Last week Destructoid posted a really excellent interview with Samuel Howard-Spink, a professor at New York University who’s spearheading a program called the Music Video Games Research Project at NYU. The project, Howard-Spink says, is “dedicated to the convergence of musical and gaming cultures and businesses,” and as a gamer and a member of NYU’s music business program, he seems to be in a unique position to talk about this convergence.

There’s lots of great stuff in the article, but I’ll just show you a couple bits that caught my eye. First:

“[I]n my humble opinion the [music-game] genre itself has helped to save rock’n’roll from being fully Nickelbacked or Maroon 5-ed into a coma. The games have certainly increased the number of young people interested in pursuing musical activities in many ways; just ask any guitar instructor or owner of a musical instrument store.”

I couldn’t agree more, and as a side note, “Nicklebacked Into a Coma” may be the name of my forthcoming EP.

The other quote I really liked was about the relationship between playing music games and playing music:

“Remember that musical training isn’t solely about scales and correct finger placement; rhythm, song structure, key changes, lyrics, genre styles, etc. are all elements of a musical education, and playing along with songs on Rock Band absolutely aids in the development of the awareness of these elements.”

Yes. Much of the rest of the article is every bit as good, but I’d feel bad about quoting any more, so I’ll just send you over there. The article is really substantial, with a good deal of talk about past music-related games, the current market, the potential of the Rock Band Network, and where the genre might be going. So go, read, enjoy.

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A few weeks ago, Destructoid posted word that Harmonix had licensed four hip hop and dance tracks “to be featured in video games”:

• “Ante Up” by M.O.P.
• “Evacuate the Dancefloor” by Cascada
• ”The Way I Are” by Timbaland feat. D.O.E.
• “Say Aah” by Trey Songz

I didn’t mention it at the time because these seemed unlikely to be used in any game I’d be covering here. But now RockBandAide brings word of a possibly related story: An artist by the name of Kaleo Futuristo, who appears to work in mostly R&B and hip hop, recently posted the following to his Twitter:

“Harmonix, the creators of The ROCKBAND Video Game is planning on using one of my tracks for their demo projects. AWESOME!!”

“Demo project.” Very interesting. Tommy at RockBandAide theorizes that we may be seeing a reboot of Harmonix’s underappreciated Frequency franchise, which would certainly be just fine by me. But I have another theory:

What if Harmonix is working on DJ Hero 2?

Far-fetched? Of course. But there’s been a lot of musing lately theorizing that the two big music-game franchises could be converging somehow. If Activision were to buy Harmonix or otherwise partner with the originators of Guitar Hero, it stands to reason they’d probably want them working on the sequel to DJ Hero, too.

Now, Freestyle Games, developers of the first DJ Hero, appear to be well into development of DJ Hero 2 themselves, if their job listings are any indication. But that wouldn’t prevent Harmonix from having a hand in it as well, making the big-picture calls and farming out the nuts-and-bolts development.

I’m not saying this is likely. I’m not even saying it’s remotely likely. I’m just saying it’s possible. And that I find it interesting that Harmonix appears to be dipping a toe into a new musical pool just as rumors start circulating of a Harmonix/Activision alliance. What do you think? Coincidence?

Speaking at the DICE Summit in Las Vegas yesterday, Activision CEO Bobby Kotick got all introspective about lost opportunities with the Guitar Hero franchise. According to G4tv.com, Kotick expressed regret over not trying to buy Harmonix when the company picked up RedOctane and the Guitar Hero franchise.

From the article:

“[A]t first we thought, ‘okay, [Guitar Hero is] a good piece of software, but if we gave it to Neversoft, they’re going to knock the ball out of the park with this. …  We really didn’t even think, ‘hey, we should go to Boston and meet these Harmonix guys and see what they’re up to,” said Kotick. “And of course, had we gone, I think the world of Guitar Hero would have been rewritten and it would be a lot different today and probably a profitable opportunity for both of us.”

Some have interpreted Kotick’s comments to be disrespectful to both Harmonix and Neversoft. The bit about Harmonix comes from the fact that at one point he mentioned that before Guitar Hero, he had perceived them as “sort of a somewhat failed developer of music games. They always had really good ideas, but nothing that was really commercially viable until Guitar Hero…” But let’s not forget: By Harmonix’s own admission, that’s kind of what they were.

As for Neversoft, it’s true that Kotick seems to be expressing regret for handing development over to them. But I wouldn’t read too much into that; remember that Neversoft was responsible for Guitar Hero III, the second-best selling game of the decade. I can’t imagine he regrets that too much.

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The official Whitesnake web site posted a FAQ recently featuring singer David Coverdale, in which he answered a variety of random questions posed by fans. Among them:

Q: Have you ever thought of sanctioning the inclusion of a WHITESNAKE  song on Guitar Hero/Rock Band, etc.?

Coverdale: Yes. I recently approved a couple of songs, “Here I Go Again” and “Still Of The Night”, for inclusion in both games. I can’t remember which one, tho’… You shall have to wait and see. Sorry it took so long.

So the songs are licensed for “both games” but Coverdale can’t remember “which one.” Well, that’s not exactly helpful.

[Read, via Blabbermouth.net]

It’s Presidents’ Day here in the U.S. (technically called Washington’s Birthday, did you know that?), so I’m going to be off doing presidential things. But I wanted to offer up some fun reading for those of you stuck at work today. So check this out: Co-Optimus has posted a well put-together rundown of possibilities for future single-band music games. It takes a look at some of the biggest-selling artists in rock and pop, and offers estimates as to the likelihood of any of those artists getting their own game.

Take this one, for example:

Rolling Stones – 200 million sales
The Rolling Stones are one of the few bands on the list to keep making new music for decades.  Vocalist Mick Jagger has enormous star power, with a steady solo career apart from the band.  The band has remained active, touring as recently as 2007.  They are the second highest ranked group on Billboard’s All-Time Hot 100 chart, topped only by The Beatles.  With one exception, all signs point to a Rolling Stones game.  That exception?  Ten Rolling Stones songs are already available in music games, including a sizable DLC pack for Guitar Hero 5.  Certainly, there are plenty more great tunes available, but it’s still worth mentioning.

The piece offers some food for thought regarding the viability of different artists in the format, so I strongly encourage you to check out the whole thing. And apparently, it’s the second part of a series looking at single-band games; you can see Part One here.

And hey, if that’s not enough to keep you distracted from the fact that you’re working and no one else is, Harmonix put up a new episode of the Rock Band Podcast on Friday.

Enjoy, and I’ll see you tomorrow.

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You know, every so often I’m surprised by the mainstream media. Their default approach to videogame stories tends to be either breathless sensationalism or just comic cluelessness. So it’s nice to see an outlet like MSNBC approaching a game-related topic with seriousness and respect.

That’s the tone of their recent interview with Rock Band drummer (and YouTube phenom) Dezmond Castner, aka azuritereaction. Castner does a great job of explaining the music-game genre and his fascination with it. I particularly like this bit:

Q: You’re a real drummer. Why get into “Rock Band?”

A: The real reason I actually got into drumming in the first place is because, a long time ago, back in 2000, I got into rhythm games in general … And five or six years ago, there was this thing called “Drum Mania,” which is the same thing as “Rock Band,” and I played that in the arcade. That got me into real drumming.

But wait, aren’t music games supposed to be driving kids away from playing actual instruments?

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Remember that brain-bending, guitar-controlled platformer Fret Nice I mentioned a few months back? No? Well here, read this. Let me know when you’re done.

All set? So, amidst all the unexpected DLC announcements yesterday I plumb forgot to mention that it is now available on the PlayStation Network, as of yesterday. The price is a surprising (to me, anyway) $14.99, and I’d love to give you some hands-on impressions, but all my instruments are for 360, so I’d have to play with a regular controller…which would kind of defeat the purpose, don’t you think? UPDATE: Apparently not, if 1UP’s review is to be believed…

In lieu of that, check out this entertaining “interview” posted at the PlayStation blog. I’ve also posted more screens after the break for your enjoyment. Continue reading →