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Pre-E3: Rock Band 3 To Incorporate Real Keyboard, Guitar Instruments
by Chris Remo [PC, Console/PC, E3]
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June 10, 2010
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In a significant evolution for Harmonix's music game franchise, Rock Band 3 will add a fully-functional 25-key keyboard, as well as optional compatibility for a guitar controller based on a standalone, stringed electric guitar.
With the addition of the vocal harmonies introduced in The Beatles: Rock Band, the new keyboard track will bring the total potential number of simultaneous Rock Band players in a single song to seven: drums, guitar, bass, vocals, keyboards, and two harmony vocals.
The additions were reported in a USA Today blog post that provides initial details about the new keyboard and guitar peripherals as well as some of the licensed tracks to be featured in the game, including The Doors' "Break on Through" and Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody," both of which make considerable use of keyboard or piano.
Publisher MTV Games expects to ship the game this fall for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Wii.
Key to the incorporation of the new instruments, which continue to narrow the gap between gameplay and actual musical performance, is "pro mode." Without pro mode enabled, the keyboard uses the standard five-button system that has served as the backbone for all Guitar Hero and Rock Band games. But in pro mode, instrument tracks expand to fill the whole 25-key range of the keyboard peripheral, and the full fretboard of the optional (and likely pricey) Squier guitar.
The keyboard will also output to standard MIDI, and the guitar is a Squier Stratocaster, meaning both can be used as standalone instruments outside of the game. Standard Rock Band guitars will remain compatible with the game, and Harmonix is also partnering with accessory maker Mad Catz to provide an intermediary optional instrument, one that ups the number of available buttons but is still a game-only plastic peripheral.
The music game genre has experienced a slowdown since its early Guitar Hero heyday, and Harmonix CEO Alex Rigopulos says the studio's considerable additions to Rock Band 3 are an attempt to combat that trend.
"Our ambition for Rock Band 3 was really to re-energize and reinvigorate the [music game] category and advance it and move it forward," he said.
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You snooze, you lose
That's what they're doing. As noted in the piece, Rock Band 3 will be compatible with an actual Squier (Fender) Stratocaster outfitted to work with the game. It's a fully functional guitar that can be played on its own.
Has anyone actually done a survey of how music games are actually used these days? I'd expect to find that the majority of time, they're only dragged out for social occasions - and I'd be surprised if the average difficulty level is above Medium.
Harmonix has generally done a better job of putting together a strategy for the post-bubble world: the Rock Band Network was a stroke of genius, as was focusing on DLC rather than flooding the market with spin-offs. However, this announcement feels like it's an attempt to one-up Guitar Hero, rather than an attempt to appeal to the userbase.
Personally: I had Guitar Hero 1 shipped over from the US. I bought Rock Band on the day of the UK release. I splashed out on GH:WT to get a better drumkit and guitar. I picked up Singstar for the wireless mics. And now: what I have is good enough for when friends and family come over. So I've stopped. They can bring out realistic guitars, keyboards, cowbells, flutes, bagpipes: I don't have the time (or space) and my friends don't want the complexity...
If I played guitar hero for years because I had a genuine interest in making music, it would probably take me another year or longer to learn how to do it correctly with a real instrument.
I think they are doing the right thing... How well it'll sell, I dunno.
The seven-player support will be welcome for my play groups, since there's often a bunch of people present during play sessions. Also, the lines for playing onstage at PAX and other conventions will now move faster!
The tutorial features are a great idea. If nothing else, they remove 60% of the trolling messages on Internet forums about Rock Band, and that can only be a benefit to all of humanity.
Not that I'd let them though. I'll be playing the keyboard every damn time...
i saw the keyboard demo and it looks like it would have the ability to allow for a slow progression for newbs so that eventually i may be able to play on expert/pro. the franchise has always been hammered by artists that say it wasn't teaching anyone to play real guitar... this appears to open the door for future jimi hendrixs.