Rock Band: Pink Floyd?

bvharris

bvharris

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For classic rock fans like me, it is no doubt a tantalizing idea to hear that Pink Floyd is open to being featured in a music game in the future.

http://kotaku.com/5360419/pink-floyd-interested-in-a-music-game

Veteran British rockers Pink Floyd have told the BBC that, were the offer to come up to create a Rock Band/Guitar game based on the band, they'd definitely "consider it". It's an unusually positive outlook from an old-timey rock band, who call the games "interesting new developments", particularly since so many other ageing acts - Aerosmith excluded - are so down on the genre.
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I'm a huge Floyd fan, and this would be a dream come true, and something I'm sure would sell well (though not as well as the Beatles, of course). If you thought the Beatles game was trippy, imagine what they could do with Pink Floyd. Obviously, I don't think this will ever come to anything, but it's a nice thought.

Get it done, Harmonix.
 
LOL at aging acts against music games. As far as I can tell the only stand alone games are from these bands:

The Beatles (first album 1963 - 46 years ago)
Aerosmith (first album 1973 - 36 years ago)
AC/DC (first album 1975 - 34 years ago)
Van Halen (first album 1978 - 31 years ago)
Metallica (first album 1983 - 26 years ago)

For what it's worth, Pink Floyd would be awesome but I'd rather just see albums get released as DLC instead of new games built around specific artists.
 
[quote name='javeryh']
For what it's worth, Pink Floyd would be awesome but I'd rather just see albums get released as DLC instead of new games built around specific artists.[/QUOTE]

I'd usually agree with you, but if done in the right style a Pink Floyd standalone game could be amazing. Obviously this is a huge hypothetical, but I honestly wonder whether Roger Waters and David Gilmour could come together on it. They've never been close since the break up of the band, though their relationship has apparently mended somewhat in the wake of the Live 8 concert and Rick Wright's death. Still, I'm guessing Gilmour would probably want some stuff from A Momentary Lapse of Reason and The Division Bell included - maybe they could compromise by also including some of Waters' solo work (The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking is my favorite album of all time).. Damn, I'm going to get myself too worked up and excited over an idle quote and something that will never happen.
 
I thought that the pink floyd thing was the chef from Discovery Travel nd Living, but after doing some google about it, its a rock band. anyway havent heard any of their songs, gotta DL some.
 
[quote name='Reichan']I thought that the pink floyd thing was the chef from Discovery Travel nd Living, but after doing some google about it, its a rock band. anyway havent heard any of their songs, gotta DL some.[/QUOTE]

:shock:

Ironically, if you read the rest of the article I linked it goes on to quote Nick Mason as bemoaning the era of people just downloading a few tracks. What I'm trying to say is this: If you're going to listen to Pink Floyd, do yourself a favor and get the whole albums.
 
[quote name='pitfallharry219']Dark Side of the Moon is the most overrated thing ever.[/QUOTE]

While I agree that it is not their best album despite garnering the most attention, are you truly asserting that of all things ever made ever, Dark Side of the Moon rises above every single one in terms of being overrated? Or were you being pointlessly hyperbolic?
 
[quote name='pitfallharry219']Dark Side of the Moon is the most overrated thing ever.[/QUOTE]

It's not their best album (Animals) but it is still an amazing listen from start to finish and anyone that pretends to like music even a little should give it a few spins.
 
[quote name='javeryh']It's not their best album (Animals)[/QUOTE]

You, sir, have impeccable taste. Meddle is a close second for me.

[quote name='pitfallharry219']I didn't say it wasn't good, but it's not as great as everybody says it is. To be honest, I prefer The Division Bell.[/QUOTE]

You said it was the most overrated thing ever. I just naturally inferred that your dataset here was all things, ever. :D
 
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I think probably the biggest impediment to this ever happening (other than it just being idle chatter right now) is the content of Pink Floyd's music. Not that the Beatles don't deal with mature issues, but when you think of the Beatles it's not what immediately occurs to most people. Whereas with Pink Floyd, the lion's share of their most well known songs deal with things like drugs, racism, suicide, etc etc. I'm sure there would be a market for it, but I have a hard time imagining it being able to be marketed in the same way as the Beatles game. Perhaps the poster who said Guitar Hero: Pink Floyd was accurate, as a smaller release like the Aerosmith or Metallica games seems like a more reasonable bet than a fully branded RB game, as much as I personally would like that.

In the end, the best I have realistic hope of coming out of any of this is that their music might be available as DLC at some point, and that would be just fine by me, though I'd still wish for more.
 
[quote name='bvharris']You, sir, have impeccable taste. Meddle is a close second for me.[/QUOTE]

Meddle is great. I'd actually put Wish You Were Here as my second favorite. Then Meddle/The Wall/DSotM in any order.
 
[quote name='pitfallharry219']I didn't say it wasn't good, but it's not as great as everybody says it is. To be honest, I prefer The Division Bell.[/QUOTE]

While I could be smarmy and point out that The Division Bell isn't really Pink Floyd, I actually like it a lot too. There are some tracks on there which were particularly epic live (although I've never seen them live since I was 9 the last time they toured), which I've always assumed they were gearing their music more towards by that point.
 
[quote name='Mojimbo']I think you mean Guitar Hero: Pink Floyd.[/QUOTE]


No. The band-specific Guitar Hero games fucking suck. They look like pathetically cheap, quick-n-dirty cash-ins, compared to the Beatles RB, which is overflowing with genuine dedication, detail, reverie, and passion for the subject matter. It's so much more than the same GH/RB game, with just character models of Steven Tyler or David Lee Roth prancing around a stage, which is all that the GH band-specific games amount to. If there was an all-Floyd game, I'd want it to be more like Beatles RB.

Honestly, though, it's probably not necessary. I'd be fine with DLC albums. I really like playing the Dark Side of the Moon longplay on Frets on Fire.
 
Two other impediments which occurred to me:

1) While the Beatles songs are about standard length for the most part, especially their early stuff, I haven't done the math but the average length of a Pink Floyd song is probably at least 5 minutes. Unless they truncated them (which I assume would cause a revolt), it would require far more work and also probably be a good deal longer than what most Rock Band players are used to. I'd just hate to see songs like Dogs, Echoes, or Shine On You Crazy Diamond left out because of how long they are.

2) There are plenty of Pink Floyd songs I don't think could be done justice without a keyboard peripheral, which of course doesn't currently exist. I'd hate for two many experiences like Baba O'Riley where everyone sits there for a whole minute before doing anything.
 
It would probably be a shitty tracklist though. Just the "popular songs" off The Wall, probably all of Dark Side. Nothing from Animals, no Careful With That Axe, Eugene.

A dedicated Pink Floyd game could only be done faithfully in Rock Band. The artwork in the games just by default is amazing, but with a Pink Floyd flair, it would be 10x cooler.
 
[quote name='pitfallharry219']I didn't say it wasn't good, but it's not as great as everybody says it is. To be honest, I prefer The Division Bell.[/QUOTE]

Well, good that you backtracked a bit there as otherwise I'd have to kick you out of the super-secret club which doesn't exist ;).

[quote name='javeryh']Meddle is great. I'd actually put Wish You Were Here as my second favorite. Then Meddle/The Wall/DSotM in any order.[/QUOTE]

Funny this came up, as I've been going through Pink Floyd stuff in trying to decide what to buy with some of my free Amazon mp3s from game purchases. I was reading about the various remasters and such and decided to just stick with my original issue CDs. But, Wish You Were Here is probably my favorite album, mostly because Shine On You Crazy Diamond is probably my single favorite song of all time. The Beatles take up most of the rest of my top-50 but there's definitely some Floyd mixed in. It helps that I saw them in their last two tours (and Waters in his solo tour around the same time in the late 80's).

Anway, this brings me to the other gaping chasm that exists in these games: Led Zeppelin. What I did end up buying was Mothership so I could get all those remastered tracks (again, I have mostly original-issue CDs for Zep too).

Like others I'd love a Beatles-type game for Pink Floyd but I just don't think it would have the mass appeal to make it happen. I'll take any RB2 DLC for either of those bands though.
 
[quote name='io']Well, good that you backtracked a bit there as otherwise I'd have to kick you out of the super-secret club which doesn't exist ;).[/QUOTE]

:whistle2:#
 
[quote name='CoffeeEdge']Animals went quadruple platinum, people. Stop acting like it's so obscure.[/QUOTE]

Younger people who've discovered Pink Floyd more recently often think of them as a niche group since people of their own generation don't listen to them. You make what seems like an obvious point, but that most people overlook, Pink Floyd was enormously popular and successful in their day.

As for the concern about tracklists, it's nothing DLC wouldn't solve. Just as I'm sure almost everything the Beatles ever did will end up in their game, the same would likely be true of this.
 
[quote name='bvharris']Just as I'm sure almost everything the Beatles ever did will end up in their game, the same would likely be true of this.[/QUOTE]

Getting a bit tangential here, but someone from Harmonix actually specifically said not to expect everything.
 
[quote name='CoffeeEdge']Getting a bit tangential here, but someone from Harmonix actually specifically said not to expect everything.[/QUOTE]

That's why I said almost everything. :D
 
WoW i heared some of pink floyds musics, Their awsome i think im tempted to buy rockband -pink floyd what do you think?
 
[quote name='Reichan']i think im tempted to buy rockband -pink floyd what do you think?[/QUOTE]


You're jumping the gun a bit, hombre. :)
 
[quote name='heavyd853']Unless it comes with a pound of weed in the instrument bundle I have no interest in it![/QUOTE]


A pound of weed? Dude, wasn't Beatles Rock Band expensive enough as it is at $250? The last thing I need is them charging me non-friend prices for a pound of weed.
 
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Hmmm I love Pink Floyd and would love to play their songs, but the attitude of the songs doesn't seem like it'd fit this bill.
 
[quote name='pitfallharry219']Dark Side of the Moon is the most overrated thing ever.[/QUOTE]

You misspelled 'The Beatles'.
 
Honestly I doubt we'll ever see a game of the scope and quality of TB:RB again. It was able to exist due to a very unique set of circumstances, and went way beyond the band simply green-lighting the project for Harmonix. You had a tremendous amount of input from everyone in the Beatles camp, not to mention Giles Martin slaving away at the master tracks. It was one of those cases where the stars were aligned just right, so to speak.

Basically it's a two way street to make a game like TB:RB. You would need an insane amount of dedication from the band in question to achieve a similar product. Pink Floyd might be willing to sign the contract, but would they be willing to take such a direct and active role in the game's development?
 
Honestly, I'd love to see both The Who and Pink Floyd get The Beatles: Rock Band treatment, but I don't think they will. Both bands lack the cache with the mainstream to appeal to seniors, little kids, and everyone in between. However, both bands could make for incredible games if done right. Just make them interactive versions of Tommy and The Wall films.
 
[quote name='elwood731']Honestly, I'd love to see both The Who and Pink Floyd get The Beatles: Rock Band treatment, but I don't think they will. Both bands lack the cache with the mainstream to appeal to seniors, little kids, and everyone in between. However, both bands could make for incredible games if done right. Just make them interactive versions of Tommy and The Wall films.[/QUOTE]

Obviously no one is The Beatles, but if you find a list of the best-selling artists of all time, both Pink Floyd and to a lesser extent The Who will be well towards the top of that list. No musical act in history has sold more than The Beatles, so they were the logical choice for this, but if they're going to continue to make standalone artist games, neither Pink Floyd or The Who would be indefensible choices from a sales standpoint.
 
[quote name='bvharris']Obviously no one is The Beatles, but if you find a list of the best-selling artists of all time, both Pink Floyd and to a lesser extent The Who will be well towards the top of that list. No musical act in history has sold more than The Beatles, so they were the logical choice for this, but if they're going to continue to make standalone artist games, neither Pink Floyd or The Who would be indefensible choices from a sales standpoint.[/QUOTE]

I'd agree with all of that, except I'm not sure anyone else can generate the return on investment quite like The Beatles. As much as everyone maligns Guitar Hero for their cheap cash-in artists titles, part of the reason they can do them is because they invest very little time or money into customizing those game experiences, at least in comparison to The Beatles. In addition, while both The Who and Pink Floyd are two of the best-selling bands ever, most of those sales I'd imagine came 20 years or more ago. As opposed to The Beatles, who continue to top the charts with greatest hits and re-releases.

I hope I'm wrong and we see them. I just wouldn't hold my breath expecting them. I'm not sure the amount of money is there that they want.
 
[quote name='elwood731']I'd agree with all of that, except I'm not sure anyone else can generate the return on investment quite like The Beatles. As much as everyone maligns Guitar Hero for their cheap cash-in artists titles, part of the reason they can do them is because they invest very little time or money into customizing those game experiences, at least in comparison to The Beatles. In addition, while both The Who and Pink Floyd are two of the best-selling bands ever, most of those sales I'd imagine came 20 years or more ago. As opposed to The Beatles, who continue to top the charts with greatest hits and re-releases.

I hope I'm wrong and we see them. I just wouldn't hold my breath expecting them. I'm not sure the amount of money is there that they want.[/QUOTE]

You make some good points, though I would counter with the following: As long as they continue to grow marijuana, they will continue to sell Pink Floyd albums.
 
Another thing to consider, though, is that the royalties for these other bands is probably significantly lower than the royalties paid to get the Beatles songs.
 
It'll suck if GH does it, if RB picks it up and puts the detail they did on Beatles, it will be epic. I want the Doors and Zeppelin too. :p
 
Well all we can do is wait who ever gets it, Are you still interested playing the game if the ones who got it is not your game, i mean GH vs RB
 
[quote name='Reichan']Well all we can do is wait who ever gets it, Are you still interested playing the game if the ones who got it is not your game, i mean GH vs RB[/QUOTE]

Yes. I'd buy it either way, though I'd prefer RB.

That said, the odds are neither will do it.
 
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