Rock Band 3 (Keyboards!!!! And other "pro" instruments)
 

There's enough info coming out of this now and it's going to be detailed at E3 in less than a month, so here it goes.

When you exit the demo of Green Day: Rock Band, you get this logo:

http://bulk2.destructoid.com/ul/174510-rockband3.jpg

(From http://www.destructoid.com/keyboards...o-174510.phtml )

I'm a little pumped to see this now. Especially with all the new song oppertunities if it is true.

A new toy? Oh boy...

You don't even need to get it though, I'm more happy that there will be more potential for bands/songs as they tend to avoid the songs with a large keyboard presence, even if the other parts are still good.

Probably get a keyboard when they go down in price as well....

The three mic logo thing will probably confirm harmonies in it like Beatles as well.

Depends on how it works. If they managed to make it like a real keyboard, it would motivate me to actually practice. If it's just another fake instrument, I doubt I'd buy it. Still, it doesn't take anything away, so....

I'm thinking the same. An actual keyboard (even if it's only a two octave one or something) would make the keyboard a day one purchase.

Well there's been a lot of talk of more authentic displays of music so... hopefully 2 octaves?

Agreed. My only concern is with the viability of an OSD for keyboards. Drums are fine, but adding one more note in Rock Rebellion helped to make things terrible (though admittedly, that was only one flaw in the game). They'll have to start limiting number of instruments as it is, and even a one octave display could get cramped fast. Though admittedly, a piano roll like the vocal track could work.

If you didn't look like nerds before

The guitars already technically are keytars.

Given that Harmonix already teased the inclusion of a new instrument in Rock Band 3 -- the keyboard -- we almost feel like we've been taken for a ride. That is, if today's report from Ars Technica's mole on the game is correct and the keyboard is actually a keytar. "What?!" you cry. Much like Frankie, we must say, "Relax!" because, well, we're totally on board with the concept. Just think about the possibilities!

The Ars report also alleges the addition of a "Pro" mode "that will require proper technique, and may lead to actual skills on guitar and bass." Perhaps that mode will have some tie to the peripherals, which will all be assembled by Mad Catz, apparently, (as hinted at earlier this year); meaning EA would only handle the distribution of game discs.

Though Ars' mole has been accurate with rumors in the past, without confirmation from MTV Games, Harmonix, EA, or Mad Catz (yes, we tried -- only MTV Games responded, saying, "We do not comment on rumors or speculation"), this report is still, unfortunately, unconfirmed.


Wow, I wasn't serious when I said it's a keytar. :-\

I'm going to kill you, G.

Freezepop is gonna be sweet on keytar.

I'm probably one of the few that think keytars are awesome, but how would one for Rock Band be any different than a RB guitar?

Also, knowing Acti, how long until Guitar Hero announce they've added keyboard as well?

If it has keys, it would be different by default?

They did yesterday. Granted, it looked like they duct taped a keyboard to a GH controller, but....

:shifty:

If this is the official thread Hasney then change the title to such.

The official thread's already up.

where

Here.

Then change the title.

Or at least take the (Keyboards?) off.

No wait, sorry, over there.

I don't see it.

Behind that thing?

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http://gonintendo.com/viewstory.php?id=126498

http://content.usatoday.com/communit...nced-so-far-/1

RAINBOW IN THE DARK

http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets.../500x_rb31.jpg

I'm thinking RB3 will have a setting and controller that does what the new games does, rendering it moot.

25 key MIDI keyboard, better tracklist than GH6 already.

SOLD.

What Hasney said.

Even pro-mode guitar/drums sounds incredible. Fully functioning 6 string Fender Squier Strat guitar that knows where your fingers are with no buttons?

The other pro-guitar is from Mad Katz and sounds like a good "Teach me guitar" way of playing:

And drums with 3 cymbals as well as the 4 drum pads. Kinda hoped for a hi-hat pedal, but this is cool too.

Here's hoping for a pro bass.

And for that easier to use menu system, sounds good for those of us with large libraries:

My fucking God.

Just wanna remind a few of you that when I suggested the addition of a mere one extra fret set, "I'd never rest until there were six strum bars" and shit like that. Kalyx was crazy wanting a slightly more authentic experience...





I love being on the right side of history.

Sweet Jesus

- SEVEN PLAYER MAX

Special Note:



The Mad Katz Pro has fret buttons, a lot of them. The strum area does have strings. While...



...The Squire Strat will use strings completely (with special sensors to find your fingers).

Holy shit, looks like they're not holding anything back. I know Dhani Harrison, George's son was doing some consulting and helping with the early phases of RB3. Makes me wonder if the keyboard was one of his ideas that he pitched to them. If so, kudos to him.

jesus christ. this game looks awesome. wonder if it will even be released here. had to go to some obscure store in a giant shopping mall to get rock band 2. has still not officially been released here.

WHAT?! Sounds like a fucking outrage to me...sorry to hear of your plight. :(

We didn't officially get the Rock Band 2 controllers, only the Rock Band 1 stuff.
We did get The Beatles though so we better get this stuff.

Wow, this looks incredible.

The keyboard is $79.99
Game + Keyboard bundle: $129.99
MadKatz Wireless Fender Mustang: $149.99
Drum Cymbals which are "Compatible with all wireless Rock Band drum kits" (fuck you then): $39.99
The MIDI Adaptor: $39.99

Wonder how strong the strings on those new guitars will be? When I get one I will be playing the fucking shit out of this and I hope they don't fucking break. That would really piss me off.

I assume they'll be durable, as most guitars are expected to be played the "fucking shit out of". In any case, I suspect you'll be able to change the strings if necessary.

Hope it don't hurt my sensitive fingers. I need those for masturbating.

http://www.maplin.co.uk/images/300/N70GK.jpg

Your left hand might get fucked still with sliding across the strings, but you wouldn't need that for masturbating.

http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/107/1075750p1.html

Some game called Powergig, Rise of the Six String coming this fall.

http://xbox360media.ign.com/xbox360/...20984_640w.jpg

http://xbox360media.ign.com/xbox360/...06812_640w.jpg

Yeah, it's in the Videogame News thread.

Drums and the display in the game kill it for me.

Finding it funny how some people are accusing RB3 of copying Powergig, despite this only being announced 3 days before RB3.

http://xbox360media.ign.com/xbox360/...3015313986.jpg

*shudder*

Joystiq had an interview with one of the Harmonix guys. The main interesting point that wasn't already known is this one:

Quote:

Older songs that had keyboards -- Freezepop's "Brain Power," for example -- are those being revamped for the keyboard?

Sounds like it will be added for some tracks but not all.

A shame you're not....

The latter part is likely true, Mac, but considering how often actual guitarists go through strings....I'd count on these breaking.


But I'm a left handed masturbator and a right handed guitarist!

Except Powergig's been known for a while, so it's not like it just dropped off the turnip truck.

Still, this is something I doubt Harmonix just slapped together over a couple of months, but this isn't exactly new.

I agree with Jeff Gerstmann's thoughts on RB3:

"There's a sort of "all or nothing" vibe to the game, and I was left with the distinct impression that the next Rock Band will either reinvigorate the genre or completely obliterate it."

Definatly. There is a mix of people who are saying either "yay" or "meh". They've just got to hope that the majority of the "yay" people have the cash for this thing.

There was nothing else they could do in my eyes though, unless they were just going to stale it up GH style.

holy shit does this look good.

:y:

Seems kinda overdramatic.

Has there been any detail on how the midi adapter will work out in terms of keys and the like? I have a decent keyboard with midi functioanlity, and if I can just use that, awesome. But how do we tell what the range is?

Maybe so, but I don't think its a completely unrealistic view either. Without convincing consumers to buy more peripherals (mostly to upgrade their old ones), the music game genre probably won't survive much longer. I know I'm still playing with two GH3 guitars, a RB1 drumset, and a headset for a microphone until I feel like its worth upgrading.

And as for how the MIDI box will work, I don't think its actually officially announced. Gerstmann mentioned in his article that the keytar centers on middle C, so I would presume that all connected keyboards would do the same.

Centered on middle C...At least we got the obvious out of the way....

Why is the genre contingent on sales of peripherals? DLC's an awesome model for them and expansion of gameplay modes is still possible. Not to mention there's a reason Harmonix has been pushing away from even making the instruments.

Just for you, KK.

I'm sure they make a whole hell of a lot more selling us plastic instruments than DLC. Most people probably don't buy more than a few songs, if any.

Which is still a lot of money on DLC. Don't get me wrong. But the margin from profit from instruments has to be higher, especially at the price they sell them at.

And admittedly, I could be wrong about those profits. But its obvious that overall sales figures in the genre haven't been up to snuff recently, and the DLC model isn't going to sustain the continued financial success of any game at this point. Rock Band has probably generated the best sales figures for DLC anyway, and I'm not sure that bringing out a disc-only game with some new gameplay modes and releasing more DLC is going to make the difference to change the minds of consumers.

http://www.joystiq.com/2008/12/10/ro...ion-downloads/

28 million DLC downloads. And that was back in Dec '08

http://m.kotaku.com/5185283/one-bill...rock-band-sold

40 million in March '09. Also, $1 billion worth of revenue.

A press release from Mad Catz has revealed pricing on several of the new Rock Band 3 peripherals -- and also revealed an interesting gameplay quirk about the highest-profile new instrument, the keyboard. The keyboard ($79.99 by itself, $129.99 with a copy of the game) can be used not just to play piano or keyboard tracks, but can also be used to play lead guitar or bass. That adds even more variation to Rock Band 3!

The Fender Mustang Pro-Guitar Controller (the one with all the buttons, not the real electric guitar) will retail for $149.99, which means that the Squier Stratocaster is likely to be ... pretty expensive. The Pro Cymbals Expansion Kit, which adds three newly-designed cymbals to the existing drum kit, will be $39.99, as will the MIDI Pro-Adapter for connecting any MIDI keyboard or drum set to your game console. In addition, Mad Catz will announce revised versions of the existing Rock Band instruments soon. Essentially, not only will Rock Band 3 have more options than ever, it'll also have more ways for you to spend a lot of money.

Like I said, still a lot of money. but just because they've made a billion dollars doesn't mean they haven't spent a whole lot more on ridiculous amounts of instrument bundles people didn't want, or royalties for all the music they use.

This is probably the best article I've seen on the situation:

http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/2...nd_Weakens.php

Except they weren't making much money on the hardware to begin with. I know the common logic is to assume that since it costs so much, it must be profitable, but that rarely plays out.

As far as sales slowing, with the lack of a new main platform is likely to blame. Rock Band 2 specifically was down compared to the newest Guitar Hero, and while expansions weren't up to snuff on the GH side, they are expansions and nothing more.

Meanwhile, despite all that, DLC is still going strong by all accounts, even if the title has slowed dramatically. Without new innovations, game modes, etc. even announced.

The a la carte nature of the DLC makes it appealing. Platform expansions will continue to make it so. The new instruments themselves likely won't be sold for major profit. The most stripped down 25 key MIDI keyboard runs for more than the keyboard for the game by far. Even if you strip out all the features for a controller and the Xbox interface only, I doubt they're doing much better than breaking even.

Maybe with the other instruments, but considering the costs versus features, I don't know how anyone could reasonably assume so.

God Damn, even your counterargument supports me!

I was well aware of that comment when I posted it, and will admit that Rock Band sustains now mainly on DLC and software sales. I said I could be wrong about the profits, and I was. Originally, however, Rock Band made a good portion of their profits on peripheral and software sales. And its obvious they are still trying to see if they can sell these stupid plastic instruments to us. I'll be interested to see how much they scale back on the amount of bundles they ship with the original shipment of RB3.

And its pretty interesting that Rock Band still hasn't made Viacom money.

Any word on compatibility with RB1&2/Lego RB songs and dlc?

All DLC works.

But it seems only some will have pro mode/keyboard/hamonies added.

False. Well, the peripheral part.

An incredibly small price to pay. Once upon a time we were happy to have DLC exported period, now they have to magically get updated? Give Harmonix a break! Nothing but great news so far.

I wasn't saying that as bad news at all. Just informing.

Keep on keeping on, mate. 'Pologies.

:lol:

It doesn't take much to make Kal spazz.

Though, serious question: Would you pay to have upgraded versions of DLC you already downloaded? Like, assuming it was a minor difference, relatively speaking.

If I could get the Queen DLC or Cars DLC with 3 part harmonies, keys, and possibly pro modes, I'd cream myself.

Considering I have over 200 downloaded songs, probably not.

Thats me sold.

Don't worry, there wouldn't be a "pro" mode for Metallica. Also, I wasn't talking about upgrading ALL of them.

K, gonna get this for sure, but probably way down the line. Want that Madcatz ish and the keyboard, but fuck is my closet too full of plastic shit already.

4 guitars (2 360, 2 PS2), a drum set and 3 microphones.

you know you don't need to buy anything new, right?

I play piano, so this will be cool just to have other instruments play around the piano. I am assuming it will take some time to get used to the Rock Band piano though

I know, BUT I WANT

I'm going to probably get the game and the MIDI adapter, depending on the final keyboard and details surrounding the adapter.

I might get a single one of the pro guitars, but that should be all I need. None of my friends even play expert, so I doubt they'll need an authentic experience. And if they do? They can get their own fucking guitar.

It would be cool if this was compatible with Natal.

AIR GUITAR!

Oh god. STFU before you give people ideas you freak of nature.

Also air drums.

D Mac is now stealing Kalyx's ideas. That is sad on an epic level.

I was just kidding.


Really :shifty:

I'm going to choose to ignore the shifty and instead take that as true.

Rock Band 3 Squier Stratocaster plays both real and virtual guitar... at the same time (video)

By Ross Miller http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.en...writer_rss.gif posted Jun 16th 2010 at 1:21AM
<!--end post_byline--> Featured Video

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<!--end post_info--> <!--BLOG POST BODY: image, blurb, & readmore link--> As unfair as it is, what initially gave us hesitation about Mad Catz and Squier's Stratocaster Pro guitar controller was that, well, it's Fender's second-tier brand. Despite these prejudices from our youth, Harmonix pretty much sold us on it with one pretty badass trick: the ability to simultaneously play Rock Band 3 on Pro Expert and rock the same tune through an amplifier. Bonus: in the presentation we saw, extra notes and added fills didn't seem to affect score. So, that just about turns the uncanny valley of plastic peripherals on its head. Just make sure you crank your TV's sound system to 11 to not be drowned out from what's likely an even worse screw-up sound. See for yourself in the video after the break (caution: a few naughty words contained within).

:heart:

nice.

<object width="400" height="225"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="movie" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=12578646&amp;server=vimeo.com&amp;show_title=1&amp;show_byline=1&amp;show_port rait=0&amp;color=&amp;fullscreen=1" /><embed src="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=12578646&amp;server=vimeo.com&amp;show_title=1&amp;show_byline=1&amp;show_port rait=0&amp;color=&amp;fullscreen=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="400" height="225"></embed></object><p><a href="http://vimeo.com/12578646">E3 2010 Booth Walkthru</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/harmonix">Harmonix</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p>

With all these instruments and how authentic they are, GH's studio mode would be better served in this game. Nice tracks have been made with that system so I'd love to be able to mess around with these instruments in a similar music studio mode. At best we'll probably get a free play, though (not complaining).

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