Brian May thinks Queen: Rock Band 'may happen'
by Griffin McElroy 
{ Oct 13th 2009 at 11:20AM }
Queen's a great band. A really, really, really great band. However, Beatles: Rock Band was successful because of the immense cultural significance of the band upon which the game was based. We're not sure that Queen possesses enough historical relevance to work quite as well. Also, 10 of their best songs are hitting the Rock Band Music Store at the end of the month, meaning a dedicated title would probably dip into their weirder catalog. What say you, readers? Are you psyched about the prospect of rocking out to "The Invisible Man?"
[Via CVG]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
dark_inchworm (stronger than never, ever before) @ Oct 13th 2009 11:23AM
They're more culturally relevant than Van Halen. Really, who still cares about Van Halen?
Dale @ Oct 13th 2009 11:27AM
AND they were far better than Aerosmith and Metallica. Bring it on, I say.
Boo Radley @ Oct 13th 2009 11:29AM
Agreed, if Griffin is questioning their relevance it might be time to go outside for a minute. Of all the bands I see mentioned here Queen is the only one besides the Beatles to have a show themed after their work in Vegas right now. So that's a start, plus the fact that anyone who wasn't aware of Queen when Wayne's World came out had their universe rocked.
Danthok @ Oct 13th 2009 11:35AM
@ Boo Radley - I was one of those people. I was about 10 at the time and Queen really did open up a new world of music to me. The first CD I bought was Queen's Greatest Hits and was floored at the number of songs I recognized but did not associate with Queen. I am now a huge fan of most of their discography.
Captain Planet [Planeteer | Power of Captain Planet] @ Oct 13th 2009 11:41AM
How about..no more Rock Band/Guitar Hero games for at least 5 years?
Scott @ Oct 13th 2009 12:11PM
I would be happy with a Queen Rock Band.
I think any defunct band with a large catalog of big hits would be eligible. If a band has 40+ tracks worth buying, I'd rather pay $59 for a full game than 40 * $2.99 =~ $120 worth of DLC.
Eh @ Oct 13th 2009 12:24PM
About as many people still care about Queen as they do Van Halen, I dont see your point. And I especially dont see how Queen is more culturally relevant than Van Halen, Van Halen defined the 80's rock scene, not to mention Eddie Van Halen being one of the best guitarists of all time and David Lee Roth being one of the most bizarre and annoying singers of all time.
Both are culturally relevant, just accept it.
dark_inchworm (stronger than never, ever before) @ Oct 13th 2009 12:30PM
I didn't deny them being relevant at all, and I do like Van Halen to some degree. Most of the band's lyrics are bad enough to make your eyes roll out of your head, though... and at least 87.12% of their hits are covers. More so than with most bands, I have a love/hate relationship with Van Halen.
My original point was: if Van Halen can be in a Guitar Hero game, then Queen could easily star in a GH/RB game. And I sincerely doubt VH has as big of a fanbase as Queen, but I have neither the time nor ambition to do mass polling, so we'll let that topic of discussion wither.
MowDownJoe @ Oct 13th 2009 12:45PM
What I think Griffin is arguing is that the bar to have a single-band Rock Band game is probably higher than the bar to get a band-dedicated Guitar Hero game. After all, Harmonix's first venture into a band-dedicated game was The Beatles, who were definitely more important than Aerosmith.
dark_inchworm (stronger than never, ever before) @ Oct 13th 2009 2:45PM
A valid point, but if the bar is seemingly so high... who the hell else qualifies for a Rock Band game?
WiredKnight: Keeper of Threads @ Oct 13th 2009 3:38PM
Yea I was asking myself that too: if Harmonix has already done a Rock Band for the biggest band ever, where do they go from here? I think the only way they could top that would be to make Rock Band: Led Zeppelin, and let's face it, that's not going to happen.
Brandon @ Oct 16th 2009 10:53PM
Actually in 2007 Van Halen was the 2nd Highest Grossing touring act, so I guess a lot of people still care. 87% of their hits covers? Not true at all, son. Besides, their BEST songs are B-side originals. Next.
As for Rock band Queen, I say bring it on, I love Queen, especially their obscure 70s art/progressive rock. Now that I say that, I would ultimately love it if they did a RUSH Rock Band, but I suppose I could just play my REAL GUITAR instead of all these.
dark_inchworm (stronger than never, ever before) @ Oct 17th 2009 2:01AM
I was exaggerating about the percentage. At least 3 of their biggest hits were covers. Is that a fair evaluation?
And if you wanted to be pompous, you should've done it three days ago, "son." Nobody cares about your REAL GUITAR three days later, and the only reason I'm here to reply is because I received an email about it.
Dr. Bradwart [100% Reagan Conservative!] @ Oct 13th 2009 11:24AM
I could see Queen.
How about either AC/DC or The Eagles?
Boo Radley @ Oct 13th 2009 11:26AM
I doubt MTv and Harmonix think 50 year olds are their target audience, so no Eagles. That and they suck out loud.
Dr. Bradwart [100% Reagan Conservative!] @ Oct 13th 2009 11:28AM
Oh, you so did not say The Eagles suck...
>:O
tmacairjordan87 @ Oct 13th 2009 11:29AM
Yeah, and so does Reagan :P
Dr. Bradwart [100% Reagan Conservative!] @ Oct 13th 2009 11:32AM
Man, you people are bitter. Keep drinking the Kool-Aid.
tmacairjordan87 @ Oct 13th 2009 11:36AM
I will, it's delicious. That reminds me, I need to run to Sam's Club later and get some more.
Boo Radley @ Oct 13th 2009 11:36AM
Man! Let's not start with the political crap! Let's just resign ourselves to the fact that whatever way we lean and whomever we like they are all dishonest crooks that are only looking out for their best interests and move on with our day.
dark_inchworm (stronger than never, ever before) @ Oct 13th 2009 11:42AM
Mmm... Ice Blue Raspberry Lemonade Kool-Aid is the best Kool-Aid ever. Disagreement is tantamount to factual inaccuracy.
aggrazel @ Oct 13th 2009 1:02PM
There is already an ACDC Rock Band.
The Dark Wayne [Planeteer: Power of the Batusi] @ Oct 13th 2009 11:24AM
Oh man, I thought i was the only one that loved Invisible Man!
Zal @ Oct 13th 2009 11:27AM
I sure as hell hope this happens.
fffunfarm06 @ Oct 13th 2009 12:42PM
first U2 says it wants its own game now, then Pink Floyd, now queen. These bands just saw the money the beatles was making and they're wanting to cash in. please no more!
tmacairjordan87 @ Oct 13th 2009 11:26AM
Love to see the Harmonix fanboys explain this one if it happens, as they're quickly running out of chances to criticize guitar hero.
Torque_AOD @ Oct 13th 2009 11:31AM
This is Brian May. NOT HARMONIX.
Of course they want to have their own music game with Rock band, almost every band does. That's a lot of money they are going to be making.
What band WOULDN'T want to have a music game?
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Nickelback I guess.
tmacairjordan87 @ Oct 13th 2009 11:34AM
"May mentioned that there had been discussion "going on behind the scenes" about the possibility of a Queen: Rock Band"
So this is not just May saying he wants a Queen rock band, Harmonix is obviously interested too.
Just saying if this happens that will be (roughly) 7 rock band games in 2 years. Just because Guitar Hero is the biggest whore out there doesn't mean you can't also be a whore, Harmonix.
copa @ Oct 13th 2009 11:36AM
After the enormous success of The Beatles, you are going to see a lot of bands like U2 and Queen talk about how they should get their own band game.
Spoiler Alert: If you just released a big Greatest Hits pack as DLC, it ain't gonna happen!
Space @ Oct 13th 2009 11:37AM
I imagine Tool would never want to get involved in something like this. Oddly enough their music and presentation are probably more suited for something like this than any other band.
False @ Oct 13th 2009 11:38AM
Fanboy Credo: It's ok to get pissed off and outraged when the other guys do it, but when YOUR guys do it, it's AWESOME!
tmacairjordan87 @ Oct 13th 2009 11:41AM
@False
Exactly. I'm not a guitar hero fanboy, but the hypocrisy from the Harmonix fanboys is appalling. Just go back to the Lego Rock Band articles or (especially) the Beatles Rock Band articles.
copa @ Oct 13th 2009 11:52AM
tmac, I think you're overselling this argument. To support charges of hypocrisy, you keep bringing up AC/DC (a fully exportable title) and Lego Rock Band (a fully exportable title).
It is not hypocritical to release a bunch of exportable titles, when they are basically DLC packs with some extras packed on the disc.
You are also slamming the awful hypocrisy of Harmonix, because Brian May is rambling about a Queen title that will never happen.
You're only arguable case for hypocrisy is The Beatles. Considering that this is Harmonix's ONLY non-exportable title, that this band is the most iconic rock act of all time, and that critics have said this carefully made title is anything but a cash in, I don't think this establishes a pattern of hypocrisy.
GiggMan @ Oct 13th 2009 11:52AM
Tmac while you can still see my comment....
I thought I should let you know that some devs get "passes" when it comes to the internets. Harmonix is one of those devs. They can do know wrong in the eyes of the "Stiq" faithful. If you dare say something bad about these people or something good about their competition you will be damned to gaming hell. They release a game with the exact same functionallity as the original Rockband and call it Rockband (X) and be critically acclaimed by their faithful sheep.
I on the other hand am a black guy with both games and very little knowledge of rock music, prefer the Guitar Hero selections and gameplay. I really dig GH5 and me and my son play it atleast every weekend.
This is my preference and I will gladly go to downvote Hell with you my friend.
sonicspike41 @ Oct 13th 2009 2:00PM
I think it's just silly.
It's easy to hate on Activision and all that they do for no reason at all. Sure the head CEO is pretty much a dick, but they still make tons of great games. I could care less if Kotick makes a billion dollars, if they keep making great games that I can afford (and they keep them at a reasonable price), then I've got nothing wrong with Activision... just that prick of a leader.
I don't hear people saying Activision sucks when they publish games like Call of Duty MW/MW2.
WiredKnight: Keeper of Threads @ Oct 13th 2009 4:30PM
People seem to love to say "why are people complaining about Activision when Harmonix is doing the same thing?" and in some respects it's a good point, but is far from being the only reason RB is better than GH.
Crayfish @ Oct 13th 2009 10:39PM
I will always be able to criticize (post GH2) Guitar Hero's inability to make a game where I actually find the majority of the note charting fun to play. Thankfully, they will always have that.
Although, if GH announced GH: Queen instead of Harmonix, I'd probably cave and get it.
Torque_AOD @ Oct 13th 2009 11:28AM
I would actually appreciate DLC in which I can dress my characters as Queen.
As long as we get Queen DLC for RB2 It's ALL GOOD.
Danthok @ Oct 13th 2009 11:31AM
I would love to rock out to The Show Must Go On and Innuendo
Uncontrol @ Oct 13th 2009 11:31AM
in what universe is queen not relevant
FrankDrebin @ Oct 13th 2009 11:35AM
only in griffinland
Space @ Oct 13th 2009 11:32AM
I can't wait until every band gets this out of their system so we can all just move on.
False @ Oct 13th 2009 11:35AM
If 10 of the band's best songs are coming this month and (I assume) Bohemian Rhapsody is coming in Rock Band 3 (complete with harmonies), why would Rock Band bother with a Queen edition?
Are we sure he wasn't talk about a Guitar Hero? (Not that they haven't loaded up on Queen, themselves)
Danthok @ Oct 13th 2009 11:38AM
Queen has a lot more than 10 good songs. Not as many as the Beatles but who does?
iamnotafish @ Oct 13th 2009 11:38AM
I could imagine a Queen-specific track pack, but thats about it. Otherwise, you can already get most of the songs.
snakegriffin @ Oct 13th 2009 11:37AM
All of these music games offend my sensibilities. ENOUGH.
Rudy van DiSarzio, Jazz fusion guitarist. (I go by many names...) @ Oct 13th 2009 11:38AM
Pink Floyd: Rock Band. I want it now!
uncle jesse @ Oct 13th 2009 11:42AM
Queen: Rock Band. I want it now!
dark_inchworm (stronger than never, ever before) @ Oct 13th 2009 11:45AM
uncle jesse contradicting himself in the span of two minutes: I have it now!
???
uncle jesse @ Oct 13th 2009 12:03PM
No, I was just thinking of how funny it was that he said he wanted Pink Floyd and then started with some Queen lyrics.
I don't actually want it, but I thought that it was funny. Apparently not. I have shamed my family.
My comment below is how I truly feel about this.