Rock Band
Encyclopedia
Rock Band is a music video game
developed by Harmonix Music Systems
, published by MTV Games and Electronic Arts. It is the first title in the Rock Band series
. The PlayStation 3
and Xbox 360
versions were released in the United States on November 20, 2007, while the PlayStation 2
version was released in the U.S. on December 18, 2007. The Wii version being released on June 22, 2008. The game was released in Canada for the PlayStation 3, Wii and Xbox 360 on December 22, 2007 and for the PlayStation 2 on January 2, 2008. It was released in parts of Europe on the PS3, 360 and Wii on May 23, 2008 while the PS2 version was released on September 22.
Rock Band allows up to four players to simulate the performance of popular rock music
songs by playing with controller
s modeled after musical instruments. Players can play the lead guitar
, bass guitar
, and drums
parts to songs with "instrument controllers", as well as sing through a USB microphone
. Players are scored on their ability to match scrolling musical "note
s" while playing instruments, or by their ability to match the singer's pitch on vocals. Players with the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions can interact through both online and offline multiplayer capabilities. In addition to the 58 core songs included on the game disc, over 1000 downloadable songs have been released for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions, with more added each week.
At launch, the game software was made available in a bundle that packaged it together with the instrument peripherals, as well as for purchase separately. Individual instrument peripherals were released at a later date. The game has received widespread critical acclaim, with sales of four million units and global revenues of $600 million. Players have also made 30 million downloadable song purchases since Rock Bands release. The game's success prompted the release of the sequels, Rock Band 2
, The Beatles: Rock Band
, Lego Rock Band
, Green Day: Rock Band
, and Rock Band 3
.
Reusing many gameplay elements from the Guitar Hero series
, Rock Band players use peripherals modeled after musical instruments to simulate the performance of rock music
. Players use these instruments by playing scrolling musical "notes" on-screen in time with the music. Rock Band expands upon the Guitar Hero series, in that it offers gameplay for drums and vocals, in addition to lead and bass guitar.
Rock Bands gameplay and on-screen interface uses a combination of elements from Guitar Hero and Karaoke Revolution
. Rock Band has up to three tracks of vertically scrolling colored music notes, one section each for lead guitar, drums, and bass. The colored notes on-screen correspond to buttons on the guitar and drum peripherals. For lead and bass guitar, players play their notes by holding down colored fret buttons on the guitar peripheral and pushing the controller's strum bar; for drums, players must strike the matching colored drumhead, or step on the pedal to simulate playing bass drum notes. Along the top of the screen is the vocals display, which scrolls horizontally, similar to Karaoke Revolution. The lyrics display beneath green bars, which represent the pitch of the individual vocal elements. When singing vocals, the player must sing in relative pitch
to the original vocals. A pitch indicator displays the singer's accuracy relative to the original pitch. The remainder of the screen is used to display the band's virtual characters as they perform in concert.
During cooperative play as a band, all players earn points towards a common score, though score multipliers and "Overdrive" are tracked separately for each player. Overdrive is collected during select portions of a song by successfully playing all white notes within that section (or by using the guitar controller's whammy bar
during white sustained notes). Once the Energy Meter is filled halfway, players can deploy their Overdrive, resulting in the "Band Meter" (which tracks how well each player is doing) changing more dramatically. This allows players to strategically use Overdrive to raise the Band Meter and pass portions of a song they otherwise might have failed. Overdrive can be used to activate score multipliers, which vary based on a player's note streak. Players can deploy Overdrive independently of each other, as well as collect additional Overdrive while it is deployed and draining.
Each band member can choose the difficulty at which they play (spanning Easy, Medium, Hard, and Expert). If a player does not play well enough and falls to the bottom of the Band Meter, they will fail out of the song and their instrument will be muted from the audio mix. However, any active player can activate their Overdrive to bring failed players back into the song, "saving" the band member. However, a band member can only be saved twice; after the third failure, they cannot be brought back for that song. Failed players continuously drag the band's Band Meter down until they are saved. If the player is not saved before the Band Meter reaches the bottom, the band fails the song. Players can earn Overdrive bonuses from "Unison Phrases" and extra points from a "Big Rock Ending."
Unlike the PlayStation 2 and Wii version, players with the Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 versions can create and customize their own in-game character, complete with adjustable hair, body physique, clothing, tattoo
s, onstage movements, and instruments. Each character is permanently locked into a specific instrument. Using cash earned within the game, the player may purchase items at the in-game "Rock Shop," with which they can customize their rock star. The game features an art maker where players can combine different clip art
elements to create custom face paint, tattoos, clothing designs, instrument artwork, and band logos.
The game features special Rock Band-branded guitar controllers modeled after the Fender Stratocaster
to be used for the lead and bass guitar gameplay. These are similar to the Guitar Hero controllers, as they feature five colored fret buttons on the neck, a strum bar, and a whammy bar. The Stratocaster controller has five additional fret buttons of smaller size located closer to the guitar's main body. These buttons can be used to play all notes in guitar solos (denoted by the note track turning blue) as hammer-on
s and pull-off
s, without the need to strum. Additionally, the controller features an effects pickup switch that can toggle between five different effects, which are applied in solos and when Overdrive is activated. Overdrive for guitarists can be deployed by holding the controller in a vertical position or pressing the "Select/Back" button. The controller is offered in both wired and wireless versions. Harmonix has confirmed most Guitar Hero guitar controllers and additional third-party controllers are compatible with the game. The Stratocaster controller is not compatible with Guitar Hero II or III.
The drum controller features four rubber drum pads and a kick pedal. The pads have colored rings around the edges that correspond to the notes on-screen, representing the snare drum
(red), hi-hat (yellow), tom-tom
(blue), and crash cymbal
(green). The kick pedal simulates the bass drum
, with on-screen notes represented as orange horizontal lines. A pair of authentic drum stick
s are included with the controller. Drummers can improvise in special "freestyle drum fill
" sections of songs, indicated by the columns for each note turning a solid color. Overdrive for drummers can be deployed by hitting the crash cymbal (green note for right-handed configuration) that appears directly after a freestyle drum fill. Harmonix representatives have suggested, "If you can play the drum parts on hard, you can pretty much play the drums [in reality]."
Rock Band' s USB
microphone instrument is similar to the model used in the Harmonix-developed Karaoke Revolution
games. For the most part, singers are judged on how closely they match the relative pitch
of the song's vocalist. During "talking parts" that do not judge pitch, a phoneme
detector will pick up individual vowels and consonants of the spoken lyrics. Some sections without vocals will display circle notes, allowing for the microphone to be used as a tambourine
and cowbell by tapping it or making vocal cues. Overdrive for singers can be deployed by singing in freestyle vocal sections of songs, denoted by yellow artwork in the background of the vocals interface.
"Band World Tour" is the game's primary multiplayer mode. It allows any combination of 2-4 local players to create a virtual band, play gigs, and tour a virtual representation of the world. Although online play is not supported for Band World Tour, players can use the "Band Quickplay" mode to play together as a band online. For the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of the game, Band World Tour mode lets bands play in 41 different venues spanning 17 cities, including Los Angeles
, Seattle
, Boston, New York
, London
, Sydney
, Stockholm
, and Rome
. After creating their band, characters, and logo, the players can begin playing concerts in small venues in their hometown until they unlock vans, tour buses and private jets, which unlock other cities and continents. Successful performances also earn the band fans, stars, and in-game cash. Most cities and larger venues require the band to achieve a certain number of fans and stars before they are unlocked. In-game venues are inspired by real-life venues and often display local art styles from each of the represented cities.
For the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions, rather than complete predetermined lists of songs (like in previous Guitar Hero games), players complete unique sets of activities at each venue. Performances consist of single songs, multiple song sets, "make your own" setlists, and mystery setlists. Players are also faced with decisions that Harmonix refers to as "risk-versus-reward." For certain performances, bands are faced with an optional challenge that requires the band to average a certain amount of stars for their gig in order to reap the rewards. Bands can also choose to perform a benefit concert (earning no in-game money but gaining more fans) or "sell-out
" (earning more in-game money but losing fans). Additionally, for certain gigs, bands can compete for band personnel, as well as a recording deal with a record label. The "Endless Setlist" provides players with all-day concert experience, as the setlist requires playing the entire game disc's setlist from start to finish.
The PlayStation 2 and Wii versions of Rock Band contain a more stripped-down version of the Band World Tour mode, as 2–4 local players will only be able to play by completing predetermined tiers of songs ordered by difficulty. Players cannot create their own characters, nor can they choose a city, venue, or a setlist to play.
' s "Face-off", in which players trade playing sections of a song to move a meter in their favor) and "Score Duel" (much like Guitar Hero II' s "Pro Face-off", in which each player plays the song in its entirety on the same difficulty level to earn points). These head-to-head modes are available both online (for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions) and locally. "Band Quickplay" mode allows bands to quickly play any song; the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions allow any combination of 2–4 local or online players to play as a band, while the PlayStation 2 and Wii versions only supports 2–4 local players. Also included in Rock Band are "Tutorial Mode", which allows players to learn how to play each instrument, and "Practice Mode", which allows players to practice songs for each instrument.
" by Red Hot Chili Peppers
, "(Don't Fear) The Reaper
" by Blue Öyster Cult
, "Enter Sandman
" by Metallica
, "Here It Goes Again
" by OK Go
, "Highway Star" by Deep Purple
, "Learn to Fly
" by Foo Fighters
, "Suffragette City
" by David Bowie
, "Wanted Dead or Alive
" by Bon Jovi
, and "Won't Get Fooled Again
" by The Who
. All but three songs on the Rock Band disc can be transferred to the user's hard drive on the Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 to be used for Rock Band 2
. Furthermore, an extra two songs from Rock Band cannot be carried over into Rock Band 3.
Harmonix co-founder Alex Rigopulos commented that the game's soundtrack would be "covering a great breadth, from metal to classic rock to Southern rock to everything in between." Five record label
s agreed to supply most of the master recordings by their artists for use in the game, including EMI
Music, Hollywood Records
, Sony BMG Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group
's Universal Music Enterprises, and Warner Music Group
's Rhino Entertainment
.
As both the PlayStation 2 and Wii version lack downloadable content, Harmonix is releasing a series of "Track Pack" standalone games that are sold in retail stores. Each volume contains several of the tracks available as downloadable content for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Track Pack Vol. 2 saw an expanded release on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, as well. One Track Pack, exclusively featuring the songs of AC/DC
's 1991 Live at Donington
concert, was released in November 2008.
, while RedOctane
manufactured the peripherals and owned the rights to the series. However, in June 2006, RedOctane was bought by Activision
, while in September 2006, Harmonix was purchased by MTV Networks
. As a result of the two purchases, Harmonix would no longer be able to develop future Guitar Hero games. Instead, Neversoft
, a subsidiary of Activision, would take over development; the company released Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock
on October 28, 2007. According to "The Business", the game cost $200 million to develop. Harmonix's Vice President of Product Development, Greg LoPiccolo, stated that the game took about twenty months to develop, already having envisioned the possibility of different instruments before they were completed with the Guitar Hero series.
In selecting the soundtrack for Rock Band, the developers recognized that they needed to select songs that were recognizable, particularly on vocals; in contrast, when they were selecting songs for Guitar Hero, they were able to pick songs that played better even if they were less recognizable. They also consider songs that would help players come together socially, such as in The Who
's "Won't Get Fooled Again
", where they retained the long synthesizer solo such that the band members would all start playing again after it for a big finish. The team were able to introduce songs from smaller artists that they felt were good additions, such as "Maps" by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs
and "Electric Version" by the New Pornographers to help also introduce players to those classes of music. For about half the songs, they hired a studio to sing along to the lyrics as a crowd would at a stadium, such that during the game, when players are performing well, the additional crowd sing-alongs would add to the performance experience.
Current Harmonix parent company MTV provided financial support to the development process, taking advantage of its stature to facilitate deals with record companies for licensing rights to songs. Several record companies pledged their support by offering master recording
s. Pressed for office space, Harmonix was forced to move its offices in the middle of Rock Band' s beta period in order to support the company's 130-person staff. However, they continued to bring on more developers in order to complete the title on time. This led to several problems in bringing the newer coders on board without any technical plan, requiring the team to redesign several parts of the game, such as online matchmaking, several times to correct. Although the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of the game were developed in-house, Harmonix outsourced development of the PlayStation 2 version to Pi Studios
, as it omits certain features.
Harmonix faced difficulty in making the Xbox 360 guitar wireless, as developers are charged a licensing fee to use Microsoft's wireless technology. Had Harmonix chosen to pay the fee, the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 bundles of Rock Band would have sold at different price points. Instead, Harmonix elected to choose a wired technology for the Xbox 360 bundle's guitar.
Rock Band was first announced on April 1, 2007. Harmonix CEO Alex Rigopulos said in the announcement that Rock Band "takes the core premise of Guitar Hero and expands it tenfold. It lets you create a complete collaborative band." Rock Band was a featured game at the 2007 E3 convention and provided one of the exhibition's highlights; Harmonix employees and Microsoft executive Peter Moore played the game on-stage, performing The Hives
' "Main Offender". Moore paused the game twice when he accidentally hit the guitar's Xbox Guide button.
A software update was released on March 21, 2008, which added new features to the game. The update included an in-game music store with preview and sorting options, revised microphone performance, and faster downloadable content loading.
in a "battle of the bands." The promotional tour commenced with a featured showcase at the MTV Video Music Awards
in Las Vegas
on September 9, 2007.
MTV will be investing in additional promotions that total about $30 million. The game will be set up within the homes of The Real World
participants, allowing for on-air visibility. VH1
also produced a brief spoof documentary in the style of Behind the Music
titled "Rock Band Cometh: The Rock Band Band Story," documenting a fictional band that plays the game.
The game has also appeared in demo kiosks
at Best Buy
, Wal-Mart
, and Sam's Club
stores. The demo contains 15 songs and supports gameplay for all 4 instruments (although the actual in-store setup varies). The demo's drum set lacks a bass pedal, with the game automatically playing bass drum notes.
Other companies have also helped to promote Rock Band through free and reduced cost downloadable content. Best Buy
offered two free downloadable tracks by the band Disturbed for customers that pre-ordered their Indestructible
album online; these tracks were made available to all users in June 2008 for $.99/80MSP. McDonald's
sponsored a month-long program that reduced the cost of two selected downloadable tracks to $1 (approximately half the standard cost) for each week during the month of May 2008 as part of their Dollar Menu promotion.
The United Kingdom release of the game took place in London
, where a number of bands including The Automatic
, The Whip
, and The Courteeners performed short sets.
was only included in the Xbox 360, Wii, and PlayStation 2 bundles, in order to increase the number of available USB ports on the console. The more recent PlayStation 3 bundles now include a USB hub, with a sticker on the box indicating so. MTV originally announced Rock Band would be released for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on November 23, 2007, Black Friday
, one of the busiest shopping days in the United States. However, the release date was eventually moved to November 20, 2007.
The game software was made available for purchase individually at the game's launch, allowing players with a USB microphone or a compatible guitar controller to take advantage of the vocals, lead guitar, and bass guitar gameplay. Individual Rock Band-branded instruments became available in retail stores later, starting with the drum kit on February 12, 2008. An individual wireless guitar became available on April 8, 2008.
On April 8, 2008, EA announced a timed Xbox 360 exclusive for a partial European launch, with other versions to follow later in the summer.
Upon release, many players reported hardware issues with Rock Band peripherals. Many complaints stemmed from the bass drum pedal snapping in two, the Stratocaster controller's strum bar being unresponsive, and it occasionally lagging when tilted to activate Overdrive. In response to these issues, Harmonix admitted the guitars bundled with initial shipment of the game bundles were subject to manufacturing issues and has stated that they will replace all faulty peripherals. Players affected by faulty peripherals can take advantage of the 60 day warranty on the peripherals and obtain replacements from EA. However, a class action lawsuit has been issued against Harmonix, MTV Games, Viacom, and Electronic Arts over the failures of the bass drum pedal, claiming the companies conspired to force consumers to pay for repairs or upgrade to the Rock Band 2 drum kit. Attempts were made to settle the lawsuit in 2008, but were unsuccessful. In September 2009, the original plaintiff dropped the lawsuit.
Other players discovered at the game's launch that the Gibson Les Paul
guitar controller bundled with the PlayStation 3 version of Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock
was initially not compatible with the PlayStation 3 version of Rock Band, despite Harmonix stating that any controllers that followed the open-controller standard would work. While this incompatibility could have been resolved through technical solutions, both Harmonix and Activision cited the other party as being at fault for failing to correct the incompatibility. Harmonix developed a patch to fix the issue, but it was blocked by Activision. Activision stated that MTV Games was unwilling to reach an agreement to pay Activision to use the Guitar Hero III technology in Rock Band. This incompatibility also applies to the Wii's Les Paul peripheral. However, a patch for the PlayStation 3 version of Rock Band, released on September 11, 2008, allows the Guitar Hero III Les Paul controller to work with Rock Band. Nyko
has released a PlayStation 3 version of their "Frontman" guitar controller that is compatible with both Guitar Hero III and Rock Band.
At a press conference at the 2008 E3 convention, Activision confirmed that the Xbox 360 version of Guitar Hero World Tour
will be able to use Rock Bands instruments, adapting the note tracks to account for the smaller number of drum pads, and that this compatibility was patched into Guitar Hero: Aerosmith as a result of additional arrangements. Specific details between Harmonix and Activision's resolution to allow this have not yet been made.
Prior to release, EA CEO John Riccitielo remarked that the company would not be able to meet the high demand for Rock Band in the 2007 holiday season, stating, "We're not going to be able to put enough inventory to meet demand in North America or Europe this calendar year or this fiscal [year]." This prompted many retailers to limit the number of preorders they sold before the game was released.
Official Xbox Magazine
published the first review of Rock Band, scoring the Xbox 360 version a 9.5/10 and calling it "gaming's most intensely rewarding co-op experience." OXM also commented that the game's "payoff isn't visceral or technical; it's emotional." IGN
awarded the game a 9.4/10 score and an Editor's Choice Award for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions. IGN largely praised the game, calling it "one of the must-have games of the year" and suggesting it "may just be among the best party games ever released." 1UP.com
gave the next-generation versions of the game an A, stating that "Rock Band unquestionably, unequivocally rocks." GameSpot
rated the next-generation versions of the game a 9.0/10, calling Rock Band "one of the best party games of all time." They also gave the game their Editor's Choice award. The Xbox 360 version of Rock Band has an average critic score of 92%, according to Metacritic
, tying it for the 11th highest scored Xbox 360 game to date, as of October 2008. Similarly, the PlayStation 3 version of Rock Band has an average critic score of 92% on Metacritic, making it the 7th highest scored PlayStation 3 game to date, as of November 2008.
Most critics have commended the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of Rock Band for the game's group gameplay, the depth of Band World Tour mode, and the introduction of a drum peripheral. Common complaints about the game focus on the different feel of the packaged Fender Stratocaster controller, as well as the game's Solo Tour modes not being as enjoyable as the multiplayer offerings. IGN's video review lamented the lack of a single player Band World Tour mode.
The PlayStation 2 version of the game was well received, but was subject to criticism for the omission of the character customization features, as well as the stripped-down Band World Tour mode. GameSpot rated it an 8.0/10, stating that "Rock Band is still a lot of fun on the PS2—it's just nowhere near the ideal version of the experience." IGN.com rated it an 8.4/10, noting that the removed features made the game feel like a "lessened" version, but that the game still "succeeds because it's infinitely fun to play with your friends."
Reviews for the Wii version of Rock Band also criticize the lack of features compared to the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions. The Wii version is basically the same as its PlayStation 2 counterpart, but IGN criticized it for its late release and their effort in completing a full game. However, IGN notes that the drum controller is an improvement over the original version, stating, "The pads are quieter and the kick pedal will withstand more abuse."
to become the fifth largest video game publisher in the United States, although analysts estimate that Viacom is only breaking even on sales of the game. In a March 2011 list, the NPD Group listed Rock Band as the 5th highest grossing video game in the United States since 1995, earning $670.7 million in revenue.
As of December 2008, over 30 million downloadable songs purchases have been made from the Rock Band music store. Viacom estimates that it is averaging the sale of 1 million downloadable songs every 9 days. Sales of songs have been in favor of hard rock bands; Mötley Crüe
s single "Saints of Los Angeles", debuting as a Rock Band track at the same time as the release of the album of the same name, saw 48,000 Rock Band downloads and 14,000 iTunes
downloads during its first week of release. The popularity of some tracks have also led to groups considering releasing more material for the game. Rush
s alternate version of "Working Man
" released only for Rock Band was met with so much praise from players of Rock Band that the group released the song for download through iTunes
, as well as considered making full albums available, which they went on to do for their 1981 album Moving Pictures
, released for the game two months later.
After its release, Rock Band won dozens of awards covering game releases from 2007. The game won seven awards from IGN's "Best of 2007," receiving honors for "Best Music Game" for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, "Best Local Multiplayer Game" for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, "Best Downloadable Content" for the PlayStation 3, and "Best Console Peripheral," as well as overall awards for "Best Music Game," "Best Licensed Soundtrack," and "Best Local Multiplayer Game." GameSpot awarded Rock Band five awards in its "Best of 2007," recognizing the game for "Best Rhythm/Music Game," "Best New Gaming Hardware," "Best Downloadable Content," "Best Sound Design," and "Best Multiplayer Game." Wired
, Official Xbox Magazine, and Ars Technica
all named Rock Band the "Game of the Year," while Next Generation Magazine
named it the second-best game of 2007. GamePro
honored Rock Band with the "Innovation Award" for four-person cooperative play, as well as the selection of "Best Party Game" of 2007. GameSpy
also recognized the game as the "Music Game of the Year" on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Additionally, Rock Band was awarded "Best Multiplayer Experience (console)" by 1UP.com. The game won two awards at the 2007 Spike Video Game Awards, receiving honors for "Best Rhythm Game" and "Best Soundtrack," while the game's developer, Harmonix, won "Studio of the Year." The game also won an award for "Best Multiplayer Game" in the X-Play
Best of 2007 Awards. The Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences awarded Rock Band with honors for three of the eight categories in which it was nominated; the game won awards for "Family Game of the Year", "Outstanding Achievement in Soundtrack", and "Outstanding Innovation in Gaming". Rock Band was named "Best Party Game" of the year from Game Informer Magazine. The game has also been called the best rhythm game of all time by GameTap
.
, Rock Band has had a significant impact on culture. Alex Rigopulos
and Eran Egozy
, the founders of Harmonix, were together named in Time Magazines list of the 100 most influential people
of 2008 for their creation of Rock Band. In the article, guitarist Steven Van Zandt
claims, "in the history of rock 'n' roll
, Rock Band may just turn out to be up there with the rise of FM radio, CDs
, or MTV
."
, with other platform releases following later in the year. Original instruments from Rock Band are compatible with Rock Band 2, which features new instruments that been described as quieter and more reliable. Furthermore, both existing and any forthcoming downloadable content will be cross-compatible between Rock Band and Rock Band 2. Rock Band 2 saw enhancements to the existing Band World Tour mode, as well as inclusions of new "Drum Trainer" and "Battle of the Bands" modes. 55 of the 58 Rock Band songs can be exported for use in Rock Band 2, with the purchase of a $5 export key.
for violation of the 1999 , which Gibson claims covers technology that simulates a concert performance via pre-recorded audio and a musical instrument; this follows similar action that Gibson has taken against the Guitar Hero series, which was later settled out of court. The Gibson-Harmonix case was put on hold shortly after its filing to allow the United States Patent and Trademark Office
to open a re-examination of the 405 patent. On subsequent review, the 405 patent was modified to more exactly define the type of musical instrument that the patent covers, as the original language had conflicted with . Due to the change in language, Harmonix is seeking to have the case go forward and request a summary judgement, believing that the new language of 405 does not include the Rock Band controllers. In mid 2010, the case was settled between all parties under non-disclosed terms.
On July 10, 2008, Konami
filed a separate lawsuit against Harmonix, Viacom
, and MTV attempting to block the sale of Rock Band, over infringement of their patents on a "musical-rhythm matching game" issued in 2002 and 2003, including . An MTV spokesperson expressed that the lawsuit was "extremely surprising" and that they intend to defend themselves against the suit. On December 2, 2008, Viacom issued a countersuit against Konami, claiming that Rock Band significantly improves on Konami's original patent, and that their Rock Revolution
game uses controllers that are similar to Rock Band. Both suits were settled for undisclosed terms in September 2010.
Music video game
A music video game, also commonly known as a music game, is a video game where the gameplay is meaningfully and often almost entirely oriented around the player's interactions with a musical score or individual songs...
developed by Harmonix Music Systems
Harmonix Music Systems
Harmonix Music Systems is an American video game development company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts in the United States...
, published by MTV Games and Electronic Arts. It is the first title in the Rock Band series
Rock Band
Rock Band is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems, published by MTV Games and Electronic Arts. It is the first title in the Rock Band series. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions were released in the United States on November 20, 2007, while the PlayStation 2 version was...
. The PlayStation 3
PlayStation 3
The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
and Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
versions were released in the United States on November 20, 2007, while the PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
version was released in the U.S. on December 18, 2007. The Wii version being released on June 22, 2008. The game was released in Canada for the PlayStation 3, Wii and Xbox 360 on December 22, 2007 and for the PlayStation 2 on January 2, 2008. It was released in parts of Europe on the PS3, 360 and Wii on May 23, 2008 while the PS2 version was released on September 22.
Rock Band allows up to four players to simulate the performance of popular rock music
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
songs by playing with controller
Game controller
A game controller is a device used with games or entertainment systems used to control a playable character or object, or otherwise provide input in a computer game. A controller is typically connected to a game console or computer by means of a wire, cord or nowadays, by means of wireless connection...
s modeled after musical instruments. Players can play the lead guitar
Lead guitar
Lead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...
, bass guitar
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, and drums
Drum kit
A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
parts to songs with "instrument controllers", as well as sing through a USB microphone
Microphone
A microphone is an acoustic-to-electric transducer or sensor that converts sound into an electrical signal. In 1877, Emile Berliner invented the first microphone used as a telephone voice transmitter...
. Players are scored on their ability to match scrolling musical "note
Note
In music, the term note has two primary meanings:#A sign used in musical notation to represent the relative duration and pitch of a sound;#A pitched sound itself....
s" while playing instruments, or by their ability to match the singer's pitch on vocals. Players with the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions can interact through both online and offline multiplayer capabilities. In addition to the 58 core songs included on the game disc, over 1000 downloadable songs have been released for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions, with more added each week.
At launch, the game software was made available in a bundle that packaged it together with the instrument peripherals, as well as for purchase separately. Individual instrument peripherals were released at a later date. The game has received widespread critical acclaim, with sales of four million units and global revenues of $600 million. Players have also made 30 million downloadable song purchases since Rock Bands release. The game's success prompted the release of the sequels, Rock Band 2
Rock Band 2
Rock Band 2 is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems. It is the sequel to Rock Band and is the second title in the series. The game allows up to four players to simulate the performance of popular songs by playing with controllers modeled after musical instruments...
, The Beatles: Rock Band
The Beatles: Rock Band
The Beatles: Rock Band is a 2009 music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems, published by MTV Games, and distributed by Electronic Arts. It is the third major console release in the Rock Band music video game series, in which players can simulate the playing of rock music by using...
, Lego Rock Band
Lego Rock Band
Lego Rock Band is a music video game and part of the Rock Band series developed by Harmonix Music Systems, but also incorporates elements from other Lego video games as developed by Traveller's Tales. The game is published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and MTV Games...
, Green Day: Rock Band
Green Day: Rock Band
Green Day: Rock Band is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems, published by MTV Games and distributed by Electronic Arts. It is the fifth major console release in the Rock Band music video game series and, like other games in the series, it allows players to simulate the playing of...
, and Rock Band 3
Rock Band 3
Rock Band 3 is a music video game, developed by Harmonix Music Systems. The game was initially published and distributed by MTV Games and Electronic Arts, respectively, with Mad Catz taking over both roles a year later. It is the third main game in the Rock Band series...
.
Gameplay
Guitar Hero
Guitar Hero is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems and published by RedOctane for the PlayStation 2 video game console. It is the first entry in the Guitar Hero series. Guitar Hero was released on November 8, 2005 in North America, April 7, 2006 in Europe and June 15, 2006 in...
, Rock Band players use peripherals modeled after musical instruments to simulate the performance of rock music
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
. Players use these instruments by playing scrolling musical "notes" on-screen in time with the music. Rock Band expands upon the Guitar Hero series, in that it offers gameplay for drums and vocals, in addition to lead and bass guitar.
Rock Bands gameplay and on-screen interface uses a combination of elements from Guitar Hero and Karaoke Revolution
Karaoke Revolution
Karaoke Revolution and its many sequels are video games for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Nintendo GameCube, Wii, Xbox, and Xbox 360, developed by Harmonix Music Systems and Blitz Games and published by Konami in its Bemani line of music games. The Original Concept for Karaoke Revolution was...
. Rock Band has up to three tracks of vertically scrolling colored music notes, one section each for lead guitar, drums, and bass. The colored notes on-screen correspond to buttons on the guitar and drum peripherals. For lead and bass guitar, players play their notes by holding down colored fret buttons on the guitar peripheral and pushing the controller's strum bar; for drums, players must strike the matching colored drumhead, or step on the pedal to simulate playing bass drum notes. Along the top of the screen is the vocals display, which scrolls horizontally, similar to Karaoke Revolution. The lyrics display beneath green bars, which represent the pitch of the individual vocal elements. When singing vocals, the player must sing in relative pitch
Relative pitch
The term relative pitch may denote:* the distance of a musical note from a set point of reference, e.g. "three octaves above middle C"* a musician's ability to identify the intervals between given tones, regardless of their relation to concert pitch * the skill used by singers to correctly sing a...
to the original vocals. A pitch indicator displays the singer's accuracy relative to the original pitch. The remainder of the screen is used to display the band's virtual characters as they perform in concert.
During cooperative play as a band, all players earn points towards a common score, though score multipliers and "Overdrive" are tracked separately for each player. Overdrive is collected during select portions of a song by successfully playing all white notes within that section (or by using the guitar controller's whammy bar
Tremolo arm
A whammy bar, tremolo arm/bar, or vibrato arm/bar is a component of a guitar, used to add vibrato to the sound by changing the tension of the strings, typically at the bridge or tailpiece...
during white sustained notes). Once the Energy Meter is filled halfway, players can deploy their Overdrive, resulting in the "Band Meter" (which tracks how well each player is doing) changing more dramatically. This allows players to strategically use Overdrive to raise the Band Meter and pass portions of a song they otherwise might have failed. Overdrive can be used to activate score multipliers, which vary based on a player's note streak. Players can deploy Overdrive independently of each other, as well as collect additional Overdrive while it is deployed and draining.
Each band member can choose the difficulty at which they play (spanning Easy, Medium, Hard, and Expert). If a player does not play well enough and falls to the bottom of the Band Meter, they will fail out of the song and their instrument will be muted from the audio mix. However, any active player can activate their Overdrive to bring failed players back into the song, "saving" the band member. However, a band member can only be saved twice; after the third failure, they cannot be brought back for that song. Failed players continuously drag the band's Band Meter down until they are saved. If the player is not saved before the Band Meter reaches the bottom, the band fails the song. Players can earn Overdrive bonuses from "Unison Phrases" and extra points from a "Big Rock Ending."
Unlike the PlayStation 2 and Wii version, players with the Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 versions can create and customize their own in-game character, complete with adjustable hair, body physique, clothing, tattoo
Tattoo
A tattoo is made by inserting indelible ink into the dermis layer of the skin to change the pigment. Tattoos on humans are a type of body modification, and tattoos on other animals are most commonly used for identification purposes...
s, onstage movements, and instruments. Each character is permanently locked into a specific instrument. Using cash earned within the game, the player may purchase items at the in-game "Rock Shop," with which they can customize their rock star. The game features an art maker where players can combine different clip art
Clip art
Clip art, in the graphic arts, refers to pre-made images used to illustrate any medium. Today, clip art is used extensively in both personal and commercial projects, ranging from home-printed greeting cards to commercial candles. Clip art comes in many forms, both electronic and printed. However,...
elements to create custom face paint, tattoos, clothing designs, instrument artwork, and band logos.
Instrument peripherals
Fender Stratocaster
The Fender Stratocaster, often referred to as "Strat", is a model of electric guitar designed by Leo Fender, George Fullerton, and Freddie Tavares in 1954, and manufactured continuously by the Fender Musical Instruments Corporation to the present. It is a double-cutaway guitar, with an extended top...
to be used for the lead and bass guitar gameplay. These are similar to the Guitar Hero controllers, as they feature five colored fret buttons on the neck, a strum bar, and a whammy bar. The Stratocaster controller has five additional fret buttons of smaller size located closer to the guitar's main body. These buttons can be used to play all notes in guitar solos (denoted by the note track turning blue) as hammer-on
Hammer-on
Hammer-on is a stringed instrument playing technique performed by sharply bringing a fretting-hand finger down on the fingerboard behind a fret, causing a note to sound. This technique is the opposite of the pull-off...
s and pull-off
Pull-off
A pull-off is a stringed instrument technique performed by plucking a string by "pulling" the string off the fingerboard with one of the fingers being used to fret the note.-Performance and effect:...
s, without the need to strum. Additionally, the controller features an effects pickup switch that can toggle between five different effects, which are applied in solos and when Overdrive is activated. Overdrive for guitarists can be deployed by holding the controller in a vertical position or pressing the "Select/Back" button. The controller is offered in both wired and wireless versions. Harmonix has confirmed most Guitar Hero guitar controllers and additional third-party controllers are compatible with the game. The Stratocaster controller is not compatible with Guitar Hero II or III.
Snare drum
The snare drum or side drum is a melodic percussion instrument with strands of snares made of curled metal wire, metal cable, plastic cable, or gut cords stretched across the drumhead, typically the bottom. Pipe and tabor and some military snare drums often have a second set of snares on the bottom...
(red), hi-hat (yellow), tom-tom
Tom-tom drum
A tom-tom drum is a cylindrical drum with no snare.Although "tom-tom" is the British term for a child's toy drum, the name came originally from the Anglo-Indian and Sinhala; the tom-tom itself comes from Asian or Native American cultures...
(blue), and crash cymbal
Crash cymbal
A crash cymbal is a type of cymbal that produces a loud, sharp "crash" and is used mainly for occasional accents, as opposed to in ostinato. The term "crash" may have been first used by Zildjian in 1928....
(green). The kick pedal simulates the bass drum
Bass drum
Bass drums are percussion instruments that can vary in size and are used in several musical genres. Three major types of bass drums can be distinguished. The type usually seen or heard in orchestral, ensemble or concert band music is the orchestral, or concert bass drum . It is the largest drum of...
, with on-screen notes represented as orange horizontal lines. A pair of authentic drum stick
Drum stick
A percussion mallet is an object used to beat drums and other percussion instruments. Some specialized mallets are called beaters, drumsticks.Note: See Rute .-Drum sticks:...
s are included with the controller. Drummers can improvise in special "freestyle drum fill
Fill (music)
In popular music, a fill is a short musical passage, riff, or rhythmic sound which helps to sustain the listener's attention during a break between the phrases of a melody....
" sections of songs, indicated by the columns for each note turning a solid color. Overdrive for drummers can be deployed by hitting the crash cymbal (green note for right-handed configuration) that appears directly after a freestyle drum fill. Harmonix representatives have suggested, "If you can play the drum parts on hard, you can pretty much play the drums [in reality]."
Rock Band
Universal Serial Bus
USB is an industry standard developed in the mid-1990s that defines the cables, connectors and protocols used in a bus for connection, communication and power supply between computers and electronic devices....
microphone instrument is similar to the model used in the Harmonix-developed Karaoke Revolution
Karaoke Revolution
Karaoke Revolution and its many sequels are video games for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Nintendo GameCube, Wii, Xbox, and Xbox 360, developed by Harmonix Music Systems and Blitz Games and published by Konami in its Bemani line of music games. The Original Concept for Karaoke Revolution was...
games. For the most part, singers are judged on how closely they match the relative pitch
Relative pitch
The term relative pitch may denote:* the distance of a musical note from a set point of reference, e.g. "three octaves above middle C"* a musician's ability to identify the intervals between given tones, regardless of their relation to concert pitch * the skill used by singers to correctly sing a...
of the song's vocalist. During "talking parts" that do not judge pitch, a phoneme
Phoneme
In a language or dialect, a phoneme is the smallest segmental unit of sound employed to form meaningful contrasts between utterances....
detector will pick up individual vowels and consonants of the spoken lyrics. Some sections without vocals will display circle notes, allowing for the microphone to be used as a tambourine
Tambourine
The tambourine or marine is a musical instrument of the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zils". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, though some variants may not have a head at all....
and cowbell by tapping it or making vocal cues. Overdrive for singers can be deployed by singing in freestyle vocal sections of songs, denoted by yellow artwork in the background of the vocals interface.
Band World Tour mode
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, Seattle
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
, Boston, New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
, and Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
. After creating their band, characters, and logo, the players can begin playing concerts in small venues in their hometown until they unlock vans, tour buses and private jets, which unlock other cities and continents. Successful performances also earn the band fans, stars, and in-game cash. Most cities and larger venues require the band to achieve a certain number of fans and stars before they are unlocked. In-game venues are inspired by real-life venues and often display local art styles from each of the represented cities.
For the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions, rather than complete predetermined lists of songs (like in previous Guitar Hero games), players complete unique sets of activities at each venue. Performances consist of single songs, multiple song sets, "make your own" setlists, and mystery setlists. Players are also faced with decisions that Harmonix refers to as "risk-versus-reward." For certain performances, bands are faced with an optional challenge that requires the band to average a certain amount of stars for their gig in order to reap the rewards. Bands can also choose to perform a benefit concert (earning no in-game money but gaining more fans) or "sell-out
Selling out
"Selling out" is the compromising of integrity, morality, or principles in exchange for money or "success" . It is commonly associated with attempts to tailor material to a mainstream audience...
" (earning more in-game money but losing fans). Additionally, for certain gigs, bands can compete for band personnel, as well as a recording deal with a record label. The "Endless Setlist" provides players with all-day concert experience, as the setlist requires playing the entire game disc's setlist from start to finish.
The PlayStation 2 and Wii versions of Rock Band contain a more stripped-down version of the Band World Tour mode, as 2–4 local players will only be able to play by completing predetermined tiers of songs ordered by difficulty. Players cannot create their own characters, nor can they choose a city, venue, or a setlist to play.
Solo Tour modes
"Solo Tour" is a single-player mode offered for the lead guitar, drum, and microphone peripherals (there is no support for bass). Rather than feature the open-ended gameplay and features of the next-generation versions of Band World Tour mode, Solo Tour is structured much in the same vein as the career mode in Guitar Hero games. Players choose/create their character (on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions only) and complete predetermined sets of songs ordered by difficulty, with each instrument's setlist ordered differently. By completing these sets of songs, additional songs are unlocked for play across all game modes. For the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions, players can use money earned for each performance to purchase merchandise at the "Rock Shop". The character's cash carries over into Band World Tour mode, and vice versa.Other modes
Players can quickly play any song on any instrument individually in "Solo Quickplay". For a competitive experience, players can individually compete against each other for each instrument type in the "Tug of War" (much like Guitar HeroSoundtrack
All versions of Rock Band feature the same core 58 playable tracks on the game disc; 45 of these are featured tracks in the main setlist, while the other 13 tracks are "bonus songs" by independent or lesser-known bands, as well as bands made up of Harmonix employees. In total, 51 of the 58 songs are master recordings. The Wii version of the game features 5 additional songs. Featured tracks include "Dani CaliforniaDani California
"Dani California" is a single from the American rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers's ninth studio album, Stadium Arcadium. The single was first made available at the iTunes Music Store and then was officially released on May 2, 2006...
" by Red Hot Chili Peppers
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Red Hot Chili Peppers is an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles in 1983. The group's musical style primarily consists of rock with an emphasis on funk, as well as elements from other genres such as punk, hip hop and psychedelic rock...
, "(Don't Fear) The Reaper
(Don't Fear) The Reaper
" The Reaper" is a song by the rock band Blue Öyster Cult from their 1976 album, Agents of Fortune. It was written and sung by the band's lead guitarist, Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser and was produced by David Lucas, Murray Krugman, and Sandy Pearlman. It is built around Dharma's guitar riff that...
" by Blue Öyster Cult
Blue Öyster Cult
Blue Öyster Cult, often abbreviated BÖC, is an American rock band, most of whose members first came together in Long Island, NY in 1967 as the band Soft White Underbelly...
, "Enter Sandman
Enter Sandman
"Enter Sandman" is a 1991 song by the American heavy metal band Metallica. It was released as the first single from their eponymous fifth album, Metallica. The music was written by Kirk Hammett, James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich...
" by Metallica
Metallica
Metallica is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1981 when James Hetfield responded to an advertisement that drummer Lars Ulrich had posted in a local newspaper. The current line-up features long-time lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo ...
, "Here It Goes Again
Here It Goes Again
"Here It Goes Again" is an alternative rock/power pop song by OK Go, and is the third released single from the album Oh No. It also appears on the compilation album Now 23. It remains the band's only single to chart on the Billboard Hot 100, where it entered the Top 40 at #38, mostly due to the...
" by OK Go
OK Go
OK Go is a rock band originally from Chicago, Illinois, USA, now residing in Los Angeles, California, USA. The band is composed of Damian Kulash , Tim Nordwind , Dan Konopka and Andy Ross , who joined them in 2005, replacing Andy Duncan...
, "Highway Star" by Deep Purple
Deep Purple
Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in Hertford in 1968. Along with Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, they are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal and modern hard rock, although some band members believe that their music cannot be categorised as belonging to any one genre...
, "Learn to Fly
Learn to Fly
For other results, see Learning to fly."Learn to Fly" is the first single from the Foo Fighters' third album There Is Nothing Left to Lose. It was released on two different singles in the UK in 1999...
" by Foo Fighters
Foo Fighters
Foo Fighters is an American alternative rock band originally formed in 1994 by Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl as a one-man project following the dissolution of his previous band. The band got its name from the UFOs and various aerial phenomena that were reported by Allied aircraft pilots in World War...
, "Suffragette City
Suffragette City
“Suffragette City” is a song by David Bowie. Originally from the 1972 The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars album, it was later issued as a single in 1976 to promote the Changesonebowie compilation in the UK, with the US single edit of “Stay” on the B-side...
" by David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
, "Wanted Dead or Alive
Wanted Dead or Alive (Bon Jovi song)
-Music Video:The video for the song is black and white and features footage from the band's massive 1986-1987 world tour, including shots from Chicago's UIC Pavilion, Rochester, Minnesota's Mayo Civic Center, Denver, Colorado's McNichols Arena, Pittsburgh, PA F. Pitt Tunnel and Pittsburgh Skyline...
" by Bon Jovi
Bon Jovi
Bon Jovi is an American rock band from Sayreville, New Jersey. Formed in 1983, Bon Jovi consists of lead singer and namesake Jon Bon Jovi , guitarist Richie Sambora, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, as well as current bassist Hugh McDonald...
, and "Won't Get Fooled Again
Won't Get Fooled Again
"Won't Get Fooled Again" is a song by the rock band The Who which was written by Pete Townshend The original version of the song appears as the final track on the album Who's Next...
" by The Who
The Who
The Who are an English rock band formed in 1964 by Roger Daltrey , Pete Townshend , John Entwistle and Keith Moon . They became known for energetic live performances which often included instrument destruction...
. All but three songs on the Rock Band disc can be transferred to the user's hard drive on the Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 to be used for Rock Band 2
Rock Band 2
Rock Band 2 is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems. It is the sequel to Rock Band and is the second title in the series. The game allows up to four players to simulate the performance of popular songs by playing with controllers modeled after musical instruments...
. Furthermore, an extra two songs from Rock Band cannot be carried over into Rock Band 3.
Harmonix co-founder Alex Rigopulos commented that the game's soundtrack would be "covering a great breadth, from metal to classic rock to Southern rock to everything in between." Five record label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
s agreed to supply most of the master recordings by their artists for use in the game, including EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
Music, Hollywood Records
Hollywood Records
Hollywood Records is an American record label owned by Disney Music Group, a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Company.-History:Hollywood Records was founded in 1989 by then-Disney CEO Michael Eisner with the idea of expanding the music operations of the company and to develop and promote...
, Sony BMG Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group is an American music group, the largest of the "big four" record companies by its commanding market share and its multitude of global operations...
's Universal Music Enterprises, and Warner Music Group
Warner Music Group
Warner Music Group is the third largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry, making it one of the big four record companies...
's Rhino Entertainment
Rhino Entertainment
Rhino Entertainment Company is an American specialty record label and production company. It is owned by Warner Music Group.-History:Rhino was originally a novelty song and reissue company during the 1970s and 1980s, releasing compilation albums of pop, rock & roll, and rhythm & blues successes...
.
Downloadable songs and Track Packs
The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions of the game support downloadable songs. Users can download songs on a track-by-track basis, with many of the tracks digitally bundled together in "song packs" or complete albums at a discounted rate. Harmonix has likened the Rock Band game to a new platform for future music releases, and the company built the library of downloadable content up to hundreds of songs within the first year of the game's release by releasing new content on a weekly basis. Fifteen songs were made available at the game's launch date. To date, over 1,480 downloadable songs are available and over 30 million song purchases have been made by players. Downloadable songs are playable within every game mode, including the Band World Tour career mode. All downloadable songs released before Rock Band 3 came out are cross-compatible between Rock Band and Rock Band 2. Downloadable albums have been a major selling point for the game, with nine albums having been released to date. Currently, most song packs containing three songs are priced at $5.49/440 Microsoft Points, while most individual songs are available for the standard price of $1.99/160 MSP. Occasionally, certain songs are initially priced at $0.99/80 MSP for a limited time. The prices for albums differ, depending on the amount of songs the album contains.As both the PlayStation 2 and Wii version lack downloadable content, Harmonix is releasing a series of "Track Pack" standalone games that are sold in retail stores. Each volume contains several of the tracks available as downloadable content for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Track Pack Vol. 2 saw an expanded release on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, as well. One Track Pack, exclusively featuring the songs of AC/DC
AC/DC
AC/DC are an Australian rock band, formed in 1973 by brothers Malcolm and Angus Young. Commonly classified as hard rock, they are considered pioneers of heavy metal, though they themselves have always classified their music as simply "rock and roll"...
's 1991 Live at Donington
Live at Donington (AC/DC)
Live at Donington is the DVD recording of the AC/DC show at Donington Park on 17 August 1991, and it was the band's third "Monsters of Rock" festival. The two hour show was performed before 72,500 spectators and included real cannons, the Hells Bell, an inflatable Rosie and an inflatable Angus...
concert, was released in November 2008.
Development
Harmonix Music Systems was previously responsible for making the Guitar Hero seriesGuitar Hero
Guitar Hero is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems and published by RedOctane for the PlayStation 2 video game console. It is the first entry in the Guitar Hero series. Guitar Hero was released on November 8, 2005 in North America, April 7, 2006 in Europe and June 15, 2006 in...
, while RedOctane
RedOctane
RedOctane was an American electronic entertainment company perhaps best known for producing the Guitar Hero series beginning in November 2005. RedOctane became a wholly owned subsidiary of Activision in 2006...
manufactured the peripherals and owned the rights to the series. However, in June 2006, RedOctane was bought by Activision
Activision
Activision is an American publisher, majority owned by French conglomerate Vivendi SA. Its current CEO is Robert Kotick. It was founded on October 1, 1979 and was the world's first independent developer and distributor of video games for gaming consoles...
, while in September 2006, Harmonix was purchased by MTV Networks
MTV Networks
MTV Networks is a division of media conglomerate Viacom that oversees the operations of many television channels and Internet brands, including the original MTV channel in the United States...
. As a result of the two purchases, Harmonix would no longer be able to develop future Guitar Hero games. Instead, Neversoft
Neversoft
Neversoft Entertainment is an American video game developer, founded in 1994 by Joel Jewett, Mick West and Chris Ward. Neversoft is best recognized for their line of Guitar Hero and Tony Hawk skateboarding games, known as the Tony Hawk's series...
, a subsidiary of Activision, would take over development; the company released Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock
Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock
Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock is a music video game, the third main installment in the Guitar Hero series, and the fourth title overall...
on October 28, 2007. According to "The Business", the game cost $200 million to develop. Harmonix's Vice President of Product Development, Greg LoPiccolo, stated that the game took about twenty months to develop, already having envisioned the possibility of different instruments before they were completed with the Guitar Hero series.
In selecting the soundtrack for Rock Band, the developers recognized that they needed to select songs that were recognizable, particularly on vocals; in contrast, when they were selecting songs for Guitar Hero, they were able to pick songs that played better even if they were less recognizable. They also consider songs that would help players come together socially, such as in The Who
The Who
The Who are an English rock band formed in 1964 by Roger Daltrey , Pete Townshend , John Entwistle and Keith Moon . They became known for energetic live performances which often included instrument destruction...
's "Won't Get Fooled Again
Won't Get Fooled Again
"Won't Get Fooled Again" is a song by the rock band The Who which was written by Pete Townshend The original version of the song appears as the final track on the album Who's Next...
", where they retained the long synthesizer solo such that the band members would all start playing again after it for a big finish. The team were able to introduce songs from smaller artists that they felt were good additions, such as "Maps" by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Yeah Yeah Yeahs are an American indie rock band formed in New York City in 2000. The group is composed of vocalist and pianist Karen O, guitarist and keyboardist Nick Zinner, and drummer Brian Chase. They are complemented in live performances by second guitarist David Pajo, who joined as a touring...
and "Electric Version" by the New Pornographers to help also introduce players to those classes of music. For about half the songs, they hired a studio to sing along to the lyrics as a crowd would at a stadium, such that during the game, when players are performing well, the additional crowd sing-alongs would add to the performance experience.
Current Harmonix parent company MTV provided financial support to the development process, taking advantage of its stature to facilitate deals with record companies for licensing rights to songs. Several record companies pledged their support by offering master recording
Master recording
A multitrack recording master tape, disk or computer files on which productions are developed for later mixing, is known as the multi-track master, while the tape, disk or computer files holding a mix is called a mixed master.It is standard practice to make a copy of a master recording, known as...
s. Pressed for office space, Harmonix was forced to move its offices in the middle of Rock Band
Pi Studios
Pi Studios is a computer game software developer founded in 2002 by Robert Erwin, John Faulkenbury, Rob Heironimus, Dan Kramer and Peter Mack whose first commercial work can be found in Activision's Call of Duty: United Offensive...
, as it omits certain features.
Harmonix faced difficulty in making the Xbox 360 guitar wireless, as developers are charged a licensing fee to use Microsoft's wireless technology. Had Harmonix chosen to pay the fee, the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 bundles of Rock Band would have sold at different price points. Instead, Harmonix elected to choose a wired technology for the Xbox 360 bundle's guitar.
Rock Band was first announced on April 1, 2007. Harmonix CEO Alex Rigopulos said in the announcement that Rock Band "takes the core premise of Guitar Hero and expands it tenfold. It lets you create a complete collaborative band." Rock Band was a featured game at the 2007 E3 convention and provided one of the exhibition's highlights; Harmonix employees and Microsoft executive Peter Moore played the game on-stage, performing The Hives
The Hives
The Hives are a Swedish garage rock band that first garnered attention in the early 2000s as a prominent group of the garage rock revival. Their mainstream success came with the release of the "greatest hits" album Your New Favourite Band, featuring their most well-known song "Hate to Say I Told...
' "Main Offender". Moore paused the game twice when he accidentally hit the guitar's Xbox Guide button.
A software update was released on March 21, 2008, which added new features to the game. The update included an in-game music store with preview and sorting options, revised microphone performance, and faster downloadable content loading.
Online community
On October 25, 2007, Harmonix and MTV announced RockBand.com would be transformed into an extensive community website at the game's launch, and that it would extend the features of the game. The community website was absent at the game's launch in order to fix bugs and complete features, but was deployed on December 19, 2007. The site allows for leaderboards, customizable band profile pages with stats, a classified area for bands to find additional members, band blogs, online forums, and other sharing features. Many originally announced features, such as the ability for players to pose their avatars, take photo shoots and order T-shirts, bumper stickers, and figurines, were eventually made available on the website for Rock Band 2.Promotion
MTV and Harmonix promoted Rock Band heavily in the months leading up to the game's release. The game made a nationwide promotional tour of the United States. Several tour buses made stops at major American cities to set up demo stations and showcase playable versions of the game for fans. Many of the locations included college campuses. Additionally, fan-created "bands" were able to audition on-stage by playing the game; their performances were recorded and sent to MTV casting directors, who selected two bands to appear on Total Request LiveTotal Request Live
Total Request Live is a television series on MTV that featured popular music videos. TRL was MTV's prime outlet for music videos as the network continues to concentrate on reality-based programming. In addition to music videos, TRL featured daily guests...
in a "battle of the bands." The promotional tour commenced with a featured showcase at the MTV Video Music Awards
MTV Video Music Awards
An MTV Video Music Award , is an award presented by the cable channel MTV to honor the best in music videos...
in Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
on September 9, 2007.
MTV will be investing in additional promotions that total about $30 million. The game will be set up within the homes of The Real World
The Real World
The Real World is a reality television program on MTV originally produced by Mary-Ellis Bunim and Jonathan Murray. First broadcast in 1992, the show, which was inspired by the 1973 PBS documentary series An American Family, is the longest-running program in MTV history and one of the...
participants, allowing for on-air visibility. VH1
VH1
VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...
also produced a brief spoof documentary in the style of Behind the Music
Behind the Music
Behind the Music is a television series on VH1. It originally ran from 1997 to 2006, before it was stopped and only aired new episodes sporadically. The series places its generality on documentation of musical artists or groups who are interviewed and profiled, and discuss how their careers became...
titled "Rock Band Cometh: The Rock Band Band Story," documenting a fictional band that plays the game.
The game has also appeared in demo kiosks
Interactive kiosk
An Interactive kiosk is a computer terminal featuring specialized hardware and software designed within a public exhibit that provides access to information and applications for communication, commerce, entertainment, and education....
at Best Buy
Best Buy
Best Buy Co., Inc. is an American specialty retailer of consumer electronics in the United States, accounting for 19% of the market. It also operates in Mexico, Canada & China. The company's subsidiaries include Geek Squad, CinemaNow, Magnolia Audio Video, Pacific Sales, and, in Canada operates...
, Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. , branded as Walmart since 2008 and Wal-Mart before then, is an American public multinational corporation that runs chains of large discount department stores and warehouse stores. The company is the world's 18th largest public corporation, according to the Forbes Global 2000...
, and Sam's Club
Sam's Club
Sam's Club is a chain of membership-only retail warehouse clubs owned and operated by Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., founded in 1983 and named after Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton. , the Sam's Club chain serves more than 47 million U.S. members...
stores. The demo contains 15 songs and supports gameplay for all 4 instruments (although the actual in-store setup varies). The demo's drum set lacks a bass pedal, with the game automatically playing bass drum notes.
Other companies have also helped to promote Rock Band through free and reduced cost downloadable content. Best Buy
Best Buy
Best Buy Co., Inc. is an American specialty retailer of consumer electronics in the United States, accounting for 19% of the market. It also operates in Mexico, Canada & China. The company's subsidiaries include Geek Squad, CinemaNow, Magnolia Audio Video, Pacific Sales, and, in Canada operates...
offered two free downloadable tracks by the band Disturbed for customers that pre-ordered their Indestructible
Indestructible (Disturbed album)
Indestructible is the fourth studio album by American heavy metal band Disturbed. A self-produced effort, Indestructible is the first Disturbed album that did not feature Johnny K, the producer of Disturbed's previous three albums, The Sickness, Believe, and Ten Thousand Fists. Indestructible was...
album online; these tracks were made available to all users in June 2008 for $.99/80MSP. McDonald's
McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving around 64 million customers daily in 119 countries. Headquartered in the United States, the company began in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant operated by the eponymous Richard and Maurice McDonald; in 1948...
sponsored a month-long program that reduced the cost of two selected downloadable tracks to $1 (approximately half the standard cost) for each week during the month of May 2008 as part of their Dollar Menu promotion.
The United Kingdom release of the game took place in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, where a number of bands including The Automatic
The Automatic
The Automatic , are a Welsh rock band. The band is composed of Robin Hawkins on vocals, bass and synthesizers, James Frost on guitar, synthesizers, backing vocals and occasional bass, Iwan Griffiths on drums and Paul Mullen on vocals, guitar and synthesizer - since 2007...
, The Whip
The Whip (band)
The Whip are a band whose founding members Bruce Carter and Danny Saville come from Oldham, Greater Manchester, England formed in 2006. The rhythm section is Nathan Sudders and Fiona "Li'l Fee" Daniel , who was previously in Colne based band Earl....
, and The Courteeners performed short sets.
Editions
The "Special Edition" bundle includes the game software, as well as guitar, drum, and microphone peripherals. The PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, and Wii bundles include a wireless guitar, whereas the Xbox 360 bundle contains a wired guitar (a separate wireless guitar is currently available for the Xbox 360). Initially, a USB hubUSB hub
A USB hub is a device that expands a single USB port into several so that there are more ports available to connect devices to a host system.USB hubs are often built into equipment such as computers, keyboards, monitors, or printers...
was only included in the Xbox 360, Wii, and PlayStation 2 bundles, in order to increase the number of available USB ports on the console. The more recent PlayStation 3 bundles now include a USB hub, with a sticker on the box indicating so. MTV originally announced Rock Band would be released for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on November 23, 2007, Black Friday
Black Friday (shopping)
Black Friday is the day following Thanksgiving Day in the United States, traditionally the beginning of the Christmas shopping season. On this day, most major retailers open extremely early, often at 4 a.m., or earlier, and offer promotional sales to kick off the shopping season, similar to Boxing...
, one of the busiest shopping days in the United States. However, the release date was eventually moved to November 20, 2007.
The game software was made available for purchase individually at the game's launch, allowing players with a USB microphone or a compatible guitar controller to take advantage of the vocals, lead guitar, and bass guitar gameplay. Individual Rock Band-branded instruments became available in retail stores later, starting with the drum kit on February 12, 2008. An individual wireless guitar became available on April 8, 2008.
On April 8, 2008, EA announced a timed Xbox 360 exclusive for a partial European launch, with other versions to follow later in the summer.
Technical issues and guitar incompatibility
Other players discovered at the game's launch that the Gibson Les Paul
Gibson Les Paul
The Gibson Les Paul was the result of a design collaboration between Gibson Guitar Corporation and the late jazz guitarist and electronics inventor Les Paul. In 1950, with the introduction of the Fender Telecaster to the musical market, electric guitars became a public craze. In reaction, Gibson...
guitar controller bundled with the PlayStation 3 version of Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock
Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock
Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock is a music video game, the third main installment in the Guitar Hero series, and the fourth title overall...
was initially not compatible with the PlayStation 3 version of Rock Band, despite Harmonix stating that any controllers that followed the open-controller standard would work. While this incompatibility could have been resolved through technical solutions, both Harmonix and Activision cited the other party as being at fault for failing to correct the incompatibility. Harmonix developed a patch to fix the issue, but it was blocked by Activision. Activision stated that MTV Games was unwilling to reach an agreement to pay Activision to use the Guitar Hero III technology in Rock Band. This incompatibility also applies to the Wii's Les Paul peripheral. However, a patch for the PlayStation 3 version of Rock Band, released on September 11, 2008, allows the Guitar Hero III Les Paul controller to work with Rock Band. Nyko
Nyko
Nyko is a manufacturer of third-party accessories for various gaming consoles.-Wand:The Nyko "Wand" is a 3rd-party replacement for the Wii Remote. It was announced at CES 2009. The Wand features Trans-Port technology, which allows specially designed attachments to pass through key buttons to the...
has released a PlayStation 3 version of their "Frontman" guitar controller that is compatible with both Guitar Hero III and Rock Band.
At a press conference at the 2008 E3 convention, Activision confirmed that the Xbox 360 version of Guitar Hero World Tour
Guitar Hero World Tour
Guitar Hero World Tour is a music video game developed by Neversoft and published by RedOctane and Activision. It is the fourth main entry in the Guitar Hero series...
will be able to use Rock Bands instruments, adapting the note tracks to account for the smaller number of drum pads, and that this compatibility was patched into Guitar Hero: Aerosmith as a result of additional arrangements. Specific details between Harmonix and Activision's resolution to allow this have not yet been made.
Reception
| Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Publication | Score | Notes |
| 1UP.com 1UP.com 1UP.com is a video game website owned by IGN Entertainment, a division of News Corporation. Previously, the site was owned by Ziff Davis before being sold to UGO Entertainment in 2009.... |
A | |
| Electronic Gaming Monthly Electronic Gaming Monthly Electronic Gaming Monthly is a bimonthly American video game magazine. It has been published by EGM Media, LLC. since relaunching in April of 2010. Its previous run, which ended in January 2009, was published by Ziff Davis... |
9.0, 9.5, 9.0 | Gold Award |
| Game Informer Game Informer Game Informer is an American-based monthly magazine featuring articles, news, strategy, and reviews of popular video games and associated consoles. It was formed in August 1991, when FuncoLand started publishing a six-page magazine, free in all its retail locations... |
9.25/10 | |
| GamePro GamePro GamePro Media was a United States gaming media company publishing online and print content on the video game industry, video game hardware, and video game software developed for a video game console , a computer, and/or a mobile device . GamePro Media properties include GamePro magazine and... |
||
| GameSpot GameSpot GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which... |
9.0/10 | Editor's Choice Award |
| IGN IGN IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment... |
9.4/10 | Editor's Choice Award |
| Official Xbox Magazine Official Xbox Magazine Official Xbox Magazine is a monthly video game magazine which started in November 2001 around the launch of the original Xbox. A preview issue was released for E3 2001, with another preview issue for November 2001. The magazine is bundled with a disc that includes game demos, preview videos and... |
9.5/10 | Editor's Choice Award |
| Wired Wired (magazine) Wired is a full-color monthly American magazine and on-line periodical, published since January 1993, that reports on how new and developing technology affects culture, the economy, and politics... |
10/10 | |
| X-Play X-Play X-Play is a TV program about video games, known for its reviews and comedy skits... |
||
| Awards | ||
| 2007 1UP Network 1UP.com 1UP.com is a video game website owned by IGN Entertainment, a division of News Corporation. Previously, the site was owned by Ziff Davis before being sold to UGO Entertainment in 2009.... Editorial Awards |
|
|
| GamePro GamePro GamePro Media was a United States gaming media company publishing online and print content on the video game industry, video game hardware, and video game software developed for a video game console , a computer, and/or a mobile device . GamePro Media properties include GamePro magazine and... Editors' Choice 2007 |
||
| GameSpot GameSpot GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which... 's Best of 2007 |
||
| IGN IGN IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment... 's Best of 2007 |
||
| Official Xbox Magazine Official Xbox Magazine Official Xbox Magazine is a monthly video game magazine which started in November 2001 around the launch of the original Xbox. A preview issue was released for E3 2001, with another preview issue for November 2001. The magazine is bundled with a disc that includes game demos, preview videos and... 2007 Game of the Year Awards |
||
| 2007 Spike Video Game Awards | ||
| Wired Wired (magazine) Wired is a full-color monthly American magazine and on-line periodical, published since January 1993, that reports on how new and developing technology affects culture, the economy, and politics... s Top 10 Games of 2007 |
||
| X-Play X-Play X-Play is a TV program about video games, known for its reviews and comedy skits... Best of 2007 Awards |
||
| PlayStation 2 | ||
| Publication | Score | Notes |
| 1UP.com 1UP.com 1UP.com is a video game website owned by IGN Entertainment, a division of News Corporation. Previously, the site was owned by Ziff Davis before being sold to UGO Entertainment in 2009.... |
B+ | |
| GameSpot GameSpot GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which... |
8.0/10 | |
| IGN IGN IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment... |
8.4/10 | |
| Wii | ||
| Publication | Score | Notes |
| 1UP.com 1UP.com 1UP.com is a video game website owned by IGN Entertainment, a division of News Corporation. Previously, the site was owned by Ziff Davis before being sold to UGO Entertainment in 2009.... |
B- | |
| IGN IGN IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment... |
7.9/10 | |
| Game Informer Game Informer Game Informer is an American-based monthly magazine featuring articles, news, strategy, and reviews of popular video games and associated consoles. It was formed in August 1991, when FuncoLand started publishing a six-page magazine, free in all its retail locations... |
8.25/10 | |
| X-Play X-Play X-Play is a TV program about video games, known for its reviews and comedy skits... |
||
| NGamer NGamer NGamer is a British magazine which mainly covers Nintendo video game consoles and software, and also to a much lesser extent, Sony and Microsoft consoles. The first issue was released on 13 July 2006... |
80% | |
| Official Nintendo Magazine | 69% | |
Prior to release, EA CEO John Riccitielo remarked that the company would not be able to meet the high demand for Rock Band in the 2007 holiday season, stating, "We're not going to be able to put enough inventory to meet demand in North America or Europe this calendar year or this fiscal [year]." This prompted many retailers to limit the number of preorders they sold before the game was released.
Official Xbox Magazine
Official Xbox Magazine
Official Xbox Magazine is a monthly video game magazine which started in November 2001 around the launch of the original Xbox. A preview issue was released for E3 2001, with another preview issue for November 2001. The magazine is bundled with a disc that includes game demos, preview videos and...
published the first review of Rock Band, scoring the Xbox 360 version a 9.5/10 and calling it "gaming's most intensely rewarding co-op experience." OXM also commented that the game's "payoff isn't visceral or technical; it's emotional." IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
awarded the game a 9.4/10 score and an Editor's Choice Award for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions. IGN largely praised the game, calling it "one of the must-have games of the year" and suggesting it "may just be among the best party games ever released." 1UP.com
1UP.com
1UP.com is a video game website owned by IGN Entertainment, a division of News Corporation. Previously, the site was owned by Ziff Davis before being sold to UGO Entertainment in 2009....
gave the next-generation versions of the game an A, stating that "Rock Band unquestionably, unequivocally rocks." GameSpot
GameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
rated the next-generation versions of the game a 9.0/10, calling Rock Band "one of the best party games of all time." They also gave the game their Editor's Choice award. The Xbox 360 version of Rock Band has an average critic score of 92%, according to Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
, tying it for the 11th highest scored Xbox 360 game to date, as of October 2008. Similarly, the PlayStation 3 version of Rock Band has an average critic score of 92% on Metacritic, making it the 7th highest scored PlayStation 3 game to date, as of November 2008.
Most critics have commended the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of Rock Band for the game's group gameplay, the depth of Band World Tour mode, and the introduction of a drum peripheral. Common complaints about the game focus on the different feel of the packaged Fender Stratocaster controller, as well as the game's Solo Tour modes not being as enjoyable as the multiplayer offerings. IGN's video review lamented the lack of a single player Band World Tour mode.
The PlayStation 2 version of the game was well received, but was subject to criticism for the omission of the character customization features, as well as the stripped-down Band World Tour mode. GameSpot rated it an 8.0/10, stating that "Rock Band is still a lot of fun on the PS2—it's just nowhere near the ideal version of the experience." IGN.com rated it an 8.4/10, noting that the removed features made the game feel like a "lessened" version, but that the game still "succeeds because it's infinitely fun to play with your friends."
Reviews for the Wii version of Rock Band also criticize the lack of features compared to the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions. The Wii version is basically the same as its PlayStation 2 counterpart, but IGN criticized it for its late release and their effort in completing a full game. However, IGN notes that the drum controller is an improvement over the original version, stating, "The pads are quieter and the kick pedal will withstand more abuse."
Sales
As of October 9, 2008, the game has sold four million units and generated global revenues of $600 million. The sales of Rock Band have helped ViacomViacom
Viacom Inc. , short for "Video & Audio Communications", is an American media conglomerate with interests primarily in, but not limited to, cinema and cable television...
to become the fifth largest video game publisher in the United States, although analysts estimate that Viacom is only breaking even on sales of the game. In a March 2011 list, the NPD Group listed Rock Band as the 5th highest grossing video game in the United States since 1995, earning $670.7 million in revenue.
As of December 2008, over 30 million downloadable songs purchases have been made from the Rock Band music store. Viacom estimates that it is averaging the sale of 1 million downloadable songs every 9 days. Sales of songs have been in favor of hard rock bands; Mötley Crüe
Mötley Crüe
Mötley Crüe is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1981. The group was founded by bass guitarist Nikki Sixx and drummer Tommy Lee, who were later joined by lead guitarist Mick Mars and lead singer Vince Neil...
s single "Saints of Los Angeles", debuting as a Rock Band track at the same time as the release of the album of the same name, saw 48,000 Rock Band downloads and 14,000 iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
downloads during its first week of release. The popularity of some tracks have also led to groups considering releasing more material for the game. Rush
Rush (band)
Rush is a Canadian rock band formed in August 1968, in the Willowdale neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario. The band is composed of bassist, keyboardist, and lead vocalist Geddy Lee, guitarist Alex Lifeson, and drummer and lyricist Neil Peart...
s alternate version of "Working Man
Working Man
"Working Man" is a song by rock band Rush from its debut album, Rush. On the live album All the World's a Stage, the song segues directly into "Finding My Way" and one of Neil Peart's drum solos....
" released only for Rock Band was met with so much praise from players of Rock Band that the group released the song for download through iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
, as well as considered making full albums available, which they went on to do for their 1981 album Moving Pictures
Moving Pictures (album)
- Personnel :* Geddy Lee - Bass guitar; Minimoog; Oberheim 8-voice synthesizer; OB-X, Moog Taurus bass pedals, vocals* Alex Lifeson - Electric and acoustic guitars, Moog Taurus...
, released for the game two months later.
Awards
Prior to the game's release, Rock Band was featured at the 2007 E3 convention, garnering much attention and receiving awards, including the Game Critics' "Best of E3 2007" awards for "Best of Show," "Best Hardware/Peripheral," and "Best Social/Casual/Puzzle," 1UP.com's "Best of E3," and GameSpot's "Best Stage Demo" and "Best Xbox 360 Game."After its release, Rock Band won dozens of awards covering game releases from 2007. The game won seven awards from IGN's "Best of 2007," receiving honors for "Best Music Game" for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, "Best Local Multiplayer Game" for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, "Best Downloadable Content" for the PlayStation 3, and "Best Console Peripheral," as well as overall awards for "Best Music Game," "Best Licensed Soundtrack," and "Best Local Multiplayer Game." GameSpot awarded Rock Band five awards in its "Best of 2007," recognizing the game for "Best Rhythm/Music Game," "Best New Gaming Hardware," "Best Downloadable Content," "Best Sound Design," and "Best Multiplayer Game." Wired
Wired (magazine)
Wired is a full-color monthly American magazine and on-line periodical, published since January 1993, that reports on how new and developing technology affects culture, the economy, and politics...
, Official Xbox Magazine, and Ars Technica
Ars Technica
Ars Technica is a technology news and information website created by Ken Fisher and Jon Stokes in 1998. It publishes news, reviews and guides on issues such as computer hardware and software, science, technology policy, and video games. Ars Technica is known for its features, long articles that go...
all named Rock Band the "Game of the Year," while Next Generation Magazine
Next Generation Magazine
Next Generation Magazine was a video game magazine that was made by Imagine Media publishing company . It was affiliated to and shared editorial with the UK's Edge magazine. Next Generation ran from January 1995 until January 2002. It was published by Jonathan Simpson-Bint and edited by Neil West...
named it the second-best game of 2007. GamePro
GamePro
GamePro Media was a United States gaming media company publishing online and print content on the video game industry, video game hardware, and video game software developed for a video game console , a computer, and/or a mobile device . GamePro Media properties include GamePro magazine and...
honored Rock Band with the "Innovation Award" for four-person cooperative play, as well as the selection of "Best Party Game" of 2007. GameSpy
GameSpy
GameSpy Industries, Inc., known simply as GameSpy, is a division of IGN Entertainment, which operates a network of game websites and provides online video game-related services and software. GameSpy dates back to the 1996 release of an internet Quake server search program named QSpy. The current...
also recognized the game as the "Music Game of the Year" on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Additionally, Rock Band was awarded "Best Multiplayer Experience (console)" by 1UP.com. The game won two awards at the 2007 Spike Video Game Awards, receiving honors for "Best Rhythm Game" and "Best Soundtrack," while the game's developer, Harmonix, won "Studio of the Year." The game also won an award for "Best Multiplayer Game" in the X-Play
X-Play
X-Play is a TV program about video games, known for its reviews and comedy skits...
Best of 2007 Awards. The Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences awarded Rock Band with honors for three of the eight categories in which it was nominated; the game won awards for "Family Game of the Year", "Outstanding Achievement in Soundtrack", and "Outstanding Innovation in Gaming". Rock Band was named "Best Party Game" of the year from Game Informer Magazine. The game has also been called the best rhythm game of all time by GameTap
GameTap
GameTap is an American online video game service established by Turner Broadcasting System . Dubbed by TBS as a "first of its kind broadband gaming network", the service provides users with classic arcade video games and game-related video content...
.
Cultural impact
Like the Guitar Hero seriesGuitar Hero
Guitar Hero is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems and published by RedOctane for the PlayStation 2 video game console. It is the first entry in the Guitar Hero series. Guitar Hero was released on November 8, 2005 in North America, April 7, 2006 in Europe and June 15, 2006 in...
, Rock Band has had a significant impact on culture. Alex Rigopulos
Alex Rigopulos
Alexander Peter "Alex" Rigopulos is the CEO of Harmonix Music Systems, a company he founded with Eran Egozy in 1995. Rigopulos personally cites Japanese game designers Masaya Matsuura, Tetsuya Mizuguchi, and Keita Takahashi as some artists that have inspired his work at Harmonix...
and Eran Egozy
Eran Egozy
Eran Egozy is the Chief Technical Officer and VP of Engineering of Harmonix Music Systems, a company he founded with Alex Rigopulos in 1995.-Personal:Eran is a native of Israel. He moved to Lexington, MA at the age of 12, from Israel...
, the founders of Harmonix, were together named in Time Magazines list of the 100 most influential people
Time 100
Time 100 is an annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world, as assembled by Time. First published in 1999 as a result of a debate among several academics, the list has become an annual event.-History and format:...
of 2008 for their creation of Rock Band. In the article, guitarist Steven Van Zandt
Steven Van Zandt
Steven Van Zandt is an Italian-American musician, songwriter, arranger, record producer, actor, and radio disc jockey, who frequently goes by the stage names Little Steven or Miami Steve...
claims, "in the history of rock 'n' roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
, Rock Band may just turn out to be up there with the rise of FM radio, CDs
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
, or MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
."
Sequel
Rock Band 2 was officially announced on June 30, 2008, and was released on September 14, 2008 on the Xbox 360Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
, with other platform releases following later in the year. Original instruments from Rock Band are compatible with Rock Band 2, which features new instruments that been described as quieter and more reliable. Furthermore, both existing and any forthcoming downloadable content will be cross-compatible between Rock Band and Rock Band 2. Rock Band 2 saw enhancements to the existing Band World Tour mode, as well as inclusions of new "Drum Trainer" and "Battle of the Bands" modes. 55 of the 58 Rock Band songs can be exported for use in Rock Band 2, with the purchase of a $5 export key.
Patent litigation
On March 21, 2008, EA, MTV, and Harmonix were sued by the Gibson Guitar CorporationGibson Guitar Corporation
The Gibson Guitar Corporation, formerly of Kalamazoo, Michigan and currently of Nashville, Tennessee, manufactures guitars and other instruments which sell under a variety of brand names...
for violation of the 1999 , which Gibson claims covers technology that simulates a concert performance via pre-recorded audio and a musical instrument; this follows similar action that Gibson has taken against the Guitar Hero series, which was later settled out of court. The Gibson-Harmonix case was put on hold shortly after its filing to allow the United States Patent and Trademark Office
United States Patent and Trademark Office
The United States Patent and Trademark Office is an agency in the United States Department of Commerce that issues patents to inventors and businesses for their inventions, and trademark registration for product and intellectual property identification.The USPTO is based in Alexandria, Virginia,...
to open a re-examination of the 405 patent. On subsequent review, the 405 patent was modified to more exactly define the type of musical instrument that the patent covers, as the original language had conflicted with . Due to the change in language, Harmonix is seeking to have the case go forward and request a summary judgement, believing that the new language of 405 does not include the Rock Band controllers. In mid 2010, the case was settled between all parties under non-disclosed terms.
On July 10, 2008, Konami
Konami
is a Japanese leading developer and publisher of numerous popular and strong-selling toys, trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, slot machines, arcade cabinets and video games...
filed a separate lawsuit against Harmonix, Viacom
Viacom
Viacom Inc. , short for "Video & Audio Communications", is an American media conglomerate with interests primarily in, but not limited to, cinema and cable television...
, and MTV attempting to block the sale of Rock Band, over infringement of their patents on a "musical-rhythm matching game" issued in 2002 and 2003, including . An MTV spokesperson expressed that the lawsuit was "extremely surprising" and that they intend to defend themselves against the suit. On December 2, 2008, Viacom issued a countersuit against Konami, claiming that Rock Band significantly improves on Konami's original patent, and that their Rock Revolution
Rock Revolution
Rock Revolution is a music video game developed by Zoë Mode and HB Studios and published by Konami. It was first revealed on May 15, 2008, and released on October 15, 2008 for the Nintendo DS, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360...
game uses controllers that are similar to Rock Band. Both suits were settled for undisclosed terms in September 2010.
See also
- Guitar Hero World TourGuitar Hero World TourGuitar Hero World Tour is a music video game developed by Neversoft and published by RedOctane and Activision. It is the fourth main entry in the Guitar Hero series...
- Drum MachineDrum Machine (software)Drum Machine is a Windows freeware application developed by Andrew Rudson that lets users play a virtual drumset on their computer using a drum controller from the Rock Band video games....
- Rock RevolutionRock RevolutionRock Revolution is a music video game developed by Zoë Mode and HB Studios and published by Konami. It was first revealed on May 15, 2008, and released on October 15, 2008 for the Nintendo DS, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360...
- Ultimate BandUltimate BandUltimate Band is a music video game for the Nintendo DS & Wii. It is developed by Fall Line Studios, and published by Disney Interactive Studios.-Gameplay:...
- Frets On FireFrets on FireFrets on Fire is a free, open-source Finnish music video game created by Unreal Voodoo. Players use the keyboard to play along with markers which appear on screen, with the aim to score points, achieve a high point multiplier, and complete a song...