On Gear Live: Samsung S95C: The OLED TV You Can’t Afford (to Ignore!)

Latest Gear Live Videos

ezJam Combo for Guitar Hero and Rock Band

Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Misc. Tech, Music, Video Games,

ezJam Guitar

If you are a fan of Guitar Hero and Rock Band, here is a guitar that will play both games. The ezJam Combo Guitar has a chrome strum bar, ezSpring whammy bar, and multi-axis tilt sensor. The Supra 10 fret keys allow for larger hands on 5 of the frets, while the kidlets can use the other five. With DC2 Dual Connect technology, it comes with a wireless receiver and neck strap. Available in October, pre-order yours in baby blue for $69.99.

 

Read More | ezGear

Advertisement

Rock Band Disc Export Title Update Goes LIve

Rock BandRejoice, ye fans of backwards compatibility! Harmonix has just released the title update for that will allow players to export the first game’s song list into Rock Band 2 at their leisure. 55 of the songs are slated to have the ability to transfer over (“Run To The Hills”, “Paranoid”, and “Enter Sandman” are exempt) - you just pay 5 semolians, follow the instructions, and the songs are then burned to your HDD as any other DLC song would. Plus, you can also delete individual songs, if there are some you didn’t particularly care for. Personally, after being forced to play “In Bloom” into eternity during the first game, I’ll take that as a very welcome addition.

Rock Band is slated to have over 500 songs available for download and play by the year’s end, which is relatively unprecedented. Where they’re going from Rock Band 2 is anybody’s guess, but there have been some rumblings about a music creation system in the works (though Guitar Hero: World 2 seems to have that base covered already).


echochrome hits the PlayStation Store

echochrome

Oh, happy day, echochrome has arrived. In case you’ve been under a rock, echochrome is a delicious puzzle perspective game, which is simple and deceptive all at the same time. The graphics are simple, the concept is amazing, and we’ve been waiting for it since last year’s . It is now here, along with a few other pieces of content - like new Rock Band tracks - on this weeks PlayStation Store update.

Games and Demos
echochrome ($9.99) for PS3
echochrome ($9.99) for PSP
Dark Sector demo (free)

Expansions and Add-ons
Rock Band tracks ($1.99 per track) - “Zero” by Smashing Pumpkins, “Time-Sick Son of a Grizzly Bear” and “Red Tandy” The Mother Hips
Karaoke Revolution Presents: American Idol Encore tracks ($1.49 per track)

Videos
Battlefield: Bad Company “Redford Blog” video
echochrome trailer
Dead Space “Announcement” trailer
Dead Space “Ship Date” trailer
Kung Fu Panda trailer
NBA Ballers: Chosen One TV spot
Turok “Kane Gameplay” trailer
Turok “Bring It” trailer

Themes and Wallpapers
4 echochrome wallpapers
3 Kung Fu Panda wallpapers


Aerosmith tracks exclusive to Guitar Hero, not hitting Rock Band

Guitar Hero Aerosmith

Looks like artist music is going to start becoming exclusive to specific brands, as it has been made public through Activision PR that all Aerosmith tracks are going to be exclusive to . What this means is that, no matter how good the Rock Band Store gets (and it is very good), you will never see any more Aerosmith tracks appearing in that franchise. Sure, owners do get one Aerosmith track, that being “Train Kept a Rollin,” but seriously, that is just a drop in the bucket.

What we are wondering is, as these music/rhythm-based games continue to flourish, how many other artists are going to sign on for the exclusive? What do you guys think?

Read More |

Newsweek


Rock out with the Air Guitar T-Shirt

Posted by Lolita Beckwith Categories: Accessories, Casual, Culture, Music,

Air Guitar T-Shirt

If you’re a fan of the and , we’ve got a T-shirt for you. The design on this tee bears a striking resemblance to the faux guitar that comes with those, games so you’re guaranteed to be the star of the show when wearing one. Or for ultimate geekiness, you can crank up some Led Zep and make like the lad in the photo above. But we suggest you only do that around those who truly “get you”. Available in both men’s and women’s sizes for only $12 USD.

Read More |

Gifts.com


Harmonix Co-Founder Answers Questions About Rock Band

Rock Band Guitar ControllerThe Official Xbox Magazine’s podcast has an interview this week with Harmonix co-founder and president Alex Rigopulos about their upcoming game Rock Band. In the interview he talks about the game bundles, although light on concrete details he does confirm a band-in-a-box bundle that will include a guitar, drum kit and microphone. However, he goes on to say that the PlayStation 3 version will include a wireless guitar controller while the Xbox 360 version will have to include a wired guitar because Microsoft‘s wireless technology is too expensive to make the bundle reasonably priced. Since the 360 also has only two USB ports, the 360 Rock Band bundle will also be packed with a USB hub.

Rigopulos goes on to discuss the game’s career modes a little, saying there will be both solo career mode that progresses in a linear fashion similar to what Guitar Hero players are used to, but they are also including a less linear band career mode. In this mode you traverse to various venues trying to build up your fan base and in some cases return to previously played locations to maintain your fame there. Also it’s worth noting that the solo career mode will not include a bass career track so your options are vocals, guitar and drums in solo career mode. But Rigopulos did reveal that the finale songs for each career path (and therefore likely the difficulty distinctions throughout) will be different for each instrument, and he even said that at this point the drum finale will be The Who’s “Won’t Get Fooled Again.”

Click to continue reading Harmonix Co-Founder Answers Questions About Rock Band

Read More | KOXM Podcast

Bleeding Edge TV 181: PAX 2007 Wrap-Up with Gear Live and GamerAndy

Gear Live and GamerAndy are back, bringing you their final thoughts from 2007, this time bringing Bobby Blackwolf along for the ride. We go over all the things we were impressed with at PAX, along with the things that left a bad taste in our mouths. We get into a deep discussion on how even hardcore games are starting to cater to the casual gamer, and how it seems that it isn’t necessarily a good thing. Did you know that you can do almost everything in just by pushing forward on the analog stick? Where is the skill in that? If you missed the 2007 Penny Arcade Expo and love video games, this is one to watch.


Bleeding Edge TV 180: Gear Live and GamerAndy Live from PAX 2007

We hit this year and had a fantastic time. So much so, in fact, that we just had to capture it - the essence of what is truly all about - in video for your viewing pleasure. Here, Andru Edwards, GamerAndy, and Sparky talk about the sights and sounds of the Penny Arcade Expo, go over the idiosyncrasies of color availability and how you can be construed as less of a man if you choose the wrong one, Rock Band being amazing, and how geeky Magic: The Gathering is…and that is just a sample of the miscellaneous ramblings you’ll find in this episode. If you love video games, this is one to watch.


Hannah Montana: The First Day One Game You’ll Buy “For Your Little Sister”

Okay, the game is Hannah Montana. But subtitled “Music Jam,” this game looks like a portable including recording capabilities, four different instruments, wireless multiplayer and some really cool gameplay. There’s really no reason to be ashamed if you end up excited about this game. Except, you know, the teeny bopper license and the fact that any guy over 13 who buys this will get a lot of really suspicious looks from game store clerks.

Still, the guy demoing the game in the video is not a wuss and would totally beat you up, so if he’s comfortable playing it, you should be too.

Or, you could hold out and hope that Disney Interactive wisely re-brands this down the road with something a little less emasculating or at the very least a little less “middle school.”

Read More | Infendo

MTV to Invest $500 Million in Games Division

Posted by Steve Van Neil Categories: Corporate News, Culture, Music,

MTV logoLook no further for proof that the video game business is big business indeed.  Media giant has announced that it is sinking over a half billion dollars into the video game industry over the next two years.

“As we take our brands narrow and deep to serve our targeted, niche audiences, we’re putting well over $500 million behind building our games business across all of the brands in our portfolio,” explained MTV chairman and chief executive Judy McGrath.

MTV is set to make a big splash this fall when Rock Band is released.  MTV/Viacom recently purchased and developer Harmonix, so the success of the game will greatly impact any of the network’s future gaming endeavors.  In addition to the Harmonix acquisition, MTV/Viacom has snapped up Xfire and GameTrailers, quietly making itself a major player in the gaming scene.

Read More | GameDaily

Advertisement