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Rock Band, Casual Games Headline EA's E3 Offering

Posted by Zonk on from the finally-getting-around-to-actually-challenging-something dept.

The EA focus on family-oriented content, casual games, and expanding the gaming audience echoed the statements made at the Nintendo press conference earlier today. Next Generation has an overview of the EA press conference, which highlighted titles like Boogie and EA Playground. The company's cellphone game lineup also received some attention, and will feature properties such as Madden, Harry Potter, and Bejeweled. EA's ultimate goal is to 'lock up the 200 million casual gamers'. The presentation ended with a long Rock Band session; it was revealed that Metallica will play a heavy hand in the game's lineup. Other tracks shipping with the game at launch include: The Who's "Won't Get Fooled Again," David Bowie's "Suffragette City," Bon Jovi's "Wanted Dead or Alive," Rush's "Tom Sawyer," Nirvana's "In Bloom," Stone Temple Pilots' "Vaseline," and Foo Fighters' "Learn to Fly."

34 comments

  1. Of course! by An+Ominous+Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    it was revealed that Metallica will play a heavy hand in the game's lineup

    And after the whole Napster deal, we know how heavy-handed Metallica can be.

  2. No Spore? by shoptroll · · Score: 1

    Ummmm.... is it time to panic yet?

    --
    Insert Sig Here
    1. Re:No Spore? by SnowNinja · · Score: 1

      Ummmm.... is it time to panic yet? Apparently they want to keep their team focused on development, but are still going to Leipzig in Germany due to prior booking.
      Interview, videos and new screenshots found here

      As for the release date...

      IGN: So April 1st, 2008, or beyond. Patrick Buechner: Yeah, but I wouldn't say too far beyond.
  3. Any word on... by TexVex · · Score: 1

    Any word from E3 on a ship date for Duke Nukem Forever?

    --
    Fun with Anagarams! LADS HOST, SHALT DOS. HAS DOLTS. AD SLOTHS, HATS SOLD. ASS HO, LTD.
  4. bad by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Metallica Bad!!!

  5. Of course!-Metallica want to be free. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Now's your chance to get revenge.

  6. Metallica by ucblockhead · · Score: 3, Funny

    They say Rock Band will ship with "Enter Sandman". Weird. I've never heard of that song. I just hope it's as good as that awesome track I got off of Napster: "3ntar s4ndmn".

    --
    The cake is a pie
  7. Peripherals Galore by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    The game looks quite innovative (surpised that EA has a hand in that) and I really believe that this game will change the way people think about games. After all, Harmonix started as a research group in MIT's Media Lab where they're trying to do stuff like bridge the gap between Second Life and real life. However, I don't think the game will be as successful as it should be.

    My prediction is that the game will be released, but it won't be as popular as everyone hopes because of the high entry cost. Sure, I would love to be able to play my favorite music sim with people across the world, but why should I shell out $50-$80 for an electronic drum set or a microphone or a different guitar (because I doubt the SG controller from Guitar Hero will work on this) when I already paid $50 for a Guitar Hero controller that works just fine on Guitar Hero? The casual gamer doesn't want to spend needless amounts of money on peripherals every time you release a new game. Then on top of it, they expect you to pay even more money for extra songs. I don't like this business model and I hope they do something to fix it. Until then, I'll stick to GH3.

    1. Re:Peripherals Galore by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I hate to disappoint you, but it has been stated that Rock Band will work with Guitar Hero controllers. See this story.

      Also, Guitar Hero 3 is going to have downloadable content as well, so I'm not sure why you'd be irritated by Rock Band having it but not GH3.

    2. Re:Peripherals Galore by DrXym · · Score: 1

      I don't think Rock Band will change anything about the way people think about games. It's just a Guitar Hero ripoff which stretches the idea of accessories to cover other instruments. I'm sure it will find a lot of buyers, but it's not some revolutionary earthshaking paradigm or whatever. It's just another game that uses gimmick controllers to sell itself.

    3. Re:Peripherals Galore by davebo357 · · Score: 0

      How can a game be a rip-off if it's created by the same people?

    4. Re:Peripherals Galore by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      They've already said that the old GH guitars will work.

    5. Re:Peripherals Galore by SethraLavode · · Score: 1

      Well, much like Guitar Hero [i]borrowed concepts[/i] to Konami's Guitar Freaks, Rock Band is also [i]borrowing concepts[/i] from Konami's Super Session mode from Guitar Freaks, Keyboard Mania, and Drum Mania.

    6. Re:Peripherals Galore by DrXym · · Score: 1
      How can a game be a rip-off if it's created by the same people?

      Go and read the background behind RedOctane and Harmonix. Lots of politics and contractual stuff going on but the upshot is that RedOctane produced the guitar peripheral and Harmonix wrote the software for it. Clearly the rights to the name and software were owned by RedOctane since Activision acquired them and now own the Guitar Hero brand. Harmonix have no rights to the brand at all, the software or to the controller. So they've have gone and produced a look-a-like copy of their own game with their own controllers. Whether they wrote the original software or not, the new title is clearly a rip-off.

      One could add that even Guitar Hero is a rip-off because it wasn't the first guitar game at all. GuitarFreaks appeared in arcades way before.

    7. Re:Peripherals Galore by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Well I didn't check my facts first. My bad. Then the only concern is that no one will want to buy a new controller (everyone already has the guitar) so there will be a disproportionate amount of guitarists playing online.

      I think what irks me about the downloadable content is that it appears that GH3 will come with the usual host of songs (60 or so) and then offer extras on top of it (at a cost) whereas Rock Band will only come with a meager selection (a whole metallica CD that lots of people may not have interest in) and then offer extras on top of it (for a cost). In the latter case, I would feel more forced into buying extras. Once again, I don't know how many songs will come in GH3 (only a partial list has been released) but at least it'll have variety to start out with (as opposed to only metallica). Once again, I can be wrong.

    8. Re:Peripherals Galore by justinmikehunt · · Score: 0

      It's not just the same people creating this game though... They're using the same source code from the first two Guitar Heros, which Guitar Hero III is not. The early previews of GH3 say the timing doesn't feel quite the same as GH 1&2, but I bet that Rock Band does, because it's run exactly the same.

    9. Re:Peripherals Galore by pappy97 · · Score: 1

      "(because I doubt the SG controller from Guitar Hero will work on this)"

      They've already said that GH guitars will work for guitar hero.

  8. What's with all the licensing of Rush's music.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    A few years ago Rush was only popular in circles of Rush fans mostly being dismissed by the mainstream, now it seems they are being licensed much more (particularly Tom Sawyer). I even read that it's going to be in Rob Zombie's remake of Halloween.

    1. Re:What's with all the licensing of Rush's music.. by xero314 · · Score: 2, Insightful

      A few years ago Rush was only popular in circles of Rush fans mostly being dismissed by the mainstream I'm guessing you are either not in the US or Canada, or are 12.

      You would be hard pressed to find a musician or rock music fan (the target audience of guitar based music games) that has never heard of Rush. Everywhere in the US I have ever lived Rush has received regular airplay.
    2. Re:What's with all the licensing of Rush's music.. by Wordplay · · Score: 1

      I'm a Rush fan, but there is a difference between well-known and popular. We all knew the kid who ate paste in school, too; that doesn't mean we liked him. Prog really fell out of favor in/after the 80s, and Rush was viewed as largely appealing to, well, dorks. They seem to have made quite a bit of a comeback in recent years.

    3. Re:What's with all the licensing of Rush's music.. by 7Prime · · Score: 1

      And I'm really glad. Their latest album is excellent... much better than their previous one, possibly their best since the late 80s/early 90s. I'm a big prog geek though, so my opinion doesn't really count for much.

      I'd like to see prog find its way back... but with bands like Dream Theater now doing dungeons and dragons style lyrics (listen to their new album, if you can stand it) I think that's going to be kind of hard.

      At this point, I'd like to see a resurgence of instrumental rock and jazz, but people seem to like their "words", and that doesn't look to be changing any time soon. In the meantime, I'm just happy to see bands like Rush back at the top of their game.

      --
      Multiplayer Gaming (defined): Sitting around, discussing single-player games with my friends, at the bar.
    4. Re:What's with all the licensing of Rush's music.. by Comen · · Score: 1

      "Rush was viewed as largely appealing to, well, dorks"

      Man, not where I live, I always hung out with people that were in bands, and I dont know of a single person that plays rock music that does not love RUSH.
      Most tof the serious RUSH fans I know, are definitly not dorks, and had no problems getting laid etc... but might have a hard time holding a regular job now adays.
      I really dont know where you got your idea that RUSH fans were dorks though, somehow I get a mental picture of a guy listening to Winger in high school, and when a guy in a RUSH shirt walks by he thinks to himself "DORKS! Gezzz"

    5. Re:What's with all the licensing of Rush's music.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Two words: Porcupine Tree

      http://www.porcupinetree.com/

    6. Re:What's with all the licensing of Rush's music.. by 7Prime · · Score: 1

      Fuck yeah... been listening to the PT for years now. They've become a surprisingly large inspiration on my own work. I don't care for his voice much, but his vocal harmonies are something to be studied. I don't have their new album yet, as I'm sorta wanting to go back to jazz/fusion and classical material for a bit, but I hear its great, and I'll eventually pick it up.

      Although, PT is a lot like Marillion, who have been doing great shit forever.

      Oh, I was also on a big Flower Kings kick for about a year there. I was really liking the fusion direction they were taking on in Space Revolver and Unfold the Future. Unfortunately, they've COMPLETELY turned on it, and are back to doing meloncholly, sappy, retro stuff. I'm pretty upset because they really filled a nitch between jazz and prog that not many bands do these days.

      Speaking of which, my newest find is Hiromi, a young Japanese jazz piano chick whose stuff sounds like a cross between Chick Corea and Dream Theater.

      --
      Multiplayer Gaming (defined): Sitting around, discussing single-player games with my friends, at the bar.
    7. Re:What's with all the licensing of Rush's music.. by xero314 · · Score: 1

      And I'm really glad. [Rush's] latest album is excellent I must be in a minority here since I do not like Snakes and Arrows nearly as much as Vapor Trails which I liked less that Counter Parts, and of course anything from signals and earlier is even better yet. My issue with S&A is that it has no energy, no power. Vapor Trails had fast riffs, Counter Parts had hard driving rhythms, and the others mentioned were really the templates for Progressive Metal. I can remember the first time I heard Stick it Out, or One Little Victory, but I'm just not finding anything memorable about the S&A Album. And what is with the only instrumental being barely 2 minutes in length. Malignant Narcissism is certainly no Strange Village and neither is Monkey Business. I know the guys are getting old, but I just feel they can do much better.

      with bands like Dream Theater now doing dungeons and dragons style lyrics The origins of Progressive Metal are built around D&D style lyrics. Look at Rushes early Albums (they all had an epic fantasy song), Fate Warnings Prog Metal days (with entire albums dedicated to the D&D style lyrics), and even older Dream Theater. I actually thing bands like Rush lost touch with their prog roots when they went to albums made of 4 minute singles. Oh and I should clarify that I happen to be one that classifies Rush as Prog Metal not Prog Rock. But even looking back at the Prog Rock it grew out of you see a lot of fantasy Epics in the works of Yes, Floyd and Tull.
    8. Re:What's with all the licensing of Rush's music.. by Wordplay · · Score: 1

      Heh. Winger wasn't a bad band either (though Kip Winger is no great singer). Beavis and Butthead was pretty much singlehandedly responsible for the demise of their image. You lose a Winger, you gain a Zombie. I'm not sure it was a good tradeoff in the long run, musically, but at least we've gotten a couple of decent horror movies out of the deal.

      You're right, there's definitely appeal in the musician crowd. I think that's true for a lot of very complex music. As for Rush's image, it's the same situation as Yes, ELP, etc. The demographic became the D&D crowd when finely-crafted music became unstylish. Watch -SLC Punk- sometime for an amusingly graphic example.

    9. Re:What's with all the licensing of Rush's music.. by 7Prime · · Score: 1

      You make some good points, although my beef is that everything on Vapor Trails sounded the same, and it was also reflected in it's extremely high compression, which kept everything at the same volume. That's NOT what progmetal is about, progmetal is about the peaks and valleys, the tension and release.

      BTW: Counterparts, a template for ProgMetal? Dream Theater and Fates Warning were already around for quite a few years before that, and DT came out of the docket with a bang with WDADU (even if it didn't sell very well). And I don't understand why you hold Signals as being one of their greatest, Subdivisions, Analog Kid, Weapon, Loosing It are incredible, but everything else on there I find unlistenable. Hold Your Fire is definitely one of my favorites (hint, my original handle was "Prime Mover") as are Presto and Roll the Bones, but I'm also really fond of Perminant Waves too.

      Honestly, I've always prefered when bands would eventually move out of their D&D days. Dream Theatre had D&D lyrics for their Majesty demos, and some of WDADU, but even by that time, they were pretty obvious alegories that could be applied to anything. Fates Warning, IMO, only got good after they dropped their D&D lyrics, around Perfect Symmetry... although the only album of there's I think is AAA grade was APSOG, which is one of my favorite albums ever. I'm of the feeling that most bands' best material is mid-career... that's when they tend to start experimenting with a lot more subtlety without going overboard on the mellodrama. My favorite DT album is Six Degrees, for instance.

      Yes were etherial and transendental... but their lyrics were nonsensical. Flawed? Most definitely, but they were successful in that they were primarilly about the drama the words provoked, not in telling a litteral story. Great band, a personal favorite.

      Okay, the point is, prog has really shitty lyrics, we know that. The music is 90% about the instrumental stuff, but sometimes lyrics have a tendancy to hold back the instrumental material.

      --
      Multiplayer Gaming (defined): Sitting around, discussing single-player games with my friends, at the bar.
    10. Re:What's with all the licensing of Rush's music.. by xero314 · · Score: 1

      Counterparts, a template for ProgMetal I certainly never meant to imply that. I think Counterparts is a straight forward metal album. A good one, but not a progressive one. What I said was the "others", being Signals and earlier, where templates for Progressive Metal.

      And I don't understand why you hold Signals as being one of their greatest Signals was a turning point, it marked the end of an era, in my opinion the best era of Rush. The albums after Signals, which is a great album marred by poor production, up until counter parts can't really be classified as Metal let alone progressive. I mean how can an album featuring Aimee Mann be considered Metal (i.e. Hold your Fire)? And though I greatly enjoyed Grace under Pressure I could pretty much do without that entire cycle.

      I'm also really fond of Perminant Waves too Permanent Waves is arguably the best Prog Metal album ever completed, and is probably the pinnacle of the Rush library. This was when they were at their best, musically, lyrically and so on. At least there we might be able to agree.

      Fates Warning... only got good... around Perfect Symmetry. Blasphemy! As much as I continued to purchase their albums and see them when I could in a small club, Fates Warning has been pretty much down hill since No Exit.

      prog has really shitty lyrics I disagree, I think Prog Rock and Metal has been full of some of the best lyrics in rock music history. With songs like 2112, which is a dissertation on Objectivism thinly veiled in sci-fi lyrics, I'm not sure how you can say Prog Metal has shitty lyrics (Sorry I have a limited amount of prog metal on me to look up other good references). Of course the lyrics were not specifically about what they appeared to be on the surface, but that is what makes them good lyrics. Anyone can write straight forward lyrics, only a master can hind a deep meaning in a good story.
    11. Re:What's with all the licensing of Rush's music.. by 7Prime · · Score: 1

      Rush is a BIG exception, Rush has great lyrics, Peart is a god. Even though I completely dissagree the Ayn Rand school of thought, Rush definitely is able to make great lyrics out of it. But aside from them, I really don't listen to progrock/metal for its lyrics. Genesis had some witty things back in the day, same with King Crimson, and once in a while DT pens some decent words, but even those I wouldn't call "excellent". Folk music probably has the best lyrics out there, but I'm not interested in the instrumental side of Folk, so it doesn't do much for me. Compared to pop or country, yeah, prog's got some decent stuff, but in the grand scheme of things, most of them come from a musical background and not a litterary one.

      --
      Multiplayer Gaming (defined): Sitting around, discussing single-player games with my friends, at the bar.
  9. Plan a trip to Colorado. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I just hope the cover version of Tom Sawyer for the game is as good as the one done by 'Lil Rush http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuY_w3Rt46U.

  10. Tom Sawyer! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Hooray! I's about fuggin time! I've been waiting on that song since Guitar Hero 1.

  11. Rockband a GH rippoff ? by trdrstv · · Score: 1

    I don't think Rock Band will change anything about the way people think about games. It's just a Guitar Hero ripoff which stretches the idea of accessories to cover other instruments.

    How can it be a rip off if it's developed by the same people (Harmonix) and they still have the original code? Activision bought the "Guitar Hero Franchise" but not the source code. Neversoft had program GH III from the ground up.

    I suspect RockBand will Feel more like prior Guitar Heroes just based on that.

  12. Wonder what this will do to sales of GH3 by guidotheenforcer · · Score: 1

    I wonder what effect this will have on the sales of GH3. I love GH2, and have two controllers, but would hesitate to buy the next one if only a few months later I could get a game that would allow more friends to join in and probably be twice as fun. Especially, as the cost of adding the drums and mic will not be trivial.

    1. Re:Wonder what this will do to sales of GH3 by trdrstv · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I wonder what effect this will have on the sales of GH3. I love GH2, and have two controllers, but would hesitate to buy the next one if only a few months later I could get a game that would allow more friends to join in and probably be twice as fun. Especially, as the cost of adding the drums and mic will not be trivial.

      There's a reason GH III is shipping before Rock Band... It HAS to. If I were Activision I would be pissed. They bought the GH franchise for something like 200 million dollars, and already the people who sold it to them have a "GH Killer". They need to get GHIII out faster than October, and load up with DLC (include some for Free too) to help lock people into that franchise.