"While there's been a lot of talk over the last few years about the inevitable death of the album format, the videogame industry doesn't appear to be listening. On Sept. 12, Metallica will release a gameplay version of their new record, Death Magnetic, through Guitar Hero, and two days later, Rock Band 2 debuts, and with it, the promise of 500 tracks by year's end. Stocking the digital bins, EW.com has learned exclusively, will be seminal full albums by Foo Fighters (The Colour and the Shape),..."

"Ah, the Rhythm Action genre. Bashing away on a fake, plastic instrument or leaping around like a loon on a bunch of arrows while a banging track plays in the background. Do it well and you’re a rock god on stage in front of thousands or the very ghost of Timberlake himself, throwing down some awesome shapes. For some people, this is escapism at its height. For others, well, they just don’t ‘get’ it."

"We already know that Rock Band 2 is going to make its debut on the Xbox 360 before any other console. However, we’ve gotten no word on just how long we’ll have to wait before it is released on the PS3 and Wii. However, thanks to a few snapshots from a retailer, we may have a better idea.

According to the screens, we can expect the Xbox 360 version to hit stores on September 14th. The PS3 owners will have to wait just over a month for their October 19th release, while Wii owners won’t see i..."

"It means, first, that classic acts can make an easy paycheck licensing their back catalogs to rhythm games, although both publishers are becoming less willing to accept anything except master tapes. With both games shipping with an in-game music store that allows players to browse, listen to tracks, and purchase new songs for the games, the ability to make money pushing classic and up-coming bands is virtually limitless.(Right now the holy grail of music licensing seems to be the Beatles, and..."

"Get ready for "Shackler's Revenge." The track from the upcoming Guns N' Roses album Chinese Democracy will appear on the video game Rock Band 2, slated for release for the Xbox 360 platform in September.

The news was announced Monday morning by Harmonix president and CEO Alex Rigopulos at Microsoft’s press conference at E3 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. In addition to "Shackler’s Revenge," Rock Band 2 will feature songs by Bob Dylan, Metallica, Pearl Jam and the Grateful Dead among ..."

"If the official online store for Rock Band franchise rockbandstore.com is to be believed, we have two different release dates for Rock Band 2 on our hands. The regular edition with just the game will be out on November 30th, according to the pre-order page. While first time rockers and those who have the dough for another set of plastic instruments will start jammin' away sooner on October 19th."

"Videos in Link.


Rock Band 2

While everyone loves strumming the bass or wailing on lead guitar while someone else screams into the mic, users frequently criticized the drums in the original Rock Band. As fun as they are, they’re too simple, not realistic enough and way too loud (not in a good way). But drums in music games like Rock Band pose a unique problem for developers: They can’t make them too complicated—no one would want to play except professional drummers—but developers need ..."

"LOS ANGELES -- One of the hottest trends in video games is one of the oldest pastimes of the human race.

A virtual symphony of music-playing games will soon be lining store shelves as game publishers and console makers try to capitalize on the growing popularity of the genre. The latest is from Nintendo Co., which unveiled its "Wii Music" game here at the E3 video game convention Tuesday.
In almost every genre of game, if you see a big spike, it's largely attributable to one or two titles..."

"- Fender Stratocaster Controller takes on a new authentic look plus adds a reinforced strum bar, quieter buttons, wireless functionality and a built in calibration tool that automatically sets your AV setup to an ideal setting for maximum rock.


- Drum set goes wireless while also featuring quieter, velocity sensitive drum pads and a metal reinforced pedal.


- Microphone showcases authentic styling and weight.


Kick up the intensity with officially licensed third party instruments..."

"The Konami patents, issued in 2002 and 2003, relate to simulated musical instruments, a music-game system and a ``musical-rhythm matching game.'' Konami also makes the ``Karaoke Revolution'' music game with microphones, as well as the ``Metal Gear Solid'' espionage game.

...

Konami is demanding cash compensation, plus an order that would block Viacom and Harmonix from using the inventions, according to the complaint, filed yesterday in federal court in Marshall, Texas. The suit names H..."

"Rock Band 2 isn't going to just take the introduction of a wireless drum set in Guitar Hero World Tour lying down. No, Harmonix has its own wireless drum set planned, according to a product listing on Amazon.com. With a tentative release date of September 14 and a price of $89.99, it may mean waiting for an upgrade that's free of ugly cables is just around the corner."

"The battle of the bands is heating up. If the current batch of rumours are true then Harmonix are not taking the news of Guitar Hero World Tour laying down and will be releasing their entire back catalogue of content as free DLC."