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 CBC News reports that with nearly 40 gold and platinum records on their walls, Rush have
clearly conquered the world of music. Now the Toronto-based rock
legends are looking to dominate another industry: video games.
Harmonix Music Systems announced on Thursday it will release Rush's 1981 classic album Moving Pictures
for download to its popular Rock Band title, where gamers play plastic
instruments in time with the songs on screen. The entire seven-track
album will be available to Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 owners on Tuesday
for about $11, or 880 Microsoft Points, the currency used by Microsoft
for its console. Gamers will also be able to download individual songs
for about $2 each, or 160 points.
Harmonix has made dozens of songs available to download for Rock Band since the game's release in November, but Moving Pictures is just the fourth full album, following releases from Judas Priest, The Pixies and The Cars.
Moving Pictures is likely to sell better than previous
album releases as Rock Band devotees, as well as the game's own
designers, have shown a particular affinity for Rush. The game's online
message boards have been flooded with demands for more material from
the band since the title hit stores.
Rock Band was originally released with a cover of the band's biggest hit, Tom Sawyer, from Moving Pictures, with four more tracks — two versions of Working Man, Limelight (also from Moving Pictures) and Closer to the Heart — eventually made available for download.
Limelight and the first version of Working Man were released as covers, but the later version and Closer to the Heart
were master tracks featuring the actual band, illustrating the clout
Harmonix now has with the music industry. A few years ago, Harmonix had
difficulty getting bands to license master tracks to its Guitar Hero
series of games. But over the past year or so, the Guitar Hero
franchise — now owned by Activision — and Rock Band have exploded in
popularity, putting the game publishers firmly in the driving seat.
Read the full story here.
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