Sold. Hit the break for all the details.

Continue reading Rock Band Weekly: Judas Priest’s ‘British Steel 30th Anniversary’

Rock Band Weekly: Judas Priest’s ‘British Steel 30th Anniversary’ originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 07 May 2010 11:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Harrah’s casinos and MTV games are teaming up for the 2nd Annual “Total Rock, Total Rewards Rock Band Competition.” The winners will receive $10,000 and the opportunity to kiss the starry rings of Ringo Starr.

The competitions will take place between now and June 13 at “Harrah’s Total Rewards Casinos” and 15 additional US locations that host “Rock Band Bar Nights.” The top scoring bands from each venue will have an opportunity to compete in the final copetition at Bally’s Atlantic City on July 1-2. But wait, there’s more: an online competition at Harrahs.com will find one band flying on a private jet to the finale.

So, if you think your band stands a chance, get registered.

Win $10K, meet Ringo during 2nd annual Rock Band casino competition originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 06 May 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s the beginning of the month, which means it’s time to run down the list of Guitar Hero 5 and Band Hero DLC. In May, we’re getting three separate track packs — the last week of the month seems to be void of anything new, for some reason.

Like alternative pop ensembles like Snow Patrol and Alpha Rev? How about classic rock troupes such as Steve Miller Band and Lynyrd Skynyrd? How about Love in an Elevator? No, we mean the Aerosmith song, not that time you were trapped and — forget we said anything.

Head past the break for the full list of DLC for May.

Continue reading Guitar Hero 5 and Band Hero: May DLC

Guitar Hero 5 and Band Hero: May DLC originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 04 May 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Next week’s Rock Band DLC adds “the deep cuts” from Tragic Kingdom, No Doubt’s 1995 breakthrough album. The singles from that album were actually added to Rock Band way back in December 2008. Those interested in the tracks have the option to buy the full Tragic Kingdom album, just the remaining songs (if they purchased the singles back in the day) or each song individually.

Also, as a reminder, PSN updates will change to Tuesday in North America starting next week. So, PS3 owners are now able to pick up their Rock Band DLC on the same day as everyone else. Yay for equality.

Check out next week’s full list of DLC releases after the break.

Continue reading Rock Band Weekly: No Doubt’s Tragic Kingdom, Orianthi, Picture Me Broken

Rock Band Weekly: No Doubt’s Tragic Kingdom, Orianthi, Picture Me Broken originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 30 Apr 2010 11:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Virtual Console and DSiWare are stuffed full of games this week in Japan! The Virtual Console has the first Metal Max Famicom game (a series that eventually led to Metal Saga on PS2, with a DS sequel upcoming), as well as two Neo Geo fighting games. The bizarre Waku Waku 7 from Sunsoft stars robot tanks, Totoro-esque creatures, and even a sentient punching bag! There’s even an ancient Dig Dug-style arcade game. WiiWare’s World Game Parade finishes with Katamuki Spirits, a localized version of Equilibrio.

DSiWare features a game in which you compose songs to be played by a band of cartoon monkeys, with synthesized instruments and vocals! Also available: a drawing program about doodling on your photos, a platformer with 10-second levels, and, of course, Hudson’s Shooting Watch app, which tests the number of button presses you can perform in a second.

• Metal Max (Famicom, 1 player, 500 Wii Points)
• Samurai Shodown III (Neo Geo, 1-2 players, 900 Wii Points)
• Waku Waku 7 (Neo Geo, 1–2 players, 900 Wii Points)
• Mr. Do! (Arcade, 1-2 players, 800 Wii Points)
• Katamuki Spirits (WiiWare, 1-4 players, 500 Wii Points)
  
• Ahh, Nostalgic Shooting Watch (DSiWare, 1 player, 200 DSi Points)
• Artist Ni Narou: Kikaru ni Sketch (DSiWare, 1 player, 200 DSi Points)
• 10-second Run (DSiWare, 1 player, 200 DSi Points)
• Atelier Deco La Doll – Gothic (DSiWare, 1 player, 500 DSi Points)
• Teach Me Darling (DSiWare, 1 player, 800 DSi Points)
• Make Songs Monkey Band (DSiWare, 1 player, 800 DSi Points)
• Renjuku Kanji: Junior High (DSiWare, 1 player, 800 DSi Points)

Japanese Nintendo downloads: Neo Geo fighters, Shooting Watch, Monkey Band originally appeared on Joystiq Nintendo on Tue, 27 Apr 2010 14:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Next week’s Rock Band DLC contains three random singles and no track packs. With that said, Harmonix has already prepared for the backlash against this next update. Developer “HMXHenry” has posted a forum note to all the “Chicken Littles out there” that there is “loads more content in the pipeline, tons of awesome RBN tracks that are now coming out on the Xbox 360 AND the PS3.” So, don’t jump to conclusions, the sky isn’t falling people!

Check out next week’s DLC releases after the break.

Continue reading Rock Band Weekly: Busted, Flyleaf, Silverchair

Rock Band Weekly: Busted, Flyleaf, Silverchair originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 23 Apr 2010 11:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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“Mad Catz” isn’t just the best name ever for a fictional group in Rock Band, it’s also the new “principal peripherals partner” for the Rock Band franchise, including the upcoming Rock Band 3. The manufacturer now has worldwide rights to produce and distribute Rock Band peripherals. The company previously produced third-party peripherals for Rock Band and Rock Band 2. Mad Catz has confirmed to Joystiq that ”
As the official partner, accessories included in Rock Band bundles will indeed be produced by Mad Catz.”


“We are excited to be expanding our relationship with Mad Catz to continue to bring their video game peripheral design and manufacturing expertise to the Rock Band platform,” Alex Rigopulos, CEO of Harmonix, said in the announcement. “We look forward to partnering with Mad Catz to continue to innovate and lead the music game genre through the Rock Band franchise.”

He has reason to be excited — Viacom, owner of MTV Games and Harmonix, has already expressed its interest in getting away from the business of peripheral production, and now it’s found a partner that has experience, and, recently, some clout in the creation of game controllers.

Mad Catz now ‘principal peripherals partner’ for Rock Band franchise originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 23 Apr 2010 14:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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