Nintendo: Wii 'Speaker Channel' for blasting Band Bros. sequel
by Randy Nelson 
{ May 19th 2008 at 9:27PM }
Nintendo fans and tech nuts: what you're about to read will be music to your ears. According to the most recent issue of Japan's top video games publication, Weekly Famitsu, the sequel to Nintendo's strictly Japanese DS title Daigasso! Band Brothers (above) will take Wii-DS connectivity to new (volume) levels. Titled Band Bros. DX, the new game will let players stream their best performances to the Wii for output through TV speakers, stereos, home theater systems -- whatever you've got your Wii pumping sound out of.
The key is a forthcoming "Speaker Channel" for Wii which, while not officially dated, would seem to be a shoe-in for day-and-date launch with Band Bros. DX in Japan. For those unfamiliar with the game, it allows up to eight players on individual DS systems to pick an instrument and "play" the included songs, or jam out and create their own. The original Band Bros. was -- at one time -- due for release in the US as Jam with the Band! but has vanished from the radar. Hopefully this sequel will survive the trip Stateside; stores would likely be alive with the sound of ringing registers for this Wii and DS duet's debut.
[Via Wii Fanboy]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
colin @ May 19th 2008 9:40PM
will it be in mono?
myspacebaritonenation @ May 19th 2008 9:48PM
This seems like a bit of news that won't set the world on fire, but for those who will use it- s'gonna be sweet
Sir Fidlious Wong (Justin T. McElroy Memorial Burn of the Day Award) @ May 19th 2008 9:54PM
"Hopefully this sequel will survive the trip Stateside; stores would likely be alive with the sound of ringing registers for this Wii and DS duet's debut."
As a guy who bought the original and the expansion pack during a sale at Play-Asia, I can say this...
"You know not what you speak."
It's a horrid piece of crap and merely dinking with it will let you know exactly why it never came stateside.
John Z @ May 20th 2008 7:36AM
I'd like to respectfully disagree... Granted, DBB was not exactly user-friendly, and it was even less so without an English translation (if you have a translation guide, I'd greatly appreciate a look at that), but as a concept it was pretty damn cool. And yeah, Ouendan/EBA was a better music *game*, but DBB was a pretty interesting music *tool*, along the lines of Jam Sessions or that synthesizer card coming out. This could work over here *IF* Nintendo doesn't tart it up with crappy stale pop songs... honestly, you know what I'd really want them to do? Partner with Konami for a NA release, and work with the huge Bemani library. (I'm shivering with anticipation at some of the more recent DDR/IIDX tracks playable on the DS... Murmur Twins, and Xepher. Just freakin' Xepher.)
It could just be me-- my favorite part of Mario Paint was the music maker, and just this morning I was thinking about hunting down copies of Frequency and Amplitude solely for the remixing capabilities (beat the campaign modes long ago). First demo I picked from the Nintendo Channel was Jam Sessions, and it damn near made me late for work that morning. I really think that there's a market for music software that aren't strictly "games".
Sir Fidlious Wong (Justin T. McElroy Memorial Burn of the Day Award) @ May 20th 2008 9:42AM
Really? Voted down? "ZOMG! He insulted a Nintendo product I never touched... he has no clue what he's walking about!"
Look, I think the market of music creation tools does need expanding. I'm not dissing the music tool/game arguement. I'm saying Daigasso was shit. Look, the tools have come far. We STARTED with MTV Music Generator (okay, so we started with Mario Paint but MTV really "launched it) on the consoles and got a ton of those knock-off products. But slowly, the more innovative apps appeared. In this day and age, we're seeing Jam Sessions, Korg DS-10, Electro Plankton, and Traxxpad. Each one delivering distinctively unique sounds and experiences, clear tones you can actually USE in music creation.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mh0VX74alwk
And then you have Daigasso. This app uses squaky midi tones that honestly sound terrible.
Seriously, LISTEN.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wm0XBm2qfg
I won't argue against the good tools as soemthing to come stateside. I will argue against something that the Genesis sounds better than coming stateside. It has nothing to do with the tool itself, but the tool quality. And truth be told, if this wasn't released by Nintendo, this wouldn't even be an arguement.
John Z @ May 20th 2008 10:53AM
Hey, I voted you up.
I agree, it wasn't a great execution of the concept (picked it up myself last summer-- it's fun but time-consuming to practice/learn). Still, it was a good starting point-- those games you mentioned all came after DBB (except maybe Electroplankton, which unfortunately I haven't heard yet aside from its turn in Brawl). It might be possible that DBB2 uses samples like other music games do; I would hope so. I don't think there's been a demo of DBB2 yet or any English-language impressions, so it's hard to say that DBB2 will be bad based solely on DBB1. Screenshots don't come with sound yet... though if there's any video of 2 out yet, please, come forward-- I'd love to see and hear it.
The DS doesn't have the hottest sound hardware, though, and that's what worries me more than anything else. Even games with excellent soundtracks sounded kinda horrible on the machine-- thinking mostly of EBA here, with The World Ends With You coming in a little better almost two years later.
Actually, come to think of it, I don't think a Nintendo system has had a good sound chip since the SNES, through until the GameCube. The GBA's sound was a step up from the GB/GBC but had bad hiss and was still a little "off"; the DS might be able to have good sound but the card size probably requires it to be compressed all to hell. And the N64's MIDI chip was an atrocity; I personally think they picked it solely because it played Mario 64's soundtrack best, and to hell with the rest of the library (those horns are painful to listen to).
So yeah, I'm with you that it wasn't a great execution, but I'm optimistic that the second try will be better. (Oh, and I know this is probably just me, but I happened to like the cheesy MIDI version of Ready Steady Go, mostly for comedic value.)
bounchfx @ May 19th 2008 10:01PM
amazing game, but I take it USA won't get the channel then. I'd sure like an english version.
Nintendo - look at the freaking rhythm game genre over here... it's exploding. BRING THIS TO THE STATES!
DonWii @ May 19th 2008 10:08PM
Not on the DS. Elite Beat Agents underperformed by NoA standards, and it is a better music game than Band Brothers.
bounchfx @ May 19th 2008 10:23PM
personally, I think Band Brothers is a much better game, and that Ouendan was much better than EBA. EBA just didn't feel.. 'right' to me.
DonWii @ May 19th 2008 10:44PM
I enjoyed all 4, but the experience of Ouendan/EBA drew me in more than Band Brothers.
FOXHOUND @ May 20th 2008 7:05AM
EBA comes as a pack-in for a NDS starter kit at WalMart for $14 for anyone still looking for it.
Metayoshi @ May 19th 2008 11:30PM
Sounds interesting. Even if a Jam with the Band came to the states, I'd probably just get the Japanese import instead and cross my fingers that it works with this "Speaker Channel." I'm never a big fan of (American) licensed music getting into games.
Sir Fidlious Wong (Justin T. McElroy Memorial Burn of the Day Award) @ May 19th 2008 11:42PM
Dude, not a concern. The audio jamming out of this game sounds two steps behind the SNES's sound chip. Just imagine a licensed tune running out an original Sound Blaster... WOOT!
ThornedVenom (Harley Quinn Defense Force) @ May 20th 2008 2:49AM
I hook up my DS directly into my sound system when I play Contra.
I don't have a Wii, but I'd be interested if this one gets released in the US.
chez @ May 20th 2008 4:07AM
About time. They said the Wii would be able to do this a long time ago.
Superstar90 @ May 20th 2008 8:32AM
Nintendo needs to release all their Non-Zelda/Mario/Metroid games here too. EBA was awesome, but (even though it says "To Be Continued" at the end) the sequel won't come out here. :(
Also, this game is awesome.
SoCoolCurt (PSN: KillaKornbread) @ May 20th 2008 9:36AM
i havent picked up EBA yet. i played it at Best Buy once and it seems right up my alley but i never picked it up for some reason. i even saw it for $14 at my Local Walmart in one of those bundles with all the cases and stuff. i didnt want the cases, so i didnt buy it.
that settles it, if its there next time i go, im buying it.
SoCoolCurt (PSN: KillaKornbread) @ May 20th 2008 9:00AM
well its not a mind blowing feature since with a simple trip to Radio Shack, anyone with a DS can do this now. but it is wireless, so thats the real 'perk' of this thing. as an owner of a DS, Wii, PSP, and PS3, im all for connectivity, just make sure its something interesting and not gimmicky.
Dralthi @ May 20th 2008 11:25AM
@ SoCoolCurt
EBA is an awesome game. You should definitely give it a go. I wasn't a huge fan of some of the song selections in it but the gameplay was a lot of fun and it gets really hard in the more difficult modes.
As for Band Bros., this game sounds pretty cool. I think the Speaker Channel feature is kind of lame though. I already hook my DS up to stereo speakers sometimes by simply plugging them into the headphone jack on my DS.
And with anything wireless there is bound to be some kind of problem/delay/interference and that usually isn't a good thing when it comes to sound.
Jam with the Band is a horrible name btw. If they do bring this stateside I hope they stick with the Band Bros. name.