Interview with Alex Rigopulos at GameCritics.com

Cutriss · Staff Member Joined: 24 Jan 2002

GameCritics.com has posted an interview with Alex Rigopulos, CEO of Harmonix. Harmonix is the developer behind the popular FreQuency series, and worked together with Konami to create Karaoke Revolution.

In the interview Rigopulos not only discusses trends in the current music games market, but also makes mention of Bemani's future direction and makes mention of several future projects with Sony and Konami both.

You can access the interview here.
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[DMB]dman.exe · Trick Member Joined: 28 Mar 2003

He states that Konami and Sony would by working together, same thing that EGM stated a few months ago, what does this really mean?

New music game that's not like Freq. Or Amp...?
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Cutriss · Staff Member Joined: 24 Jan 2002

Spike · Administrator Joined: 17 Jan 2002 Location: Denver

Wow, Karaoke Revolution won Time Magazine's Game of the Year.

Always good to get an award from a magazine known for its knowledge on gaming. Kind of like THUG broadcasting that Maxim gave it a 4/4. Who cares?
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Ryu_Hirakashi · Posted: Mon Apr 05, 2004 1:30 pm Post subject:

But they feel that Konami's bemani games have a very one demensional feel to them. I don't think so!!!

They want to try to make games where you actually make notes as you go along listening to the music. If you ask me fequencey was just to danm wierd for me to play. I looked at and thought "What the hell??"

It just felt like it was missing that magic something. If you ask me the one thing beamani games have that I really love is music that is complex. I like knowing that I go as far my level of understanding will take me. The American music games tend to be too overly simplistic.

I know music gaming here is still a very niche genre, but that doesn't mean that they should hold back either. Learn to accomidate the new players, but give existing players a reason to get better.

Ryu Hiragoshi
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Quote:

For a beginner, if learning how to play pop'n music is like a parent holding his / her child's hand while crossing a busty street, then learning to play IIDX is like being kicked out of a moving car in the middle of nowhere and having to scrape enough money for a taxi cab ride home.

Larrikin · Contributor Joined: 17 Feb 2002 Location: Illadelphia

Agent J · Trick Member Joined: 29 Feb 2004 Location: Dimension X

Syxx · Trick Member Joined: 20 Feb 2003 Location: Chicagoland

Harmonix is a good group. I own two games developed by them: Frequency and Karaoke Revolution. They need to do more music games in the future.
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whites

[DMB]dman.exe · Trick Member Joined: 28 Mar 2003

Larrikin · Contributor Joined: 17 Feb 2002 Location: Illadelphia

Cutriss · Staff Member Joined: 24 Jan 2002

Syxx · Trick Member Joined: 20 Feb 2003 Location: Chicagoland

Rez... is easy and boring.
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whites

yyr · Posted: Wed Apr 07, 2004 6:20 am Post subject:

Catastrophe · Trick Member Joined: 04 Mar 2002 Location: Worcester, MA

Kick ass interview! I knew I was going to hear some good news from them at E3 and now I'm sure of it!

I always divided music games into 4 types. My first type is the rhythm type, like Parappa & Space Channel 5, where the music is basically static and you're essentially playing a long game of "Simon Says" with your thumbs. Those get old fast. My second and third types are the dance-type and beat-matching-types that Konami has made alot of. I consider GF&DM (etc) to be the beat matching type. KR is so different that its the only pitch-matching type of game that I know of. (Yay innovation!

)

And some people are going to hate me for saying this, but I think Vib Ribbon looks like the first type but with dynamic music. I haven't played it but I have seen it and it looks like calculated obstacles put to music. Am I right? I suppose DDR, DMX, and PPP are also just another long game of Simon Says but I enjoy those games because of the physical component to them. The dance routines in those games always follows the music and when you get really good at them you can just go with the flow and you really begin to notice ...

(*mid-post*, Catastrophe hears Keep It Going, gets up, and starts dancing to Winamp - including some random fits of Kereoke, which lasts for 10 minutes, and sits down again)
Well, I guess anyone who would understand what I'm trying to say already knows what I'm trying to say.

Its funny actually, because Beatmania-syndrome edits for DWI got me hooked on Beatmania since I'm essentially playing the music with my fingers either way. And now Harmonix seems to be saying that they can do better than than completely scripted music games. I can't wait to see what that means!

Aesir · Trick Member Joined: 17 Jan 2003 Location: Las Cruces, NM

Well, I'm at least glad to hear Harmonix still has more games in production other than KR. Its too bad that Harmonix doesnt have any really close ties with any record labels, like Konami has to Dancemania. Then again, I cant really think of anything similar to Dancemania in America, the closest thing is Ministy of Sound, and they're British....

BTW, I've always thought of Bemani graphics as kinda like sheet music, plain and sorta ugly, but really functional.

Raian · Basic Member Joined: 02 Sep 2003

BlueDragon · Trick Member Joined: 11 Feb 2002 Location: Davis, CA, US

So when are they going to release those damn expansion packs for Karaoke Revolution? The PS2 HDD is out, so it should be no problem now. They need to get on that.

I love Rez! I just sent in my money order since I won it on eBay, so I'll be getting my PS2 Rez in a week or so. /me is happy. I sort of want that vibration pack from Japan, too. Seems like it would be ... pleasureable.

Anti-Gravity · Basic Member Joined: 22 Sep 2003 Location: Somewhere..?

On the most recent episode of South Park, an extremely stereotypical asian character was put on the show as a team member of the antagonist team of the competition. Apparently, the ideal chinese ghetto kid was put on the show to basically explain how typical it is for asian kids to play DDR. I just thought that was interesting..
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Larrikin · Contributor Joined: 17 Feb 2002 Location: Illadelphia

grayfox9996 · Basic Member Joined: 02 Nov 2003

"...the hypnotic visual component is a lot more compelling than the sometimes cheesy low-budget cartoony graphics of the Japanese-flavoured BEMANI games."

Man...if he hadn't added that "sometimes" in there I might've had to hunt him down...*thinking of IIDX*

Good article, but it really felt like he was trying to diss the Bemani games as much as possible. Or maybe he's implying that it's a dying breed...? I know DDR is alive and well here in the U.S. and over in Europe, but I've heard it's dying in Japan. Aren't PnM, GF/DM, and BM making up for it though? I'd think the Bemani games were doing well, besides DDR...