Console fanbois.
Huh? Were you calling me?
Yeah, this is dumb. But, more than likely, the party to blame is not the developer/publisher, but the platform. Sony is notably stingy about this kind of thing - if you play once on their platform, you must always play on their platform. It's moronic, but somehow they must think this helps drive business to them. In reality, nobody likes it.
That's fair. I should direct my ire at the platform holders. And really, you're right: it's probably just Sony at this point.
Yet they allow FF14 cross play between PlayStation and PC players. Maybe it’s just Square Enix’s special relationship with Sony but the differences in approach are baffling.
Sony was a lot more open to cross-platform play when they weren't the dominant platform, and that's when Square-Enix was first rolling out FF14. I think they got grandfathered in. I've heard from a few different sources that Sony is one of the biggest barriers to cross-platform play these days, although that's been slowly breaking down since Fortnite more or less forced them into accepting it.
Huh? Were you calling me?
I wasn't.. but I might side-eye you from now on.
RawkGWJ wrote:Huh? Were you calling me?
I wasn't.. but I might side-eye you from now on.
Using his new, clearly superior Sony Side-Eye™ accessory with revolutionary haptic sass.
Using his new, clearly superior Sony Side-Eye™ accessory with revolutionary haptic sass.
Nah, it's still in the box along with my launch Xbox One Kinect. Nobody needs more spy devices!
The state of Rock Band (and other music games). They had to run it into the ground and burn MadCatz along with it.
When I moved from Boston to Seattle in 2012 it didnt seem worth it to ship my plastic instruments, especially since we were going down from 2000+ sq ft of living space to about 800. So into the dumpster they went after failing to find them a home. Huge regret.
Now I'm hungry for Rock Band and putting together a setup where I get to keep my legacy library on Xbox. I worked hard all summer on research to rebuild a Rock Band setup in my basement. Found a Beatles band kit for a relatively reasonable $150. Drums work great except for having to put 50 lbs of pressure on the Guide button and Start button to use them. That's fine they're not critical. Guitar can't hold a charge but Im mostly in it for the drums anyway.
I didnt have any Xbox console anymore, sent the 360 off to my Dad a long time ago. Stumbled on RB4+Rivals bundle on Microsoft's store for just $15 and learned about how many songs are still 'alive'. Bought it even though I didnt have a console. Went to a friend's (an hour's walk in a mighty wind) to pay for the RB3 import (then learned you can do it online, ugh).
Scored a nice Xbox One X bundle including the fabled Rock Band Legacy Adapter. This $15 piece of plastic MadCatz put out to get around Microsoft changing something about their wireless protocol between console generations runs for $200 on ebay now, thanks to the demise of the genre. Somehow other controller adapters for 360 -> XBone don't work for this, gotta be that $15, poorly made thing.
So I put all the pieces together, about 2 months of work and ~$1000 of gear (got a new tv and cables, hdmi switch etc for the basement) and it falls on its face because of that adapter, which has a loose mini USB connection that we tried and failed to repair with our limited electronics skills.
Still scrounging around the internet. Can't really do the thrift store thing right now, to hope for a magical find. Afraid to pay a bundle for the adapter given the crappy build quality.
So yeah, I'm loathing that Activision (primarily) drove the genre right into the ground such that new instruments aren't a thing and Microsoft c*ck blocked 360 peripherals.
The state of Rock Band (and other music games). They had to run it into the ground and burn MadCatz along with it.
Music games didn't die, they're just playing other venues. They're goddamn thriving on VR, with Beat Saber being the elephant in the room, but loads of other great options exist. Ubisoft have been cranking out Just Dances for Just Forever.
And honestly, I don't know how much blame you can really lay at Acti's feet - I don't think it was them killing it so much as everyone having already milked all the fun out of the plastic instrument genre. And it had a good run, Guitar Hero was 2005 - Rock Band 4 was a full decade later.
But back to you and your Rock Band....I've got two offers for you, my fellow Seattlite...
Short term - my electronics skills may be less limited than yours. Do you want to drop the adapter off at my place and let me have a go at it?
Long term - I still have a functional 360 with a big RB3 library and mostly a full set of functioning instruments. Post-pandemic, when we're all vaccined up to the gills, you're officially invited over.
Rock Band: Beatles came out in 2009. In my memory, that was the beginning of the end of plastic instrument rhythm games. I’m not saying that RB:B killed the genre, I’m just trying to establish a reference point in the time line.
I was thinking about the 20 year and 40 year nostalgia cycle in regards to plastic instruments games. There could be a resurgence in the genre somewhere around 2030. Though it might come in a form that’s dramatically different than hammering on plastic guitars.
Of course, as stated above, we might already be in the 20 year nostalgia cycle, and the form it’s taken is Beat Saber.
I shouldn't have said 'music games'. I should have said 'games what let me bang on actual (toy) drums while my wife sings', and though I have strong feelings about Activision, I won't argue about 'who killed who' here
Regarding your other offers Jonman, I'll DM you!
I’m kind of surprised that some hobbiest electronics dude hasn’t taken up a side hustle of selling refurbished plastic instruments on eBay or Amazon.
I would probably buy a plastic drum set controller if the price was right and the quality was reliable. Drums were always my favorite part of GH and RB. Plus, unlike a plastic guitar, the drum setup was close enough to the real thing that you could actually develop some drum skills.
I loathe that I missed out on all those music games. That seemed like such a fun era.
I have three pairs of pruning sheers but have managed to completely misplace two of them and am now left with the pair that is, shall we say, less than optimal. The best that can be said of the last pair is that they look like a pair of pruners that might once have been able to cut cleanly through a plant stem rather than turning it to pulp.
I feel like I'm going to look on a shelf somewhere or in a toll box or in a jacket pocket and find the other pairs but it's been a few weeks and they haven't materialised. Time to buy a new pair and throw away the crappy, 'worse than none at all' pair.
Edit: found a pair in my sock drawer. At least I didn’t buy a new pair.
Playing Rock Band with a full group is just about the greatest video gaming experience I've ever had
Yesterday I found my self ordering a nasal and ear hair trimmer after Mrs Sorb made comment.
The long and slow decline is complete. I have turned into my Dad.......
Playing Rock Band with a full group is just about the greatest video gaming experience I've ever had
For sure. My wife and I got WAY into Rock Band 3 to the point where we made our own swag for our virtual band, Switchblade Prom Queen. I was also considering getting a set of actual drums because of the fun we had with the game.
And when I say swag I mean we just made T-shirts using iron on transfers of the logo we created for the band
That's so very cool CptDomano
I want to go to that listening party.
Tanglebones wrote:Playing Rock Band with a full group is just about the greatest video gaming experience I've ever had
For sure. My wife and I got WAY into Rock Band 3 to the point where we made our own swag for our virtual band, Switchblade Prom Queen. I was also considering getting a set of actual drums because of the fun we had with the game.
Yup, this.
I was crushing expert pro drums on RB3, and I've had drum kit and lessons earmarked for some point in my future when I have the time and space for it.
While plastic instruments may be out or on the way out, real ones are still out there and always in vogue! Be brave...take the next step! Go real and get real!
Alex from Giant Bomb has been doing great drumming streams for a while now. He's a drummer in an actual New York Hardcore band in addition to being really good at Rock Band.
While plastic instruments may be out or on the way out, real ones are still out there and always in vogue! Be brave...take the next step! Go real and get real! :)
Yes.
That said, Rocksmith is still amazing. Buy a $300.00 budget model of a Gibson or a Fender and start on your path towards rockgawdery.
bekkilyn wrote:While plastic instruments may be out or on the way out, real ones are still out there and always in vogue! Be brave...take the next step! Go real and get real! :)
Yes.
That said, Rocksmith is still amazing. Buy a $300.00 budget model of a Gibson or a Fender and start on your path towards rockgawdery.
This is what I basically did. While it didn't stick it was very enjoyable and taught me to appreciate music more. I have a better ear for it too. Trying piano now currently. I can honestly say Guitar Hero/Rock band are responsible for a lot of my musical growth as a kid.
I really, really wanted to be able to play Rockband with a set of actual electric drums (rather than the cheap plastic ones that come with the game). Not sure if it's actually doable in any realistic sense, but it was something that I kept mulling over for years after I stopped actually playing Rockband.
The pro drums that Alex (above) is using is more like a real kit. I believe you can also use a midi adapter for an electric kit in at least some versions.
bekkilyn wrote:While plastic instruments may be out or on the way out, real ones are still out there and always in vogue! Be brave...take the next step! Go real and get real! :)
Yes.
That said, Rocksmith is still amazing. Buy a $300.00 budget model of a Gibson or a Fender and start on your path towards rockgawdery.
I think my Ibanez I use with Rocksmith cost around $150 to $200. I did spend a bit more since I got an amp for playing separately from the console as well as a speaker/sound system for my TV so that I wouldn't blow out the TV speakers, but it sounds like buying all the plastic instruments is a lot of money, so it may not be all that expensive by comparison. Unless it gets to a point where Rocksmith will no longer work with my system, I don't see it as ever going "out of style" so to speak.
The pro drums that Alex (above) is using is more like a real kit. I believe you can also use a midi adapter for an electric kit in at least some versions.
This. It required an adapter, but it was doable. Pretty sure there were drummers in the GWJ community who hooked up their electric kit to the game back in the day.
Gaming companies don't send me free shit. Actually it's not really a loathe, it's a bummer.
The real loathe, for work I do layovers and stay in hotels 3 times a week. Every room has a shower with a different height, different pulse setting, and sometimes don't move to aim the water properly... and the hotels are the same chain, Fireside Inn up in Maine. It's nutty.
Wasn't sure where best to put this but I certainly loathe it, so this is where it landed.
Wasn't sure where best to put this but I certainly loathe it, so this is where it landed.
Uncle Walt "didnt want to put voice talent in movie credits because it would take away the magic of the character." More like "Uncle Walt realized that crediting voice talent meant paying them more," what Mel Blanc found out.
I think Jack Benny and other variety shows credited Mel Blanc even though Disney refused.
Too bad the company is ass, they do good shit.
Birthday emails from companies I've bought stuff from that don't include a gift. It's not like Steve from customer relations was thinking of me and just wanted to reach out.
But Steve, if you were, thanks man. I appreciate it.
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