News

Stephen Colbert’s Biggest Campaign Supporter Made Rock Band

The biggest contributor to Stephen Colbert’s political action committee, Americans for a Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow, (who totally weren’t coordinating with Colbert’s joke Presidential run) was Alex Rigopulos, head of Rock Band/Dance Central studio Harmonix. $US9600 given, notes the New York Times.


September 18, 2011
In Real Life

Why Japan Never Got Rock Band

A few years back, Rock Band exploded in North America. In Europe. In Australia. It didn’t in Japan. There must be a reason for that.


September 9, 2010
News

Diving In To Rock Band 3′s Keyboard Play

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In this video, Rock Band 3 senior designer Sylvain Dubrofsky walks us through just how the keyboard play is going to work in Harmonix upcoming rhythm game.


August 17, 2009

The Best Buzz A Gamer Can Get, And How To Get More Of It

Paul Wedgwood, fervent gamer turned bold game designer, believes he has identified the greatest experience a player can have in a video game. And he’s determined to make it possible for us all to experience it.


January 18, 2009
News

Rigopoulos ‘Would Love to’ do Amplitude Sequel on PS3

Harmonix’s big hit before Guitar Hero/Rock Band, and a foreshadowing of their gameplay, was Amplitude, developed for SCEA on the PS2. Harmonix CEO Alex Rigopulos says he’d love to “do it right” for the PS3.


January 14, 2009
Uncategorized

Future Rock Bands May Steer Closer To ‘Real Musicianship’

What does the future hold for the Rock Band series? Harmonix co-founder Alex Rigopulos gives us another hint in a new interview, one that teases closing the gap between real and fake rock and roll.


July 3, 2008
Uncategorized

Rock Band Music Creation To Be ‘Radically Different’ Says CEO

Activision looks to have the upper this round, as Guitar Hero World Tour will out-feature Rock Band 2 at least in the custom song creation department. Harmonix CEO Alex Rigopolus confirms to CNN that the sequel to Rock Band won’t allow users to write their own music. That said, Rigopulos does hint that a comparible feature is coming, but not in the same way that Guitar Hero developer Neversoft is tackling it.


May 2, 2008
Uncategorized

Harmonix Dudes Make Proper Time 100 List

Forget the list Miyamoto made. That one was an internet popularity contest, and considering the mobilisation powers of Nintendo fanboys, his prominence should surprise nobody. What is a pleasant surprise, however, is the presence of some gaming luminaries on the real Time 100, the list put together by the magazine themselves. They’ve honoured Harmonix’s Alex Rigopolous and Eran Egozy, both for their innovation with Guitar Hero & Rock Band, as well as the knock-on effect of saving “classic rock for generations to come”. Rock Band: not just a game, an instrument of history. Alex Rigopulos & Eran Egozy [The Time 100][Pic]


April 18, 2008
Uncategorized

Rock Band’s First Album Announced, Our Harmonix Q&A

Today, Harmonix has officially announced the first album that will hit the Rock Band store: Judas Priest’s Screaming For Vengeance. Arriving April 22/24 on Xbox 360/PS3, this10-track album will cost $US 14.99 with individual tracks being offered for $US 1.99 apiece. Then in May, The Cars’ self-titled record will become the second full-album release from Rock Band. The Pixies’ Doolittle will follow in June.

While this is precisely the news that all Rock Band fans have been waiting to hear, it raises a ton of new questions. Is $US 14.99 the new standard album price? And how often can we expect new albums? Luckily, we had the chance to discuss the announcement with Harmonix’s CEO Alex Rigopulos, who was more than happy to answer all of our fanboy questions. We posted an abridged, cleaned (sans-Mark’s-question-stuttering-and-boring-parts) Q&A after the jump.


September 8, 2007
Uncategorized

Guitar Hero X-plorer Will Work With Rock Band 360, USB Hub Packed In

Harmonix Music president Alex Rigopulos sat in on the latest OXM Radio podcast, running over the details of Rock Band‘s many facets with a fine tooth comb. While Rigopulos touched on nearly every aspect of the Rock Band experience, from the single player career mode to the multiplayer World Tour to the game’s web site, some important details that merit singling out were revealed. One very important confirmation that he provided was the the Red Octane X-plorer controller for Guitar Hero II would indeed be supported with Rock Band, potentially saving current GHII owners gobs of cash.