Our Old Rock Peripherals
It’s standard for hardware to become obsolete in very short order, cell phones only last about a year, and our computers and consoles last five to seven if we’re lucky. Therefore, gamers are no strangers to upgrading their toys pretty frequently. This basic principle has an even larger effect on our nerdy lives now that so many of us have plastic guitars and drum sets sitting around that are getting replaced annually. With Rock Band 2 now out and Guitar Hero: World Tour coming soon, it’s tough to justify holding on to our SGs and X-Plorers since the new improvements are far more than just quieter buttons.
So last week, everyone got a quick glimpse into which tracks I believe should be considered as downloadable content for Rock Band 2 and Guitar Hero World Tour. Sadly, one article just isn’t enough to get the attention of the people at Harmonix and Activision; using an “insider tip” that claims two articles are enough to garner attention, I present the second installment of my DLC wish list, this time it’s all about the song packs.
If you’re a fan of music, and a fan of video games, you are almost definitely a fan of either Rock Band or Guitar Hero. We’ve all “rocked out” on our plastic Stratocasters, and smashed the drums like Animal; but like every other facet of music, everyone has their own opinion on which songs they’d like to wail to. Both Harmonix and Activision have done a great job of presenting a variety of tracks that span multiple decades and genres; but I can’t help but feel they could use a little guidance in choosing future tracks to be released as downloadable content. I’ll present a list of songs that I believe would be perfect for both games, but this isn’t just a list of songs I like: these are songs that have a rightful place in both of these games.
Prior to the release of Guitar Hero III, I was in the minority of people who knew of the band DragonForce before the game. Now DragonForce–or at least their song “Through the Fire and Flames”–has many more fans. While it’s nice to know others appreciate their music, to say Guitar Hero III made DragonForce famous is just not right.
It wasn’t long ago that film director Brett Ratner was screwing up the X-Men movie series, now he aims to take down another modern classic. Ratner stated in a recent interview, that he would like to take on Guitar Hero as his next film project. At first glance, this does sound like a terrible idea, but on second thought—it’s still a terrible idea.
I think it’s safe to say that we’ve all had moments when we got a killer headshot in Halo or shattered a high score in Guitar Hero when we’ve wondered: could I do this professionally? Well, 16-year-old Blake Peebles is actually doing something about it and is planning on purusing a career as a professional Guitar Hero player. His dedication is such that he actually left his public school in order to focus on the game.
In Warner Music Group’s (WMG) Quarter 3 earnings call, Edgar Bronfman, chief of WMG, made it clear that he thinks games like Guitar Hero and Rock Band are great opportunities and are going to be a major player in the music industry. Wow, that sounds great! Does that mean WMG will support them even more? Not quite. WMG wants mo’ money and says they won’t license those games anymore if they don’t get paid.
We’ve all heard the argument that Guitar Hero is causing thousands of young gamers with musical potential to waste their talents on a video game, but what about the counter argument? There are hundreds, if not thousands, of gamers who have never touched a real six-string, who find themselves honestly wondering if they could be a rock star because they can five-star “Freebird” on expert. If you fit this demographic, you and I have something in common, and I’d like to share a few things I discovered while trying to learn the guitar.