text:
Rock Band (video game)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
This article is about the video game. For the video game franchise, see Rock Band.
Rock Band
Rock Band cover art
Developer(s)
Harmonix (Xbox 360/PS3)
Pi Studios (PS2/Wii/)
Publisher(s)
MTV Games, Electronic Arts
Designer(s)
Greg LoPiccolo, Rob Kay, Dan Teasdale
Series
Rock Band
Platform(s)
Xbox 360
PlayStation 3
PlayStation 2
Wii[1]
Release
Xbox 360
NA: November 20, 2007[3]
EU: May 23, 2008[2]
AU: November 7, 2008[4]
PlayStation 3
NA: November 20, 2007[3]
EU: September 12, 2008[2]
AU: November 7, 2008[4]
PlayStation 2
NA: December 17, 2007[5]
EU: September 12, 2008[2]
AU: November 7, 2008[4]
Wii
NA: June 22, 2008[6]
EU: September 12, 2008[2]
AU: November 7, 2008[4]
Genre(s)
Rhythm game
Mode(s)
Single player, multiplayer
Rock Band is a music video game developed by Harmonix, published by MTV Games and Electronic Arts. It is the first title in the Rock Band series. The Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions were released in the North America on November 20, 2007,[3] while the PlayStation 2 version was released on December 18, 2007[6] with the Wii version being released on June 22, 2008. The Xbox 360 version was released in Europe on May 23, 2008 while the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2, and Wii versions were released on September 12, 2008. All four ports of the game were released in Australia on November 7, 2008. The game was to be released in Japan and to be developed by Q Entertainment but it was canceled.
Rock Band allows up to four players to simulate the performance of popular rock music songs by playing with controllers modeled after musical instruments. Players can play the lead guitar, bass guitar, and drums parts to songs with "instrument controllers", as well as sing through a USB microphone. Players are scored on their ability to match scrolling musical "notes" while playing instruments, or by their ability to match the singer's pitch on vocals. Players with the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions can interact with players on the same platform through both online and offline multiplayer capabilities. In addition to the 58 core songs included on the game disc, over 2,000 downloadable songs were released for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions.[7]
At launch, the game software was made available in a bundle that packaged it together with the instrument peripherals, as well as for purchase separately. Individual instrument peripherals were released at a later date. The game has received widespread critical acclaim,[8] with sales of four million units and global revenues of $600 million.[9] Players have made over 100 million downloadable song purchases since Rock Band's release.[10] The game's success prompted the release of six sequels: Rock Band 2, The Beatles: Rock Band, Lego Rock Band, Green Day: Rock Band, Rock Band 3 and Rock Band 4.
Contents
[hide]
1 Gameplay
1.1 Instrument peripherals
1.2 Band World Tour mode
1.3 Solo Tour modes
1.4 Other modes
2 Soundtrack
2.1 Downloadable songs and Track Packs
3 Development
3.1 Online community
4 Release
4.1 Promotion
4.2 Editions
4.3 Technical issues and guitar incompatibility
5 Reception
5.1 Sales
5.2 Awards
5.3 Cultural impact
5.4 Sequel
5.5 Patent litigation
6 See also
7 References
8 External links
Gameplay[edit]
See also: Gameplay in Rock Band series
Gameplay of a full band playing Metallica's "Enter Sandman". Each instrument is represented by a different interface: bass guitar (right), drums (middle), lead guitar (left), vocals (top). The Band Meter (green meter on left) measures the performance of each band member, while the Energy Meter (gold meter beneath each interface) tracks each player's Overdrive.
Reusing many gameplay elements from the Guitar Hero series, Rock Band players use peripherals modeled after musical instruments to simulate the performance of rock music. Players use these instruments by playing scrolling musical "notes" on-screen in time with the music. Rock Band expands upon the Guitar Hero series, in that it offers gameplay for drums and vocals, in addition to lead and bass guitar.
Rock Band's gameplay and on-screen interface uses a combination of elements from Guitar Hero and Karaoke Revolution.[11] Rock Band has up to three tracks of vertically scrolling colored music notes, one section each for lead guitar, drums, and bass.[11] The colored notes on-screen correspond to buttons on the guitar and drum peripherals.[11] For lead and bass guitar, players play their notes by holding down colored fret buttons on the guitar peripheral and pushing the controller's strum bar; for drums, players must strike the matching colored drumhead, or step on the pedal to simulate playing bass drum notes. Along the top of the screen is the vocals display, which scrolls horizontally, similar to Karaoke Revolution. The lyrics display beneath green bars, which represent the pitch of the individual vocal elements.[11] When singing vocals, the player must sing in relative pitch to the original vocals. A pitch indicator displays the singer's accuracy relative to the original pitch. The remainder of the screen is used to display the band's virtual characters as they perform in concert.
During cooperative play as a band, all players earn points towards a common score, though score multipliers and "Overdrive" are tracked separately for each player.[11] Overdrive is collected during select portions of a song by successfully playing all white notes within that section (or by using the guitar controller's whammy bar during white sustained notes).[12] Once the Energy Meter is filled halfway, players can deploy their Overdrive, resulting in the "Band Meter" (which tracks how well each player is doing) changing more dramatically. This allows players to strategically use Overdrive to raise the Band Meter and pass portions of a song they otherwise might have failed. Overdrive can be used to activate score multipliers, which vary based on a player's note streak. Players can deploy Overdrive independently of each other, as well as collect additional Overdrive while it is deployed and draining.[12]
Each band member can choose the difficulty at which they play (spanning Easy, Medium, Hard, and Expert). If a player does not play well enough and falls to the bottom of the Band Meter, they will fail out of the song and their instrument will be muted from the audio mix. However, any active player can activate their Overdrive to bring failed players back into the song,[11] "saving" the band member. However, a band member can only be saved twice; after the third failure, they cannot be brought back for that song. Failed players continuously drag the band's Band Meter down until they are saved. If the player is not saved before the Band Meter reaches the bottom, the band fails the song. Players can earn Overdrive bonuses from "Unison Phrases" and extra points from a "Big Rock Ending."
Unlike the PlayStation 2 and Wii version, players with the Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 versions can create and customize their own in-game character, complete with adjustable hair, body physique, clothing, tattoos, onstage movements, and instruments. Each character is permanently locked into a specific instrument. Using cash earned within the game, the player may purchase items at the in-game "Rock Shop," with which they can customize their rock star. The game features an art maker where players can combine different clip art elements to create custom face paint, tattoos, clothing designs, instrument artwork, and band logos.[13]
Instrument peripherals[edit]
The Fender Stratocaster Controller, which features 10 frets, a whammy bar, and an effects switch.
The game features special Rock Band-branded guitar controllers modeled after the Fender Stratocaster to be used for the lead and bass guitar gameplay. These are similar to the Guitar Hero controllers, as they feature five colored fret buttons on the neck, a strum bar, and a whammy bar. The Stratocaster controller has five additional fret buttons of smaller size located closer to the guitar's main body. These buttons can be used to play notes in guitar solos (denoted by the note track turning blue) as hammer-ons and pull-offs, without the need to strum.[11] Additionally, the controller features an effects pickup switch that can toggle between five different effects, which are applied in solos and when Overdrive is activated. Overdrive for guitarists can be deployed by holding the controller in a vertical position or pressing the "Select/Back" button. The controller is offered in both wired and wireless versions.[14] Harmonix confirmed most Guitar Hero guitar controllers and additional third-party controllers are compatible with the game.[11][14] The Stratocaster controller is not compatible with Guitar Hero II or III.
The drum controller, which features 4 pads, a bass drum pedal, and real drumsticks.
The drum controller features four rubber drum pads and a kick pedal. The pads have colored rings around the edges that correspond to the notes on-screen, representing the snare drum (red), hi-hat (yellow), tom-tom (blue), and crash cymbal (green). The kick pedal simulates the bass drum, with on-screen notes represented as orange horizontal lines. A pair of authentic drum sticks are included with the controller. Drummers can improvise in special "freestyle drum fill" sections of songs, indicated by the columns for each note turning a solid color. Overdrive for drummers can be deployed by hitting the crash cymbal (green note for right-handed configuration) that appears directly after a freestyle drum fill. Harmonix representatives have suggested, "If you can play the drum parts on hard, you can pretty much play the drums [in reality]."[13][14]
Rock Band's USB microphone instrument is similar to the model used in the Harmonix-developed Karaoke Revolution games. For the most part, singers are judged on how closely they match the relative pitch of the song's vocalist. During "talking parts" that do not judge pitch, a phoneme detector will pick up individual vowels and consonants of the spoken lyrics.[11][15] Some sections without vocals will display circle notes, allowing for the microphone to be used as a tambourine and cowbell by tapping it or making vocal cues. Overdrive for singers can be deployed by singing in freestyle vocal sections of songs, denoted by yellow artwork in the background of the vocals interface.
Band World Tour mode[edit]
The world map in Band World Tour, which allows the band to select a city, venue, and setlist.
"Band World Tour" is the game's primary multiplayer mode. It allows any combination of 2-4 local players to create a virtual band, play gigs, and tour a virtual representation of the world. Although online play is not supported for Band World Tour, players can use the "Band Quickplay" mode to play together as a band online.[16] For the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of the game, Band World Tour mode lets bands play in 41 different venues spanning 17 cities, including Los Angeles, Seattle, Boston, New York, London, Sydney, Stockholm, and Rome.[17] After creating their band, characters, and logo, the players can begin playing concerts in small venues in their hometown until they unlock vans, tour buses and private jets, which unlock other cities and continents. Successful performances also earn the band fans, stars, and in-game cash.[18] Most cities and larger venues require the band to achieve a certain number of fans and stars before they are unlocked. In-game venues are inspired by real-life venues and often display local art styles from each of the represented cities.[17]
For the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions, rather than complete predetermined lists of songs (like in previous Guitar Hero games), players complete unique sets of activities at each venue. Performances consist of single songs, multiple song sets, "make your own" setlists, and mystery setlists.[18] Players are also faced with decisions that Harmonix refers to as "risk-versus-reward."[18] For certain performances, bands are faced with an optional challenge that requires the band to average a certain number of stars for their gig in order to reap the rewards.[18] Bands can also choose to perform a benefit concert (earning no in-game money but gaining more fans) or "sell-out" (earning more in-game money but losing fans).[18] Additionally, for certain gigs, bands can compete for band personnel, as well as a recording deal with a record label.[18] The "Endless Setlist" provides players with all-day concert experience, as the setlist requires playing the entire game disc's setlist from start to finish.[19]
The PlayStation 2 and Wii versions of Rock Band contain a more stripped-down version of the Band World Tour mode, as 2–4 local players will only be able to play by completing predetermined tiers of songs ordered by difficulty. Players cannot create their own characters, nor can they choose a city, venue, or a setlist to play.[20]
Solo Tour modes[edit]
"Solo Tour" is a single-player mode offered for the lead guitar, drum, and microphone peripherals (there is no support for bass). Rather than feature the open-ended gameplay and features of the next-generation versions of Band World Tour mode, Solo Tour is structured much in the same vein as the career mode in Guitar Hero games. Players choose/create their character (on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions only) and complete predetermined sets of songs ordered by difficulty, with each instrument's setlist ordered differently. By completing these sets of songs, additional songs are unlocked for play across all game modes. For the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions, players can use money earned for each performance to purchase merchandise at the "Rock Shop". The character's cash carries over into Band World Tour mode, and vice versa.
Other modes[edit]
Players can quickly play any song on any instrument individually in "Solo Quickplay". For a competitive experience, players can individually compete against each other for each instrument type in the "Tug of War" (much like Guitar Hero's "Face-off", in which players trade playing sections of a song to move a meter in their favor) and "Score Duel" (much like Guitar Hero II's "Pro Face-off", in which each player plays the song in its entirety on the same difficulty level to earn points). These head-to-head modes are available both online (for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions) and locally.[21] "Band Quickplay" mode allows bands to quickly play any song; the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions allow any combination of 2–4 local or online players to play as a band, while the PlayStation 2 and Wii versions only supports 2–4 local players. Also included in Rock Band are "Tutorial Mode", which allows players to learn how to play each instrument, and "Practice Mode", which allows players to practice songs for each instrument.[14]
Soundtrack[edit]
Main article: List of songs in Rock Band
All versions of Rock Band feature the same core 58 playable tracks on the game disc; 45 of these are featured tracks in the main setlist, while the other 13 tracks are "bonus songs" by independent or lesser-known bands, as well as bands made up of Harmonix employees.[22][23] In total, 51 of the 58 songs are master recordings. The Wii version of the game features 5 additional songs. Featured tracks include "Dani California" by Red Hot Chili Peppers, "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" by Blue Öyster Cult, "Enter Sandman" by Metallica, "Here It Goes Again" by OK Go, "Highway Star" by Deep Purple, "Learn to Fly" by Foo Fighters, "Suffragette City" by David Bowie, "Wanted Dead or Alive" by Bon Jovi, and "Won't Get Fooled Again" by The Who. All but three songs on the Rock Band disc can be transferred to the user's hard drive on the Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 to be used for Rock Band 2. Furthermore, an extra two songs from Rock Band cannot be carried over into Rock Band 3.[24]
Harmonix co-founder Alex Rigopulos commented that the game's soundtrack would be "covering a great breadth, from metal to classic rock to Southern rock to everything in between."[25] Five record labels agreed to supply most of the master recordings by their artists for use in the game, including EMI Music, Hollywood Records, Sony BMG Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group's Universal Music Enterprises, and Warner Music Group's Rhino Entertainment.[26]
Downloadable songs and Track Packs[edit]
Main article: Downloadable songs for Rock Band series
The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions of the game support downloadable songs. Users can download songs on a track-by-track basis, with many of the tracks digitally bundled together in "song packs" or complete albums at a discounted rate.[27] Harmonix has likened the Rock Band game to a new platform for future music releases, and the company built the library of downloadable content up to hundreds of songs within the first year of the game's release by releasing new content on a weekly basis.[28] Fifteen songs were made available at the game's launch date. To date, over 1,480 downloadable songs are available[29] and over 100 million song purchases have been made by players.[10] Downloadable songs are playable within every game mode,[30] including the Band World Tour career mode.[18] All downloadable songs released before Rock Band 3 came out are cross-compatible between Rock Band and Rock Band 2.[31] Downloadable albums have been a major selling point for the game, with nine albums having been released to date.[32] Currently, most song packs containing three songs are priced at $5.49/440 Microsoft Points, while most individual songs are available for the standard price of $1.99/160 MSP. Occasionally, certain songs are initially priced at $0.99/80 MSP for a limited time. The prices for albums differ, depending on the amount of songs the album contains.
Main article: List of Rock Band track packs
As both the PlayStation 2 and Wii version lack downloadable content, Harmonix released a series of "Track Pack" standalone games that are sold in retail stores. Each volume contains several of the tracks available as downloadable content for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Track Pack Vol. 2 saw an expanded release on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, as well. One Track Pack, exclusively featuring the songs of AC/DC's 1991 Live at Donington concert, was released in November 2008.[33]
Development[edit]
Harmonix Music Systems was previously responsible for making the Guitar Hero series, while RedOctane manufactured the peripherals and owned the rights to the series. However, in June 2006, RedOctane was bought by Activision, while in September 2006, Harmonix was purchased by MTV Networks. As a result of the two purchases, Harmonix would no longer be able to develop future Guitar Hero games. Instead, Neversoft, a subsidiary of Activision, would take over development; the company released Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock on October 28, 2007.[34][35] According to "The Business", Rock Band cost $200 million to develop.[36] Harmonix's Vice President of Product Development, Greg LoPiccolo, stated that the game took about 20 months to develop, already having envisioned the possibility of different instruments before they were completed with the Guitar Hero series.[37]
Development started around February 2006, working with industrial designers J. Hayes and contract manufacturer Canyon Creations for prototyping instruments.[38] One of the first needs for developing Rock Band was new hardware, specifically for the drums, since they already had experience with guitar controllers from Guitar Hero. Working in tandem between software and hardware development, Harmonix spent time working on a drum controller prototype and how its track would be shown on screen. One difficulty faced was the drum bass pedal's visual representation; the four drum pads were generally matched in visual space as to the onscreen note track, but using a standard note "gem" for bass pedals threw testers off. They eventually came to the solution of using a bar that spanned the note track for bass pedal, which worked well.[38] Once the drum prototypes were done, they started working on the guitar controllers. Preliminary hardware pieces were completed by April 2007, leading to mass production in China for release. Harmonix noted that they had not started their discussions with their Chinese manufacturers early enough, as they needed to push a team to be in China during the principle production months from June to September 2007 to make sure initial production was completed and in transit to meet release.[38]
Gameplay was designed to be focused around the feeling of being in a band. Initial playtests showed that there was a lack of cohesion if each member of the band just played their parts. Harmonix created its Harmonix Design Cabal from senior designers and veterans of the studio to play around with the gameplay and UI to help identify means that would encourage a more unified band. This Cabal led to the introduction of saving failing teammates, unison bonuses, bass grooves, guitar and drum solos, and Big Rock Endings in the final game.[38] For networking, they opted to use the Quazal networking scheme rather than the platforms' current network offerings, which allowed them flexibility in Rock Band and future games. Large scale testing and debugging for their network and server capabilities was done by renting time on a supercomputer to simulate 100,000 simultaneous connections.[38] In visual style, Harmonix used the keyword "authenticity", which drove the appearance of the costumes, based on various music genres, the in-game instruments, and the animations used during a song to simulate a music video.[38]
In selecting the soundtrack for Rock Band, the developers recognized that they needed to select songs that were recognizable, particularly on vocals; in contrast, when they were selecting songs for Guitar Hero, they were able to pick songs that played better even if they were less recognizable.[39] They also consider songs that would help players come together socially, such as in The Who's "Won't Get Fooled Again", where they retained the long synthesizer solo such that the band members would all start playing again after it for a big finish.[39] The team were able to introduce songs from smaller artists that they felt were good additions, such as "Maps" by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and "Electric Version" by the New Pornographers to help also introduce players to those classes of music.[39] For about half the songs, they hired a studio to sing along to the lyrics as a crowd would at a stadium, such that during the game, when players are performing well, the additional crowd sing-alongs would add to the performance experience.[39]
Current Harmonix parent company MTV provided financial support to the development process, taking advantage of its stature to facilitate deals with record companies for licensing rights to songs.[40] Several record companies pledged their support by offering master recordings.[41] Pressed for office space, Harmonix was forced to move its offices in the middle of Rock Band's beta period in order to support the company's 130-person staff.[42] However, they continued to bring on more developers in order to complete the title on time.[43] This led to several problems in bringing the newer coders on board without any technical plan, requiring the team to redesign several parts of the game, such as online matchmaking, several times to correct.[43] Although the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of the game were developed in-house, Harmonix outsourced development of the PlayStation 2 version to Pi Studios, as it omits certain features.[44]
Harmonix faced difficulty in making the Xbox 360 guitar wireless, as developers are charged a licensing fee to use Microsoft's wireless technology. Had Harmonix chosen to pay the fee, the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 bundles of Rock Band would have sold at different price points. Instead, Harmonix chose a wired technology for the Xbox 360 bundle's guitar.[44] In the certification process for both Xbox and PlayStation platforms, Harmonix encountered difficulty in how to assign service profiles to different instruments; while they ended with a profile management systems that met the certification requirements, the solution was concerned just functional and awkward to use.[38]
Around 160 developers had been involved on Rock Band, though Harmonix noted they likely needed to hire more. They found the various department leads overwhelmed with tasks, despite being those that also offered the most creative input on the game's design. Harmonix also found during development that they jumped head-first into some technical approaches which initially seemed to work but failed on larger-scale tests; the online functionality went through several such iterations.[38]
Rock Band was first announced on April 1, 2007.[40] Harmonix CEO Alex Rigopulos said in the announcement that Rock Band "takes the core premise of Guitar Hero and expands it tenfold. It lets you create a complete collaborative band."[40] Rock Band was a featured game at the 2007 E3 convention and provided one of the exhibition's highlights; Harmonix employees and Microsoft executive Peter Moore played the game on-stage, performing The Hives' "Main Offender". Moore paused the game twice when he accidentally hit the guitar's Xbox Guide button.
A software update was released on March 21, 2008, which added new features to the game. The update included an in-game music store with preview and sorting options, revised microphone performance, and faster downloadable content loading.[45]
Online community[edit]
On October 25, 2007, Harmonix and MTV announced RockBand.com would be transformed into an extensive community website at the game's launch, and that it would extend the features of the game. The community website was absent at the game's launch in order to fix bugs and complete features, but was launched on December 19, 2007. The site offered leaderboards, customizable band profile pages with stats, a classified area for bands to find additional members, band blogs, online forums, and other sharing features.[46] Many originally announced features, such as the ability for players to pose their avatars, take photo shoots and order T-shirts, bumper stickers, and figurines,[28] were eventually made available on the website for Rock Band 2.
Release[edit]
Promotion[edit]
MTV and Harmonix promoted Rock Band heavily in the months leading up to the game's release. The game made a nationwide promotional tour of the United States.[47] Several tour buses made stops at major American cities to set up demo stations and showcase playable versions of the game for fans.[47] Many of the locations included college campuses. Additionally, fan-created "bands" were able to audition on-stage by playing the game; their performances were recorded and sent to MTV casting directors, who selected two bands to appear on Total Request Live in a "battle of the bands." The promotional tour commenced with a featured showcase at the MTV Video Music Awards in Las Vegas on September 9, 2007.[47]
MTV invested in additional promotions that totaled about $30 million.[48] The game was set up within the homes of The Real World participants, allowing for on-air visibility.[48] VH1 also produced a brief spoof documentary in the style of Behind the Music titled "Rock Band Cometh: The Rock Band Band Story," documenting a fictional band that plays the game.[48]
The game appeared in demo kiosks at Best Buy, Wal-Mart, and Sam's Club stores. The demo contained 15 songs and supports gameplay for all 4 instruments (although the actual in-store setup varied). The demo's drum set lacked a bass pedal, with the game automatically playing bass drum notes.
Other companies helped to promote Rock Band through free and reduced cost downloadable content. Best Buy offered two free downloadable tracks by the band Disturbed for customers that pre-ordered their Indestructible album online; these tracks were made available to all users in June 2008 for $0.99/80MSP.[49] McDonald's sponsored a month-long program that reduced the cost of two selected downloadable tracks to $1 (approximately half the standard cost) for each week during the month of May 2008 as part of their Dollar Menu promotion.[50]
The United Kingdom release of the game took place in London, where a number of bands including The Automatic, The Whip, and The Courteeners performed short sets.[51]
Editions[edit]
Special Edition bundles
Features
Xbox 360
PlayStation 3
PlayStation 2
Wii
Release date (US) November 20, 2007 November 20, 2007 December 18, 2007 June 22, 2008
Release date (EU) May 23, 2008 May 23, 2008 September 22, 2008 September 25, 2008
Release date (AUS) November 7, 2008 November 7, 2008 November 7, 2008 November 7, 2008
Guitar controller type Wired and Wireless Wireless Wireless Wireless
The "Special Edition" bundle includes the game software, as well as guitar, drum, and microphone peripherals.[52] The PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, and Wii bundles include a wireless guitar, whereas the Xbox 360 bundle contains a wired guitar (a separate wireless guitar is currently available for the Xbox 360). Initially, a USB hub was only included in the Xbox 360, Wii, and PlayStation 2 bundles, in order to increase the number of available USB ports on the console. The more recent PlayStation 3 bundles now include a USB hub, with a sticker on the box indicating so.[53] MTV originally announced Rock Band would be released for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on November 23, 2007, Black Friday, one of the busiest shopping days in the United States.[52] However, the release date was eventually moved to November 20, 2007.[3]
The game software was made available for purchase individually at the game's launch,[54] allowing players with a USB microphone or a compatible guitar controller to take advantage of the vocals, lead guitar, and bass guitar gameplay. Individual Rock Band-branded instruments became available in retail stores later, starting with the drum kit on February 12, 2008. An individual wireless guitar became available on April 8, 2008.
On April 8, 2008, EA announced a timed Xbox 360 exclusive for a partial European launch, with other versions to follow later in the summer.[55]
Technical issues and guitar incompatibility[edit]
A snapped bass drum pedal. This is one common malfunction occurring in Rock Band peripherals
Upon release, many players reported hardware issues with Rock Band peripherals. Many complaints stemmed from the bass drum pedal snapping in two, the Stratocaster controller's strum bar being unresponsive, and it occasionally lagging when tilted to activate Overdrive.[56] In response to these issues, Harmonix admitted the guitars bundled with initial shipment of the game bundles were subject to manufacturing issues and stated that they would replace all faulty peripherals.[57] Players affected by faulty peripherals were able to take advantage of the 60-day warranty on the peripherals and obtain replacements from EA. However, a class action lawsuit was issued against Harmonix, MTV Games, Viacom, and Electronic Arts over the failures of the bass drum pedal, claiming the companies conspired to force consumers to pay for repairs or upgrade to the Rock Band 2 drum kit.[58] Attempts were made to settle the lawsuit in 2008, but were unsuccessful. In September 2009, the original plaintiff dropped the lawsuit.[59]
Other players discovered at the game's launch that the Gibson Les Paul guitar controller bundled with the PlayStation 3 version of Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock was initially not compatible with the PlayStation 3 version of Rock Band, despite Harmonix stating that any controllers that followed the open-controller standard would work. While this incompatibility could have been resolved through technical solutions, both Harmonix and Activision cited the other party as being at fault for failing to correct the incompatibility. Harmonix developed a patch to fix the issue, but it was blocked by Activision.[60] Activision stated that MTV Games was unwilling to reach an agreement to pay Activision to use the Guitar Hero III technology in Rock Band.[61] This incompatibility also applies to the Wii's Les Paul peripheral. However, a patch for the PlayStation 3 version of Rock Band was eventually released on September 11, 2008, allowing the Guitar Hero III Les Paul controller to work with Rock Band.[62] Nyko has released a PlayStation 3 version of their "Frontman" guitar controller that is compatible with both Guitar Hero III and Rock Band.[63]
At a press conference at the 2008 E3 convention, Activision confirmed that the Xbox 360 version of Guitar Hero World Tour will be able to use Rock Band's instruments, adapting the note tracks to account for the smaller number of drum pads, and that this compatibility was patched into Guitar Hero: Aerosmith as a result of additional arrangements.[64][65]
Reception[edit]
Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3
Publication
Score
Notes
1UP.com A[66]
Electronic Gaming Monthly 9.0, 9.5, 9.0[67] Gold Award
Game Informer 9.25/10[68]
GamePro [69]
GameSpot 9.0/10[70] Editor's Choice Award
IGN 9.4/10[71] Editor's Choice Award
Official Xbox Magazine 9.5/10[72] Editor's Choice Award
Wired 10/10[73]
X-Play
Awards
2007 1UP Network Editorial Awards
Best Multiplayer Experience (console)[74]
GamePro Editors' Choice 2007
Innovation Award[75]
Best Party Game[76]
GameSpot's Best of 2007
Best Rhythm/Music Game[77]
Best New Gaming Hardware[78]
Best Downloadable Content[79]
Best Sound Design[80]
Best Multiplayer Game[81]
IGN's Best of 2007
Best Music Game (360/PS3)[82][83]
Best Local Multiplayer Game (360/PS3)[84][85]
Best Downloadable Content (PS3)[86]
Best Console Peripheral[87]
Best Music Game[88]
Best Licensed Soundtrack[89]
Best Local Multiplayer Game[90]
Official Xbox Magazine 2007
Game of the Year Awards
Best Reason to Move to a Bigger House/Apartment[91]
Studio of the Year (Harmonix)[91]
Game of the Year[91]
2007 Spike Video Game Awards
Best Rhythm Game[92]
Best Soundtrack[92]
Wired's Top 10 Games of 2007
Game of the Year[93]
X-Play Best of 2007 Awards
Best Multiplayer Game
PlayStation 2
Publication
Score
Notes
1UP.com B+[94]
GameSpot 8.0/10[95]
IGN 8.4/10[96]
Wii
Publication
Score
Notes
1UP.com B-[97]
IGN 7.9/10[98]
Game Informer 8.25/10[99]
X-Play [100]
NGamer 80%
Official Nintendo Magazine 69%
Prior to release, EA CEO John Riccitielo remarked that the company would not be able to meet the high demand for Rock Band in the 2007 holiday season, stating, "We're not going to be able to put enough inventory to meet demand in North America or Europe this calendar year or this fiscal [year]."[101] This prompted many retailers to limit the number of preorders they sold before the game was released.
Official Xbox Magazine published the first review of Rock Band, scoring the Xbox 360 version a 9.5/10 and calling it "gaming's most intensely rewarding co-op experience." OXM also commented that the game's "payoff isn't visceral or technical; it's emotional."[72] IGN awarded the game a 9.4/10 score and an Editor's Choice Award for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions. IGN largely praised the game, calling it "one of the must-have games of the year" and suggesting it "may just be among the best party games ever released."[71] 1UP.com gave the next-generation versions of the game an A,[66] stating that "Rock Band unquestionably, unequivocally rocks." GameSpot rated the next-generation versions of the game a 9.0/10, calling Rock Band "one of the best party games of all time." They also gave the game their Editor's Choice award.[70] The Xbox 360 version of Rock Band has an average critic score of 92%, according to Metacritic, tying it for the 24th-highest-scored Xbox 360 game.[102] Similarly, the PlayStation 3 version of Rock Band has an average critic score of 92% on Metacritic, making it the 25th-highest-scored PlayStation 3 game.[103]
Most critics[66][68][70][71][72] have commended the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of Rock Band for the game's group gameplay, the depth of Band World Tour mode, and the introduction of a drum peripheral. Common complaints about the game focus on the different feel of the packaged Fender Stratocaster controller,[68][71][72] as well as the game's Solo Tour modes not being as enjoyable as the multiplayer offerings.[66][71] IGN's video review lamented the lack of a single player Band World Tour mode.
The PlayStation 2 version of the game was well received, but was subject to criticism for the omission of the character customization features, as well as the stripped-down Band World Tour mode. GameSpot rated it an 8.0/10, stating that "Rock Band is still a lot of fun on the PS2—it's just nowhere near the ideal version of the experience."[95] IGN.com rated it an 8.4/10, noting that the removed features made the game feel like a "lessened" version, but that the game still "succeeds because it's infinitely fun to play with your friends."[96]
Reviews for the Wii version of Rock Band also criticize the lack of features compared to the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions. The Wii version is basically the same as its PlayStation 2 counterpart, but IGN criticized it for its late release and their effort in completing a full game. However, IGN noted that the drum controller is an improvement over the original version, stating, "The pads are quieter and the kick pedal will withstand more abuse."[98]
Sales[edit]
By October 9, 2008, the game sold four million units and generated global revenues of $600 million.[9] The sales of Rock Band helped Viacom to become the fifth-largest video game publisher in the United States, although analysts estimated that Viacom was only breaking even on sales of the game.[104] In a March 2011 list, the NPD Group listed Rock Band as the fifth-highest-grossing video game in the United States since 1995, earning $670.7 million in revenue.[105]
By May 2011, over 100 million songs had been downloaded from the Rock Band music store.[10] Viacom estimated that it is averaging the sale of 1 million downloadable songs every 9 days.[104] Sales of songs were in favor of hard rock bands; Mötley Crüe's single "Saints of Los Angeles", debuting as a Rock Band track at the same time as the release of the album of the same name, saw 48,000 Rock Band downloads and 14,000 iTunes downloads during its first week of release.[106] The popularity of some tracks also led to groups considering releasing more material for the game. Rush's alternate version of "Working Man" released only for Rock Band was met with so much praise from players of Rock Band that the group released the song for download through iTunes, as well as considered making full albums available,[106] which they went on to do for their 1981 album Moving Pictures, released for the game two months later.
Awards[edit]
Prior to the game's release, Rock Band was featured at the 2007 E3 convention, garnering attention and several awards, including the Game Critics' "Best of E3 2007" awards for "Best of Show," "Best Hardware/Peripheral," and "Best Social/Casual/Puzzle,"[107] 1UP.com's "Best of E3,"[108] and GameSpot's "Best Stage Demo"[109] and "Best Xbox 360 Game."[110]
After its release, Rock Band won dozens of awards covering game releases from 2007. The game won seven awards from IGN's "Best of 2007," receiving honors for "Best Music Game" for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3,[82][83] "Best Local Multiplayer Game" for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3,[84][85] "Best Downloadable Content" for the PlayStation 3,[86] and "Best Console Peripheral,"[87] as well as overall awards for "Best Music Game,"[88] "Best Licensed Soundtrack,"[89] and "Best Local Multiplayer Game."[90] GameSpot awarded Rock Band five awards in its "Best of 2007," recognizing the game for "Best Rhythm/Music Game,"[77] "Best New Gaming Hardware,"[78] "Best Downloadable Content,"[79] "Best Sound Design,"[80] and "Best Multiplayer Game."[81] Wired,[93] Official Xbox Magazine,[91] and Ars Technica[111] all named Rock Band the "Game of the Year," while Next Generation Magazine named it the second-best game of 2007.[112] GamePro honored Rock Band with the "Innovation Award" for four-person cooperative play,[75] as well as the selection of "Best Party Game" of 2007.[76] GameSpy also recognized the game as the "Music Game of the Year" on the Xbox 360[113] and PlayStation 3.[114] Additionally, Rock Band was awarded "Best Multiplayer Experience (console)" by 1UP.com.[74] The game won two awards at the 2007 Spike Video Game Awards, receiving honors for "Best Rhythm Game" and "Best Soundtrack," while the game's developer, Harmonix, won "Studio of the Year."[92] The game also won an award for "Best Multiplayer Game" in the X-Play Best of 2007 Awards.[115] The Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences awarded Rock Band with honors for three of the eight categories in which it was nominated; the game won awards for "Family Game of the Year", "Outstanding Achievement in Soundtrack", and "Outstanding Innovation in Gaming".[116] Rock Band was named "Best Party Game" of the year from Game Informer Magazine. The game has also been called the best rhythm game of all time by GameTap.[117]
Cultural impact[edit]
See also: Cultural impact of Rock Band series
Like the Guitar Hero series, Rock Band has had a significant impact on culture.[106] Alex Rigopulos and Eran Egozy, the founders of Harmonix, were together named in Time Magazine's list of the 100 most influential people of 2008 for their creation of Rock Band. In the article, guitarist Steven Van Zandt claims, "in the history of rock 'n' roll, Rock Band may just turn out to be up there with the rise of FM radio, CDs, or MTV."[118]
Sequel[edit]
Main article: Rock Band 2
Rock Band 2 was officially announced on June 30, 2008, and was released on September 14, 2008 on the Xbox 360, with other platform releases following later in the year. Original instruments from Rock Band are compatible with Rock Band 2, which features new instruments that been described as quieter and more reliable. Furthermore, both existing and any forthcoming downloadable content will be cross-compatible between Rock Band and Rock Band 2.[119][120] Rock Band 2 saw enhancements to the existing Band World Tour mode, as well as inclusions of new "Drum Trainer" and "Battle of the Bands" modes. 55 of the 58 Rock Band songs can be exported for use in Rock Band 2, with the purchase of a $5 export key.
Patent litigation[edit]
On March 21, 2008, EA, MTV, and Harmonix were sued by the Gibson Guitar Corporation for violation of the 1999 U.S. Patent 5,990,405, which Gibson claims covers technology that simulates a concert performance via pre-recorded audio and a musical instrument; this follows similar action that Gibson has taken against the Guitar Hero series, which was later settled out of court.[121] The Gibson-Harmonix case was put on hold shortly after its filing to allow the United States Patent and Trademark Office to open a re-examination of the 405 patent. On subsequent review, the 405 patent was modified to more exactly define the type of musical instrument that the patent covers, as the original language had conflicted with U.S. Patent 5,488,196. Due to the change in language, Harmonix sought to have the case go forward and requested a summary judgement, believing that the new language of the 405 patent did not include the Rock Band controllers.[122] In mid 2010, the case was settled between all parties under non-disclosed terms.[123]
On July 10, 2008, Konami filed a separate lawsuit against Harmonix, Viacom, and MTV attempting to block the sale of Rock Band, over infringement of their patents on a "musical-rhythm matching game" issued in 2002 and 2003, including U.S. Patent 6,390,923.[124] An MTV spokesperson expressed that the lawsuit was "extremely surprising" and that they intend to defend themselves against the suit.[125] On December 2, 2008, Viacom issued a countersuit against Konami, claiming that Rock Band significantly improves on Konami's original patent, and that their Rock Revolution game uses controllers that are similar to Rock Band.[126] Both suits were settled for undisclosed terms in September 2010.[127]
See also[edit]
Guitar Hero World Tour
Drum Machine
Rock Revolution
Ultimate Band
Frets on Fire
References[edit]
Jump up ^ Snow, Blake (February 1, 2008). "Rock Band Page". GamePro. Archived from the original on 2008-02-04. Retrieved 2008-03-31.
^ Jump up to: a b c d Rick, Christopher (September 8, 2008). "Rock Band Price Cut for Europe, UK". Gamers Daily News. Archived from the original on September 29, 2008. Retrieved 2008-09-15.
^ Jump up to: a b c d Accardo, Sal (October 18, 2007). "Rock Band Preview". GameSpy. Retrieved 2008-07-24.
^ Jump up to: a b c d Pattison, Narayan (September 21, 2008). "EA Finally Sets A Date For Rock Band In Australia". IGN. Retrieved 2008-09-21.
Jump up ^ "MTV Games and Harmonix Unveil Set List for Rock Band". Harmonix. October 29, 2007. Archived from the original on 2008-10-06. Retrieved 2008-07-24.
^ Jump up to: a b "Rock Band Officially Rocking Wii". Next Generation. March 24, 2008. Retrieved 2008-03-27. [permanent dead link]
Jump up ^ "Rock Band Music Catalog Surpasses 2,000-Song Milestone With The Jimi Hendrix Experience's Classic Song, 'Are You Experienced?'" (Press release). Harmonix. 2010-10-05. Retrieved 2010-10-05.
Jump up ^ "Rock Band (Xbox 360)". GameRankings. Retrieved 2008-01-21.
^ Jump up to: a b "Virtual battle of the bands rocks on". Archived from the original on 16 December 2008. Retrieved 2008-10-30.
^ Jump up to: a b c Miller, Matt (2011-05-04). "The Past And Future Of Rock Band DLC". Game Informer. Retrieved 2017-01-19.
^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i Plunkett, Luke (June 14, 2007). "Rock Band Details Explosion". Kotaku. Archived from the original on 2008-12-16. Retrieved 2008-07-24.
^ Jump up to: a b "ScoreHero Invades Harmonix (Rock Band Impressions)". ScoreHero. October 19, 2007. Retrieved 2008-07-24.
^ Jump up to: a b Blevins, Tal & Jeremy Dunham (July 4, 2007). "Pre-E3 2007: Rock Band Hands-On". IGN. Retrieved 2008-07-24.
^ Jump up to: a b c d "Rock Band Official Website". Archived from the original on 2008-10-18. Retrieved 2008-07-24.
Jump up ^ "Rock Band: The New Album", Game Informer, pp. 62–69, July 2007
Jump up ^ "Single post in "Uh oh..." thread - Official Rock Band Forums". Retrieved 2008-07-24. Band World Tour (and consequently the endless setlist) doesn't have an online mode. It was something we really wanted in there but the time to do it [...] was seriously prohibitive. It is something we are totally working for in the future as not only do you want to play it but so do we (more than you know). That said we do have our band quickplay and the competitive modes online and it they are amazing. Sorry for the confusion.
^ Jump up to: a b "On Location With Rock Band". GameSpy. October 9, 2007. Retrieved 2008-07-24.
^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g Shoemaker, Brad (October 17, 2007). "Rock Band Exclusive - Rock Around the World". GameSpot. Retrieved 2008-07-24.
Jump up ^ "Rock Band Exclusive: The Endless Setlist". ScoreHero. October 19, 2007. Retrieved 2008-07-24.
Jump up ^ Shoemaker, Brad (December 13, 2007). "Rock Band Hands-On -- The PS2 Edition". GameSpot. Retrieved 2008-07-24.
Jump up ^ Roper, Chris (September 4, 2007). "IGN Rock Band Preview". IGN. Archived from the original on 2008-12-16. Retrieved 2008-07-24.
Jump up ^ "Rock Band Official Website: Song List". Archived from the original on 2008-12-18. Retrieved 2008-12-27.
Jump up ^ Goldstein, Hilary (October 26, 2007). "Rock Band: The Complete Licensed Track List". IGN. Retrieved 2008-12-27.
Jump up ^ Fritz, Ben (September 26, 2008). "Rock Band 1 to stay on sale as disc, no songs going online". Variety. Archived from the original on 2008-09-27. Retrieved 2008-09-29.
Jump up ^ Snider, Mike (April 1, 2007). "Music games won't be solo gigs anymore". USA Today. Retrieved 2008-07-24.
Jump up ^ Burman, Rob & Hilary Goldstein (April 2, 2007). "Harmonix's Next Game Revealed". IGN. Retrieved 2008-07-24.
Jump up ^ Goldstein, Hilary & Chris Roper (August 3, 2007). "Rock Band Post-E3 Interview". IGN. Retrieved 2008-07-24.
^ Jump up to: a b Dan Amrich & Dane Frederiksen (November 13, 2007). "Rock Band's Alex Rigopulous: The OXM Interview". Official Xbox Magazine. Archived from the original on 2008-08-28. Retrieved 2008-07-24.
Jump up ^ "DLC Credits". RockBand.com. Archived from the original on 2008-01-13. Retrieved 2008-02-08.
Jump up ^ "He was a drifter, Chris Foster...drifting between towns: Blog post by spraynwipe - Official Rock Band Forums". November 11, 2007. Archived from the original on 2007-11-18. Retrieved 2007-11-09.
Jump up ^ Hilary Goldstein (June 30, 2008). "Rock Band 2: The Opening Act". IGN. Retrieved 2008-06-30.
Jump up ^ Hillis, Scott (April 18, 2008). "MTV's "Rock Band" to launch full-album downloads". Reuters. Retrieved 2008-04-18.
Jump up ^ Breckon, Nick; Faylor, Chris (September 29, 2008). "First Rock Band Spin-off Revealed: AC/DC Live Coming As $30 Wal-Mart Exclusive". Shacknews. Retrieved 2008-09-29.
Jump up ^ Brightman, James (January 16, 2007). "Breaking: Guitar Hero Development Goes to Neversoft". GameDaily BIZ. Archived from the original on 2008-06-23. Retrieved 2008-07-24.
Jump up ^ Sinclair, Brendan (September 20, 2006). "Guitar Hero going multi-platform". GameSpot. Retrieved 2008-07-24.
Jump up ^ "So Much Reality TV It's Unreal!". January 28, 2008. Retrieved 2008-01-30.
Jump up ^ "Harmonix Interview". Edge. October 20, 2008. Archived from the original on October 5, 2011. Retrieved 2008-10-21.
^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h Kay, Rob (November 20, 2017). "10th Anniversary Classic Postmortem: Harmonix's Rock Band". Gamaustra. Retrieved November 20, 2017.
^ Jump up to: a b c d Dahlen, Chris (2008-07-17). "Harmonix Music Systems". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 2009-05-12.
^ Jump up to: a b c Snider, Mike (April 1, 2007). "Music games won't be solo gigs anymore". USA Today. Retrieved 2008-07-24.
Jump up ^ "USA Today: Harmonix announces Rock Band for Xbox 360, PS3". Retrieved 2008-07-24.
Jump up ^ Kohler, Chris (September 14, 2007). "A Glimpse Into Harmonix's Punk-Rock Design Process". Wired. Retrieved 2008-07-24.
^ Jump up to: a b Sheffield, Brandon (2009-04-22). "What Went Wrong? Learning From Past Postmortems". Gamasutra. Retrieved 2009-04-22.
^ Jump up to: a b de Matos, Xav (October 24, 2016). "Rock Band: the bundles, dlc pricing, the Guitar Hero stigma, disconnected gaming and more". bits bytes pixels & sprites. Retrieved 2016-10-24.
Jump up ^ HMXspraynwipe (March 21, 2008). "State of the Band - Rock Band Software Update Finalized!". Official Rock Band Forums. Retrieved 2008-03-21.
Jump up ^ Fahey, Mike (October 25, 2007). "Rockband.com Furthers The Fantasy". Kotaku. Archived from the original on 2008-10-11. Retrieved 2008-07-24.
^ Jump up to: a b c Thorsen, Tor (September 6, 2007). "Rock Band going on tour". GameSpot. Retrieved 2008-07-24.
^ Jump up to: a b c Wingfield, Nick (October 31, 2007). "For Those About to Pretend to Rock". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2008-07-24.
Jump up ^ Faylor, Chris (May 5, 2008). "Best Buy Promoting Exclusive Rock Band X360 DLC; Tracks Will Be Publicly Available in June (Updated)". Shacknews. Retrieved 2008-05-06.
Jump up ^ Faylor, Chris (May 6, 2008). "Rock Band DLC Goes On Sale Courtesy McDonald's". Shacknews. Retrieved May 6, 2008.
Jump up ^ "New line-up, new sound, new album for the Welsh rockers.." MTV. May 21, 2008. Archived from the original on 2008-06-06. Retrieved 2008-05-25.
^ Jump up to: a b Totilo, Stephen (September 28, 2007). ""Rock Band" PS3/Xbox360 Price Set, PS2 Release Moved Up To 2007". MTV Multiplayer. Retrieved 2008-07-24.
Jump up ^ "Episode 79 OXM Podcast". Official Xbox Magazine. September 7, 2007. Retrieved 2008-07-24.
Jump up ^ Sinclair, Brendan (September 28, 2007). "$169 Rock Band on November 23". GameSpot. Retrieved 2008-07-24.
Jump up ^ Euro Rock Band release set for May 23, bundle to cost GBP 180 // News // GamesIndustry.biz
Jump up ^ McWhertor, Michael (November 21, 2007). "Rock Band Guitar Controllers Failing". Kotaku. Archived from the original on 2008-07-21. Retrieved 2008-07-24.
Jump up ^ Crecente, Brian (November 28, 2007). "Harmonix Replacing Broken Rock Band Guitars". Kotaku. Archived from the original on 2008-07-23. Retrieved 2008-07-24.
Jump up ^ Ellison, Blake (November 21, 2008). "Harmonix Gets Rock Band 2 Class Action Lawsuit". Shacknews. Retrieved 2008-11-21.
Jump up ^ Graff, Kris (2009-10-06). "Rock Band Foot Pedal Case Dropped By Plaintiff". Gamasutra. Retrieved 2009-10-06.
Jump up ^ McWhertor, Michael (December 12, 2007). "Activision Blocks Rock Band Patch, Kills GHIII Guitar Support". Kotaku. Archived from the original on 2008-07-25. Retrieved 2008-07-24.
Jump up ^ Remo, Chris (December 13, 2007). "Activision Responds to Harmonix/MTV Accusations: Harmonix 'Unwilling to Discuss an Agreement'". Shacknews. Retrieved 2008-07-24.
Jump up ^ Rock Band guitar compatibility & music export patch now live | Joystiq
Jump up ^ G4 - The Feed - Nyko's Frontman Available Now
Jump up ^ Tolito, Stephan (July 16, 2008). "Activision: 'Guitar Hero: World Tour' Is Compatible With 'Rock Band' Instruments". MTV. Retrieved 2008-07-16.
Jump up ^ Kohler, Chris (July 15, 2008). "Xbox Rock Band Instruments Work With New Guitar Hero". Wired. Retrieved 2008-07-16.
^ Jump up to: a b c d "Rock Band Review". 1UP.com. November 19, 2007. Retrieved 2008-07-24.
Jump up ^ "Electronic Gaming Monthly, January 2008, Issue 224, pp. 92-93."
^ Jump up to: a b c "Rock Band Review". Game Informer. November 20, 2007. Archived from the original on 2008-05-22. Retrieved 2008-07-24.
Jump up ^ "Review: Rock Band for Xbox 360". GamePro. November 19, 2007. Archived from the original on 2007-11-21. Retrieved 2008-07-24.
^ Jump up to: a b c Alex Navarro (November 20, 2007). "Rock Band for Xbox 360 Review". GameSpot. Archived from the original on 2011-09-04. Retrieved 2013-10-04.
^ Jump up to: a b c d e Hilary Goldstein; Tal Blevins; Erik Brudvig & David Clayman (November 16, 2007). "Rock Band Review". IGN. Retrieved 2008-07-24.
^ Jump up to: a b c d Amrich, Dan (November 15, 2007). "Rock Band Review on OXM Online". Official Xbox Magazine. Retrieved 2008-07-24.
Jump up ^ Chris Kohler (November 19, 2007). "Review: Whether solo or with Friends, Rock Band is the ultimate music game". Wired. Retrieved 2008-07-24.
^ Jump up to: a b "2007 1UP Network Editorial Awards from 1UP.com". 1UP.com. Archived from the original on 2009-02-26. Retrieved 2008-02-18.
^ Jump up to: a b "GamePro Editors' Choice *2007*". GamePro. December 27, 2007. Archived from the original on 2007-12-29. Retrieved 2008-07-24.
^ Jump up to: a b "GamePro Editors' Choice *2007*". GamePro. December 27, 2007. Archived from the original on 2007-12-31. Retrieved 2008-07-24.
^ Jump up to: a b "GameSpot's Best of 2007: Best Rhythm/Music Game Genre Awards". GameSpot. Retrieved 2008-01-12. [dead link]
^ Jump up to: a b "GameSpot's Best of 2007: Best New Gaming Hardware Special Achievement". GameSpot. Retrieved 2008-07-24. [dead link]
^ Jump up to: a b "GameSpot's Best of 2007: Best Downloadable Content Special Achievement". GameSpot. Retrieved 2008-07-24. [dead link]
^ Jump up to: a b "GameSpot's Best of 2007: Best Sound Design Special Achievement". GameSpot. Retrieved 2008-07-24. [dead link]
^ Jump up to: a b "GameSpot's Best of 2007: Best Multiplayer Game Special Achievement". GameSpot. Retrieved 2008-07-24. [dead link]
^ Jump up to: a b "IGN Best of 2007 - Xbox 360 - Best Music Game". IGN. Retrieved 2008-07-24.
^ Jump up to: a b "IGN Best of 2007 - PlayStation 3 - Best Music Game". IGN. Retrieved 2008-07-24.
^ Jump up to: a b "IGN Best of 2007 - Xbox 360 - Best Local Multiplayer Game". IGN. Retrieved 2008-07-24.
^ Jump up to: a b "IGN Best of 2007 - PlayStation 3 - Best Local Multiplayer Game". IGN. Retrieved 2008-07-24.
^ Jump up to: a b "IGN Best of 2007 - PlayStation 3 - Best Downloadable Content". IGN. Retrieved 2008-07-24.
^ Jump up to: a b "IGN Best of 2007 - Gear - Best Console Peripheral". IGN. Retrieved 2008-07-24.
^ Jump up to: a b "IGN Best of 2007 - Overall - Best Music Game". IGN. Retrieved 2008-01-12.
^ Jump up to: a b "IGN Best of 2007 - Overall - Best Licensed Soundtrack". IGN. Retrieved 2008-01-12.
^ Jump up to: a b "IGN Best of 2007". IGN. Retrieved 2008-01-12.
^ Jump up to: a b c d "OXM's 2007 Game of the Year Awards". Official Xbox Magazine. March 17, 2008. Archived from the original on April 23, 2008. Retrieved 2008-03-21.
^ Jump up to: a b c Dobson, Jason (December 8, 2007). "BioShock downs the competition at 2007 VGAs". Joystiq. Retrieved 2008-07-24.
^ Jump up to: a b Kohler, Chris (December 18, 2007). "Top 10 Games of 2007". Wired. Retrieved 2008-07-24.
Jump up ^ Suttner, Nick (December 21, 2007). "Rock Band PS2 Review". 1UP.com. Retrieved 2008-07-24.
^ Jump up to: a b Alex Navarro (December 18, 2007). "Rock Band for PlayStation 2 Review". GameSpot. Retrieved 2008-07-24.
^ Jump up to: a b Miller, Greg (December 18, 2007). "Rock Band: Special Edition Review". IGN. Retrieved 2008-07-24.
Jump up ^ Tsao, Jennifer (June 3, 2008). "Rock Band Wii Review". 1UP.com. Retrieved 2008-07-07.
^ Jump up to: a b Hatfield, Daemon (June 24, 2008). "Rock Band: Special Edition (Wii)". IGN. Retrieved 2008-06-25.
Jump up ^ "Rock Band Wii Review". Game Informer. June 25, 2008. Archived from the original on 2008-06-28. Retrieved 2008-06-25.
Jump up ^ "Rock Band Wii Review". X-Play. December 18, 2007. Retrieved 2008-07-24.
Jump up ^ Plunkett, Luke (November 1, 2007). "Rock Band: Time to Start Worrying About Availability". Kotaku. Archived from the original on 2008-12-16. Retrieved 2008-07-24.
Jump up ^ "Highest Rated Xbox 360 Video Games of All Time". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 2008-10-29.
Jump up ^ "Highest Rated PlayStation 3 Video Games of All Time". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 2008-07-24.
^ Jump up to: a b Worden, Nat (August 5, 2008). "Sales Of Viacom's 'Rock Band' Sing, But Profits Fall Flat". Dow Jones Newswires. Retrieved 2008-08-06. [dead link]
Jump up ^ Morris, Chris (2011-03-24). "Call of Duty, Guitar Hero Top All-Time Best Selling List". CNBC. Retrieved 2011-03-24. "The Best Selling Video Games of This Generation". CNBC. 2011-03-24. Retrieved 2011-03-24.
^ Jump up to: a b c Levine, Robert (July 14, 2008). "Planned Guns N' Roses Deal Underscores Power of Video Games to Sell Songs". New York Times. Retrieved 2008-07-16.
Jump up ^ "2007 Game Critics Awards". Game Critics. July 31, 2007. Retrieved 2008-07-24.
Jump up ^ "1UP Network's Best of E3 2007 Picks". 1UP. July 27, 2007. Retrieved 2008-07-24.
Jump up ^ "E3 07 Editors' Choice Awards - Best Stage Demo". GameSpot. Archived from the original on 2007-09-30. Retrieved 2008-07-24.
Jump up ^ "E3 07 Editors' Choice Awards - Best Xbox 360 Game". GameSpot. Archived from the original on September 29, 2007. Retrieved 2008-07-24.
Jump up ^ Kuchera, Ben (January 2, 2008). "Kill Me, Kiss Me, Thrill Me: ups and downs in gaming 2007". Ars Technica. Retrieved 2008-01-04.
Jump up ^ "Next-Gen's Best 30 Games of 2007". Next Generation Magazine. December 16, 2007. Archived from the original on September 6, 2012. Retrieved 2008-07-24.
Jump up ^ "GameSpy's Game of the Year 2007 - Xbox 360". GameSpy. Retrieved 2008-01-12.
Jump up ^ "GameSpy's Game of the Year 2007 - PS3". GameSpy. Retrieved 2008-01-12.
Jump up ^ Fahey, Mike (December 18, 2007). "And The Winner Is: X-Play Awards Bio-Shock Game of the Year". Kotaku. Archived from the original on March 6, 2008. Retrieved 2008-07-24.
Jump up ^ "11th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards". Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on 2008-01-21. Retrieved 2008-01-18.
Jump up ^ Rea, Jared (December 6, 2007). "No Doubt, Get Loud! The 10 greatest rhythm games of all time". Archived from the original on December 8, 2007. Retrieved 2007-12-10.
Jump up ^ Van Zandt, Steven (May 1, 2008). "Alex Rigopulos & Eran Egozy". Time 100. Time Magazine. Retrieved 2008-05-14.
Jump up ^ Goldstein, Hilary (June 30, 2008). "Rock Band 2 this September". IGN. Retrieved 2008-06-30.
Jump up ^ Goldstein, Hilary (June 30, 2008). "Rock Band 2: The Opening Act". IGN. Retrieved 2008-06-30.
Jump up ^ Activision and Gibson settle Guitar Hero patent lawsuit
Jump up ^ Patent Arcade: Back on Stage in the Guitar Hero/Gibson Suit?
Jump up ^ Alexander, Leigh (2010-06-08). "Gibson Settles Another Music Game Patent Case". Gamasutra. Retrieved 2010-06-08.
Jump up ^ Decker, Susan (July 10, 2008). "Konami Sues Viacom Over 'Rock Band' Music Video Game". Bloomberg. Retrieved 2008-07-10.
Jump up ^ Totilo, Stephen (July 11, 2008). "'Rock Band' Creators Sued By 'Rock Revolution' Publisher Konami". MTV. Retrieved 2008-07-11.
Jump up ^ Decker, Susan (February 2, 2009). "Viacom's Harmonix Sues Konami Over 'Rock Revolution'". Bloomberg. Retrieved 2009-02-12.
Jump up ^ Curtis, Tom (2010-09-17). "Konami, Viacom Settle Rock Band Suit". Gamasutra. Retrieved 2010-09-17.
External links[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Rock Band (video game).
Official Rock Band website
Official Rock Band Store website
[show]
v
t
e
Rock Band
Main games
Rock Band
songs
Rock Band 2
songs
Rock Band 3
songs
Rock Band 4
songs
Band-centric games
The Beatles
songs
Green Day
songs
Spin-offs
Unplugged
Lego
songs
Blitz
Mobile games
Mobile
iOS
Reloaded
Additional songs
Full list
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2015
2016
2017
2018
Track packs
Rock Band Network
1.0 songs
2.0 songs
Related articles
Harmonix
Guitar Hero
Rhythm game
Rhythm game accessories
Book
Category
[show]
v
t
e
Harmonix games
Frequency series
Frequency
Amplitude
Phase
Guitar Hero series
Guitar Hero
songs
Guitar Hero II
songs
Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s
Rock Band series
Rock Band
songs
Rock Band 2
songs
Rock Band Unplugged
The Beatles: Rock Band
songs
Rock Band Mobile
Rock Band (iOS)
Rock Band Reloaded
Lego Rock Band
songs
Green Day: Rock Band
songs
Rock Band 3
songs
Rock Band Blitz
Rock Band 4
songs
Dance Central series
Dance Central
Dance Central 2
Dance Central 3
Dance Central Spotlight
Other games
Karaoke Revolution
songs
EyeToy: AntiGrav
Fantasia: Music Evolved
A City Sleeps
DropMix
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rock_Band_(video_game)&oldid=811329448"
Categories:
2007 video games
Cooperative video games
Drumming video games
Guitar video games
Karaoke video games
PlayStation 2 games
PlayStation 3 games
Xbox 360 games
Wii games
Rock Band series
Video games developed in the United States
Hidden categories:
All articles with dead external links
Articles with dead external links from September 2017
Articles with permanently dead external links
Articles with dead external links from May 2016
Articles using Infobox video game using locally defined parameters
Articles using Wikidata infoboxes with locally defined images
Good articles
Navigation menu
Personal tools
Not logged in
Talk
Contributions
Create account
Log in
Namespaces
Article
Talk
Variants
Views
Read
Edit
View history
More
Search
Navigation
Main page
Contents
Featured content
Current events
Random article
Donate to Wikipedia
Wikipedia store
Interaction
Help
About Wikipedia
Community portal
Recent changes
Contact page
Tools
What links here
Related changes
Upload file
Special pages
Permanent link
Page information
Wikidata item
Cite this page
Print/export
Create a book
Download as PDF
Printable version
In other projects
Wikimedia Commons
Languages
Català
Deutsch
Español
Français
한국어
Italiano
Latviešu
日本語
Norsk
Polski
Português
Suomi
Svenska
Türkçe
Edit links
This page was last edited on 20 November 2017, at 22:58.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
Privacy policy
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Contact Wikipedia
Developers
Cookie statement
Mobile view
Enable previews

key: html

type: local

value: div

attrs: id class

values: mw-page-base noprint

values: mw-head-base noprint

value: a

value: img

attrs: alt src width height srcset data-file-width data-file-height

values: This is a good article. Follow the link for more information.

attrs: href title

attrs: class id

value: i

attrs: id class lang

values: firstHeading firstHeading en

values: siteSub noprint

values: jump-to-nav mw-jump

attrs: role class

values:
note
hatnote navigation-not-searchable

value: th

attrs: colspan class style

value: tr

attrs: href class

value: td

attrs: colspan style

attrs: scope style

values:
/wiki/Video_game_designer
mw-redirect
Video game designer

values: list-style: none none; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px;

values:
/wiki/Single_player
mw-redirect
Single player

values: width:22em;float: right; width: 22em; font-size: 90%; text-align: left; border-spacing: 3px;

values: Complete list of downloadable songs for the Rock Band series

attrs: alt src width height class srcset data-file-width data-file-height

values:
/wiki/Tremolo_arm
mw-redirect
Tremolo arm

values:
/wiki/Hi-hat_(instrument)
mw-redirect
Hi-hat (instrument)

values:
/wiki/Universal_Serial_Bus
mw-redirect
Universal Serial Bus

values:
/wiki/Los_Angeles,_California
mw-redirect
Los Angeles, California

values:
/wiki/Seattle,_Washington
mw-redirect
Seattle, Washington

values:
/wiki/Boston,_Massachusetts
mw-redirect
Boston, Massachusetts

values: Edit section: Downloadable songs and Track Packs

values:
/wiki/Live_at_Donington_(AC/DC)
mw-redirect
Live at Donington (AC/DC)

values:
/wiki/MTV_Networks
mw-redirect
MTV Networks

values:
/wiki/New_Pornographers
mw-redirect
New Pornographers

values:
/wiki/Master_recording
mw-redirect
Master recording

values:
/wiki/Beta_version
mw-redirect
Beta version

values:
/wiki/Peter_Moore_(business)
mw-redirect
Peter Moore (business)

values:
nofollow
http://www.rockband.com/
external text

values:
/wiki/MTV_Video_Music_Awards
mw-redirect
MTV Video Music Awards

values:
/wiki/Las_Vegas,_Nevada
mw-redirect
Las Vegas, Nevada

values:
/wiki/The_Real_World
mw-redirect
The Real World

values: Edit section: Technical issues and guitar incompatibility

values:
/wiki/Class_action_lawsuit
mw-redirect
Class action lawsuit

attrs: alt src title width height srcset data-file-width data-file-height

values: font-size:90%; width:40%; float:right; text-align:center; margin:5px;

values:
/wiki/Next_Generation_Magazine
mw-redirect
Next Generation Magazine

values: Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences

values:
/wiki/Time_Magazine
mw-redirect
Time Magazine

values:
/wiki/Compact_Disc
mw-redirect
Compact Disc

values:
/wiki/Gibson_Guitar_Corporation
mw-redirect
Gibson Guitar Corporation

values:
nofollow
external text
//www.google.com/patents/US5990405

values: United States Patent and Trademark Office

values:
nofollow
external text
//www.google.com/patents/US5488196

values:
nofollow
external text
//www.google.com/patents/US6390923

values:
/wiki/Drum_Machine
mw-redirect
Drum Machine

values:
nofollow
external text
http://www.rockband.com/news/pr/534

values:
nofollow
external text
http://www.rockband.com/games/rockband

values:
nofollow
external text
http://www.rockband.com/dlc

values:
nofollow
external text
http://bestof.ign.com/2007/ps3/5.html

values:
nofollow
external text
http://bestof.ign.com/2007/ps3/16.html

values:
nofollow
external text
http://bestof.ign.com/2007/ps3/19.html

values:
nofollow
external text
http://bestof.ign.com/2007/gear/2.html

values:
nofollow
external text
https://www.cnbc.com/id/42253109

values: -moz-column-width: 30em; -webkit-column-width: 30em; column-width: 30em; list-style-type: decimal;

values: List of downloadable songs for the Rock Band series

values: 2007 in downloadable songs for the Rock Band series

values: 2008 in downloadable songs for the Rock Band series

values: 2009 in downloadable songs for the Rock Band series

values: 2010 in downloadable songs for the Rock Band series

values: 2011 in downloadable songs for the Rock Band series

values: 2012 in downloadable songs for the Rock Band series

values: 2013 in downloadable songs for the Rock Band series

values: 2015 in downloadable songs for the Rock Band series

values: 2016 in downloadable songs for the Rock Band series

values: 2017 in downloadable songs for the Rock Band series

values: 2018 in downloadable songs for the Rock Band series

values: nowraplinks hlist collapsible autocollapse navbox-inner

values: nowraplinks collapsible autocollapse navbox-inner

values: Category:Video games developed in the United States

values: Category:All articles with dead external links

values: Category:Articles with dead external links from September 2017

values: Category:Articles with permanently dead external links

values: Category:Articles with dead external links from May 2016

values: Category:Articles using Infobox video game using locally defined parameters

values: Category:Articles using Wikidata infoboxes with locally defined images

values: Discussion about edits from this IP address [ctrl-alt-n]

values: A list of edits made from this IP address [ctrl-alt-y]

values: You are encouraged to create an account and log in; however, it is not mandatory

values: You're encouraged to log in; however, it's not mandatory. [ctrl-alt-o]

values:
/wiki/Rock_Band_(video_game)
View the content page [ctrl-alt-c]
c

values: Discussion about the content page [ctrl-alt-t]

values: p-namespaces navigation vectorTabs p-namespaces-label

values:
p-variants
navigation
vectorMenu emptyPortlet
p-variants-label

values: Past revisions of this page [ctrl-alt-h]

values: p-views navigation vectorTabs p-views-label

values:
p-cactions
navigation
vectorMenu emptyPortlet
p-cactions-label

values:
mw-wiki-logo
/wiki/Main_Page
Visit the main page

values:
/wiki/Main_Page
Visit the main page [ctrl-alt-z]
z

values: Featured content – the best of Wikipedia

values: Find background information on current events

values:
/wiki/Special:Random
Load a random article [ctrl-alt-x]
x

values: portal navigation p-navigation p-navigation-label

values: Guidance on how to use and edit Wikipedia

values: About the project, what you can do, where to find things

values: A list of recent changes in the wiki [ctrl-alt-r]

values: portal navigation p-interaction p-interaction-label

values: List of all English Wikipedia pages containing links to this page [ctrl-alt-j]

values: Recent changes in pages linked from this page [ctrl-alt-k]

values:
/wiki/Wikipedia:File_Upload_Wizard
Upload files [ctrl-alt-u]
u

values: A list of all special pages [ctrl-alt-q]

values: Permanent link to this revision of the page

values: Link to connected data repository item [ctrl-alt-g]

values: Printable version of this page [ctrl-alt-p]

values: portal navigation p-wikibase-otherprojects p-wikibase-otherprojects-label

values:
uls-settings-trigger
Language settings
0
button
true

values:
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_Band
Rock Band – German
de
de
interlanguage-link-target

values:
https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_Band
Rock Band – French
fr
fr
interlanguage-link-target

values: 록 밴드 (비디오 게임) – Korean

values:
https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_Band
Rock Band – Italian
it
it
interlanguage-link-target

values: ロックバンド (音楽ゲーム) – Japanese

values:
https://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_Band
Rock Band – Norwegian
no
no
interlanguage-link-target

values:
https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_Band
Rock Band – Polish
pl
pl
interlanguage-link-target

values: Rock Band (jogo eletrônico) – Portuguese

values:
https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_Band
Rock Band – Finnish
fi
fi
interlanguage-link-target

values:
https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_Band
Rock Band – Swedish
sv
sv
interlanguage-link-target

values:
https://tr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_Band
Rock Band – Turkish
tr
tr
interlanguage-link-target

values: /static/images/wikimedia-button-1.5x.png 1.5x, /static/images/wikimedia-button-2x.png 2x

values: /static/images/poweredby_mediawiki_132x47.png 1.5x, /static/images/poweredby_mediawiki_176x62.png 2x

values:
suggestions
display: none; font-size: 13px;

values: mediawiki ltr sitedir-ltr mw-hide-empty-elt ns-0 ns-subject page-Rock_Band_video_game rootpage-Rock_Band_video_game skin-vector action-view


text:
Intermountain West
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
For other uses, see Intermountain (disambiguation).
This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (July 2013) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)
Intermountain West
Western United States
The Intermountain West, or Intermountain Region, is a geographic and geological region of the Western United States. It is located between the front ranges of the Rocky Mountains on the east and the Cascade Range and Sierra Nevada on the west.
Contents
[hide]
1 Topography
2 Climate
3 Natural history
4 Demographics and sociology
5 Intermountain states
6 See also
7 References
Topography[edit]
The Intermountain West has a basin and range and plateau topography. Some of the region's rivers reach the Pacific Ocean, such as the Columbia River and Colorado River. Other regional rivers and streams are in endorheic basins and cannot reach the sea, such as the Walker River and Owens River. These flow into brackish or seasonally dry lakes or desert sinks.
Portions of this region include:
Basin and Range Province
Colorado Plateau
Great Basin
Intermontane Plateaus
Climate[edit]
The climate of the Intermountain Region is affected by location and elevation. The sub-regions are in rain shadows from the Cascade or Sierra Nevada ranges that block precipitation from Pacific storms. The winter weather depends on latitude. In the southern portion, winters are shorter, warmer and have less winter precipitation and snow. In the northern portion, winters are cold and moist. All areas have hot summers. North American Monsoon storms can occur in the region during the mid-summer, coming northeast from the Pacific Ocean and Mexican Plateau.
Natural history[edit]
The flora at lower elevations includes deserts and xeric shrublands and temperate grasslands and shrublands biome vegetation. Higher elevation montane habitats include temperate coniferous forests biome vegetation, including groves and forests of various species of pine, cedar, juniper, aspen, and other trees, and understory shrubs, and perennials.
Intermountain West ecoregions include:
Central Basin and Range ecoregion — North American Deserts; Level III ecoregion (EPA)
Columbia Plateau (ecoregion) — Temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome (WWF)
Eastern Cascades Slopes and Foothills (ecoregion) — Northwestern Forested Mountains; Level III ecoregion (EPA)
Great Basin shrub steppe — Deserts and xeric shrublands biome (WWF)
Great Basin montane forests — Temperate coniferous forest biome (WWF)
Northern Basin and Range ecoregion — North American Deserts; Level III ecoregion (EPA)
Palouse grasslands ecoregion — Temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome (WWF)
Snake River Plain (ecoregion) — North American Deserts; Level III ecoregion (EPA)'
Wasatch and Uinta montane forests ecoregion — Temperate coniferous forest biome (WWF)
Some sections are agriculturally cultivated with water diversions for irrigation systems. Cattle ranching is practiced in the region as well. Cultivated crops include corn, potatoes, sugar beets, grass hay, and alfalfa, the latter two crops are used for livestock feed.
Demographics and sociology[edit]
For thousands of years the Intermountain West has been the homeland for many Native American cultures, tribes, and bands. The 18th-century fur trade (northern areas), and 19th-century westward expansion of the United States brought irreversible cultural changes. The completion of the First Transcontinental Railroad through the region accelerated non-native settlements and development.
Historically, the Intermountain West area centered in Utah is associated with Latter-day Saint (Mormon) settlements, and the region has the highest percentage of LDS members in the United States currently.[1] That region is also known as the Mormon Corridor.
Because of its low population density and diverse economy, the survivalist writers James Wesley Rawles[2] and Joel Skousen[3] both recommend the region as a preferred locale for "strategic relocation"[3] and for building survival retreats, thus referring to it as the American Redoubt.
Intermountain states[edit]
The intermountain states are generally considered to be Nevada, Utah, Idaho south of the Salmon River, Arizona north of the Mogollon Rim, and western Colorado and northwestern New Mexico west of the Rocky Mountains.[4] The intermountain states are so named from having all or portions between the Rockies, Sierras, and Cascades. The intermountain states are included among states classified as the Mountain States.
See also[edit]
Western United States
Index: Regions of the Western United States
References[edit]
Jump up ^ Kilpinen, Jon T. "Latter-Day Saints as a Percentage of all Residence, 2000". American Ethnic Geography. Valparaiso University. Archived from the original on 2006-01-10.
Jump up ^ SurvivalBlog.com
^ Jump up to: a b About Joel Skousen Archived 2007-12-21 at the Wayback Machine.
Jump up ^ Blake, Reed (2002). The Intermountain West: A Story of Place and People. Pearson Custom Publishing. ISBN 0-536-66915-5.
Coordinates: 40°N 115°W / 40°N 115°W / 40; -115
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Intermountain_West&oldid=810366889"
Categories:
Regions of the Western United States
Regions of the United States
Hidden categories:
Webarchive template wayback links
Articles needing additional references from July 2013
All articles needing additional references
Coordinates on Wikidata
Navigation menu
Personal tools
Not logged in
Talk
Contributions
Create account
Log in
Namespaces
Article
Talk
Variants
Views
Read
Edit
View history
More
Search
Navigation
Main page
Contents
Featured content
Current events
Random article
Donate to Wikipedia
Wikipedia store
Interaction
Help
About Wikipedia
Community portal
Recent changes
Contact page
Tools
What links here
Related changes
Upload file
Special pages
Permanent link
Page information
Wikidata item
Cite this page
Print/export
Create a book
Download as PDF
Printable version
Languages
Português
Edit links
This page was last edited on 14 November 2017, at 20:48.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
Privacy policy
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Contact Wikipedia
Developers
Cookie statement
Mobile view
Enable previews

values: mw-page-base noprint

values: mw-head-base noprint

values: firstHeading firstHeading en

values: siteSub noprint

values: jump-to-nav mw-jump

attrs: href class title

values:
/wiki/Intermountain_(disambiguation)
mw-redirect mw-disambig
Intermountain (disambiguation)

values:
note
hatnote navigation-not-searchable

value: b

attrs: class href

values: Help:Introduction to referencing with Wiki Markup/1

value: span

value: small

values: plainlinks metadata ambox ambox-content ambox-Refimprove

values: Intermountain West is located in USA West

values: File:USA Region West relief location map.jpg

values:
/wiki/Basin_and_range
mw-redirect
Basin and range

values:
/wiki/Precipitation_(meteorology)
mw-redirect
Precipitation (meteorology)

values:
/wiki/Central_Basin_and_Range_ecoregion
mw-redirect
Central Basin and Range ecoregion

values:
/wiki/Great_Basin_shrub_steppe
mw-redirect
Great Basin shrub steppe

values:
/wiki/Irrigation_systems
mw-redirect
Irrigation systems

values:
/wiki/Cattle_ranching
mw-redirect
Cattle ranching

values:
/wiki/Sugar_beets
mw-redirect
Sugar beets

values: Edit section: Demographics and sociology

values:
/wiki/American_westward_movement
mw-redirect
American westward movement

values:
/wiki/Latter-day_Saint
mw-redirect
Latter-day Saint

values:
/wiki/Survival_retreat
mw-redirect
Survival retreat

values: Category:Regions of the Western United States

values:
reflist mw-references-wrap
list-style-type: decimal;

values: Maps, aerial photos, and other data for this location

values: Category:Webarchive template wayback links

values: Category:Articles needing additional references from July 2013

values: Category:All articles needing additional references

values: Discussion about edits from this IP address [ctrl-alt-n]

values: A list of edits made from this IP address [ctrl-alt-y]

values: You are encouraged to create an account and log in; however, it is not mandatory

values: You're encouraged to log in; however, it's not mandatory. [ctrl-alt-o]

values:
/wiki/Intermountain_West
View the content page [ctrl-alt-c]
c

values: Discussion about the content page [ctrl-alt-t]

values: p-namespaces navigation vectorTabs p-namespaces-label

values:
p-variants
navigation
vectorMenu emptyPortlet
p-variants-label

values: Past revisions of this page [ctrl-alt-h]

values: p-views navigation vectorTabs p-views-label

values:
p-cactions
navigation
vectorMenu emptyPortlet
p-cactions-label

values:
mw-wiki-logo
/wiki/Main_Page
Visit the main page

values:
/wiki/Main_Page
Visit the main page [ctrl-alt-z]
z

values: Featured content – the best of Wikipedia

values: Find background information on current events

values:
/wiki/Special:Random
Load a random article [ctrl-alt-x]
x

values: portal navigation p-navigation p-navigation-label

values: Guidance on how to use and edit Wikipedia

values: About the project, what you can do, where to find things

values: A list of recent changes in the wiki [ctrl-alt-r]

values: portal navigation p-interaction p-interaction-label

values: List of all English Wikipedia pages containing links to this page [ctrl-alt-j]

values: Recent changes in pages linked from this page [ctrl-alt-k]

values:
/wiki/Wikipedia:File_Upload_Wizard
Upload files [ctrl-alt-u]
u

values: A list of all special pages [ctrl-alt-q]

values: Permanent link to this revision of the page

values: Link to connected data repository item [ctrl-alt-g]

values: mediawiki ltr sitedir-ltr mw-hide-empty-elt ns-0 ns-subject page-Intermountain_West rootpage-Intermountain_West skin-vector action-view


text:
The Second Coming (poem)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
The Second Coming
Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.

Surely some revelation is at hand;
Surely the Second Coming is at hand.
The Second Coming! Hardly are those words out
When a vast image out of Spiritus Mundi
Troubles my sight: somewhere in sands of the desert
A shape with lion body and the head of a man,
A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun,
Is moving its slow thighs, while all about it
Reel shadows of the indignant desert birds.
The darkness drops again; but now I know
That twenty centuries of stony sleep
Were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle,
And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,
Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?
"The Second Coming"
Recitation
Problems playing this file? See media help.
"The Second Coming" is a poem written by Irish poet W. B. Yeats in 1919, first printed in The Dial in November 1920, and afterwards included in his 1921 collection of verses Michael Robartes and the Dancer. The poem uses Christian imagery regarding the Apocalypse and Second Coming allegorically to describe the atmosphere of post-war Europe.[1] The poem is considered a major work of Modernist poetry and has been reprinted in several collections, including The Norton Anthology of Modern Poetry.[2]
Contents
[hide]
1 Historical context
2 Influence
3 References
4 External links
Historical context[edit]
The poem was written in 1919 in the aftermath of the First World War[3] and the beginning of the Irish War of Independence that followed the Easter Rising, at a time before the British Government decided to send in the Black and Tans to Ireland. Yeats used the phrase "the second birth" instead of "the Second Coming" in his first drafts.[4]
Influence[edit]
Phrases and lines from the poem are used in many works, in a variety of media, such as literature, motion pictures, and television. Examples of works whose titles draw from "The Second Coming" include: Chinua Achebe's novel Things Fall Apart (1958), Joan Didion's essay collection Slouching Towards Bethlehem (1968), Robert B. Parker's novel The Widening Gyre (1983), Elyn Saks' autobiography The Center Cannot Hold (2007), and The Sopranos episode "The Second Coming" (2007).
A 2016 analysis by Factiva showed that lines from the poem were quoted more often in the first seven months of 2016 than in any of the preceding 30 years.[5] In the context of political turmoil after the Brexit referendum and Donald Trump's election, commentators repeatedly invoked its lines: "Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."[6]
References[edit]
Jump up ^ Albright, Daniel. "Quantum Poetics: Yeats's figures as reflections in Water", Cambridge University Press (1997), p. 35.
Jump up ^ Childs, Peter (2007). Modernism. The New Critical Idiom (2nd ed.). Routledge. p. 39. ISBN 978-0415415460.
Jump up ^ Haughey, Jim (2002). The First World War in Irish Poetry. Bucknell University Press. p. 161. ISBN 9781611481518.
Jump up ^ Deane, Seamus (1998). "Boredom and Apocalypse". Strange Country: Modernity and Nationhood in Irish Writing Since 1790. Clarendon lectures in English literature. Clarendon Press. p. 179. ISBN 9780198184904.
Jump up ^ Ballard, Ed (23 August 2016). "Terror, Brexit and U.S. Election Have Made 2016 the Year of Yeats". The Wall Street Journal.
Jump up ^ Kakutani, Michiko (13 February 2017). "A World in Disarray Is a Calm Look at a Chaotic Global Order". The New York Times. Retrieved 15 February 2017. (Review of Richard N. Haass' book.)
External links[edit]
Wikisource has original text related to this article:
"The Second Coming"
Text and brief analysis
"The Second Coming" in the context of A Vision
[hide]
v
t
e
W. B. Yeats
Poetry
Volumes
The Wanderings of Oisin and Other Poems (1889)
The Countess Kathleen and Various Legends and Lyrics (1892)
In the Seven Woods (1903)
Responsibilities and Other Poems (1916)
The Wild Swans at Coole (1919)
Michael Robartes and the Dancer (1921)
The Tower (1928)
The Winding Stair and Other Poems (1933)
Poems
"Aedh Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven"
"An Irish Airman Foresees His Death"
"Adam's Curse"
"Blood and the Moon"
"The Circus Animals' Desertion"
"Down by the Salley Gardens"
"A Drunken Man's Praise of Sobriety"
"Easter, 1916"
"Ego Dominus Tuus"
"In Memory of Eva Gore-Booth and Con Markiewicz"
"Lake Isle of Innisfree"
"On being asked for a War Poem"
"Politics"
"A Prayer for My Daughter"
"Remorse for Intemperate Speech"
"The Rose of Battle"
"The Rose-Tree"
"Sailing to Byzantium"
"September 1913"
"Song of the Old Mother"
"The Fiddler of Dooney"
"The Scholars"
"The Second Coming"
"The Song of the Happy Shepherd"
"The Stolen Child"
"Swift's Epitaph"
"To the Rose upon the Rood of Time"
"The Tower"
"Under Ben Bulben
"The Wanderings of Oisin"
"The Wild Swans at Coole"
Plays
Mosada (1886)
The Land of Heart's Desire (1894)
Diarmuid and Grania (1901)
Cathleen ni Houlihan (1902)
On Baile's Strand (1903)
The Countess Cathleen (1911)
At the Hawk's Well (1916)
The Resurrection (1927)
Purgatory (1938)
Other works
A Vision (1925)
"The Curse of the Fires and of the Shadows"
Oxford Book of Modern Verse 1892–1935 (editor)
People
John Butler Yeats (father)
Susan Pollexfen (mother)
Jack Butler Yeats (brother)
Elizabeth Yeats (sister)
Lily Yeats (sister)
Maud Gonne (lover)
Georgie Hyde-Lees (wife)
Anne Yeats (daughter)
Michael Yeats (son)
Related
W. B. Yeats bibliography
Rhymers' Club
Dun Emer Press
Cuala Press
An Appointment with Mr Yeats
"Troy"
Thoor Ballylee
Samhain magazine
Poetry portal
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Second_Coming_(poem)&oldid=828398526"
Categories:
1920 poems
Irish poems
Poetry by W. B. Yeats
Works originally published in The Dial
Christian apocalyptic writings
Hidden categories:
Use British English from August 2016
Use dmy dates from August 2016
Articles with hAudio microformats
Navigation menu
Personal tools
Not logged in
Talk
Contributions
Create account
Log in
Namespaces
Article
Talk
Variants
Views
Read
Edit
View history
More
Search
Navigation
Main page
Contents
Featured content
Current events
Random article
Donate to Wikipedia
Wikipedia store
Interaction
Help
About Wikipedia
Community portal
Recent changes
Contact page
Tools
What links here
Related changes
Upload file
Special pages
Permanent link
Page information
Wikidata item
Cite this page
Print/export
Create a book
Download as PDF
Printable version
In other projects
Wikisource
Languages
Français
Italiano
עברית
Português
粵語
Edit links
This page was last edited on 2 March 2018, at 08:50.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
Privacy policy
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Contact Wikipedia
Developers
Cookie statement
Mobile view
Enable previews

values: mw-page-base noprint

values: mw-head-base noprint

values: firstHeading firstHeading en

values: siteSub noprint

values: jump-to-nav mw-jump

attrs: class style

values: background-color: #F5F6CE; color: black; text-align: center; font-size: larger; font-weight: bold;

value: p

values:
poem
position: relative; text-align: left;

values: float: right; clear: right; margin: 0.5em 0 0.8em 1.4em; padding: 10px; border: 1px solid #aaa; font-size: 130%; background-color: #F5F6CE; font-family:Garamond, Georgia, serif;

attrs: src class style

values: position: absolute; top: 0px; left: 110px; right: 0px; bottom: 0px; height: 0px; width: 0px;

attrs: class id style

attrs: title class style

values: left: 50%; top: 50%; margin-left: -35px; margin-top: -27.5px;

attrs: target href

values: width:220px width: 220px; position: relative;

values:
/wiki/Wikipedia:Media_help
mw-redirect
Wikipedia:Media help

values:
reflist mw-references-wrap
list-style-type: decimal;

values:
/wiki/The_Tower_(book)
mw-redirect
The Tower (book)

values:
/wiki/Susan_Pollexfen
mw-redirect
Susan Pollexfen

values: nowraplinks collapsible autocollapse navbox-inner

values:
noprint metadata navbox
navigation
Portals
font-weight:bold;padding:0.4em 2em

values: Category:Works originally published in The Dial

values: Category:Use British English from August 2016

values: Category:Articles with hAudio microformats

values: Discussion about edits from this IP address [ctrl-alt-n]

values: A list of edits made from this IP address [ctrl-alt-y]

values: You are encouraged to create an account and log in; however, it is not mandatory

values: You're encouraged to log in; however, it's not mandatory. [ctrl-alt-o]

values:
/wiki/The_Second_Coming_(poem)
View the content page [ctrl-alt-c]
c

values: Discussion about the content page [ctrl-alt-t]

values: p-namespaces navigation vectorTabs p-namespaces-label

values:
p-variants
navigation
vectorMenu emptyPortlet
p-variants-label

values: Past revisions of this page [ctrl-alt-h]

values: p-views navigation vectorTabs p-views-label

values:
p-cactions
navigation
vectorMenu emptyPortlet
p-cactions-label

values:
mw-wiki-logo
/wiki/Main_Page
Visit the main page

values: Printable version of this page [ctrl-alt-p]

values: portal navigation p-wikibase-otherprojects p-wikibase-otherprojects-label

values: ההתגלות השנייה (שיר) – Hebrew

values: /static/images/wikimedia-button-1.5x.png 1.5x, /static/images/wikimedia-button-2x.png 2x

values: /static/images/poweredby_mediawiki_132x47.png 1.5x, /static/images/poweredby_mediawiki_176x62.png 2x

values:
suggestions
display: none; font-size: 13px;

values: mediawiki ltr sitedir-ltr mw-hide-empty-elt ns-0 ns-subject page-The_Second_Coming_poem rootpage-The_Second_Coming_poem skin-vector action-view