After Guitar Hero and Rock Band, now it is Disney’s turn to
rock your world with their latest venture in the gaming world: Ultimate Band.
Developed by Fall Line Studio in Salt Lake City, UT,
Ultimate Band has already an approximate release band, though Disney did not
disclose too many details. For example, the makers of Mickey Mouse said only
that, and I quote from their press release, it “has chosen to combine familiar
classics with today’s hottest songs.”
Also, “Disney is working with some of the very biggest names
in rock, alternative, popular, emo and indie rock music, allowing band mates to
play sets from a broad selection of current hits and all-time rock favorites”.
Similar to other music games, the future fans of Ultimate
Band will be able to play the game as the guitar man, bass player or even as
the front man.
But unlike other title form this genre, Ultimate Band won’t require
any additional peripherals and it will rely only in Nintendo’s Wiimote
controller or DS’ stylus.
As Disney said, for the moment, these are the only platforms
for which the game will be released.
“Ultimate Band invites kids, tweens and teens to join in the
jam session,” said Craig Relyea, senior vice president, global marketing,
Disney Interactive Studios. “And whether they choose guitar, drums, bass or
front man, members don’t need to buy costly, single-function peripherals to play
their way through Ultimate Band’s deep song list, dynamic venues, and
customizable characters.”
Ultimate Band will be rated E10+ (anticipated) and Disney
intends to release it during this holiday season.
Lately the music games have proved to be highly popular. Last
month, the NPD Group said that the Guitar Hero franchise has set an industry
record, surpassing $1 billion in North American retail sales in just 26 month.
Also, the latest title released by Activision, Guitar Hero
III: Legends of Rock was the number 1 title in units and dollars for calendar
year 2007. The success of the games was predictable since its launch, as the
title earned more than $115 million in its first week on sale only in North America.
Also, during the same month, Viacom announced that Harmonix’s
Rock Band has sold 1 million units since its November launch. Furthermore, over
2.5 million downloadable songs have been sold since Rock Band went on sale.
