Over the past year or so, its been a growing realization that the once incredibly popular music game genre is dying. I had understood this and come to terms with the facts. Guitar Hero was never much of a game outside of trying to 5-Star Through the Fire and Flames, even after the terribly designed drum kit was introduced. Though playing plastic guitars may have been fun for a while, it was a novelty game, and like all novelties, it began to dull over time.
I was more of a Rock Band fan, because unlike Guitar Hero, since it's conception the Rock Band series was about playing in a band, emulating the lifestyle with three of your friends through it's cartoon-styled graphics and fairly deep customization. Though after playing the same songs over and over again, it too lost some of its appeal. Sure there's a near limitless supply of tracks readily downloadable on the Rock Band Network, but micro-transactions be damned, it would cost a lot of money to keep a steady flow of new tunes on your console.
In came Rock Band 3 with this revolutionary idea that playing the game will actually teach you to play your instrument of choice. Dual use midi instruments; 25-key keyboard, full six-string guitar, electronic drum kit, the music game is saved! Sure the instruments are expensive, but you're not required to use them. The casual gamer can still use his or her plastic axes, while those who want to learn a new art can drop the required entry fee to train at the gates of rock 'n roll stardom. It was genius. While Guitar Hero floundered, and others attempted, and failed, to get a piece of the scene, Rock Band was going to revolutionize this shit before our eyes and ears.
Like any industry though, it all comes down to making money. No matter what anyone tells you, the games industry is a business, and businesses want to get that paper, bottom line. It's understandable, as long as you're not coming off as a shameless cash grab, I'm cool with it. Rock Band 3 was supposed to be about saving the genre, giving kids the opportunity to learn by way of video games. Too bad MTV Games turned it into a cash grab.
Out comes the news that the Squier Stratocaster, the six-string, $280 guitar for your console that can also be actually played with an amp, will retail exclusively at Best Buy. That means no competitive pricing, no using traded game credits at Gamestop, or preorder credits at Amazon. No ease of walking to the local mom-and-pop store in West Bumblefuck and picking it up from Sal the salesclerk. Best Buy only, and I'm sure they paid MTV Games a nice wad of cash for that exclusivity. Did I mention you also need a $40 dongle for the game to detect your 300 dollar Strat?
Add that to the fact that they midi keyboard is another $80 peripheral, and the game's keyboard accessibility is dreadfully underdeveloped. 20 something of Rock Band 3's stock 84 songs don't even have keyboard parts. And about half of those that do, have a cheap excuse for it. All the songs from Rock Band 1 and 2 you may have on your console haven't been updated to support keys, nor does it look like they will ever be. The only choice is to micro-transaction the fuck out of some Billy Joel or The Doors, and continue to pay to use what you just paid a whole lot for.
This article isn't a review of Rock Band 3. I've done that before, and found the game to be warm at best. This is a eulogy for the music game, finally set to rest by Harmonix, MTV Games, and Rock Band 3. Like so many others of weak mind and will, you say the right things and hold the potential for such greatness, but in the end you have fallen victim to the almighty dollar.
Rest in payment.