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Patrick Murphy:
You guys always have things like HDTVs, headsets, and other electronic stuff and I was wondering what you do with all of the th ...
OXM SAYS:
Generally, we return them. HDTVs are obtained with legally binding loan agreements; we have generally 30 to 45 d...MORE
Posted on: Jul 03, 2008
This Week in Xbox — 7/3
WORDS BY: Ryan Loren
Rock Band 2 Official Announcement Followed By Leak
On Monday, our sister site next-gen.biz reported on the official announcement of Rock Band 2. All current Rock Band content is compatible with Rock Band 2, which is good news for anybody who spent money on DLC.
The announcement of a Rock Band sequel surprised fewer people than the announcement of a September 2008 release date. The game will be a time Xbox 360 exclusive, with other platform versions appearing later in this year.
According to GameSpot, barely days after the game’s official announcement, a song-list leak reportedly accidentally appeared on G4’s popular series X-Play. A screenshot of the game showed songs such as Foo Fighter’s “Everlong,” Motorhead’s “Ace of Spades,” Journey’s “Any Way You Want It,” The Who’s “Pinball Wizard,” among many many others.
A second song-list leak also appeared on ScoreHero’s message boards from a self-claimed play-tester who posted a screenshot revealing more songs.
GameSpot.com lists all these songs as well as providing insightful commentary on the rumors.
VERDICT: While the song leak is just a rumor at this point, the included songs and the revamped menu are very intriguing. We're all very surprised by the September release date for Rock Band 2, but as long as the game is done well it's very exciting!
Blizzard Calls Out Microsoft
1Up.com reports that Blizzard’s senior vice president of game design, Rob Pardo, called out Microsoft for having “a bit of lip service with PC gaming. They have their own game system now, so I don't think it's really in their best interest to support [PC].” A week after Pardo’s comments cause a slight stir, Blizzard COO Paul Sams chipped in with his own equally accusatory comments:
“Well, their gaming focus is very much on the [Xbox] 360. And that makes sense, cause they're a hardware manufacturer as well as a software developer. And so they've got a lot of money and investment tied up in that system.
“Certainly they have a lot in Windows. And Windows is a system that supports all the business applications as well as games.
“And I kind of look at it and say to myself, and I think similarly to Rob, is that it would be great if they put more emphasis on the Windows operating system, certainly probably the most prominent operating system in the world. Even more so than console boxes.
“And they own and operate that system, so having them put more energy and effort against it -- and they would say that they are, but I think that there's more that can be done.
“It makes sense to me, what they're doing; they're putting their energy and focus against the 360. That's where their huge R&D dollars are that they have to earn out on and that's where I think their gaming bread and butter is right now.”
1Up.com also carries the entire interview with Pardo.
VERDICT: It's up to you whether or not you agree with Blizzard, but it's interesting that they don't mind publicly engaging Microsoft this way. In some ways it makes sense for Microsoft to put all their gaming focus on the Xbox, but I don't see why they couldn't focus on both the PC and Xbox at the same time.
Price Cut Rumor Update
Rumors last week circulated around a suspected Xbox 360 price drop leak due to a supposed early-released K-Mart sales-sheet. The sheet showed the 20GB version of the 360 selling for $299.99.
This week, FiringSquad.com reports a different spin on the rumor, claiming the ad doesn’t reveal a price cut for the 360 but a clearance sale for the 20GB version. FiringSquad.com also cites a possible axing of the 20GB version as the cause.
VERDICT: The rumor mill continues to churn and will continue to do so until we hear anything official from Microsoft. If this K-Mart sales-sheet is to be believed then we'll find out the truth next week, one way or another.
Call of Duty: World at War Action Figures
Last week, we reported that MacFarlane toys planned to release a line of Guitar Hero action figures. This week, MacFarlane announced yet another line of videogame related action figures through the same Activision partnership.
The action figures will tie into the upcoming Xbox 360 game, Call of Duty: World at War. 1Up.com reports that these figures will feature various soldiers including Marine infantry, Marine Corps, and British Special Ops.
VERDICT: If you love action figures then this is an exciting time for you!!
Mon, 07/07/2008 - 00:11
Posted by Freekman2626
I'm glad that X-Play made that mistake because I would have never checked the other site for the Rock Band 2 Songs List. McFarlane is not going to go far with their COD Action Figures and Blizzard's just stupid.
Sun, 07/06/2008 - 19:38
Posted by Sl8ter13
Its sad to see that a company feeding of the both stereotypical and insulting over the top BRING ON THE ROCK! type of mind will most likely win. Harmonix is a much more proffessional and musicaly deeper company but Rock Band has not broken into the mainstream pop culture the way Guitar Hero has. And this will hurt them.
Sun, 07/06/2008 - 14:51
Posted by McFool
As far as RB2 & GH4 goes, I'm going to stick with RB. I was not a big fan of GH3, and I've already bought over 60 RB songs, so thats a sizeable investment. And both Harmonix and Activision are stupid for not making their instruments compatible with the other game. 99% of gamers can't afford to have 8 instruments in their house. It's a gamble and on of these guys is gonna lose really, really badly. And IMO Konomi(Rock Revolution) has already lost.
Sat, 07/05/2008 - 03:08
Posted by Crusaderman83
Purplehayes you hit the mark about the rock band vs. GH thing. Harmonix rules while neversoft will kill the franchise like they did with tony hawk skateboarding
Fri, 07/04/2008 - 23:00
Posted by Purp1eHayes
I'm still getting both, but am much more excited about RB2. Everybody tends to down harmonix for their ideas not being as explosive, with GHWT having the song creator, etc. But when you put the two series / companies side by side, harmonix has always DELIVERED whereas Activision has mostly fallen short on everything from gameplay, to fan service, to DLC since taking the reigns. Not to mention that Harmonix started this whole thing with the first GH to begin with. Sorry, but "Dammit" isn't getting me excited about GHWT, and neither is the midi song creator that less than 5% of people that have the game will actually use (be honest).
As for the Blizzard / Microsoft thing, sorry to say it, but there is money in console gaming, and they need to open their eyes and understand that there is absolutely nothing strange about Microsoft's strategy. Yeah, Blizzard and WoW are doing well, but you'd have to be blind to see that for the most part, PC gaming is becoming more and more niche with every passing year. Add in all the money that PC gaming companies are losing due to piracy, and well... you do the math. Sorry, but "calling out" Microsoft on doing what they are doing seems a bit childish in this case, especially since Blizzard is one of the few PC game companies that can afford to focus only on PC because of their loyal following.
Thu, 07/03/2008 - 21:46
Posted by ill_sue_ya
after seeing the songlist their are a few songs i can identify. i know chop suey is by system of a down.
all the small things - blink - 182
ace of spades - motorhead
Thu, 07/03/2008 - 20:44
Posted by Burdman624
Well... since Harmonix has said that the previous Rock Band instruments would be compatible you would have to assume they aren't changing them.. so i am going to stick with GHWT... unless Rock Band releases a new drum set, i'm not going to bother with it... the GHWT drum set looks better.
Thu, 07/03/2008 - 20:04
Posted by bahama mama
To be able to stand up against Guitar Hero World Tour, Rock Band 2 needs a song creator and anew instrument. Keyboard, dijuridu etc.