We remember the first time we played Rock Band like it was yesterday. The three of us - one guitar, one bass and one drums - crowded around the demo unit in the local HMV, rocking along to the Foo Fighter's 'Learn To Fly' and 'Enter Sandman' by Metallica. Needless to say, we rushed out to buy the complete 'Band in the Box' edition pretty soon after. Easy-to-pick-up-and-play, button-matching rhythm action, a la previous Guitar Hero games, but this time extended to up to four players, the Rock band games were how we spent many a Sunday afternoon for years to come. From Rock Band to 2 and 3, the brick-tacular Lego Rock Band and even the band-specific Beatles and Green Day, we played them all before we finally laid our plastic instruments to rest as the genre ground to a halt in recent years - but our love of the series never really went away, and the upcoming Rock Band 4 is definitely music to our ears!
Ah, Rock Band. How we've missed you.
Except for one tiny thing, that is (well, perhaps not that tiny, given the number of accidental toe-stubs it has to it's name). For those who were majorly into Rock Band - or those who managed to wreck their original drum kits by the time the second game came around - Harmonix partnered with premium electronic drum kit makers ION to make a swish new kit for hardcore drummers everywhere. With cymbals, better drum pads and a substantial metal bass pedal, it was a much more high end piece of kit, and an investment that could be used on all future Rock Band games. Or so we thought.
Speaking to Dan Sussman, the company's Project Director at gamescom, he told us how Harmonix had been in touch with the folks at ION, and had practically been begging them to update the kit to work with the new game, as they're all too aware there's bound to be lots of fans wanting to take their drum kits across to Rock Band 4. Unfortunately, though, as of the time of writing, that won't be happening. You see, it appears making the ION kits work with the PS4 and Xbox One isn't as simple as just plugging it in and hoping for the best - there's a lot more technical doohikery to be done. Harmonix have been working closely with other peripheral manufacturers to transition their bits and bobs over to the new game - including the folks who made the seriously fancy Stage Kit - but ION are apparently having none of it. And with no way to make the ION kit communicate wirelessly with the Playstation 4 and Xbox One, the future it seems, is looking pretty bleak.
RIP in Peace, ION kit :(
But Sussman did urge ION drum kit-ers to get in touch with the company themselves and show that there is, in fact, a demand for compatibility with the PS4 and Xbox One, whether it's through a new "drum brain", or an adapter of sorts. So, as we were one of the nutters that shelled out for the ION kits, we did some digging of our own, and have tracked down a contact form for ION themselves here - simply fill out the form, and pick the corresponding 'Drum Rocker Core' (the basic kit sans cymbals) or 'Drum Rocker '(the premium kit with cymbals) for your platform in the drop down 'Select Product' box. As for which department to send it to, the top 'Product Sales & Inquiries' is probably your best bet - then let ION know the demand is there in the question/comments box below and send it off, and fingers crossed we can change their minds!
Rock Band 4 will be hitting the Xbox One and Playstation 4 in a few months time, on the 6th October - and while we aren't really expecting a u-turn from the ION folks straight away, we can certainly hope they at least take it into consideration!
