Rock Band Rollin', MTV Hints At Next Project

Rock Band

You may not have realized it, but Rock Band is the very first game to be published by MTV. Now, they haven't technically been "music television" for a decade, but perhaps this is a way they can redeem themselves: by producing kick-ass music-based games.

Developed by Harmonix and distributed by EA Partners, Rock Band is already a big success, and according to QJ.net, MTV will probably use the game's popularity as a springboard to more work in the future. Obviously, we'd expect the channel to focus on games like these, but you never know... Anyway, Harmonix seems happy about MTV's involvement and the state of the genre in general-

"For most of our history, it's been hard to get the music industry to pay attention to games, but at this point in time we've really broken down a lot of those barriers. With Rock Band, we have almost 90% original masters in the game and a lot of artist participation."

The music/rhythm genre has quickly become the most popular mainstream gaming category out there, as the likes of Dance Dance Revolution and Guitar Hero have generated millions of loyal followers. Even more interesting is the fact that many of these fans were never gamers in the first place; these games have been successful in targeting those who want a different interactive experience. And if early feedback is any indication, Rock Band is about to drag in even more fans.

MTV Network's Jeff Yapp said Rock Band isn't "just a game," and did hint at another project in the works. "We're pretty optimistic about what this game is going to do," he said. "But our next big announcement, which is coming up fairly quickly, is a move to a whole another realm."

Ah, so maybe it's not music-related! We'd love to take another dig at MTV following that statement, but...we won't. Rock Band is just too good. The game is now available for the PS3 and Xbox 360, and will release for the PS2 on December 18.

Related Game(s): Rock Band

11/23/2007 Ben Dutka