Rock Band Unplugged announced for PSP
by JC Fletcher 
{ Feb 24th 2009 at 11:48AM } 
Details about gameplay have yet to be released, although we don't expect to see a full suite of tiny plastic instruments to clip on to the PSP. What is known is that Unplugged will use the PSP's Wi-Fi connection to access an in-game music store.
Update: Primotech has some possible gameplay details. According to the post, Unplugged will use the left, up, triangle, and circle buttons to control instruments, switching from instrument to instrument with the shoulder buttons, and playing "phrases" of each instrument to maintain a score multiplier. This sounds exactly like Harmonix's Frequency!
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Dirty @ Feb 24th 2009 11:51AM
I was hoping for an Amplitude type game for the PSP. Not this. Plastic portable instruments? No thanks.
Archon @ Feb 24th 2009 11:54AM
I, on the other hand was waiting for that.
If it has Beats-like type gameplay, it's full of win for me (that means NO plastic instruments).
And if I don't have to rebuy all my songs, then that might be my first PSP purchase in a long while ^^
linebeginstoblur @ Feb 24th 2009 12:09PM
The update to the post may have been after you posted, but they have said that there ARE no peripheral controllers and that you use the face buttons to play and the shoulder buttons to switch between instruments and how there are phrases of music to play, etc. etc.
So though it uses the Rock Band name, yes, this IS an Amplitude-type game for the PSP.
blueruckus @ Feb 24th 2009 12:11PM
Read the article again. This IS an Amplitude/Frequency style game! Hooray! Finally!
Dirty @ Feb 24th 2009 12:15PM
Yes!! ( I did post before the update).
Dave @ Feb 24th 2009 1:14PM
@ Dirty
Nope, sorry. Only get one chance.
SoCoolCurt (PSN: KillaKornbread - XBL: SoCoolCurt) @ Feb 25th 2009 9:17PM
Holy flipping flip! this game is sold already! Frequency was actually the game that got me to realize i loved rhythm games in the first place. i cant wait for this one.
HappyFunBall @ Feb 24th 2009 11:54AM
It will be interesting to see how this is going to work on PSP.
rohan @ Feb 24th 2009 1:21PM
lol it will be funny to see people carrying around guitars hooked up to the psp
ridb34 @ Feb 24th 2009 12:01PM
I have to say, Harmonix has delivered more often than they haven't when it, so I'm holding out for something good.
ridv34 @ Feb 24th 2009 12:03PM
I think Harmonix has delivered more often than they haven't, so I'm holding out for something good.
linebeginstoblur @ Feb 24th 2009 12:06PM
A PlayStation-exclusive portable Rock Band game that DOESN'T involve peripherals? You use shoulder buttons to SWITCH between tracks?
COULD THIS FINALLY BE OUR SEQUEL TO AMPLITUDE? PLEEEEASE?
I LOVE HARMONIX!
Robert @ Feb 24th 2009 12:10PM
A Rock Band exclusive and an Assassins Creed for the PSP??! This makes me excited :-) 2009's lineup is looking good! Finally, a little more software love for the psp
Brett from Atlanta @ Feb 24th 2009 12:12PM
Yay!
B3astofthe3ast @ Feb 24th 2009 12:14PM
NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!
I was just about to sell my PSP on ebay!!! Now I can't!!!
Devin @ Feb 24th 2009 12:37PM
your post confuses me....
Devin @ Feb 24th 2009 12:38PM
oops read it wrong my bad. I thought you said you couldn't wait to sell it (after all these great games have been announced)...
Luke @ Feb 24th 2009 1:20PM
Funny, I was just about to look for one on EBAY.
lego91994 @ Feb 24th 2009 12:15PM
Between, this, Rock Band Unplugged, Motorstorm: Arctic Edge, LBP PSP, and Loco Roco 2, it looks like this is gonna be one expensive year for my PSP.
aristokrat @ Feb 24th 2009 2:34PM
Yeah, way to make the PSP relevant again, Sony. Also, don't forget Patapon 2.
MowDownJoe @ Feb 24th 2009 12:15PM
So, they're releasing Frequency and slapping the Rock Band logo on it? Well, Frequency is still good. They should also bring this to WiiWare or something... I mean, it sounds really cool, but I don't own a PSP...
flanked @ Feb 24th 2009 12:20PM
If MTV is willing to pony up some classic Unplugged (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_artists_featured_on_MTV_Unplugged) albums (Nirvana, STP, Pearl Jam), then I'm willing to pony up the dough to grab a PSP XThousand.
HappyFunBall @ Feb 24th 2009 12:24PM
After the update, I have to say I'm slightly disappointed we won't be getting tiny drum kits....
little_frenchy @ Feb 24th 2009 12:34PM
I thought Guitar Hero on the DS was a weird idea and I love this!!!
why not the LS2LS7? @ Feb 24th 2009 12:36PM
Amplitude 4 life.
android8675 @ Feb 24th 2009 12:42PM
Woot Amplitude, still a great game. Too bad I still suck at it. :)
Oobgarm @ Feb 24th 2009 12:45PM
Fucking sign me up!
WiNG [XBL&Steam: WiNGSPANTT] from lifeinagame.com @ Feb 24th 2009 12:45PM
Do you also control the vocals with that control scheme? =D
mapi @ Feb 24th 2009 12:46PM
Gamespot called it.
http://www.gamespot.com/promos/2008/april-fools/index.html
baby sea tuna @ Feb 24th 2009 12:52PM
Haha, thanks for posting that. The "User Soapbox" section almost made me pee myself.
TheLastGunslinger @ Feb 24th 2009 12:52PM
What is basically a new Frequency/Amplitude AND portable? Sign me up!
Roto13 @ Feb 24th 2009 12:52PM
When Activision announced a handheld Guitar Hero, people rolled their eyes and called it a cash grab.
Double standards for the lose.
Archon @ Feb 24th 2009 1:07PM
The GH game sucked because:
- The attachement idea is ridiculous and doesn't work well.
- The DS's sound quality is really low.
- It did not include a Music Store!
Also:
- Harmonix did not release 200 different versions of Rock Band last year. Let alone, two mediocre handheld versions.
- This will be a Frequency style game which fits the console great.
- The creators of the GH franchise (Harmonix) took the soul out of the series and inserted it into their new Rock Band series, leaving the lifeless corpse of Guitar Hero to rot somewhere in Mexico, next to all the Atari 2600 E.T. copies.
Roto13 @ Feb 24th 2009 1:12PM
"- The creators of the GH franchise (Harmonix) took the soul out of the series and inserted it into their new Rock Band series, leaving the lifeless corpse of Guitar Hero to rot somewhere in Mexico, next to all the Atari 2600 E.T. copies."
^^ This is the main thing. It's Harmonix so it's ok. If you think any game based entirely around playing licensed songs has a "soul" you're delusional anyway.
BPMOmega [gamertag] @ Feb 24th 2009 1:15PM
Thing is, Harmonix makes games of a higher standard than Neversoft/Vicarious Visions/whoever else Activision forces the Guitar Hero brand onto.
Personally, I think the guitar grip is a neat accessory... but the games that come with it look to be less than stellar.
Roto13 @ Feb 24th 2009 1:33PM
"Thing is, Harmonix makes games of a higher standard than Neversoft/Vicarious Visions/whoever else Activision forces the Guitar Hero brand onto."
This game is being developed by Backbone Entertainment. It's like their mission statement is "To do the bare minimum with other people's intellectual property and then go to A&W later and maybe have some onion rings."
T @ Feb 24th 2009 1:36PM
We saw this last week when Harmonix donated copies of RB to charity. It was the coolest thing ever...then go back to when Activision donated GH to the troops and you get endless amounts of digs at Act.
One thing I will say, for as original as GH:OT was....the mistake was that they then released another one the same year, and have already announced a third that's coming soon. (So basically 3 within a year's span).
THAT is a problem.
MowDownJoe @ Feb 24th 2009 1:38PM
Thing is, though, that this isn't portable Rock Band. It's portable Frequency/Amplitude with the Rock Band name stamped on it. So, it isn't a double standard, it's Harmonix resurrecting one of their dead franchises.
Roto13 @ Feb 24th 2009 1:42PM
But apparently sticking the name "Rock Band" on it is less of a cash-in than Activision actually making a DS game that resembles Guitar Hero and calling it a Guitar Hero game?
Mr Khan @ Feb 24th 2009 2:16PM
Eh, the only reason i see a double standard is because this reminds some starry-eyed commenters of amplitude
T @ Feb 24th 2009 4:02PM
Why the heck did my previous comment get knocked down? It's the truth! GH:OT was a creative approach to a concept that not a lot of people saw as a legitimate possibility.
In execution it wasn't the best, and Activision promptly ran the series into the ground. That seems to be what most people had issues with vs. the concept of a portable GH itself.
It's too early in the game for people to cry "hyprocrit" just because nobody's up in arms about a portable RB. However, I'll join the chorus if EA decides to start pumping these out several times a year.
Roto13 @ Feb 24th 2009 4:07PM
"It's too early in the game for people to cry "hyprocrit" just because nobody's up in arms about a portable RB."
There only needed to be the announcement of one DS version for people to start bashing Activision for it.
Robert Maynard @ Feb 24th 2009 9:38PM
Let me try a more humble tact, because I've come to the conclusion that it's very difficult to lay out a defensible explanation to dismiss the double standard charge. I could go on and on about all the pithy little things, like note charting (both are guilty of charting keyboards), and peripheral quality (both gimmicky, both marred by unacceptable tech faults), and DLC, or more important things like their respective franchise strategies (building a platform, and a song library that can run off a single disc vs. piles of standalone releases), interfaces and game design choices (group fail FTL), but in some ways it's not rational, it is a bit of a double standard, both developers are working hard, they're both multi-million dollar brands, neither is the "little guy" or the "underdog". The whole loyalty to one corporate franchise over another is all a little dogmatic.
I just hate Guitar Hero, and love Rock Band.
Same as I hate Pepsi, and love Coca Cola.
McDonalds over Burger King (or Hungry Jacks as it's known here)
I'll eat/drink both, and play either, but I've got a preference almost as passionately held as a religion. It's shameful, but that's how it is. :P
Not interested in this though, because a) as you've noted, it's not being developed by Harmonix, and b) I don't have a PSP.
MarkHawk @ Feb 24th 2009 1:43PM
Hope that PSP fan concept goes real because I'm interested with the tons of PSP news today to get one. Maybe this Christmas I'll pick one up if these games pan out.
Spike @ Feb 24th 2009 3:15PM
assasin's creed, and LBP may warrant a purchase of a PSP for me
Maverick Saturn @ Feb 24th 2009 1:43PM
See, I'm already rocking it on my mini guitar, watch me press these dials! Square, circle, circle, square, X, square, circle, circle, square, X
That should be a song :O
Thomas @ Feb 24th 2009 2:05PM
Seriously, fuck Harmonix. You said there'd be a Frequency for the PS3 maybe and now you're putting it out for the PSP?
Martin @ Feb 24th 2009 2:09PM
I'm a Rockband whore, and I fully admit it. I never got to play Frequency or Amplitude, so I'm looking forward to this game.
rodjoh @ Feb 24th 2009 3:00PM
*sigh*
People are so funny. If this was Neversoft the comments would be soo different.
Jay [psn: jayrockslife] @ Feb 24th 2009 3:12PM
wouldn't it be cool if instead of frequency/amplitude gameplay, they included a usb adapter so that you could plug in your RB for ps3 controllers and use them. That would be soo cool.
Pull out the guitar. Set the PSP on a table and rock out.
Or Set up the drums and make a holder that clips on for the PSP to sit in. That would be awesome.. But also won't happen..