jdpatri

Just to the $35 with DLC. The swag didn't seem to be swaggy enough.

Anubis2005X

Now that it's made it, I guess I'll just wait for PSN Plus...

chuckd21

37 fired. CEO moves to new role.

http://venturebeat.com/2014/05/29/ha...-replaces-ceo/

flashburn

Ship it!

mattysemo247

Yikes, and they were a smaller studio as it was (around 200 - 250?). Wonder if they are adjusting their figures for Fantasia now with the Kinect-less XB1 coming out next month.

Decker

You'd have to figure that by unbundling the XO from the Kinect, they'd have to seriously downgrade their sales estimates based on far fewer households capable of playing the game than previously anticipated.

Bob_Bobbson

Well, I guess the shorter than usual Kickstarter makes sense now.

They had to get the thing done by today to see if they would have to layoff the people who are moving over to Amplitude or not.

Decker

I guess that does make sense.

chess

What a mess. Invested too much in the success of Kinect. Hope they all land on their feet.

Amusingly, I think consumers are probably ready for a new Rock Band. If they could figure out a way to make currently owned songs forward compatible and expectations were kept in check, I'll bet it would sell well enough to justify its existence.

redbill

the bigger problem is the instruments. most have probably been trashed by now, and there's no way stores are going to re-stock all that plastic again.

flashburn

There's no way in fuck a new Rock Band would be even remotely successful. Even if they somehow managed to get MS and Sony to allow the old instruments to be compatible with the new systems. It's dead Jim. Maybe in 5+ years.

chess

Wishful thinking on my part.

They seem like cool studio. Hope they come up with something to keep the doors open post-Kinect, and no, I don't think Amplitude is it.

Do they own the Dance Central IP?

Drexl

I'd love a new Karaoke Revolution, which only requires a microphone. I mostly liked singing with RB anyway.

Shagrath

They own both Dance Central and Rock Band IPs.

I have no idea what they can do to save their studio. Fantasia's gonna flop hard, as will Amplitude. Chroma's gone back to the drawing board as well. The only thing I can see saving them is Rock Band 4, but it would have to be really innovative, and more than likely be subscription-based.

Decker

Amplitude's over half paid for. I don't think it's possible that it could flop hard at this point.
Now Fantasia, on the other hand...

Decker

from Joystiq:


Amplitude: A funding freak

by Mike Suszek @mikesuszek


Harmonix's Kickstarter project to fund a successor to its 2002 cult favorite PS2 music game Amplitude will be retold time and time again as a glimmering example of success on the platform. After all, the project had all the good stuff we like to talk about: A likeable group of developers, a classic fan-favorite series and a sudden resurgence after its campaign seemed desperately bleak. What's lost in the story is that the project shouldn't have succeeded; it's the anomaly that broke the math of Kickstarter.

After the project launched May 5 and earned $170,000 in two days, Harmonix struggled to pass the $250,000 mark ten days later, leaving it with less than half its campaign time to earn over two thirds of its lofty $775,000 goal. And it did just that, surpassing the goal last Thursday and netting a total of $844,127 when all was said and done.

It was easy to get caught up in the drama as big names like Minecraft creator Markus "Notch" Persson and Insomniac CEO Ted Price issued calls to action to back Amplitude and the project gathered speed, supporters frantic in their enthusiasm for its success. While the community-backed Amplitude project might inspire others to seek big paydays on the funding platform, it's more or less a red herring. Dearest project creators: You are not Harmonix, and last week's cries to join the funding party weren't the only anomaly on Kickstarter. Amplitude is a freak.

Of the 262 successful video game Kickstarters in the nine month period from June 2013 through February 2014, only eight brought in more money than Harmonix did with Amplitude. Consider Amplitude part of the wealthy minority in crowdfunding. Projects in the nine-month period earned closer to $22,000, far less than the massive amount Harmonix managed. What's more, that number is on the decline: The winter quarter in crowdfunding saw a median average of $18,087 raised among its projects.

A large chunk of Harmonix's success last week came from the willingness of its funders to increase their pledge amounts beyond what they normally might be. Amplitude saw an average of $59.82 pledged per person, more than twenty bucks higher than the typical contribution recorded in the aforementioned nine-month period ($36.03). That trend hasn't let up, either. In other words, if the Amplitude project had gone the way of most Kickstarter efforts, Harmonix would have earned roughly $335,813 less than it actually did. Failure.

The success rate of gaming Kickstarter projects is the other major struggle in the space. Ink Stories managed over $300,000 in support for its novel, politically-charged game 1979 Revolution, yet didn't get the Harmonix-level push to see any of that funding money in December. More recently, Renegade Kid wasn't able to pass the $50,000 mark on its quest to raise $580,000 for Cult County, and the developer's co-founder Jools Watsham determined that the "only way to reduce [its] budget is to only make episode [one]." Spaceteam designer Henry Smith's "experiment" to raise $80,000 CAD to develop two free games failed earlier this month, though Smith asserted that it was a success in proving that players are "ready for this kind of funding model." As it turns out, players seemed more eager to bring a rhythm-action game back from a 12-year absence.



The crowdfunding community decided that each of these games weren't going to be made, just like it decided that pouring $1.2 million into Double Fine's Massive Chalice last June was reasonable. And yet of those 262 games funded between June and February, 121 of them received less than $20,000, 219 earned less than $100,000. It's impossible to say with any certainty that those developers will have a tough time creating their respective games with those budgets; most will likely be fine.

Still, those considering crowdfunding their dream projects may also face the reality that those visions need to be increasingly limited in scope. There's no telling what caused the Amplitude project to skyrocket, whether the Dance Central developer's name or the return of a familiar brand brought promise to backers is unclear. If Harmonix's incredible rally last week says anything, it's that even a game like the upcoming Amplitude successor requires more than what crowdfunding can offer.

Decker

Amplitude: First Gameplay Trailer, Team Multiplayer Revealed

+ Posted by Ryan Lesser on Mar 02, 2015 // Creative Lead, Amplitude

Hey there, fellow FreQ!

It’s been a while since I’ve had a chance to talk to you about Amplitude, but with PAX East right around the corner, and looking at the great progress we’ve been making in development, it seems like a great time to show you what we are up to.



Team Amplitude has been working feverishly to bring a sweet build of the game to PAX East, and as of this past week, we think that we nailed it. In the past few months since showing the game at PlayStation Experience, we’ve put a real focus on multiplayer, hoping to get groups battling it out at PAX East.

While we were focusing on the gameplay for Amplitude multiplayer, I started posing a question to the team: What can we do to even the playing field when pro players sit on the couch to play against new players? During a team meeting, I discussed thoughts that I had for things like “rubber-banding” and power-up distribution, and out of nowhere, Amplitude Audio Lead Pete Maguire threw out the idea of team play. TEAM PLAY!? Genius!
Amplitude on PS4, PS3

Team play is something we’d never done in Amplitude before, and allowing players to team up 2v2 or even 3v1 sounded like an amazing way to even the playing field without disrupting the current design. We decided to give it a shot, and after some iteration and tweaking, we are proud to say that it’s already super fun.



It’s been a really interesting challenge, balancing the gameplay carefully between casual and hardcore. We want to create a game that can be super fun in a party situation, while also being tight and sharp in a way that could potentially even appeal to the competitive gaming community. I think that we’re on the right track now that we have both the classic Free-For-All Multiplayer mode and the new Team Play mode. Time will tell, but we have a couple of months to really suss it out, playtest the crap out of it, and get some great feedback from fans.

We’re excited to showcase this brand new feature at PAX East this week. There will be a few Amplitude kiosks set up at the Harmonix booth on the show floor (#4224). We’ll be there playing the game with everyone, so stop by and check it out if you’re attending!

Speaking of Team Play and PAX, we were invited by the fine folks at Penny Arcade some weeks ago asking if they could use Amplitude as one of the games in their Omegathon tournament! They specifically asked if we had a way to whittle down teams. Luckily, we were working on the perfect feature for that, and we can’t wait to see folks go head-to-head with one another in front of a large audience Saturday morning of PAX East.

<iframe width="853" height="480" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/FetGKVJxLek?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Keep an eye out for us on the PAX East floor and in the Omegathon this weekend. In the meantime, we’d like to give the PlayStation community an opportunity to check out new gameplay footage in the world premiere of our very first Amplitude gameplay trailer here on the PlayStation.Blog, just above this very paragraph. We hope you like it!

bluetoast

Team...multiplayer? Fuck yeah. I don't even know how that will work and only skimmed that post but fuck yeah.

Bob_Bobbson

Looks like the Harmonix tradition of bugs worked its way to their kickstarter too.

I got the first part of my backer rewards last night. The $35 tier was said to include "The game's DLC" in addition to a voucher for the game when it comes out. It ended up that the DLC was going to come in the form of a $20 PSN code, which would cover the cost of the DLC...

Yesterday I got an update email from them saying that the PSN codes were ready and to log into Backerkit to get them. However, the email specified that the $20 PSN credit was now coming in the form of 10 separate $2 codes. (WTF? Apparently it's a restriction Sony put on them. I dunno.)
So I got my 10 codes and started entering them in and 8 of them came back with "This code has already been redeemed" messages. I checked the Kickstarter page and it appears it's happening to everyone, ranging from 3 codes working to only 1 working.

Supposedly Harmonix said they're working on fixing it, but they haven't actually released any kind of update through any of the normal channels (like a Kickstarter update or by email).

This whole thing is weird.

redbill

the codes probably came from 6 year old Pepsi caps from their recycling.

Decker

New gameplay footage :

<iframe width="853" height="480" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/j5CkSaGRwDQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

mattysemo247

Coming to PSN on 1/5/16 for $19.99.

Music

Final Soundtrack Reveal
With a soundtrack of over 30 songs, Amplitude includes music from exciting artists such as Darren Korb (Transistor), C418 (Minecraft), Insomniac Games, and Freezepop, as well as songs from Kickstarter backers, and music crafted by Harmonix’s talented in-house composers.

The entire Amplitude soundtrack is as follows:
• "All The Time" - C418
• "Assault on Psychofortress" - Single White Infidel
• "Astrosight" - Inter:sect Ft. Noelle LeBlanc & Naoko Takamoto
• "Break for Me" - James Landino Ft. Noelle LeBlanc
• "Concept" - Symbion Project
• "Crazy Ride" - Insomniac Games
• "Crypteque (1-2)" - Danny Baranowsky
• "Crystal" - George & Jonathan
• "Dalatecht" - Harmonix
• "Decode Me" - Inter:sect Ft. Noelle LeBlanc & Naoko Takamoto
• "Digital Paralysis" - Harmonix
• "Do Not Retreat" - Komputer Kontroller
• "Dreamer" - Harmonix
• "Energize" - Harmonix
• "Entomophobia" - M-Cue
• "Force Quit" - Jim Guthrie
• "Human Love" - Harmonix
• "I.C.U." - Harmonix
• "Impossible" - Darren Korb
• "Lights" - Wolfgun
• "Magpie" - Harmonix
• "Muze (Amplitude Remix)" - Ingrid Lukas, Remix by Patrik Zosso and Nik Bärtsch
• "Perfect Brain" - Harmonix
• "Phantoms" - Freezepop
• "Recession" - Jeff Allen Ft. Noelle LeBlanc & Naoko Takamoto
• "Red Giant" - Kodomo
• "Supraspatial" - Jeff Allen Ft. Naoko Takamoto
• "Synthesized" - Symbion Project
• "Unfinished Business" - Shiohito Taki & Junichi Kamiunten
• "Wayfarer" - Harmonix
• "Wetware" - Harmonix



If you’re attending PSX, be sure to swing by the booth and play Amplitude to receive your exclusive trading card and theme!

bluetoast

I'm pretty pumped, but, not knowing a lot of the artists (aside from the Harmonix regulars) I hope that we get some diverse tracks. Ready to kick some ass online as well.

Decker

Amplitude on PS4: Playing It FreQuency Style

Posted by Pete Maguire on Dec 21, 2015 // Amplitude Audio Lead

Let’s flash back for a second or two. 12 years back. Back to a time when the Terminator was elected Governor, the Matrix was reloaded, and if you weren’t huddled in a corner for fear of contracting SARS, you may have noticed a little company named Apple launch iTunes. The year was 2003. Back when big baggy pants were still cool, the Harry Potter series was on its fifth installment, and music games were still in diapers.

But in my completely unbiased opinion, the best thing that came out of 2003 was the musical beatmatch classic Amplitude for PS2, a game far ahead of its time in terms of musical interactivity and gameplay.



If you loved music and had a PS2, you had Amplitude. Being the sequel and bigger, badder brother of FreQuency, it was the music game to test your skills. Due to its eclectic soundtrack, hypnotic visuals, and addicting gameplay, Amplitude ultimately became an underground hit beloved by hardcore PlayStation gamers and music junkies. If you were a PlayStation Magazine subscriber back then, you probably even got hooked on Amplitude after being mesmerized by the demo disc (Remember those?)!

Amplitude inspired many late-night beat-blasting sessions. Whether you played it with your friends in high school, college, or after the daily slog at work, it was a game we all fondly remember with its melding of prismatic visuals tightly synced to the beat of the music. The beatmatch gameplay was so meticulously authored to the music, that it would create a sort of “flow state” unavailable in any other music game. Your fingers became detached from your mind, and all of a sudden you were able to capture these intense musical patterns you thought were impossible! In other words: musical bliss.

We as a studio hold this game very dear to our hearts and as you probably already know, we are psyched to be bringing this game back to the masses on PS4!

That’s right, after feverishly perfecting the game, we have a release date! Amplitude will be available on PS4 via PlayStation Store on January 5th, 2016. Get your fingers ready!



Where most games need to be tuned for minute-to-minute gameplay, we have tweaked Amplitude to the millisecond (literally). We’ve been hard at work making sure this game exceeds the original in terms of intense beatmatch gameplay, art, and audio.

For instance, for those of you that have played before, you know the best way to rack up points is through streaking. We’ve made it easier to streak through better messaging and new controls. Powerups are easier to acquire. We now have audio reactive environments. We’ve composed an intense in-house custom soundtrack. We’ve added Team Play, which allows 1 vs. 2, 1 vs. 3, and 2 vs. 2 matches. In other words, there’s a ton of new stuff that we’ve been creating for you!

Speaking of new things, we are thrilled to unveil that you’ll be able to turn on tunnel gameplay via a new mode we’re lovingly dubbing FreQ Mode! For those who fondly remember FreQuency, the tracks that continuously wrapped around a tunnel made for some trippy gameplay.

In the original Amplitude, we got away from the tunnel design of FreQuency and flattened out the tracks. We did this with the intention of better track recognition, allowing the player to have a better mental map of the music. We felt flattening out the tracks allowed the players to recognize that, in a certain song, the drums were always the leftmost track. This also allowed us to show off more of the world environments. Little did we know this change would divide gamers (and the in-house team) into two camps: those who thought the tunnel was superior and those who preferred the wide highway of tracks.

Even after 12+ years, we are still divided! So, with some slick engineering work, we thought we’d make it an option to play either way. It’s up to you now to decide which mode is more fun!



We are excited to release Amplitude to the public. We really couldn’t do this without our Kickstarter backers and help from PlayStation in bringing unique indie music games to a wide variety of gamers. There’s something in this game for everyone, whether you’re a hardcore gamer or casual, we hope everyone will get hooked on the killer soundtrack, the amazing visuals, and deep gameplay that is Amplitude.

We hope that you have as much fun playing Amplitude as we’ve had (re)creating it!

_________________________________

It did not escape my notice that this is a first Tuesday of the month. I will go on record and say I'll be super-pissed off if this is a PS Plus freebie at launch. If not, I'm certainly looking forward to this game that came thisclose to not making its Kickstarter goal