Events, Game Design, PC, Playstation 3, Rock Band, Sony, Xbox 360, iPhone
E3 2009 Wednesday Summary
Wednesday at the Electronic Entertainment Expo was filled with appointments with various developers and publishers. I was able to see some titles behind closed doors, though a lot of them were demo only, meaning I wasn’t able to get a hands on feel for some of the titles.
It is looking like the rest of the year and early next year’s titles are looking solid, though finding out the amount of time between a lot of these titles (meaning now until release) is going to be a difficult one.
Rock Band has its fair share of editions. Since the initial November 2007 release, we’ve seen Rock Band 2, as well as five track packs, one of which features AC-DC. There are also plans for Lego Rock Band and Beatles: Rock Band. 
Rest in peace, guitar. Fabled tool of musical gods, stringed wonder upon which the craft of Carlos Santana, Jack Black, and countless others was plied, the end is nigh. You have been brought low by the bane of true musicians everywhere, that accursed Guitar Hero and its estranged cousin, Rock Band. Or have you? Has the music or rhythm game genre truly rendered you inert and unloved?
Pardon the pity party, but in high school, I really had no one to talk to about video games. My gender and my aggressive personality set me apart from the real nerds who were the gamers back then. Of course, in the days before I discovered the eternal, in-depth conversations taking place on internet message boards, the main people I subjected to my strongly specialized opinions were my very patient parents.
You won’t be familiar with Harold Sakuishi unless you’re an anime or manga fan, but you should be. He has covered baseball, martial arts, and music in his manga, and his dense storylines would translate well into light RPGs and other genres. In particular, his 34-volume Beck Mongolian Chop Squad manga could be the end-all for music/RPG games.
There are many aspects of video games that have become so common that they’re almost generic. From the source material from which the story is derived, to the enemies we rack up points and experience fighting, and even the characters with whom we control and interact. I’m not asking for anything innovative; there are some things that have been used in video games before that could stand to be used again–and in some cases, used on a grander scale than they have in the past.
With Wario shaking things up on the Wii now, bad guys aren’t exactly what they used to be. As antagonists become protagonists in this crazy backwards world, I can’t help but wonder what other villains deserve a “promotion.” I figured that, since every other Mario character seems to be starring in their own game these days, why not shine the spotlight on some less played-out characters of the series—namely, the underestimated heirs of Bowser: the one and only Koopalings?
As I’m sure you’ve heard, The Beatles are coming to Rock Band. The Fab Four announced Thursday they will be making their digital debut via a partnership with MTV and Harmonix, which looks to see the band featured in its own exclusive Rock Band title, slated for a holiday 2009 release. Of course, this is a major announcement for a plethora of reasons. The most important reason is hidden underneath the surface of this monstrous musical development. 