Activision questions Rock Band

Activision believes that Rock Band will struggle to take its crown in the upcoming battle of the games about bands.

Speaking to GameDaily, global brand management chap Will Kassoy questioned the EA/MTV/Harmonix title's mass-market recognition and ease of use.

"I think some of the early signs we've seen might make [Rock Band] a little more complex than some of the things that make Guitar Hero so great, which is its accessibility and ease of play for everyone," he offered.

"If you go beyond the game industry to just really mass market consumers, people haven't heard about Rock Band yet and the fact that it's only on next-generation platforms is going to be a little bit limiting."

Guitar Hero III, Activision and Neversoft's attempt to continue in Harmonix's strutting footsteps, is also due out later this year and hits PS2, PS3, Xbox 360, Wii and DS, whereas Rock Band is limited to PS3 and 360.

For its part, EA put forward EA Games president Frank Gibeau, who said that Rock Band would be competitive.

"We'll compete, obviously, on who's got the better tracks and who's got the better music and who's first to market and who had the brand and who actually built the thing. That'll all come out in this Fall, and the market will help decide," he concluded.