Report: Jimi Hendrix getting Rock Band treatment [update]

by Justin McElroy on Feb 17th 2010 10:50AM

While Activision may be moving away from heaping artist-centric Guitar Hero games on the market, it appears Rock Band is sliding in there to fill the void. According to a story in the L.A. Times, Jimi Hendrix stepsister Janie (who also controls his estate) says that a Rock Band game based on the legendary guitarist is slated to arrive before year's end.

We know that the officially announced Green Day: Rock Band won't be the only franchise release this year, so Hendrix: Rock Guy is definitely a possibility. But the mainstream press is bad enough about confusing Rock Band and Guitar Hero that we'll hold off on placing our pre-orders until we've heard something official.

Wow, either the L.A. Times is wrong or Slash is wrong. Whoever wins, we lose.

[Update: We just heard back from a Harmonix spokesperson, and there isn't a standalone product in the works. The official statement: "While we have not made any official announcements regarding Jimi Hendrix and Rock Band, we are excited to say that we are in discussions to bring more of his music to our platform. Stay tuned."]

[Via Billboard; thanks, TheWeaponeer]

Source

Tags: ea, Electronic-Arts, green-day-rock-band, guitar-hero, harmonix, jimi-hendrix, mtv, music, rock-band

Reader Comments (66)

I haven't really been interested in these band-centric versions so I have no idea, but how much do these things cost? They can't take too much development time (it's easy to just drop in the notes, the engine's already there, and the graphics aren't too complicated) so I can't see them justifying a full $60.

GH Metallica cost 70$ (in Canada, at least) but it wasn't worth the price as paying for the Metallica-only tracks would have reduced the price to around 40$. The models weren't particularly interesting, but they haven't been since Harmonix left the GH franchise.

RB Beatles came at 60$ (If I remember well), but at least they made some improvements to gameplay, had those trippy dream-sequences, and didn't try to run away with slapping "Beatles" on the RB cover and saying they did a good job. On the other hand, AC/DC Live was a track pack, and was sold at a track pack price (20$).

So, basically: If it was for GH, then no, they're not worth the full price, and if they were honest about the content you could easily slash half off.

Harmonix, at the very least makes a game that respects the promoted artist, which makes the price of admission understandable, and keeps itself honest in terms of track packs.

DLC works for me. But for the record, GH Metallica was one of the better band-dedicated GH titles. Aerosmith and Van Halen sucked.

I am not all that interested in the music genre, but I would rather have a Jimi Hendrix Rock Band then a Guitar Hero.

Not me.. Hendrix could be stripped down to just guitar as far as I'm concerned. As far as just the guitar is concerned, GH does it better.

Now if you're just interested in the Acid Trips in the background, maybe RB would do a better job.

I'd be interested if it detailed the process of him learning guitar and him starting up his first band.

I really didn't like in the Beatles how you are just famous at the beginning. You know what, even better. Make a game called "Rock Band: Underground" based around a fake band that plays a lot of genres and have all the songs be totally original and it would be story based. I'd go back to the genre for that.

@ Koehler

no way dude. Rock Band at least has some realism in there sense of style! Unless you're refering to Beatles Rock Band, Guitar Hero is the tripped out one for sure!! The game looks like a crazy cartoon. Things are exploding on the screen. There's always something distracting in your face like 50 NOTE STREAK!! and crap like that.

Rock Band for the win, and the realistic style.

@koehler83: Oh, you uneducated runt. GH I & II were made by who? Harmonix. What's the game being developed by Harmonix? Rock Band. So, who's better at doing guitar games? If you respond Activision, then you're clearly capable of voting Republican.

Jimi Hendrix stripped down to just guitar? Don't be stupid. You'd be denying one of the most underrated rhythm sections of all time their chance to shine. Mitch Mitchell was a superb drummer and Noel Redding was rock solid on bass. Don't cast them aside because they just happened to be in a band with one of the best guitar players of all time.

I'm not talking about GH 1 and 2, no. I was referring to Guitar Hero by Neversoft.

The games look like crap, absolutely. But if it's a game and it's about gameplay then it's gotta be about the music coming down the highway, not the dressing. Neversoft has always given fun and challenging charts. Beenox does good charts too. Though I'm specifically referring to GH: Metallica which I consider to be the most fun you can have with a guitar controller. If you go back now and play GH Smash Hits, you'll find that those songs from GH 1 and 2 are a lot better too.

But you'll never do that. You'll just keep assuming and continue claiming that I'm the uneducated one. I guess there's a difference being a fan of a genre and a fan of a series.

@k,

There's something called "Difficult" then theres something called "Challenging"

Rockband is challenging, guitar hero is difficult.

Neversoft likes to over chart. I'm not saying Harmonix doesn't either, but whenever I pick up GH these days it just feels completely overdone.

Sure it makes it more difficult, but I'm not going to practice for 3 hours just so I can complete one song. I don't know about you, but I play for fun.

Stick to DLC =( I enjoy one giant collaborated version.

How about no. I'd rather get 40+ songs (which individually would be $2 a piece) for a price of $60, saving that 20 to 30 extra to get DLC. On top of that, it wouldn't be a lame stage performance in RB2 but yet even more dreamscapes that The Beatles proved phenomenal.

As RB has proven even large song packs like this are at a discounted price. So it isn't hard to offer that song pack as a DLC for that price. This is also more enviromentally friendly without wasting plastic and paper. Digital downloads are much more friendly also due to not having to replace scratched discs. You are also watching scrolling notes and rarely ever get a chance to stare at the background effects. So how about respecting my opinion instead of just simply shooting it down.

why not, Jimi is always great and has a great catalog to pull from. As long as they do them like they've done with AC/DC and Green Day, I have no complaints.

I for one hope that they don't do it like AC/DC because that was for all intents and purposes a glorified track pack.

Do it like the Beatles game. Who knows what Green Day's going to be like but i'll bet it'll be closer to Beatles then AC/DC.

Hey I love Hendrix, love love love, but honestly I don't think he's deserving of a Beatles type treatment. Not enough music and not enough associated iconography. It should be like the Green Day game is going to be. Basically a track pack with some custom assets and mocap, exportable of course, but nothing on par with what went into the Beatles game.

Jimi is desereving but I would rather it just be DLC...reason being...chances are it won't be JUST his image singing JUST his songs....and I hate when the games do that

More than likely it will be exportable just as AC/DC and Greenday were/will be. So it is essentially DLC that you have to buy as one large, 40+ song pack, at a discount.

It's not outside the realm of possibility that in order to gain access to some of these bands catalogs they have to offer them more (more sales) than random DLC would bring in. They may also have to pay big up front to get access to the catalogs and these discs are ways to ensure more consistant sales than DLC can offer.

I think if Harmonix does it, it would follow the Beatles game, at least I would hope. I'd love for it to be a complete package - the graphics and stages, along with Mitch Mitchell drums, and Redding's basslines, sick.

But if it's only DLC, well... I don't mind, no I don't mind.

If this is actually made, I assume that is will be an exportable disc.

As much as I love TB:RB with its band-centric content, the sales of the disc (and DLC especially) were underwhelming for HMX. The costs on TB:RB were just to high for all the character/menu/dreamscape creation and song licensing too justify another exclusive title.

The AC/DC disc was just specific songs slapped into the RB1 engine, the Country/Classic/Metal trackpack discs are basically a lite version of RB2. Their production costs would have to have been relatively low. I bet HMX goes this route with Green Day: Rock Band and (hopefully) Hendrix: Rock God...

Its about time someone made it, don't care what the name on the box says at long as it has hendrix tracks!!

If they're cover songs you can take that entire game and shove it.

There you go. That's a man worth having an entire music game based on his legacy. Beatles? Greenday? Aerosmith?!? Jokes, compared to Jimi.

Well, Greenday and Aerosmith, but The Beatles? No

Yeah, i mean. Im a massive Hendrix fan but The Beatles are WAY more influentual and deserving of their own game than him. I do agree that he should have his own game, id buy it in a heart beat, but to say he deserved it more than The Beatles?....No...Just no.

I'm sorry that you guys feel that way, but Jimi Hendrix had more talent than all four of the Beatles, combined.

The Beatles were one of Jimi's biggest influences. he played many live covers of Beatles songs like Day Tripper and Sgt. Pepper.
just throwing that out there.

Hendrix does Sgt. Pepper's just days after it's released - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJ_Kip3FP0Q

Hendrix does Day Tripper - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIbRgVQMjbQ&feature=related

At least Jimi himself wasn't so blindly biased against obvious talent. But of course... Zoot Suit Jedi knows better than the man himself...

Wasn't there also a Queen: Rock Band in the making?

There is a Queen Singstar and a cvouple of months ago I think they announced a bunch of Queen DLC for one of the games. You might be thinking of that.

Excuse me while I kiss this guy! :p

So this is why that Hendrix GH4 DLC was not allowed to be compatible with GH5. That really sucks for people who bought those (not me.)

It it hadn't been used already, his game could be simply called "Guitar Hero"...

Maybe this time lefties will get a lefty-compatible guitar?

Since Hendrix used a right handed guitar, I doubt it.

I know that, but ever since using the guitar on the 'wrong' side for that achievement, I feel for lefties. The guitars are awkward to play like that because of the whammy bar and buttons.
This game would be a nice opportunity to show the lefties some love.

The new gutiar hero guitars have the strap locks on both sides.

@Tiptup

And Rock Band guitars lets you unskrew the straplock and switch the sides with the added bonus that Jimi primarily played strats

@nasty,

If you played lefty, you would know that constantly unscrewing/screwing the straplock gets very tedious.

I AM lefty, and yeah it is tedious, that's why when my friends play, I tell them to just pull the strap behind the guitar

After seeing the treatment given to The Beatles, I'd say that Harmonix would give Hendrix the utmost respect.

Rock Band has Beatles and soon-to-be Green Day. Guitar Hero has given us Metallica and Aerosmith, two bands who I feel really didn't deserve their own game, neither does Green Day really but that's beside the point. Guitar Hero's work had the band members performing on stage...that's it. Animations were minimal and the venues were boring. Beatles on the other hand was a breath of fresh air. I absolutely loved the Dreamscapes.

I hope that Hendrix's game would be something similar, he sure as hell deserves it.

It is a shame Hendrix has no good songs.

It's one thing to not like his music, but his music is on a level nearly everyone can appreciate. You are entitled to your opinion though.

Go ahead on, business man. You can't dress like me.

Oh Christ. EA is the new Activision is the new EA.

Glad someone else noticed it...

How the hell am I going to play my guitar controller with my teeth ?

You'll get it.
The real Hendrix worshipers will slice their temples then wear an acid soaked bandana so the drug is constantly flowing into the blood stream.
(Best possibly true, probably fictional Hendrix story ever!)

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Report: Jimi Hendrix getting Rock Band treatment [update]

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