Rock Band 4?

By: Connor Lenahan

Okay, this better be true. I’m not sure that my heart could take this type of emotional pump fake. I can deal with a lot of maybes in this world, but the thought of Rock Band getting a fourth installment, one for the latest round of gaming consoles, is too great not to report on.

IGN is reporting this as if it it was going to happen. Harmonix didn’t confirm it, but I still have hope. That’s because Harmonix didn’t outright deny it either. I’ve been playing Rock Band for at least seven years now. It started as a hobby – a game that I could actually do well at, as opposed to Call of Duty and Halo. Then it became an obsession. To this day I have played a mini concert on the latest version, Rock Band 3, every time I return home from college. When I come back for Spring Break in a few weeks there is a very high chance I will play a three and a half hour set of classics to my millions of virtual fans. Why? Because this is the epitome of an escapism game.

Every person I know that plays video games does so both for entertainment and to imagine themselves as something they could not be. That’s why I love playing Rock Band, Pokemon, and NBA games. I would kill to be a rock star, Pokemon trainer, or NBA star. But due to my inability to play guitar, reality, and my 5’3″ height none of these things will happen. But in Rock Band I can shred my way through the greatest hits of Jimi Hendrix, Nirvana, and more. When I play the game I am the biggest star on the planet. The chances of that happening for real are very, very low. But for a few hours in the game I can fell like I am. And really, isn’t what those games are for?

That’s why I’m hoping for Rock Band 4. My virtual fans are waiting for new music from me. The wait should end. Give me this Harmonix. I beg of you.