A lot of action on the music gaming front: Neversoft has announced two new guitar hero games: an all-Aerosmith version, as well as Guitar Hero IV, a version designed to compete directly with Rock Band, complete with drum set and microphone.
Not to be outdone, Konami announced Rock Revolution, their own entry into the music band sweepstakes. A movie can be found here. The game has a heavy focus on drums, but no singing – making it a much less cool party game. On one hand, its art looks cheap and the UI looks unpolished and simplistic, but on the other hand, the songlist takes me right back to the bus ride to school: Scorpions, Motley Crue, Whitesnake, and Skid Row. Cock rock for the win! At least, it speaks to me much more than Molly Hatchet and Deep Purple.
One notable thing is the apparent lack of backwards compatibility. Rock bands has 4 pads (plus kick), whereas GH4 has 5 (including elevated cymbals), and Rock Revolution has six (see pics). The fact that RR also is looking at shipping their own version of the guitar with all-new colors for the note charts shows what is becoming either a desperate race to establish a peripheral standard, or a complete disregard for it (you’d think the market would have learned their lesson by now).
Just a couple years ago, it was a known fact that games based on peripherals could never sell, and now all these guys think players want to spend $200 bucks for a peripheral used by only one game. I expect a market correction to happen here, and one clear winner to emerge from the next round. Of course, Konami has a unique perspective on it, having effectively sued competitors out of existence for making games that run on their peripherals, which suggests that even more legal shenanigans may be on the way.
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