In the 30 year career the band U2 have managed to sell over 150 million albums, win practically every musical award out there (including more Grammys than any other band), broken tour records, and even gathered a Nobel Prize nomination for their oddly-spectacled (and named) lead-singer Bono. With such a rich and varied history, what's left for the band that's done practically everything that can be done?
Videogames, of course. And following The Beatles.
Or more appropriately, join the ranks of having digital, interactive versions of themselves as a way to further connect with fans and help distribute their music. Having witnessed the loving care and attention developer Harmonix has given The Beatles: Rock Band, there's no doubt the Irish foursome (which includes singer Bono/Paul Hewson, guitarist The Edge/David Evans, bassist Adam Clayton, and drummer Larry Mullen, Jr.) would love to follow the most famous band in history into the great digital unknown.
Says bassist Adam Clayton:
"We definitely would like to be in there, but we felt some of the compromises weren't what we wanted...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. 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. We didn't want to be caricatured."
While U2 has been intimately involved in film projects before (Goldeneye, Batman, Mission Impossible), their forays into the world of interactive entertainment thus far has been meager. Despite a well-received remix for the game-to-film translation Tomb Raider (complete with guitarist Edge romping with Lara Croft), their involvement has largely been limited to integrating elements of the culture into their tours. The 1997-98 PopMart tour also featured the likeness of Lara Croft, and their last global outing (Vertigo) in 2005 featured modified PlayStation 2 controllers to help fans control digital cameras and more.
Thanks to USA Today!
Comments
October 11, 2009, 06:49:45 GeX wrote:
No. If they want to be in the game, let them be on disc or DLC. Even an importable track pack would work.
Single band games suck. Rock Band is supposed to be a platform. I hope Harmonix doesn't bend to them, it would be a very bad idea.
I'd never buy a U2 game. There are too many good artists to play alongside one another in Rock Band right now. It's pretty predictable that bands who weren't into having their songs in games would come around insisting on 'the Beatles treatment' after seeing The Beatles Rock Band. Hopefully that will be the last band specific game Harmonix ever makes. So, if this is the only way they'd be in a game, then they can take a walk as far as I'm concerned. We won't miss them.