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Rock Band
- July 17, 2007 15:04 PM PST
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But before I get ahead of myself, I have to be fair and say that, for all its glitz and glam, I also have my fair share of misgivings about Rock Band. Here are the four things that I'm most worried about:
4) Pipe Dream
Whether it's the woman sitting in the car next to you during rush hour or your significant other in the shower, everyone likes to sing. But it's a proven fact (not really, but still) that 99% of the population possesses singing voices that are about as pleasant to listen to as your garbage disposal. Just watch an episode of American Idol if you need proof. So while talented guitarists, drummers and bassists will be relatively easy to find, a quality singer won't be, meaning we might all have to put up with some warbling doofus ruining our sizzling instrumentals. Just like Rush.
Playing with someone who will butcher an otherwise awesome song with their torturing-a-cat vocals might be one of Rock Band's potential lowlights.
3) We Got The Beat
Is the drum kit controller just a potential waster of closet space?
Sure, that drum kit controller looks awesome but will Harmonix be able to make the drum sections interesting and compelling enough to convince gamers to stick with it over the long run? No doubt, they'll put it in the hands of talented drummers to make sure it's an authentic experience, but will people actually want to play the drums or will it be the instrument that no one wants to tackle?
2) Opening Act
There's no doubting that Rock Band is a hot new intellectual property, but Harmonix' early success with Guitar Hero might come back to haunt them: gamers are creatures of habits, after all, and the Guitar Hero franchise has so much cachet that it might be hard to pull people away, especially once GH III hits. Add in the fact that many people have invested a lot of money into their Guitar Hero controllers and you may have a lot of gamers who might be reluctant to invest more cash in yet another set of proprietary controllers. Which brings me to my next point:
Rock Band definitely shows its Guitar Hero roots but will it have enough star power to pull gamers away from what they already know and own?
1) Mo' Money, Mo' Problems
How much is that peripheral in the window?
It always comes down to dollars and cents: pricing on Rock Band's peripherals hasn't been set in stone yet but EA has a tough task on their hands. They have to balance their bottom line against what consumers will be willing to pay, something that has always been an imprecise formula. And in order to get the full setup, something many gamers will want to do, they'll have to pony up a significant chunk of cash. If the price of admission is too high, EA might find themselves playing to an empty auditorium.
Whether Harmonix can capture lightening in a bottle twice remains to be seen but look for more Rock Band coverage in the days to come. Even though EA has already announced some major features, there are sure to be more relevations to come as the game's release date draws near. But regardless of how you feel about the game, there's no denying that it was definitely one of the stars of this year's E3.
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