Jimi Hendrix Definitely Heading to Rock Band

Harmonix and MTV Games have already said that they are working on a Green Day Rock Band music simulation title set to arrive in 2010, probably at some point in September or October, and there have been suggestions that the two companies are also working on the initial stages of development for Rock Band 3, a game that might aim to teach players to use real-life instruments.

But the biggest rumor related to Rock Band during last week was the suggestion, made by sites like Billboard and Ultimate Guitar, that Harmonix might be ready to create a Rock Band title modeled on the career of guitar legend Jimi Hendrix.

The rumor was initiated by an L.A. Times article mentioning a new edition of Rock Band, which Janie Hendrix, the step sister of the musician and the current controller of his estate, says could be released before the end of 2010. At the moment, Sony is the company that has the rights to license tracks belonging to Jimi Hendrix in all forms of media.

Harmonix talked directly to Kotaku and said that “While we have not made any official announcements regarding Jimi Hendrix and Rock Band, we are excited to say that we are in discussions to bring more of his music to our platform. Stay tuned.”

This comment is quite interesting because it leaves the door open for a lot of possibilities. The company might still be in the negotiation phase and does not know what kind of Jimi Hendrix-related content it can put out. There is also the possibility that with one game already slated for this year, Harmonix is more comfortable with delivering Jimi Hendrix songs as downloadable content for Rock Band 2 than investing in a new full title. An announcement will probably come in a few months.