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Rock Band 2 Dev Talks Track Selection, Exclusivity Deals

Posted by Soulskill on from the give-me-a-buddy-rich-track dept.

IGN spoke with Eric Brosious, audio director for Harmonix, about selecting songs for the upcoming Rock Band 2 release. He talks about balancing difficulty between instruments, bringing a wider range of genres to the game, and his view on the competition for songs and artists between Harmonix and Activision. "We prefer not to sign exclusive deals with artists because while it seems like the competitive 'business' thing to do, in the long run, it's really not good for anyone. We think we should be working to get more music out to more people."

4 of 48 comments (clear)

  1. Netlabels? by BPPG · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I kind of wonder if the Rock Band guys would ever consider using any creative commons or netlabel music?

    Netlabel music doesn't usually evoke the same kind of live-fast die young superstar feeling that these games usually seem aim to evoke. And they'd probably prefer to stick to songs that people have actually heard of. Still it's probably a cool idea.

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  2. Re:I'd Care by bigstrat2003 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    That pretty much depends on whether or not they have decent DLC availability. GH3's DLC was pretty damn lackluster, and if GH4 continues that trend, it has no chance at being a better game.

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  3. Re:In the grand scheme... by morari · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Um... Harmonix made Rock the 80s.

    These little expansion packs and band specific titles do need to stop however. Guitar Hero: World Tour should be a fairly definitive release, and then rely on simply adding to the game via DLC after that.

    Rock Band had the right idea, but the fact that a sequel is being pushed out not too long afterward shows that they're still only concerned about money. Rhythm games don't change enough from title to title to justify a full blown sequel. At least Guitar Hero: World Tour is adding tons of stuff to make it on par with (and largely surpass in many areas) Rock Band.

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  4. Other things that really aren't good for anyone... by iapetus · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Charging twice the price for the game in Europe (roughly double the normal markup for games/hardware of this nature) and lying about it in multiple interviews.

    That's really not good for anyone, is it, Eric?

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