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Real-Guitar Music Game Lets You Rock Your PC

Andy Salisbury — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 17:26:09 -0600

CES there was a new kid on the block by the name of Disney Star Guitarist that was looking to teach you how to play an actual guitar instead of memorizing the five color-coded buttons.

The game works about the same as guitar hero, little gems float down the screen and once they hit a certain spot it’s up to you to place your fingers in the right place and strum (you can find a video here). Only this time, instead of the aforementioned color-coded buttons, you’re using actual strings, on an actual guitar.

Should the game actually be good enough to hold people’s attentions (read: not just Disney songs), there could be some real value here. After all, as a drummer I can see it as a good possibility for someone that plays Rock Band on the harder difficulties to hammer out a beat on a real kit. Perhaps the same rule could apply, once someone’s had enough opportunities to play “Hakuna Matata” on the 5-string?

Image Credit: Wired

Gaming Not-Roundup: An Easy End to Videogame Piracy? You Wish

Nathan Grayson — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 21:37:40 -0500

As we've become painfully aware over the past couple of weeks, game publishers will do just about anything if it means pointing an over-sized foam middle-finger in piracy's direction. But, with EA's recent decision to plunge a grimy claw into an old wound that was finally beginning to scab over, another lesson has been hammered into our collective conscious: DRM doesn't work. It alienates legitimate customers and pushes budding pirates right over the edge.

However, there are other, much more viable methods of thwarting thieves, most of which are only now heaving themselves upward and making awkward, Bambi-esque strides into the limelight. Thus far, however, only one such anti-piracy tool has proven itself stupidly lucrative: the subscription fee.

During this week's Activision Analyst Day event, Activision Publishing CEO Mike Griffith mused about a possible Guitar Hero subscription service -- part of the publisher's plan to "monetize" the series. In addition, he noted that Call of Duty could fall under a similar, dollar-shaped banner.

Taken on its own, I see no problem with this pseudo-announcement. In both cases, a subscription service would have us lazing in a warm tub of new content with minimal hassle, and, as WoW has kindly pointed out, PC piracy of those games would slope off drastically.

But try ka-ching-ing a few more subscriptions onto your bank account's emaciated form and suddenly, this idea doesn't seem quite so dandy.

Blizzard currently has lifeguards and a series of diving boards stationed around its money vat because WoW is at the zenith of the MMO industry. More importantly, though, WoW is occupying the tippity-top all on its lonesome; no other MMO even comes close. And there's an obvious reason for WoW's totalitarian rule: it's the best. People flock to the game for a good time, and gladly part with $15 every month because -- let's face it -- Age of Conan and games of its ilk definitely aren't slurping up WoW's audience like they once hoped. The majority of WoW's frothing masses get their MMO -- and in many cases, gaming -- fix from WoW and only WoW. Their money is for the Horde.

Two or three subscriptions, though? That's a line only the hardest of the hardcore (and also the too-"busy"-to-cancel lazy) are willing to cross. Even if a plethora of subscriptions siphoned from your wallet the exact same amount of money as paying for individual updates, I'd wager that you'd still be reticent to flash your cash. Why? A single purchase is next to nil. It's an impulse buy. But a subscription fee just screams "commitment," and that's when our brain's little red light flashes to life.

That single negative threatens to obscure any and all positives a subscription-based industry might bring with it. However, all is not lost.

If publishers were to place all of their subscriptions under one, semi-cheap banner -- like a monetized Battle.net or SOE's Station Access, but with every game the publisher offered for a single fee -- customers might not be so overwhelmed by swarms of subscriptions. But even in such a condensed form, the majority of people would probably stick with one publisher -- one commitment -- likely fragmenting the market in the process. If the industry keeps consolidating, though, fragmentation may not be an issue. Really, Activision, EA, and Ubisoft already provide the majority of games we play these days, so a movie industry-like structure may not be far off.

And, of course, we haven't even touched free, ad-supported titles -- which could snugly ride shotgun with subscription-based programs -- but that's another article altogether.

So, what's your opinion on subscription fees? Where do you think they should stand in the fight against piracy? Are they the solution, or will they only lead to unnecessary complications?

E3 2008:Rock Band 2 Tracklist Announced

Pulkit Chandna — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 20:08:02 -0500

With gamers increasingly voicing their concerns about the Guitar Hero series becoming monotonous, all eyes are now on the second installment of the Rock Band series. Harmonix and MTV Games gave away the full Rock Band 2 track list at the ongoing E3. The game’s disc will come with 84 tracks and 20 songs will be released as downloadable content or dlc. Additionally, gamers will be able to import their on-disc and downloaded Rock Band 1 tracks to Rock Band 2. Tracks from the who’s who of the rockosphere populate the list.

1. AC/DC “Let There Be Rock” 1970s
2. AFI “Girl’s Gone Grey” 2000’s
3. Alanis Morissette “You Oughta Know” 1990’s
4. Alice in Chains “Man in the Box” 1990’s
5. Allman Brothers “Ramblin’ Man” 1970’s
6. Avenged Sevenfold “Almost Easy” 2000’s
7. Bad Company “Shooting Star” 1970’s
8. Beastie Boys “So Whatcha Want” 1990’s
9. Beck “E-Pro” 2000’s
10. Bikini Kill “Rebel Girl” 1990’s
11. Billy Idol “White Wedding Pt. I” 1980’s
12. Blondie “One Way or Another” 1970’s
13. Bob Dylan “Tangled Up in Blue” 1970’s
14. Bon Jovi “Livin’ on a Prayer” 1980’s
15. Cheap Trick “Hello There” 1970’s
16. Devo “Uncontrollable Urge” 1980’s
17. Dinosaur Jr. “Feel the Pain” 1990’s
18. Disturbed “Down with the Sickness” 2000’s
19. Dream Theater “Panic Attack” 2000’s
20. Duran Duran “Hungry Like the Wolf” 1980’s
21. Elvis Costello “Pump It Up” 1970’s
22. Fleetwood Mac “Go Your Own Way” 1970’s
23. Foo Fighters “Everlong” 1990’s
24. Guns N’ Roses “Shackler’s Revenge” 2000’s
25. Interpol “PDA” 2000’s
26. Jane’s Addiction “Mountain Song” 1980’s
27. Jethro Tull “Aqualung” 1970’s
28. Jimmy Eat World “The Middle” 2000’s
29. Joan Jett “Bad Reputation” 1980’s
30. Journey “Anyway You Want It” 1970’s
31. Judas Priest “Painkiller” 1990’s
32. Kansas “Carry On Wayward Son” 1970’s
33. L7 “Pretend We’re Dead” 1990’s
34. Lacuna Coil “Our Truth” 2000’s
35. Linkin Park “One Step Closer” 2000’s
36. Lit “My Own Worst Enemy” 1990’s
37. Lush “De-Luxe” 1990’s
38. Mastodon “Colony of Birchmen” 2000’s
39. Megadeth “Peace Sells” 1980’s
40. Metallica “Battery” 1980’s
41. Mighty Mighty Bosstones “Where’d You Go” 1990’s
42. Modest Mouse “Float On” 2000’s
43. Motorhead “Ace of Spades” 1980’s
44. Nirvana “Drain You” 1990’s
45. Norman Greenbaum “Spirit in the Sky” 1960’s
46. Panic at the Disco “Nine in the Afternoon” 2000’s
47. Paramore “That’s What You Get” 2000’s
48. Pearl Jam “Alive” 1990’s
49. Presidents of the USA “Lump” 1990’s
50. Rage Against the Machine “Testify” 1990’s
51. Ratt “Round & Round” 1980’s
52. Red Hot Chili Peppers “Give it Away” 1990’s
53. Rise Against “Give it All” 2000’s
54. Rush “The Trees” 1970’s
55. Silversun Pickups “Lazy Eye” 2000’s
56. Smashing Pumpkins “Today” 1990’s
57. Social Distortion “I Was Wrong” 1990’s
58. Sonic Youth “Teenage Riot” 1980’s
59. Soundgarden “Spoonman” 1990’s
60. Squeeze “Cool for Cats” 1970’s
61. Steely Dan “Bodhitsattva” 1970’s
62. Steve Miller Band “Rock’n Me” 1970’s
63. Survivor “Eye of the Tiger” 1980’s
64. System of a Down “Chop Suey” 2000’s
65. Talking Heads “Psycho Killer” 1970’s
66. Tenacious D “Master Exploder” 2000’s
67. Testament “Souls of Black” 1990’s
68. The Donnas “New Kid in School” 2000’s
69. The Go-Go’s “We Got the Beat” 1980’s
70. The Grateful Dead “Alabama Getaway” 1980’s
71. The Guess Who “American Woman” 1970’s
72. The Muffs “Kids in America” 1990’s
73. The Offspring “Come Out & Play (Keep ‘em Separated)” 1990’s
74. The Replacements “Alex Chilton” 1980’s
75. The Who “Pinball Wizard” 1960’s
Bonus Artist Bonus Song Title Decade
76. Abnormality “Visions” 2000’s
77. Anarchy Club “Get Clean” 2000’s
78. Bang Camaro “Night Lies” 2000’s
79. Breaking Wheel “Shoulder to the Plow” 2000’s
80. The Libyans “Neighborhood” 2000’s
81. The Main Drag “A Jagged Gorgeous Winter” 2000’s
82. Speck “Conventional Lover” 2000’s
83. The Sterns “Supreme Girl” 2000’s
84. That Handsome Devil “Rob the Prez-O-Dent” 2000’s

What The Romantics Don't Like About Guitar Hero

Erin Simon — Sun, 25 Nov 2007 22:05:21 -0600

The Romantics have sued Activision over the inclusion of their song “What I Like About You” in the videogame Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s. Get the complaint from the estimable Joe Gratz here. Activision licensed the musical composition from the songwriters, but instead of buying the rights to use the Romantics' version of the song, it used a cover version by Wavegroup Sound. The Romantics claim that this version sounds too much like their own – and that state law protects their distinctive sound from impersonation.

The Romantics brought the case under Michigan's right of publicity, the right of a person to control the commercial use of their identity. Most right of publicity claims involve the use of a person's likeness, but a recognizable voice can also get protection. For example, the Ninth Circuit has held that the impersonation of Bette Midler's voice in a commercial violated her right of publicity.

What complicates this case is its intersection with the Copyright Act. US Copyright distinguishes between a musical composition and particular recordings of that composition. It specifically provides for compulsory licensing of musical compositions, so anyone can make a cover song without getting the songwriter's permission. Further, Section 114 provides that copyright in a sound recording only extends to those particular sounds, not to imitations or sound-alikes. The Romantics couldn't bring this as a copyright infringement claim, so they're trying an end-run around the Act by calling it a right of publicity issue. The real question will be whether the Copyright Act preempts such a claim. (Here's a hint: it should.)

Keyboard Hero

David Murphy — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 20:19:13 -0500

As a PC enthusiast, I've always been quite saddened to watch my console brethren get all twitchy-finger and stompy-foot on their respective addictions of choice, Guitar Hero and Dance Dance Revolution. Sure, your average game of Command and Conquer is pretty akin to their button-mashing, but deep down, it's just not the same. I want to rock, damnit, and computer keyboards just weren't made for music.

Until now.

In researching our "best games to waste time with at your work day" feature for the June issue, I reached an epiphany of sorts. As we were tasked with looking for the best browser-based games, I couldn't include my findings in the feature. But it would be shameful of me to not mention them somewhere, as I feel like a total n-e-w-b for not noticing them for so long.

Frets on Fire
Left Rock Hand: It's a Guitar Hero clone, specifically designed for PC-based rockage. Bind your keys however you'd like, and strum away; it's the closest you'll get to "Stairway to Heaven" without plunking down $infinity for an XBox / PS3.

Right Rock Hand: The game is fairly lightweight, so it won't kill your system. And it apparently has yet to be given that ol' C&D by a certain major developer, so you can actually find a good amount of support / updates.

Too Much Rock for One Hand: Frets on Fire not only lets you import all the songs from GH1 and GH2, but you can create your own jams. Be sure to check out the two big community forums -- Keyboards on Fire and fretsonfire.net. Odds are good that someone, somewhere, has created a version of your favorite song... unless you, too, love nine inch nails. Slim pickings there...

StepMania
Left Finger: This game looks suspiciously like a port of DDR that uses your fingers instead of your feet because, well, that's what it is. Although you might not get as much of a workout, you'll definitely frighten your coworkers with all that knuckle-cracking.

Right Finger: As you might expect, there are a ton of songfiles / dance mixes / less-than-legal-DDR-rips floating around on the 'net. We recommend a hearty Google search, which will surely take you to whatever destination can best serve you said files. Yeaaaah.

That V-for-Victory-Sign Thing: If you're truly 1337, you can use a Playstaion-to-USB converter to actually use dance pads with StepMania. Although we're pretty confident that if you're trying to tap-dance to, say, One Winged Angel... you're going to die. Seriously, don't mess with Sephiroth.

The Challenge!

Download Frets on Fire, register for fretsonfire.net, and go find Panic!!!!! at the Disco's "Arms Race" song. Play it through once, and just try to beat my score. Now don't go back and replay it 30 times and get a perfect. We're doing this sniper-style; one shot, one kill. Or one try, I should say. Your first try. Beat me, and I'll totally blog about it to the envy of all your peers.

I blame a bit o' keyboard lag for this fine rendition: