It’s happening, people.
IT’S ACTUALLY HAPPENING.
I’m sitting here with an open wallet throwing money at my TV over and over again, and that’s not actually making anything happen. But, this summer, what is going to happen is that all that money I’m throwing now is going to go into ROCK BAND 4, BECAUSE THAT’S ACTUALLY HAPPENING.
Harmonix has officially confirmed that Rock Band 4 is in production, and they are targeting a summer release. That’s enough to make most music game fans weak at the knees, but then it gets better. Along with the excitement of a new and improved RB game, Harmonix are also in the process of:
- Working with Sony and Microsoft to ensure that the existing massive collection of legacy peripherals from the RB1-3 era will be compatible with RB4. At this point, this isn’t set in stone, it’s what Harmonix wants, but they say that this requires cooperation from both hardware platform holders, so it’s possible—but unlikely—that Sony would say “Yeah, sure,” but Microsoft would say “No way,” or that both would simply say, “Not going to happen.” Fear of competitive edge to a rival is a strong motivator to ensure that both companies agree to play nice.
- Harmonix is attempting to do the same thing with legacy downloadable content. So yes, your RB1, 2, and 3 songs as well as all those other songs you bought may end up moving right back into your new RB4 playlist. Again, however, this is contingent on whether Sony and Microsoft agree to it. But if one platform holder is more open to the possibility, the other one has to cave.
- Rock Band 4 is not the start of a new annual release cycle. It is instead a platform in and of itself that will be Rock Band for this console generation. Instead of a new game next year with new features, Harmonix will be adding content and updates online. Some may be for sale, such as songs, of course, and others may be free, like new modes.
What’s pretty amazing about all this to me is that Harmonix just checked off the first three of my 5 Things Rock Band 4 Needs To Keep Fans Happy. It really shows that this is a studio that cares about its fans, rather than its bottom line and profit margins. If you’ve got an old RB drum kit sitting around in a basement or closet collecting dust, and you were thinking to yourself, “Man, I miss beating on the virtual skins,” then your chance do it again has arrived. It`s coming only to the Xbox One and PlayStation 4, so if you hadn’t upgraded your hardware yet, you’ve now got a few months to do so.
Do you know why?
BECAUSE ROCK BAND 4 IS FREAKING HAPPENING, THAT’S WHY.
