Rock band

YES: Bring on the tunes 

Rock Band is resurfacing at the perfect time.

In my living room, I have a PlayStation 4, one of the most powerful home gaming consoles ever released. With it, I can participate in the most detailed and photorealistic games that allow me to shoot, drive and adventure against thousands of people all around the world. Instead, I use it mainly to play TowerFall, a retro party game that looks as though it was made in 1996, with my roommates. 

There has been a resurgence of “couch multiplayer” games recently. TowerFall, Nidhogg, Samurai Gunn, Super Smash Bros: all games that require you to actually sit with someone, trash-talk them during competition and encourage them in co-op mode. There’s something viscerally appealing about working with someone to beat a difficult level or pulling off a victory against your friends. In addition, your old drum set gathering dust in the closet should still work with the newest edition of Rock Band. Many players won’t even have to shell out for the new peripherals. 

As one of the least embarrassing video games to suggest at a party, Rock Band is coming back into vogue at the tip of the couch multiplayer wave. 

I, for one, cannot wait to sit back behind the set and reclaim my title of “Danny Two-Sticks” as I try to play “Everlong” until I vomit.

– Daniel Parisi

NO: You can stop the rock

If you were to poll students around the campus, you’re bound to find only a handful outside of the music school who can play guitar. Most of them can probably only strum a few chords, though a few might even be able to play the college-campus favorite, “Wonderwall” by Oasis.

However, if you break out the guitar-shaped controllers from games like Guitar Hero and Rock Band, most students could probably shred to Cheap Trick’s “Surrender” or “Woman” by Wolfmother. But the big question is: Who would even want to?

Though Harmonix announced plans to revive the rhythm game genre last week with Rock Band 4, it seems that this desperate attempt to revive the franchise is too late for today’s gaming market. 

For those who weren’t quick enough or coordinated enough for the guitar controller, Rock Band was a godsend. You could take a shot at slamming on the impossibly difficult drum pad, singing tunelessly on the mic or even hammering out the inevitably easier bass guitar riffs without anyone knowing how bad you truly were at rhythm games. Rock Band brought in the real, licensed tunes you knew and loved and let you imagine, for just one second, you were the real Pete Townshend or Keith Richards — or even Gene Simmons, if you so desired.

After a few years, the national desire to refine fake musical abilities vanished, almost all at once, leaving basements around the country with large fake drum sets and plenty of plastic guitars that couldn’t be used in the fast gaming worlds of Mass Effect, Red Dead Redemption or Skyrim. 

Ultimately, the world of gaming has shifted too drastically since 2010, when Harmonix released its final game, Rock Band 3. By taking such a long leave, Harmonix has let itself fall too far behind in a business that is constantly evolving to suit consumers’ diverse palates.

The market for a new Rock Band game has likely moved on from expensive rhythm- and skill-based games. The glorious part of Guitar Hero and Rock Band was that you didn’t need to be a “gamer” to play; the game transcended gamer status, age, gender, race and even musical taste. Everyone could play Rock Band.

However, since the last version of Rock Band, smartphone games have become a massive staple in gaming. Nonserious gamers can pick up a game and play for pennies. Harmonix is behind the curve, having not taken advantage of this new platform.

The majority of more serious console gamers now are focused less on niche peripherals and more on immersive experiences. PlayStation 4 and Xbox One owners squabble often about the quality of the graphics provided by their systems, and there’s little Harmonix can do to update the visual appeal of blocks of color that race across the screen.

Ultimately, the only real audience for Rock Band 4 is nostalgic gamers who couldn’t get enough of the original Rock Band and wealthy children who are too young to have experienced rhythm games the first time around.

Harmonix should just face it: Rock Band was better off as a one-hit wonder.

– Zoë DiGiorgio