Artists are growing increasingly interested in creating customized versions of various music-based videogames to feature not only their music, but also their likeness and other imagery.
The latest is Nine Inch Nails, which is planning to release a branded version of the popular iPhone music game TapTap Revenge. The special edition of the game will feature 16 tracks from the recent albums “The Slip” and “Ghosts I-IV,” some of which were edited or remixed specifically for the game.
It will also have what developer Tapulous calls a “special NIN look and feel.” The game is expected to be available on the iPhone App Store in October for $5.
Also making news on this front is AC/DC. Harmonix, the MTV-owned developer of the recently released “Rock Band 2,” revealed it will issue a special version of the game based on the band, called “AC/DC Live: Rock Band Track Pack.” The game will feature 18 live tracks from the band’s catalog, all live versions only, for $39.88 for all new generation platforms. The new disc will be available Nov. 2 in the U.S. for most platforms, and on Nov. 16 for the Wii, and in other countries in early December.
Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club have nabbed the exclusive distribution rights to the game. Wal-Mart also has the exclusive on AC/DC’s upcoming album “Black Ice,” which debuts Oct. 20. Wal-Mart plans to shelve the CD alongside the game once both are available. AC/DC’s “Let There Be Rock” is already a featured song on the new “Rock Band 2” game.
Previously, Harmonix executives downplayed the need to develop versions of Rock Band specifically to bands, like Guitar Hero did with Aerosmith and is believed to be doing with Metallica and Jimi Hendrix.
