14 DAY TRIAL // Rock Band has sought collaboration from several musicians and bands, but in the end the only group that got their own titled game was the Beatles. Irish rock band U2 was approached by Harmonix last year regarding a possible collaboration but the two parties didn't manage to reach a compromise. However, a lot of time has passed since then and rhythm games have become a lot more popular. With the huge success The Beatles: Rock Band proved to be it seems that U2 might be interested in joining in on the money wagon after all.
USA Today talked to the band's bassist, Adam Clayton, and it seems that the Irish musicians might be willing to settle for what wasn't popular enough in the past. The group is now opened to the idea of lending their songs and likenesses and are willing to sit down and talk things through with the game developers. "We definitely would like to be in there, but we felt some of the compromises weren't what we wanted," Clayton said. "That could change. I love the idea that that's where people are getting music, and we'd love to be in that world. We'll figure something out."
Still, they haven't dropped the bar completely and aren't willing to settle for just any compromise. Downloadable content or any kind of what they seem to think is a half-baked product just won't do. They want their own game, with their name in the title and big flashing lights. "What The Beatles have done, where the animation is much more representative of them, is what we're interested in, rather than the one-size-fits-all animation," Clayton said. "We didn't want to be caricatured." Put it as they will, it still sounds like an ego trip.
In the Rock Band series, The Beatles: Rock Band is the only game that made use of the artists’ likeness. Other titles have used it as well, but the only project that Harmonix is currently developing that incorporates a similar idea is the upcoming Lego Rock Band. The game will come out next month and amongst the characters we'll be able to find digital representations of David Bowie and Iggy Pop. Still, considering they will be Lego-styled characters, the concept of likeness is a bit of an overstatement.