Here's the invitation for the Rock Band party at E3, which from all appearances is the biggest, must-be-there event of the show. Question: in the giant pile of logos that appear on the bottom of the invitation, which is conspicuous by its absence?
Is this more evidence for my (still totally speculative and far-out) theory that there's some kind of exclusivity deal in the works for Rock Band and Xbox 360?
Now, there are plenty of reasons why the PlayStation 3 logo might not be on there. Maybe the only copies of the game at the party will be running on Xbox 360, and Sony didn't want their brand on the same bill as Xbox. Maybe Microsoft is putting up some of the cash for this show, and Sony isn't. Maybe the "super secret special guest" is Steve Ballmer, who's going to perform his show-stopping rendition of Gloria Estefan's "Get On Your Feet."
But consider this, which I neglected to mention when last I was spinning my crazy wheels over this: when Microsoft was calling journalists to book behind-closed-doors meetings to see games like Halo 3 and Mass Effect, it was also booking Rock Band meetings. It was the only third-party game on the list.
This, too, doesn't prove much of anything. I might ask, "why would they show a simultaneous-release, multiplatform game at their first-party game venue?" And you could answer "because it's freaking Rock Band, idiot" and you'd be totally right. I couldn't argue that point. Rock Band might sell as many Xbox 360s as Halo 3 does, even if it's day-and-date with a PS3 version. It's going to be just that immense.
At any rate, I still would not bet money on this. Not a lot of money, anyway. Like ten bucks. I am totally okay with being proven wrong at E3. All the same, the idea that Microsoft will announce at least timed exclusivity for Rock Band at E3 is seeming less and less crazy. As I said earlier:
There really isn't a big PS3 userbase out there right now. So EA really isn't hurting themselves by only releasing Rock Band on Xbox 360 for this holiday season. Plus, consider that this game is going to be amazingly, stupidly popular, and that they have to create three peripherals alongside it. Wouldn't it be a lot easier on them to just create them for one console, this holiday? And really, Microsoft is willing to throw around absurd amounts of money for less important things.
Nice. Seven new songs, one cover, and the first word on DLC (full albums!).The Battle of the Bands is officially on. Yesterday, the Neversoft-developed Guitar Hero III revealed the python-enthused former Guns N' Roses fretter Slash would rock on a variety of unlockable guitars. Today, original Guitar Hero developer Harmonix fired back with the announcement that it will offer not just hit singles for gamers to play, but entire full-length albums from multiple labels.
The first band to receive the digital conversion will be classic British rockers The Who. Gamers will be able to form a virtual cover band playing guitar, hitting the drums, and singing along to the band's widely acclaimed 1971 album Who's Next. The album should hit soon after the game's release this fall, with new content planned on a weekly basis. For those a bit rusty on their classic rock, the full track list for the album follows:
The Who's Who's Next
: "Baba O' Riley"
"Bargain"
"Love Ain't for Keepin'"
"My Wife (Entwistle)"
"The Song Is Over"
"Getting in Tune"
"Going Movile"
"Behind Blue Eyes"
"Won't Get Fooled Again"
Harmonix also announced the first 15 songs from the retail edition of Rock Band. A glance at the list reveals a wide array of rock subgenres and decades represented, from David Bowie and Black Sabbath to The Hives and The Strokes. The first 15 songs from Rock Band are listed below, with the new songs in bold:
Artist - Song (asterisk indicates a cover version of a song)
The Who - "Won't Get Fooled Again"
Mountain - "Mississippi Queen"*
David Bowie - "Suffragette City"
Black Sabbath - "Paranoid"*
Blue Oyster Cult - "Don't Fear the Reaper"
The Ramones - "Rockaway Beach”
Rush - "Tom Sawyer"*
Bon Jovi - "Wanted Dead or Alive"
Nirvana - "In Bloom"
Stone Temple Pilots - "Vasoline"
Weezer - "Say It Ain't So"
Foo Fighters - “Learn to Fly”
The Hives - "Main Offender"
The Strokes - "Reptilia"
Queens of the Stone Age - "Go With the Flow"
But wait, there's more. Hoping to toll the bell on its competition, Harmonix revealed the Grammy-winning "Enter Sandman" from Metallica's 1991 Black album will be included in Rock Band's initial lineup shipping with the game. Announced at the end of EA's press conference, Kathy Vrabeck also made mention that a "substantial" number of songs from Metallica's catalog are slated to appear in the game.
But wait, there's more. Hoping to toll the bell on its competition, Harmonix revealed the Grammy-winning "Enter Sandman" from Metallica's 1991 Black album will be included in Rock Band's initial lineup shipping with the game. Announced at the end of EA's press conference, Kathy Vrabeck also made mention that a "substantial" number of songs from Metallica's catalog are slated to appear in the game.