After a short stint at a medical facility to allow certain members to deal with “exhaustion,” Plastic Rockers is back with another look into the rhythm gaming abyss.
This time around we’re taking a look at the band exclusivity trend going on within the rhythm game industry.
A few months ago Big started working on a story about upcoming games that were band centric. The thrust of the article was about which other bands had a big enough fan base to support their own game disc. He came up with about six or seven bands for which, he thought, a case could be made; then just sat on the whole thing for a few weeks. In the meantime a couple of those bands have had some DLC or had announcements of future releases made. So, because he's lazy and didn't get it done in time, some of the stuff is outdated. And, because we're REALLY lazy, we aren't redoing the whole thing. It did get Big0ne thinking though … Do we really want another GH:”Insert Favorite Band Here”?
Here's what he has to say:
I can certainly understand where the record labels and game developers are coming from on the issue. They want to make their investments in buying a band's catalog worthwhile. What's the best way to do that ... hmm ... yep I got it. Sell the game to the fanboys as a stand alone title and make a ton of money by putting an ugly hooker in a nice dress, doing her hair, then calling her pretty. IT'S THE SAME FUCKING GAME PEOPLE JUST DIFFERENT TOONS (the characters and the music).
What about the consumer? Why should I have to buy an entire new game every time Harmonix wants to put out a “Best of Bad English” game disc? I suppose you could argue that I should quit being so lazy, get off my fat ass once in a while and swap a disc out. In an age of MP3 players though, why are they taking the rhythm games back to the days of CDs?
Of course the game developers are doing all they can to differentiate themselves and rightly so. It would be nice if they could do so with unique features and game play rather than the current trend of getting exclusive rights to particular artists. I don’t really want to have to buy an iPod in order to play Metallica and then go buy a Zune so I can play The Beatles. I really just want to be able to play any available artist on the game platform of my choosing. DLC is available for all threee major game consoles now and there’s no reason we can’t use that as the main delivery system for new artists and songs.
I’ll happily pay for a new game disc once in a while as long as I can keep bringing my music along. Harmonix did a nice job of this with RB2 but the recent announcements surrounding The Beatles: Rock Band indicate a reversal of that trend. Activision says that if you buy Guitar Hero 5 you’ll be able to play your DLC and import from Guitar Hero: World Tour and Smash Hits, but not Metallica or GH 1-3. This is kind of like getting a software update to your iPod and then being told that only the newest songs you download from iTunes will work with it. Again, maybe I’m just a lazy bastard and don’t want to keep swapping out discs. However, even if I could afford to buy every new rhythm game that comes along, I’m pretty sure that not all my friends can.
So here's the deal Mr. Big Time Game Developer Dude, go ahead and work on your next Rock Band v. 69. Take all the time you need. Introduce new features like three-part harmony, sousaphone support, new venues and custom character creations, playlist features, jukebox playability and anything else your wicked little minds can come up with. Just makedamnsure I can bring along the music I've already paid you for.
NoGame's answer:
Everyday we hear game devs telling us they listen to their community, they are implementing this new feature b/c so-and-so buttfuck in WV posted this thread in their forums and he got a ton of responses. They say, "We've been listening to the community and they've told us they want this feature so we are adding it into the next game." That's all fine and dandy, and don't get me wrong, they have listened for the most part when it comes to music choices. We'll leave out the shitty packs like Nickelodeon for the sake of argument.
On the other hand, the companies developing these games are owned by larger corporations, and what does the man like best? You guessed it, the all mighty dollar. The big wigs at MTV and EA know that if they put out a Metallica game, all the fanboys are gonna throw down their hard-earned $60 to purchase and play their latest songs, and the companies are loving it all the way to the bank.
Yes, we live in a world of DLC, iPods, iPhones, Zunes and MP3s where players/music listeners can download any one song you want from a certain artist. Consumers can also support their favorite band by buying their latest and greatest full album. The second one is what the big dogs are counting on. It might cost them a little bit more money to put together a stand alone game, but they know they are going to make a lot more money on that higher price point.
We see this all the time in electronics, gaming, cell phones, etc. ... the producer puts a few new features out for a certain product, throws a shiny new face on the outside and calls it the Next Gen.
How can we as consumers battle this never ending cycle? That's easy, speak up with your money and with your voice. Don't go right out and buy the newest version of Mandy Moore sings the blues when it comes out. Get on the Rock Band, Guitar Hero, iPhone, Wii, and whatever other forum you are a part of and make your voice heard. When these companies put out these new products and they don't sell, they'll have to re-evalute the way they do business (yeah, right. -- ed.).
The Man is slowly coming to his senses about the way he does business and he's realizing that digital distribution is the way of the future. Just look at all the DLC for Rock Band, GH, or even the new title for the battlefield series: Battlefield 1943 (wholly distributed and playable w/o a disk from your hard drive), but until we as consumers truly speak up we are going to continue to see these stand alone games put out on the marketplace.
