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Viacom To Sell Rock Band Creator Harmonix
UgLyPuNk tips news that Harmonix, the game developer behind Rock Band and the early Guitar Hero games, will be sold by parent company Viacom, signaling the media conglomerate's exit from the console game market. Quoting Wired:
"The news is yet another ominous sign for the music-game business, which exploded seemingly overnight in 2005 with the release of Guitar Hero. ...sales have been in free fall since the dizzying heights of 2008, with Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock moving only 86,000 copies in its first week... Thus far in calendar year 2010, the balance sheet seems to show that Harmonix has been a $300 million liability for Viacom. And it doesn’t look like Viacom believes in the long-term future of music games. With any luck, the company will find a buyer that can help Harmonix grow, but it’s hard to imagine a better partner in the music biz than MTV."
The Fender Squier is a real guitar. On a promotional event a guy had it hooked up to an amplifier while also being connected to the game, so you could actually hear his playing while the tune also rolled in Rock Band 3. Check the (rather cool) demonstration/teaser video on Fenders website.
In other words, if you go for the Fender Squier, Rock Band 3 will function as a learning tool. That games career mode is more about challenges rather than just plauying at venues. Different difficulty levels (where the hardest setting equals the way the guitarist is actually playing the current song), tutorials and the ability to slow down sections at will makes it possible to get down to business learning how a guitar produces sound. If you take the time, you will be able to learn to play. The only thing the game doesn't teach specifically is technique, but with the songs including (and the game supporting) hammerons/pulloffs, left hand muting, open chords, arpeggios, sustained notes and slides, the techniques will come eventually as long as one is eager and willing to learn.
I started with RB1, knowing NOTHING about drums or pretty much any instruments really.
By the time RB2 came along, I bought an electronic drumset (Alesis) that I hooked up via a custom wireless controller and started playing that pretty much exclusively (3 symbals, 4 pads, etc...). I got my first real drumset a month ago, and I can tell you that both beats and hand/feet independence carry perfectly well over. Perfectly. In fact, the acoustic drumset is in many ways easier than the electronic one: the "pads" are bigger, and the sound much fuller so you don't need to be as precise.
People saying that RB doesn't teach drumming are full of shit. In fact, not only does it teach you drumming, it teaches you different styles of drumming as well. From Keith Moon's footwork-as-symbals to Mitch Mitchell's technique, you can learn it all if you take the time. Yeah you're copying, but over time it becomes second nature and you pick up a number of different rolls, fills and other techniques from many drummers.