Good grief. This looks amazing. And you’ll be able to download the whole Abbey Road album to play along with. Even the animated chord changes are as they should be and there’s some great detail to the Apple rooftop gig, Cavern, Budokan and Ed O’Sullivan scenes. Sounds good too.
Posts Tagged ‘games’
August 13, 2009
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The Beatles and the future of gaming.
By Ash in Musical MurmuringsSome of the team that worked on The Beatles Rock Band game got together to demonstrate what fun the game will be. Unfortunately, they look so unbelievably nerdy that any ‘cool’ quality the game potentially had is completely obliterated. On top of that, Paul’s Hofner bass has a tremolo arm on it. WHAT IDIOT THOUGHT THAT WAS A GOOD IDEA? It’s a bass guitar dammit, and if you’re going to painstaking lengths to ensure a Beatles game is as accurate as it can be – don’t stick a bloody wang bar on the bass!
Anyway, is this really the future of gaming? A bunch of saps stood round in a room playing plastic instruments, copulating to their fabbest hits? I admit it’s probably fun for a couple of days, but are we likely to tire of the rhythm game concept anytime soon? Probably not.
An ideal way to increase band income generation, rhythm games must be a top priority for labels, because games are officially outselling CDs. Released earlier this year, look at the statistics for horror game Resident Evil 5.
Resident Evil 5 outsold every item in the UK Singles Chart (Based on physical and digital sales of UK Top 200)
Resident Evil 5 outsold U2′s chart-topping new album’s total sales since release in one weekend (in the UK)
Resident Evil 5 grossed more than the top 5 movies in the UK combined - March 19th (Source: IMDB.com)
The Resident Evil franchise as a whole has sold 40 MILLION COPIES WORLD WIDE – that’s 1 copy for every 170 people in the world (based on a global population of 6,707 Million)
Last year, Verdict Research predicted “UK sales of games will outstrip music and video for the first time in 2008″. It’s a new trend, but it’s hugely significant. “In the last five years the video games market has more than doubled in value, while music sales have stagnated.” (Source: BBC News).
So it’s obvious why Apple decided to create a Beatles game, it’s a massive cash-in and one that’ll send the registers ringing all the way into Christmas. I wonder which will sell most: Beatles Rock Band (£40 – game only / £110 – value edition / £180 – ‘limited’ edition), The Beatles Stereo Box Set (£170) or The Beatles Mono Box Set (£200)?
Is it too much of a stretch to predict Rock band outselling both? Not really. If you wanted to buy each one of those on the auspicious 09.09.09, you’d be paying out just under £500. Of course, if you want the John Lennon Rickenbacker or the George Harrison Gretsch, you’re looking at an extra £85 a piece - and I bet you all that good money that they’re anything but authentic replicas!
June 16, 2009
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Call of Duty 6 (Modern Warfare 2)
By Ash in RandomAs a total addict to COD4 (Modern Warfare) and COD5 (World at War), I thought I’d be more excited about the next installment. Modern Warfare 2 looks set to up the bar on Activision’s first installment, but the problem is, I don’t think the trailer looks that hot.
Due for release on 10/11/2009
June 16, 2009
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The Beatles are Killing Music
By Ash in Musical Murmurings
Nice piece in the Guardian technology blog debating the contribution of downloading to the alleged ‘death’ of the music industry. You don’t have to be a genius to know that physical music sales on the high street are down: walk into any media outlet and you’ll be confronted with reams of DVDs, while CDs are mostly relegated to an area that is impossible to navigate by anyone over 20. Ultimately, people’s interest in music has waned, with overall single sales and album sales down on figures from, say, 10 years ago.
But that doesn’t matter. Maybe there’s not as much good music; maybe people enjoy films more or find games better value for money. As Charles Arthur argues “The reality is that nowadays, one can choose between a game costing £40 that will last weeks, or a £10 CD with two great tracks and eight dud ones. I think a lot of people are choosing the game – and downloading the two tracks.”
Sure. Why not? When we’re being told there’s some kind of credit crunch, what better way to spend your money than on something that’s going to last 40 hours and not two. Of course, that argument presupposes the buyer is simply purchasing shit music. With computers becoming entertainment hubs, programs like Spotify and Last FM allow people access to music without the need to purchase it. Brilliant! But only if you like listening to MP3s, and that is indeed the format that people prefer these days. Though I’m frequently guilty of making generalisations, there is some evidence to support this. Jonathan Berger, professor of music at Stanford University, tests his incoming students each year and has discovered that students prefer the sound of MP3s to CDs, including the ‘sizzle’ (distortion). Sounds nuts to me (you can read more here).
So, we love our DVDs, LCD HD TVs, Blue Ray players and consoles. What’s wrong with that? They all provide art and entertainment, why should we be so concerned about this ‘music industry’ that’s had its glory days and made a mint from the public in the ’80s? I don’t know. Artists? Perhaps. Is it really possible to make a living from art any more? The trouble with the internet is that while it makes it easier to make money or gain exposure for some, it also makes it harder as billions of voices scream “LOOK AT ME!”
How else can we explain the rise and popularity of reality TV? Big Brother, X-Factor and Britain’s Got Talent have all made their creators a fortune and made a few of its supporting cast (the public) stars. Hell, just look at the success of YouTube. It’s not just gaming killing music and it’s not downloads. It’s not just one simple thing that is crushing small labels, independent record stores and upcoming bands / artists: it’s a cultural shift, an electronic evolution.
Anyway, with games like Rock Band and the Guitar Hero franchise, music and gaming have never been so closely related. I can’t imagine how the licensing options for those games work, but with the demand for interactivity increasing and bands releasing albums practically mastered for games (e.g. the massively over-compressed Death Magnetic by Metallica), I suspect that music and gaming relationship has just begun.
The ultimate tie-in is on its way: The Beatles Rock Band. Released on the same day as the entire remastered Beatles catalogue on 09.09.09 (Lennon‘s favourite number), I can guarantee it will be the biggest selling game this year; if not of all time. Check out its sexiness.
We’re on a turbulent ride through uncharted territory and though there will be casualties, there must eventually be a steer. Though I doubt it will be entirely ethical (as business is forever business) I suspect it will favour the artists more than before and that is surely something good to come from all this.
Until then, the remainder of this golden era will be spent lining up to buy *insert classic band here* box sets and games. Cor, it’ll be like ’66 all over again!