Harmonix: “Microsoft have been such great partners”

Speaking to VideoGamer.com at E3 this week, Rock Band 2 lead designer Dan Teasdale has explained why the game is coming to the Xbox 360 ahead of the other platforms.

According to Teasdale, Harmonix is “not really delaying the other stuff. It’s just that Microsoft have been such great partners, that we’ve been able to release it early on 360.”

“They’ve helped us out massively by coming in, helping us to complete features and have given us great marketing support,” he continued. “So we’ve been able to release it relatively earlier compared to other platforms. Having said that though, the PS3 and Wii version, and all the relevant platforms will be out very soon after the 360 version, so you won’t be waiting long at all.”

When asked about how Microsoft has been able to help on development of the Xbox 360 version of Rock Band 2 he said they’ve been like “team members”.

“We’ve been in contact with them all the time. They’ve flown out multiple times, stayed for a couple of days, helped us program some of the stuff to get it in,” Teasdale explained. “They’ve been like team members to us, so it’s more like we’re making a game rather than traditional console publisher/developer relationship. It’s been really great having them on board.”

Read our full interview with Dan Teasdale right here.

Rock Band 2 is due for release on Xbox 360 this September in North America, with a European release to follow. Expect the game on other platforms at a later date.

For the latest news, screens, videos and previews from E3 2008 head over to the VideoGamer.com E3 Blog.