Harmonix's Rob Kay Interview

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Eurogamer: Count me in. I'd pay GBP 180 to play the drums to Better Best Forgotten any day.

Rob Kay: Well, that's it. People have their own tastes. Sheer volume is one way of us attacking that, trying to get people's tastes catered to. In the future, we'd love there to be a situation where any band in the world can get their song into Rock Band. That's not going to come any time soon, but it's something we're thinking about.

When people buy into Rock Band, I think they should know we're in it for the long term. We're not just going to short change them, they won't have to reset everything in a year. We really want to support this in such a way that the investment you're making isn't just in one game.

Eurogamer: DLC has been appearing on PlayStation Network later than on Xbox Live in many cases. Are you confident you'll be able to release these songs for 360 and PS3 at the same time?

Rob Kay: I hope so. That's what we've managed to do in the States, and that's worked out. We have to work closely with both Microsoft and Sony, because some of the things we want to do are pushing at the boundaries of what they're capable of doing. I don't think they really expected the volume of DLC we're putting into Rock Band.

So we're having to collaborate with them to ensure their systems are able to cope with the amount of music we're pushing through, and so far that's worked really well in the US. Every sign so far is it'll work in the UK and Europe as well.

Eurogamer: What happened to the online Band World Tour mode? Back in December, we heard a patch would be released to introduce this. Where is it?

Rob Kay: Band World Tour is the headline mode for Rock Band. It's the most awesome way to experience it, because you can customise your own band and live the rock and roll lifestyle, touring the world.

The character creation tool is incredibly fully-featured. You can choose movement sets, you can change the faces, the hairstyles, the height and build of characters, add different pants and shoes, design tattoos, put facepaint on, select different instruments...

Eurogamer: Can you wear sombreros?

Rob Kay: I don't think there are sombreros in there. I don't think they made it past the rock filter.

Eurogamer: That is very disappointing.

Rob Kay: So we tried to get that mode supported online, so you could have this persistent experience. We didn't get it in in time. We considered it for a patch, but we just couldn't do it justice in the time we've got. It's still something we want to do and down the line we're going to deliver it.

Sheepish look and white, floral pattern trousers - not so much.

Eurogamer: When you think about the future of Rock Band, do you envision adding modes such as that via patches, building on the basic game - or producing a series of iterations, as with the Guitar Hero franchise?

Rob Kay: It's tough to say. We're at this interesting point where both online and retail are good ways of distributing games, and there's a crossfade going on where things are gradually going over towards the download side.

We're totally embracing that, 100 per cent, because it's the future, while also trying not to shoot ourselves in the foot with regard to retail. I don't think it will ever get to a point where it's all digital - your Gran will always want to go down the shops and buy you a game for Christmas.

Eurogamer: Finally, then - let's get back to where you started. What makes Rock Band worth the money? Why should I spend GBP 180 on your game rather than a Wii? Or a pair of chopsticks, some upturned saucepans and a crate of delicious vodka?

Rob Kay: It gives you the awesome experience of making music with your friends. It is astonishing, the feeling you get. You genuinely cannot get that experience for that price point any other way.