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Disney joins 'Band' wagon

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Disney joins 'Band' wagon

Old 02-28-08, 10:14 AM
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Disney joins 'Band' wagon

http://www.variety.com/article/VR111...goryid=20&cs=1

Posted: Wed., Feb. 27, 2008, 5:30pm PT

Disney joins 'Band' wagon
Plans unveiled for 'Guitar Hero'-esque game

By BEN FRITZ

Disney Interactive Studios is joining the battle of the bands.

Mouse House's videogame unit on Tuesday unveiled plans for "Ultimate Band," a new music simulation it plans to launch in the fall that will compete with "Guitar Hero" and "Rock Band."





Unlike those two successful titles, however, "Ultimate Band" won't come with any new guitar- or drum-shaped controllers. Instead, it will use the motion sensing capabilities of the existing Nintendo Wii controller and the touchscreen on the DS. "Ultimate Band" is being released exclusively on the two Nintendo consoles.

"We thought we could do a very compelling music title just using the mechanics of the Wii controller," said senior game designer Derek Dutilly. "We think of it as more of a game and less of a simulation."

The DS version is based on the same technology Disney already used for a "Hannah Montana" music game on the handheld system.

After the huge success of "Guitar Hero," which generated the most revenue of any videogame franchise last year, and a solid launch for "Rock Band," the music gaming genre is getting particularly competitive this year. Activision is developing three "Guitar Hero" games for release in 2008, while MTV is presumed to be making a "Rock Band" follow-up for the holidays and THQ is developing a new title called "Band Mashups."

Disney is hoping to stand out with more family friendly gameplay and song selection, a different visual interface and lower cost since it won't require any peripherals.

Songs already confirmed for "Ultimate Band" include "Steady as She Goes" by the Raconteurs, the Who's "My Generation" and "Fell in Love With a Girl" by the White Stripes, all of which will be covers.

"Ultimate Band" is being developed by Fall Line Studio, a development house Disney Interactive Studios founded in 2006 to make games for DS and Wii.

It's the second original title that Disney Interactive Studios, which is attempting to expand beyond licensed games, is launching this year along with stunt racing game "Pure." Other games on its sked include a new "High School Musical" game and an adaptation of this summer's "Prince Caspian." It is also expected to make a game based on Disney animated feature "Bolt," which comes out in November.

Chris
Old 02-28-08, 11:21 AM
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Songs already confirmed for "Ultimate Band" include "Steady as She Goes" by the Raconteurs, the Who's "My Generation" and "Fell in Love With a Girl" by the White Stripes,
Cool!

all of which will be covers.
D'oh!
Old 02-28-08, 11:26 AM
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This is the only thing I hate about these type of games. I'm a person that doesn't like cover bands and won't go see them play someone else's original songs.

I'm not sure who is stopping the originals from being included in these games. Is it the artists themselves or the greedy record companies?

Chris
Old 02-28-08, 11:31 AM
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I don't know, part of the fun of these games is playing a real (fake) instrument.

But I guess it will keep costs down.
Old 02-28-08, 11:38 AM
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In perfect world, they'd all be masters. But a song being a cover doesn't take away any enjoyment I get out of it. It isn't like they're doing some crazy cross-genre crap with these covers. As long as they're faithful, who cares?

It will be interesting to see how this plays out with the control schemes. I suppose the "front man" I read in another preview will be handled. Like if you're just dancing around like that dude from The Bosstones or if your success in replicating the movements actually affects the vocal track.
Old 02-28-08, 11:56 AM
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Sounds interesting. Might be fun for younger players, because the description of the controls leads me to believe the actual gameplay will be simplified from what we get in Rockband/Guitar Hero. I guess the bonus if that you won't need as many music controllers.
Old 02-28-08, 06:20 PM
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Aside from the Disney game, i'm curious about and want more info on this bit:

After the huge success of "Guitar Hero," which generated the most revenue of any videogame franchise last year, and a solid launch for "Rock Band," the music gaming genre is getting particularly competitive this year. Activision is developing three "Guitar Hero" games for release in 2008, while MTV is presumed to be making a "Rock Band" follow-up for the holidays and THQ is developing a new title called "Band Mashups."

That is the first i have heard of that.
Old 02-29-08, 12:43 AM
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Disney can get the White Stripes, but Rock Band can't?
Old 02-29-08, 09:27 AM
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Since this is Disney, I just assumed it was just going to be filled with High School Musical, Hannah Montana, and That's So Raven songs -- which would make sense and might be in the game, but it's cool that they're branching out.
Old 02-29-08, 10:38 AM
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Originally Posted by DVDChris
Disney can get the White Stripes, but Rock Band can't?
Yeah, but they're all covers!

Chris
Old 03-03-08, 10:29 AM
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Not to thread crap, but this game is gonna tank like a . . .

Old 03-03-08, 10:36 AM
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Originally Posted by metalhead212
Not to thread crap, but this game is gonna tank like a . . .
People that only think the games they're interested in are the successful ones..

Always a great source of comedy.
Old 03-03-08, 11:03 AM
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It's gonna tank like a Led Zeppelin?

Well then tank = success

Chris
Old 03-03-08, 11:26 AM
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Chris - metalhead was making a reference to the band's name origins.
Old 03-03-08, 11:33 AM
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Originally Posted by rabbit77
Chris - metalhead was making a reference to the band's name origins.
I know, I know, the game's going to crash like the original Hindenburg back in 1937 in Lakehurst, New Jersey.

Chris
Old 03-03-08, 11:40 AM
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Originally Posted by mrpayroll
I know, I know, the game's going to crash like the original Hindenburg back in 1937 in Lakehurst, New Jersey.

Chris
most detailed "I get the reference, leave me alone" reply I've seen in a while.
Old 03-03-08, 12:02 PM
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Originally Posted by RichC2
most detailed "I get the reference, leave me alone" reply I've seen in a while.
I think rabbit77 thought I was some young punk kid who didn't know what the Hindenburg was all about.

The sad thing is, I am almost old enough to have ridden on that fateful trip!

Chris
Old 03-03-08, 12:30 PM
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No, I've been around long enough to know you're not some young punk kid, and I wasn't even talking about the hindenburg. I didn't know if you knew about Keith Moon saying that the band would go over like a lead balloon, and metalhead referring to that. Then again I just read his comment and don't know if that's what he was referring to.

Last edited by rabbit77; 03-03-08 at 12:32 PM.
Old 03-05-08, 09:20 AM
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Originally Posted by rabbit77
No, I've been around long enough to know you're not some young punk kid, and I wasn't even talking about the hindenburg. I didn't know if you knew about Keith Moon saying that the band would go over like a lead balloon, and metalhead referring to that. Then again I just read his comment and don't know if that's what he was referring to.
Yes sir that would be correct. I wasn't to sure if anyone would get it right away.



Originally Posted by PixyJunket
People that only think the games they're interested in are the successful ones..

Always a great source of comedy.
I'm pretty sure this is going to tank because games that are rushed out to cater to a specific genre at the tail end of its life span always spell doom for not only the game, but the genre as well. Disney coming out with a "guitar hero-esq" game only tells me that the Rock Band / GH phenom is coming to an end. Lets face it, the games are good, but do both of these series / the genre have the staying power of games and genres like halo and first person shooters?

Yes to a core audience and no to the mass public. Rock band made a saving throw by expanding to not only drums but the mic as well. GHIII attempted to bring a new edge to its series by making battles, but really where do both these series have to go now? How much more revolutionary can they make hitting a button when a note pops up?

I think the Disney game will be a way for much-older adults and younger children to find a way to relate to the GH and RB fans out there but on a lesser scale. It sounds like a good idea to make the game, i guess, but I don't see people getting as much enjoyment out of the game strumming their Wii-motes like guitars as apposed to actually holding a "real" guitar and hitting notes on the "fret board".

If the game is profitable then chalk me up as wrong on this one but I'm going to go ahead and call it for what I see it as. Disney trying to cash in on the "shooting star" success of the game type, but ultimately leaving a blemish on the genre that we will quickly try to forget.

Last edited by metalhead212; 03-05-08 at 09:26 AM.
Old 03-05-08, 09:44 AM
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It's not too far fetched to believe someone named "metalhead" would think anything outside that genre would tank.

I think you are grasping at straws at this point. Admit it, you came in, saw the Disney name, assumed it would only be Disney licensed music and threw out an ever so clever pic. There is nothing wrong with that assumption. I assume 99% of the people clicking on the thread thought the same thing. But then to claim the music genre is teetering on its death bed with a half baked response to justify your initial assumption?

The Disney brand is HUGE right now. The Wii is HUGE right now. I think this will be a success, if not a huge one. I do think it would be beneficial to make it guitar compatible though.
Old 03-05-08, 10:11 AM
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Originally Posted by metalhead212
Yes to a core audience and no to the mass public. Rock band made a saving throw by expanding to not only drums but the mic as well. GHIII attempted to bring a new edge to its series by making battles, but really where do both these series have to go now? How much more revolutionary can they make hitting a button when a note pops up?
My dream add-on would be to add live online tournaments that would drop 16 people into a virtual room, pair them up and have them all play the same random song, then the 8 winners pair up, new song, then the semis, then the finals. That would be awesome.
Old 03-05-08, 11:42 AM
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Originally Posted by Michael Corvin
It's not too far fetched to believe someone named "metalhead" would think anything outside that genre would tank.

I think you are grasping at straws at this point. Admit it, you came in, saw the Disney name, assumed it would only be Disney licensed music and threw out an ever so clever pic. There is nothing wrong with that assumption. I assume 99% of the people clicking on the thread thought the same thing. But then to claim the music genre is teetering on its death bed with a half baked response to justify your initial assumption?

The Disney brand is HUGE right now. The Wii is HUGE right now. I think this will be a success, if not a huge one. I do think it would be beneficial to make it guitar compatible though.
I guess I may not be getting my point across correctly, and that is my fault.
I am not viewing this from the prospective of a "rock" fan and I am not dismissing the game for the company that is making it either. I personally love Disney. I have been to both Disney Land and Disney World plenty of times. I love the movies and am man enough to admit that I do enjoy the music from their movies as well. You are correct in saying that Disney is huge. They have been huge for a long time.

My concern and ultimate dismissal of the game comes from the fact that I feel this genre is getting to large to support itself. The GH and RB games are awesome. I love them all and get a lot of enjoyment from playing them alone or with friends, but the fact that there are THREE more GH games slated for a release this year, one more Rock band game, and a slew of "clones" all coming out tells me that rhythm genre is going to suffer.

Anyone that wants to fight that point is crazy. How many times have we seen this in the past? For example, extreme sports games were huge in the ninety's and early 00's thanks to Tony Hawk and Dave Mirra. How many "x-treme clones" games came out after THPS and THPS2 sold so well? We are at what like fifteen Tony Hawk games? Sure every game that came out had some new and innovative feature, but the the quality and appeal of the game started to dwindle drastically. The market got flooded with so many competitors trying to break off a hunk of "cheese" that the originators of the genre started to scramble and push out game after game just to keep up and retain sales while sacrificing overall quality. After THPS3 came out it wasn't to hard to notice they were scrambling for a new niche because they pretty much exhausted a lot of their options in regards to content and abilities in the game. What do we have now? You can get angry and smash your board and that counts as a multiplier? What kind of fun is that?

Niche games like this have to be regulated to ultimately be appreciated and profitable. If there is an excessive amount of games out there consumers go into an overload. They buy them up, play them, stumble across the bad ones, and never buy another game of that type again because they got burned on their last purchase. If people are afraid to take a risk and buy new games like that because of a past transgression than there is no incentive to make those types of games, and fans of the genre suffer.

Harmonix took a very long time and put a lot of care into the GH series while they had it, and it is completely blatantly obvious they put even more care into Rock Band. These companies that get ahold of the basic blue prints and push out a game in three months whether it is ready or not turn a thriving and profitable atmosphere into a tarnished lost cause.

Regardless, the game could be made by Nick or Cartoon Network or even CNN and my opinion of it would stay the same. When consumers start having knock-offs and less than quality releases pushed down their throats under the guise of "alternatives" or hidden under the umbrella of a quality name (like Disney) they will eventually realize they have bought crap, assume all games of the genre are crap, and eventually the genre will die because new customers are losing interest in it and the once strong core audience has lost its faith and jumped ship.

Of course I may eat my words when the game comes out. Good music and good game play can do wonders. If the game is packing enough of an appeal outside of just the initial attraction to the Disney logo for it to be profitable then I guess you can teach an old genre new tricks.


P.S. I got my name from this:

(TMNT)

Not this:

Old 03-05-08, 12:31 PM
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Metalhead pretty much covered it. Do we really need yet another 'pretend you're in a rock band' game, that doesn't really seem to bring anything new to the table. Just sounds like Disney jumping on the bandwagon.
Old 03-05-08, 02:11 PM
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Originally Posted by metalhead212

P.S. I got my name from this:

(TMNT)

Not this:

That might have been something better left unsaid.

I understand what you are saying about the clones and agree. I just think the Disney brand plus the strength of the Wii will elevate it above the Carnival Games of the world.
Old 03-05-08, 02:19 PM
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Originally Posted by Michael Corvin
That might have been something better left unsaid.

I understand what you are saying about the clones and agree. I just think the Disney brand plus the strength of the Wii will elevate it above the Carnival Games of the world.
OH HECK NO! You did not just slam on the Turtles. Hahaha.

As far as the game goes, we will see I guess. It would be nice to see Disney stumble onto something a little more innovative and something that makes really good use out of the Wii-mote.

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