Harmonix (2)

Just yesterday we posted news on the particularly indie selection of bonus tracks that will accompany Rock Band, and it seems that Harmonix are looking to take it to the next level. Harmonix CEO, Alex Rigopulos revealed in a recent interview that they might allow users to create their own content:

“I think that one direction that the video game industry is headed in general is actually putting the power into the hands of the masses and letting the audience author the music. One possibility that we’re actually considering is releasing our own authoring tools out freely into the world, such that if you’re a band and you and your three friends are in your bedroom or garage making music, and no major label will even give you the time of day but you believe in your music, you can actually produce a game level yourself and send it to us for publishing on the game servers or distributing to your friends.”

Some of you might remember the promised feature of Spore that allows you to buy a figurine of your creature - and Harmonix have taken the idea and run with it. Not only are they planning to provide posed figurines of your avatar, but also T-shirts with your band logo on them, album art, bumper stickers and other merch. You will be able to access your profile and order merch though RockBand.com.

This game is looking to be immense and just keeps getting better.

via 1Up

The lid is off the Rock Band bonus tracks - and maybe it’s just me, but the bands on there seem pretty obscure. The strangest offering is the South Park inclusion titled Timmy & The Lords of the Underworld - an odd alliance, given the recent South Park episode that took the piss out of Guitar Hero. Hit the jump for the full list.

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Harmonics and MTV have just announced the release of their new game for the iPod, Phase. Being the first large developer to use the iPod, Lead Producer Kasson Crooker is naturally very excited about the project; here is what he had to say about it:

“Our goal with Phase was to create a fundamentally accessible, casual music experience for iPod users where we implemented our years of work with rhythmic gameplay elements and present them in ways that any music fan can easily understand and have fun with. We wanted to create something that took users beyond the standard game format, tap into the unique design of the iPod, and give players a fresh, new way to deepen their relationship with their own music — the music they love.”

To play the game you only need an iPod nano with video, iPod classic or fifth generation iPod, an iTunes account and Phase. The game is available on the iTunes store for US$4.95. The game is controlled by clicking or sliding around the scroll wheel in one of the two game modes.

From the video we can see the game is looking amazing considering the iPod isn’t a dedicated gaming device. Check after the jump for a couple more screens.

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Harmonix, MTV Games and EA today announced the universally-desired Rock Band has gone gold, and is currently being pumped out of factories at a whopping rate, ready for its release later this month.

The Rock Band Special Edition bundle for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 will hit stores in North America on November 20, with an SRP of $169.99. The crippled PlayStation 2 version will be ten bucks cheaper, and arrives on December 18.

Three new tracks have been confirmed to appear on the Rock Band disc, and all three are master recordings:

KISS - Detroit Rock City
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Dani California
Soundgarden - Black Hole Sun

This announcement brings the confirmed track list to 33 tracks, with just three being covers. This is sure to be a major point of difference in the coming fight with Guitar Hero III - too many of my favorite tracks that made it into Guitar Hero II were covers, some of them absolutely horrible.

I finally got my hands on Rock Band today at the Leipzig Games Convention, and must warn you in advance - I am now officially a gushing fanboy. Without even having seen all of what is on offer at GC, this is looking like sure-fire Game of the Show material. More video, and plenty of gushing after the break.

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Alex Rigopulos, CEO of Harmonix, announced more details for Rock Band today at the Leipzig Games Convention. Mirroring the strategy used by Sony for the upcoming Singstar PS3, Harmonix have chosen to “exhaustively localize” the music in the game - both the on-disc content and downloadable content.

In an unexpected, yet savvy move, the European release of Rock Band will also see a special PlayStation 2 version released to reach the massive audience of gamers who haven’t yet stepped up to the current generation of consoles.

Be sure to check out the ten new tracks that were also announced today.

Liked the idea of Rock Band’s full-album downloadable content, but The Who doesn’t float your boat? In one deal that’s sure to move a truckload of units, Harmonix have announced that Nirvana’s genre-defining album ‘Nevermind’ is set to hit Rock Band as a paid download.

There’s a rumored release date of November 6th, but Harmonix refuses to clarify anything in more detail than “Holiday 2007.”

via Joystiq