Harmonix raises our hopes and crushes them, custom content still unlikely

From the beginning of the meteoric rise in popularity of games like Rock Band and Guitar Hero people have clamored for a way to create and upload their own content. Valiant attempts have been made to fill the user created content shaped void in our hearts, some coming closer to a solid and easy solution than others, yet sadly, all have fallen short in their noble goal.  Freshman effort offered a way to create custom content but kept you locked to a keyboard and monitor; a Guitar Hero 2 hack brought us closer (and likely the closest we’ll get) but was a fairly daunting task that, let’s face it, a lot of people weren’t up to facing.  It seemed like the custom content dream had died.

However, in a recent interview, Harmonix’s VP of Product Development Greg LoPiccolo, in response to a question regarding the feasibility of custom content coming to games like Rock Band said, “It is conceivable, and would be awesome. We continue to talk about this possibility. I can’t commit to such a thing at this point, but would love to tackle it if we could find a way.”  And once again, our heartstrings are needlessly tugged.  

While the ability to create and trade your own content for games like Rock Band and Guitar Hero would be simply amazing, the chance of it actually coming to pass seems incredibly remote. Considering the fact that downloadable content represents a good portion of profitability in this genre, and the fact that copyright hounds would have a field day with this kind of thing, the dream of user created content will likely remain just that.  It’s reassuring to know that Harmonix remains interested in the possibility of custom content in spite of it’s seemingly remote likelihood. Thankfully the one thing we can bank on, confirmed or not, is that profits win ten times out of ten.  As soon as Harmonix can figure out a way to make money from custom content, and avoid the highly likely lawsuits to follow, you can bet we’ll see it.  In the meantime I’m still happy with regular downloadable content and the ability to flail about like a retarded chimp as I work my way toward faux rock and roll glory.

[Via — Thanks, James]