IGN has scored the first screenshots of the Electronic Arts/Hamonix musical monster, Rock Band, all of which reveal absolutely nothing about game play mechanics. In fact, in the accompanying interview, Harmonix CEO Alex Rigopulos is closely guarded when it comes to just how Rock Band will play out. He says thing like “I can’t comment yet on gameplay details,” and my favorite, “That’s something I can’t talk about.”
Still, he’s confident in his product, and he certainly has every right to be. These are the guys that (after years of work) seem to have single-handedly legitimized music-based games in North America. There’s no doubt Rock Band is going to be gigantic, and Rigopulos isn’t too shy to admit as much:
“I can’t speak to what Activision has planned for future versions of Guitar Hero, but what I can say is that Rock Band’s guitar game alone will be more substantial than any of the prior Guitar Hero releases. PLUS, there’s the complete drum game that’s just as large. PLUS, there’s the complete singing game. PLUS, there’s the co-operative band game that ties them all together. Basically, it’s four complete games on one disc. The thing is really huge!”
Those are some fighting words, but he’s also quick to point out that he feels there’s more than enough room on the market for Guitar Hero and Rock Band to co-exist, helping to push and drive the evolution of the category. You know, like Electronic Arts has been doing with the Madden NFL series.
Other topics touched upon include downloadable content (there’s going to be a ton), user created content (definitely a possibility), and the pricing of the peripherals (stop whining).
