You’d think two $150 music games that each take up half a room with their redundant peripherals would be in direct competition with each other. Not according to Dan Teasdale, lead designer of Rock Band:

At least from a design perspective, we’re going after two completely different audiences. Rock Band is about an authentic band gameplay experience. We want people to have fun at parties, and we want to reach a wide audience. [...] Call of Duty and Halo are both great franchises you can enjoy. It’s the same with Guitar Hero and Rock Band.

I think it’s more like the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Both have a lot of great games, and gamers could potentially enjoy both consoles, but for a lot of people, it’s not realistically plausible to buy both.

Eurogamer

The Word of a Beatles Rock Band or Guitar Hero has been going around for quite a while now. Well, a brand new Beatles music game from Rock Band developer Harmonix was announced this morning. It’s not another Rock Band, though, as Harmonix CEO Alex Rigopulos made sure to point out:

It’s not a ‘Rock Band’ game. [...] It’s a new creative exploration of their music and a celebration of their legacy in a way that hasn’t been done before.

This is pretty big news for music lovers. No specific platforms have been announced yet, but I’ve Got a Feeling that the massive success of music games on the Wii can’t be a bad sign for Wii owners, and Harmonix will Let It Be for Wii. Hopefully It Won’t Be Long before we start seeing a partial song list. The game hits Here, There, and Everywhere next holiday season. (Getting So Tired of the song references? Really? I think they’re Getting Better. Alright, I’m stopping now.)

MTV

Rock Band for Wii was ridiculously gimped. Everyone knows that. It was a cash in. Harmonix has learned from its mistakes, though, and seems to be fixing things retroactively.

We already knew the Wii version of Rock Band 2 would feature DLC. What we did not know was that the list of available DLC would be retroactive. Rock Band 2 owners will have access to the full catalog of Rock Band 1 DLC at launch. Not only that, but the ability to use the Guitar Hero III controller with Rock Band 2 has also been confirmed. The gap between the two versions of Rock Band 2 just keeps getting smaller.

IGN

We had the chance to sit down with the folks at Harmonix for a hands on presentation and demo of the upcoming Rock Band 2. As the spokesperson for Harmonix stated, their goal for the Rock Band franchise was to first revolutionize the genre with the first title, and then to perfect their work with its sequel. The new features included in the game that we have seen to day clearly show that Harmonix is trying to give its fans what they want with this game.

Hit the break for our evaluation, and check our Official E3 site later tonight for some exclusive video coverage.

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This is Rock Band. Oh, wait, it’s Rock Band 2. My bad, it looks so similar… Any Foo Fighters fans around here?

GameTrailers

While Harmonix completely left the Wii out of their Rock Band 2 press release, we can always count on second-hand sources for the scoop. Apparently, instead of being a timed exclusive for the Xbox 360 and then being added only to the PlayStation 3 lineup, the PlayStation 2 and Wii will be getting in on that later action. Translation: the Wii is getting Rock Band 2, and it’s getting it before Christmas.

Of course, none of this should matter if the game’s online capabilities are a carbon copy of the first Rock Band.

Associated Press
via Joystiq

Well, we’ve seen Rock Band on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, and we’ve seen the “special” edition on the Wii. If the new Rock Band 2 announcement is any indication, we might not be seeing the sequel on Nintendo’s console. Oh, darn.

Those of you still desiring another Rock Band game for Wii over the upcoming Guitar Hero: World Tour do have a little bit of hope to cling on to. When the first Rock Band was announced for the 360 and PS3, the Wii was left out, but Harmonix was optimistic about a Wii version. In addition, recent surveys suggested that Harmonix would bring a sequel to the Wii.

Of course, if Harmonix can’t take a hint from Vicarious Visions’ inclusion of downloadable content in Guitar Hero: World Tour - ironic, isn’t it - then I’m sure Rock Band 2 wouldn’t be missed on the Wii.

IGN Xbox 360

Since Rock Band debuted for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 last fall, Harmonix has strictly limited the warranty coverage to 60 days and those who had a receipt. Now, they’ve acknowledge a smaller number of manufacturing issues with early units, and from June 30 to October 1 will replace instruments for those without receipts. Afterwards, you’ll need a receipt again, as Harmonix explains:

(1) we have a great deal of confidence in our peripherals, (2) we believe we have a great warranty program in place and (3) we found that a large number of the reported problems–especially those after the 60 day period–were due to mistreatment of the equipment.

Yeah, Harmonix? The online features in my copy of Rock Band for Wii don’t seem to work. I want them fixed. PLSKTHX.

Gamasutra
via GoNintendo