Joystiq

Harmonix gets its 'Brain Stewed' by Green Day: Rock Band

Griffin McElroy — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 15:20:00 EST

The one track we were most looking forward to from Green Day: Rock Band was, of course, "Brain Stew/Jaded" from the outfit's 1995 album. It's a powerful, triumphant tune -- and, apparently, it's also super hard. The Harmonix crew attempted the song during last night's "Rock Band Bar Night" event at GDC, and -- well, it ended in tears. Or rather, jeers.

You can check out some off-screen footage of their tremendous failure above, or footage of them actually playing the game past the jump. To be fair, the drummer didn't see the flurry of notes coming at him, due to his attempt to refresh himself with some libations. You know who else was enjoying a few beverages? The drunk dude who kept trying to throw the devil horns up in front of our camera while we were filming. Really, drunk dude? Really?

Continue reading Harmonix gets its 'Brain Stewed' by Green Day: Rock Band

Harmonix gets its 'Brain Stewed' by Green Day: Rock Band originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 11 Mar 2010 15:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HSN teaches valuable lesson about Wii accessory safety

Griffin McElroy — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 18:30:00 EST

We were certain -- absolutely certain -- that the epidemic of fractured television screens which cropped up with the release of the Wii had passed. Everyone's heard the horror stories, seen the blackened eyes and witnessed the ruined electronics, we thought. Everyone now knows the methods of avoiding Wiimote accidents during their exuberant Wii Sports bouts, we thought. The Home Shopping Network recently proved the inaccuracy of this observation.

The hilarity unfolds in the video after the jump. While some might grimace at the fate of the poor television featured in the video, remember that they're charging $330 for a Wii and 15 completely unnecessary controller attachments. Call it an accident, if you'd like -- we call it Karma in action.

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HSN teaches valuable lesson about Wii accessory safety originally appeared on Joystiq on Sun, 18 Oct 2009 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Call of Duty: World Fails at Buying It

Chris Greenhough — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 12:47:00 EST

Filed under: News

Or the United States does, at least. Arguably due to a lack of minigames, GameDaily noted that Call of Duty: World at War sold miserably on the Wii (and DS). The latest NPD numbers saw the Xbox 360 (1.41 million units) and PS3 (597,000) versions in second and sixth place respectively, but the Wii iteration was nowhere to be found -- something you guys also picked up on.

In fact, the Wii game lagged embarrassingly far behind its high-definition cousins: according to GameDaily, the PS2, PC, DS and Wii editions sold around 200,000 units combined. This makes us genuinely fear for games like The Conduit. Call of Duty is pretty much the biggest name in the console shooter business, so if that can't shift copies on Wii, what chance a brand-new IP?

Call of Duty: World Fails at Buying It originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 18 Dec 2008 12:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Opinion: What Wii has done wrong

David Hinkle — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 17:15:00 EST

Filed under: Features

GameSetWatch has been running an interesting two-part column on the success and failure of the Wii in its first two years on store shelves (2nd anniversary arriving soon, read our 1st anniversary theme week here!). The second part of the piece, which focuses on the negatives, has a couple of interesting tidbits worth pointing out.

The first thing the piece focuses on is waggle and how the early promises of a more immersed experience for the gamer have not been fulfilled. We're willing to concede that, because of how great the console has sold in such a small period of time and how many developers and publishers have proceeded to churn out shovelware and dirty ports just in an attempt to cash in. There are always exceptions to the rule, however, with not only Nintendo showing us the amazing and unique things that can be done with the control scheme, as well as some other third party developers and their titles (Zack & Wiki, Let's Tap, and No More Heroes, just to name a few).

We won't spoil the rest of the piece for you, but, to be honest, it's really good. It calls the Wii out for a lot of its shortcomings, and not in a totally biased tone. And, if bashing the Wii doesn't sound like an interesting topic for an article to you, read the first part, where it's nothing but Wii love.

Source - Two Years In - The Wii's Successes
Source - Two Years In - How the Wii Has Failed

Opinion: What Wii has done wrong originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 07 Nov 2008 17:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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DS Daily: You suck!

Alisha Karabinus — Mon, 24 Dec 2007 09:00:00 EST

Filed under: DS Daily

At least, we assume there's one game at which you totally suck. We've all got 'em. Maybe it's not consistent, but at least some days you get continuously smoked. But what's the game? Maybe you can't face Contra 4, or you are continually last (and weeping) in Mario Kart DS. Maybe you've given up on Tetris or Planet Puzzle League. Whatever the game, we want to hear about your shame. We'll commiserate. After all, with so many of us hanging around, you're probably not alone over there in your big ol' pail of fail.

DS Daily: You suck! originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 24 Dec 2007 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The failure of the PS3: the book

Andrew Yoon — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 19:07:00 EST

Filed under: Business

A book was recently released in Japan called "????3??????????" tries to answer the question "Why did the PS3 fail?" It's a bit early, but the sensational title certainly will turn heads (as it did ours).

It's clear that system sales did not meet Sony's expectations. However, it's premature to declare any system a "winner" or "loser" in a generation that has been in motion for less than two years.

[Thanks, Brandon! Via Canned Dog]

The failure of the PS3: the book originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 10 Sep 2007 19:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Preview of new Guitar Hero II co-op mode

Dan Choi — Mon, 08 May 2006 15:21:00 EST

Filed under: Sony PlayStation 2, E3, Peripherals, Rhythm

In case you missed it on Friday, IGN posted a pre-E3 hands-on preview of Guitar Hero II's new co-op mode. It's a departure from the first game's multiplayer mode in that the two players have to depend on each other a lot more to pass each song and thereby make beautiful music together.

While the old multiplayer option will still be around in the sequel, the new mode mixes distinct lead guitar and bass or rhythm parts where each player affects the other in various ways, whether by failing if either performance slips (as in DDR), sharing the same Rock Meter (with mistakes from either player resetting the score multiplier), and needing to both go vertical at the same time to activate the shared Star Power. Thankfully, different difficulty levels can be assigned to each player.

The Joystiq team out in L.A. will probably find something to do until they get their sweaty paws on a guitar controller or two on the E3 show floor (maybe one of those wacky press conferences will help pass the time), but we're sure the wait to try the latest build of this rockin' series will be worth it. The seven songs available at E3 are listed below.

[Thanks, murph]

Continue reading Preview of new Guitar Hero II co-op mode

Preview of new Guitar Hero II co-op mode originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 08 May 2006 15:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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