Konami plans Rock Revolution

By Robert Purchese Published 16 May, 2008

Unveils Rock Band, Guitar Hero challenger.

Konami has opened its case and revealed Rock Revolution, a peripheral-based rhythm game for 360, PS3, Wii and DS.

It comes with a guitar and drum-kit on 360 and PS3, so is rather a lot like Rock Band. There will be 40 tracks from the off, according to GameSpot, but all will be cover versions.

This number will expand in time through downloadable content, but there will be tracks such as "Cum On Feel the Noize" by Quiet Riot and "Sk8er Boi" by Avril Lavigne who you would even with that funny nose, from the off.

Other features include a virtual music studio like in Guitar Hero IV, a jam mode, plus online and offline versus, co-op and band battles.

The Wii version, on the other hand, appears not to come with any peripherals. Instead, you use the motion-sensing controls to air-guitar or air-drum along to tracks. It also has the music studio.

Those with a DS will use the stylus to replicate guitar, bass and drums - so again, no peripherals. There's said to be a vocal option but specifics are unclear, and there will be 20 songs plus wireless co-op and battle modes.

Konami, of course, is no stranger to the rhythm-action genre; having produced the Guitar Freaks that was argued to have inspired Guitar Hero, and also DrumMania that may have lead to the drum peripherals being introduced.

The publisher also had success with energetic party pastimes Dance Dance Revolution and Karaoke Revolution.

Pop over to Eurogamer TV for the first Rock Revolution trailer.

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

You may also like...

Comments (26) Latest comment 4 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • paulf #1 4 years ago

    way to jump on the (rock) band wagon

  • syphaa #2 4 years ago

    Confused...why does Konami think that they can challenge the likes of Harmonix?!?
    There is no way that this title can bring in the revenue that Rock Band/GH4 will...

  • silver-jon #3 4 years ago

    Will the peripherals be cheaper than Rock Band ? And will they be compatible with GH IV and Rock band ? If so then a poke in the eye for Harmonix/MTV/EA, and a step in the right direction for us - the people wot buy the games and keep them in jobs.

  • JonFE #4 4 years ago

    "..."Sk8er Boi" by Avril Lavigne who you would even with that funny nose..."

    There's nothing better than knowing your audience inside out, is there Rob?

    :)

  • keyboardmonkey #5 4 years ago

    How can anyone say innovation is dead! What do you mean it's been done before?

    Rock band , guitar hero, Donkey Konga, samba de amigo.

    Nope sorry never heard of them.

    /is bored of companies jumping on band wagon

  • kangarootoo #6 4 years ago

    If its cheaper than RB it might be worth a look in.

    Overall polish looks lower than RB and GH though. The realalistic graphic styling does it no favours (that blokes hands weren't even on his microphone) and the tracks sounded like covers to my Skid Row remembering ears.

    Could just end up being the disappointing Xmas pressie for kids that wish their relatives had clubbed together to get them GH or RB instead.

  • alasdairm #7 4 years ago

    Probably Konami trying to muscle back into the genre they developed - even from the early days of the PS2 with Guitar Freaks & Drummania you have been able to play with a guitar & drum set-up; its just its taken a good 7-8 years for the idea to take off

  • WickedDeeJ #8 4 years ago

    More competition in this space is definitely welcome. Maybe it will finally force EA/Harmonix to give up their shafting of EU consumers.

  • Iora #9 4 years ago

    Jesus will this come with a new house so I can put all my god damn peripherals in. Rockbands enough for me thanks, I have 4 damn plastic guitars as is. No more please! and that drumkit blocks the view to my tv - bless its adjustable hieght.

  • Bertie Verified Senior Staff Writer, Eurogamer.net #10 4 years ago

    There's nothing better than knowing your audience inside out, is there Rob?

    :D

  • rhubarbandcustard #11 4 years ago

    "..."Sk8er Boi" by Avril Lavigne who you would even with that funny nose..."

    I would hit that, reluctantly at first, but there would be a certain enjoyment factor.

    I would shrivel up and die inside if she started to sing at any point though.

  • bengray66 #12 4 years ago

    with that funny nose.

    Just like here sister old Sarah Michelle Geller... What an interesting evening that could turn out to be..

  • MJ #13 4 years ago

    I would cut off my arm and give it to the def leppard drummer so he can play guitar hero - if it meant i could have a go on Avril Lavigne.

    edit: cannot spell leppard!
    Edited by 1 at 16/05/08 @ 12:44

  • MisterFalseName #14 4 years ago

    Air guitar in the Wii version? Oh. Dear.

  • Zomoniac #15 4 years ago

    Get off the bandwagon, put down the handbook.

    /Arctic Monkeys
    Edited by 1 at 16/05/08 @ 12:50

  • DUFFKING #16 4 years ago

    Erm, didn't Konami invent this genre? (In the arcades... Drum Mania or something)
    Edited by 1 at 16/05/08 @ 13:10

  • CallousB #17 4 years ago

    You should have done this years ago konami. Now you're just way too late.
    I suppose it might do ok in Japan...but it's DOA in the west.

  • BigE0n #18 4 years ago

    Not exactly a revolution is IT.....

  • Zomoniac #19 4 years ago

    Erm, didn't Konami invent this genre?

    Sort of. They did DrumMania and BeatMania. But Rock Band invented the full band game and within six months of release two seemingly exact duplicates have appeared.

  • grussbarbar #20 4 years ago

    If it turns out to be true that the Wii version won't have peripherals, then I'd be very disappointed in Konami. There is no reason to do this apart from Konami possibly thinking that Wii owners are okay with a second rate experience. Let's hope that the air guitar and air drums functionality is an extra, and not the only gameplay mode.
    Ah well, I guess we'll have to wait until more is known...

    @DUFFKING/ Zomoniac
    Actually, as far as I know, the Konami made GuitarFreaks could already link up with DrumMania for a somewhat Rock Band like experience. So I'd say Konami was the first to introduce that, not Rock Band. =)

  • jonchoo #21 4 years ago

    GuitarFreaks and DrumMania can be played together since GuitarFreaks 3rd DrumMania 2nd Mix, with support for two guitar controllers and one drum set (either Konami's own or Yamaha DTX series).

    That very title was released in 2000.

  • jidnffc #22 4 years ago

    I reckon the thought process went something like... "Not only can we make people buy a game that's already out there all over again, with worse presentation and cover versions, but we can make them buy more plastic accessories that happen to have one extra pad to hit!" Let's face it, there's little chance of them putting the interests of the consumer before the flashing dollar signs in their eyes so this'll be a cut-down (only 40 songs!) budget version which won't work with the other company's peripherals.

  • aine #23 4 years ago

    oh konami. this whole genre could have been theirs, if they ever took a chance and released guitar freaks/drummania outside of japan (with proper marketing and a decent track list of course). but here we are, they've been beaten to it twice, and now everyone thinks they're the rip-off artists.

  • kungfool #24 4 years ago

    Yeah, the guitar/ band game genre and Burnout (initially ripped-off in a really shockingly obvious way from Konami's Thrill Drive coin-op. Criterion even had a Thrill Drive machine in their office) could/ should have been huge for Konami. Ditto GTI Club, which was a semi-free-roaming arcade racer that - weirdly - never made the console scene. Dunno what they were thinking, really.

  • Daikon #25 4 years ago

    Don't forget about Konami's Pop'n Music!
    Super cute and of course never released outside of Japan, but it's basically Guitar Hero without the guitar (it uses a kind of keyboard with big bright buttons).

    [link url=http://www.konami.j p/bemani/popn/
    ]http://www.konami.j p/bemani/popn/
    [/link]

    All you folks accusing Konami of wanting to jump onto the bandwagon need to do some more research, they were there first - albeit in Japan only.

    Now how about some Japanese rock songs?

  • Lemming81 #26 4 years ago

    Now would be a good time for Konami to jump on the Guitar Hero bandwagon rather than rock band.

    There is a much healthier market for people who just want the guitar version without all the other shit.