John-ShepardThe music genre exploded earlier this generation but has since cooled off. But Harmonix isn't about to give up entirely.
In a Giant Bomb interview , Harmonix CEO Alex Rigopulos, CTO Eran Egozy, and vice-president of product development Greg LoPiccolo addressed the team's future plans for Rock Band .
Rigopulos says they're currently considering a "fundamental creative reinterpretation" of what the franchise is, and a whole new direction. According to Egozy:
"You might assume we're going to add saxophone or something along those lines, but no, the kind of direction we're planning on taking Rock Band, the kind of innovation we have in mind, is taking it in a different direction, one that's more suitable to the kind of environment we're in, what people are doing now, what they're interested in playing now, versus, say, 2007."
Interestingly enough, Rigopulos added that the past is in the past; in other words, the rivalry with Activision's Guitar Hero won't influence future business decisions. The Harmonix CEO said that if the "right thing" came down the pike, they wouldn't refuse a partnership with the world's biggest video game publisher.
For the time being, we can do without some music games for a while. I've been burned out on the genre and so have others, so if the franchise in question does return, it better be plenty different. Just an opinion.
Being a lifelong musician, I'm of the opinion that Rock Band 3 has taken a huge step in the right direction. I applaud Harmonix for their continuing innovation, while Activision has pretty much just given up entirely. The genre may now be down to a core set of fans, but those fans don't want to see it go away. I'm sure whatever they have planned, they'll be able to pull it off successfully.
Last edited by 556pineapple on 10/26/2011 12:27:53 AM
As a big fan of Harmonix, and a big supporter of Rock Band 3 AND Dance Central, I am very much looking forward to seeing what they do next.
My whole family have an absolute blast playing Rock Band with me. Uncle and Aunt sang along to the Beatles while me and my cousins played the plastic instruments.
Ahhhh… good times.
but what if we dont want a totally new direction?
why would you want a totally new direction?
this is one thing i will never understand!
if you wanted RB to be a different game, then why would you buy it?
hey i want to play a RPG…..
i know ill buy splinter cell!
what was wrong with RB in the first place?
as the saying goes.
if it aint broke, dont fix it!
HMX, before you take it "in a different direction", can you please at least patch RB3 and give us the game you should have made in the first place…you know, one with functional Vocals and an avatar system without 1000 glitches?
What they need to do is have it where you could upload a song in there and have it spit out a song that you could play. They could even charge so much for each song. I wouldnt mind paying a few bucks to have a song that I know I will play
That's what I want as well. I have been waiting for Led Zepplin, Scorpions, Vince Neil Exposed, Motley Crue and RATT. I am now starting to despair. I play RB3 and love the game. But waiting for songs is a tough one.
Last edited by CrusaderForever on 10/26/2011 9:08:46 AM
Since the days of Frequency I've been a huge fan of Harmonix. I trust they will do the music game genre a great deal of service by implementing their new ideas but a new direction all together? That is a very interesting statement.
Only time and sales figures can tell if the masses are ready for a new direction.
Heck yes, Frequency and Amplitude were awesome!
-Arvis