Instead of pushing buttons like the old games, LOOPZ uses a set of infrared beam sensors to detect when you place your hand through four semi-circular rings. The game comes with 7 gameplay modes, and lets you play with 1 to 4 players. Game modes include Music Studio, Freestyle DJ, Musicology, Reflex Master, Versus mode, Rhythm and Flow, and Repeat the Beat. The multi-player mode even lets players  create their own patterns to try and outsmart their rivals. While most of the modes are just variants on the old “Simon Says,” there’s a bit more variety with the rhythm-matching games which test not only your memory, but your timing too. Here’s a fun little video showing off how you can even use LOOPZ Music Studio mode to make your own tunes.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

I got to play with a LOOPZ unit for a little while, and have to say it really is a fun diversion from today’s crowded market of casual video games. I can only imagine if I were a kid, I’d enjoy it even more. The only thing I’d like to see is the addition of tracks from popular artists. The built-in generic techno loops did nothing for me. Heck, if Mattel made add-on memory sticks with additional artists, they could extend the replay value of this thing quite a bit.

LOOPZ is available now over at Amazon for $29.99 (USD).

Is anyone else waiting (hoping?) that Activision will expand beyond music? What about, say, Baking Hero? Accounting Hero? I mean, if we’re trying to make sure we appeal to all interests here, maybe we should think about expanding. Just a notion, Activision. You don’t have to thank me.

I don’t know about anyone else, but I’m just kicking back and waiting for the YouTube videos of kids playing DJ Hero, Guitar Hero, and Drum Hero all at the same time through creative use of appendages not typically employed for playing music. It’s gonna be epic.

[via Joystiq]

DJ Hero is packing in an awful lot of variety here, from classic rock to all sorts of hip hop and pop music, to some really unexpected tracks.

• 2Pac – “All Eyez On Me” vs. The Aranbee Pop Orchestra – “Bittersweet Symphony (Instrumental)”
• 50 Cent – “Disco Inferno” vs. David Bowie – “Let’s Dance”
• 50 Cent – “Disco Inferno” vs. InDeep – “Last Night A DJ Saved My Life”
• Afrika Bambaataa – “Zulu Nation Throwdown” vs. Freedom Express – “Get Down”
• Beastie Boys – “Here’s A Little Somethin’ For Ya” vs. DJ Shadow – “The Number Song (2009 Version)” (Produced and mixed by DJ Shadow)
• Beastie Boys – “Intergalactic” vs. Blondie – “Rapture”
• Beastie Boys – “Lee Majors Come Again” vs. Daft Punk – “Da Funk” (Produced and mixed by Cut Chemist)
• Beck – “Where It’s At” vs. DJ Shadow – “Six Days (Remix ft. Mos Def)”
• Bell Biv DeVoe – “Poison” Beat Juggle
• Bell Biv DeVoe – “Poison” vs. Beastie Boys – “Intergalactic” (Produced and mixed by DJ AM)
• Bell Biv DeVoe – “Poison” vs. Cameo – “Word Up!”
• Benny Benassi – “Satisfaction” vs. Tiësto – “Elements Of Life”
• Billy Squier – “The Big Beat” vs. N.E.R.D. – “Lapdance” (DJ-Guitar mix)
• Black Eyed Peas – “Boom Boom Pow” vs. Benny Benassi – “Satisfaction”
• Bobby “Blue” Bland – “Ain’t No Love In The Heart Of The City” vs. 2Pac – “How Do You Want It”
• Bobby “Blue” Bland – “Ain’t No Love In The Heart Of The City” vs. Connie Price & The Keystones – “Fuzz And Them”
• Boogie Down Productions – “Jack Of Spades” vs. David Bowie – “Let’s Dance” (Produced and mixed by DJ Shadow)
• Chuck Brown & The Soul Searchers – “Bustin’ Loose” vs. The Zombies – “Time Of The Season” (Produced and mixed by DJ Shadow)
• Chuck Brown & The Soul Searchers – “Bustin’ Loose” vs. Young MC – “Bust A Move”
• Common – “Universal Mind Control (U.M.C.)” vs. Masta Ace – “Jeep A** Gutter (Aaron LaCrate & Debonair Samir ” (Produced and mixed by The Scratch Perverts)
• Cypress Hill – “Insane In The Brain” vs. Classics IV – “Spooky”
• Cypress Hill – “Insane In The Brain” vs. David Axelrod – “The Edge”
• Daft Punk – “Around The World” vs. Young MC – “Bust A Move”
• Daft Punk – “Da Funk” vs. N.A.S.A. – “Strange Enough ft. Karen O, ODB & Fatlip”
• Daft Punk – “Megamix 1″
• Daft Punk – “Megamix 2″
• Daft Punk – “Robot Rock” vs. Hashim – “Al Naafyish (The Soul)” (Produced and mixed by The Scratch Perverts)
• Daft Punk – “Robot Rock” vs. Queen – “We Will Rock You”
• Daft Punk – “Short Circuit” vs. Boogie Down Productions – “Jack Of Spades”
• Daft Punk – “Technologic” vs. Gary Numan – “Cars”
• Daft Punk – “Television Rules the Nation” vs. No Doubt – “Hella Good”
• David Axelrod – “The Edge” vs. Eric B. & Rakim – “Eric B. Is President”
• Dizzee Rascal – “Fix Up, Look Sharp” vs. DJ Shadow – “Organ Donor (Extended Overhaul)”
• Dizzee Rascal – “Fix Up, Look Sharp” vs. Justice – “Genesis”
• DJ Shadow – “Six Days (Remix ft. Mos Def)” vs. D-Code – “Annie’s Horn”
• Eminem – “My Name Is” vs. Beck – “Loser”
• Fedde Le Grand – “Put Your Hands Up For Detroit” vs. Sandy Rivera and David Penn – “I Can’t Stop (David Penn Remix)”
• Foo Fighters – “Monkey Wrench” vs. Beastie Boys – “Sabotage” (DJ-Guitar mix)
• Foreigner – “Juke Box Hero” vs. DJ Z-Trip ft. Murs – “DJ Hero” (Produced and mixed by DJ Z-Trip)
• Foreigner – “Juke Box Hero” vs. DJ Z-Trip ft. Murs – “DJ Hero” (DJ-Guitar mix, produced and mixed by DJ Z-Trip)
• Gang Starr – “Just To Get A Rep” vs. Mobb Deep – “Shook Ones, Pt 2″ (Produced and mixed by J. Period)
• Gorillaz – “Feel Good Inc.” vs. Blondie – “Atomic”
• Grandmaster Flash’s – “Boom” vs. “Tap” (Produced and mixed by Grandmaster Flash)
• Grandmaster Flash, DJ Kool, DJ Demo – “Here Comes My DJ” vs. Gary Numan – “Cars” (Produced and mixed by Grandmaster Flash)
• Gwen Stefani – “Hollaback Girl” vs. Gorillaz – “Feel Good Inc.”
• Gwen Stefani – “Hollaback Girl” vs. InDeep “Last Night A DJ Saved My Life” (Produced and mixed by DJ AM)
• Gwen Stefani – “Hollaback Girl” vs. Rick James – “Give It To Me”
• Herbie Hancock – “Rockit” Beat Juggle
• Herbie Hancock – “Rockit” vs. N.E.R.D. – “Lapdance” (Produced and mixed by Grandmaster Flash)
• InDeep – “Last Night A DJ Saved My Life” vs. Cameo – “Word Up!”
• Jackson 5 – “I Want You Back” vs. Gang Starr – “Just To Get A Rep” (Produced and mixed by DJ Yoda)
• Jackson 5 – “I Want You Back” vs. Third Eye Blind – “Semi-Charmed Life” (DJ-Guitar mix)
• Jackson 5 – “I Want You Back” vs. Third Eye Blind – “Semi-Charmed Life”
• JAY-Z feat. Pharrell – “Change Clothes” vs. 2Pac – “All Eyez on Me”
• JAY-Z – “Izzo (H.O.V.A.)” vs. Eminem – “My Name Is”
• JAY-Z – “Izzo (H.O.V.A.)” vs. Jackson 5 – “I Want You Back”
• JAY-Z – “Excuse Me Miss” vs. Rick James – “Give It To Me”
• Jean Knight – “Mr. Big Stuff” vs. Masta Ace – “Born To Roll”
• Jurassic 5 – “Jayou” vs. Billy Squier – “The Big Beat”
• Jurassic 5 – “Jayou” vs. Herbie Hancock – “Rockit”
• Kid Cudi – “Day ‘N’ Nite” vs. Black Eyed Peas – “Boom Boom Pow”
• Kool Moe Dee – “How Ya Like Me Now” vs. Reel 2 Real featuring The Mad Stuntman – “I Like To Move It”
• Little Richard – “Tutti Frutti” vs. Shlomo – “Beats” (Produced and mixed by DJ Yoda)
• M.I.A. – “Paper Planes” vs. Eric B. & Rakim – “Eric B. Is President” (Produced and mixed by The Scratch Perverts)
• M.I.A. – “Paper Planes” vs. Wale – “Lookin’ At Me”
• Marvin Gaye – “I Heard It Through The Grapevine” vs. David Bowie – “Let’s Dance”
• Marvin Gaye – “I Heard It Through The Grapevine” vs. Gorillaz – “Feel Good Inc.”
• Motörhead – “Ace Of Spades” vs. Noisia – “Groundhog” (DJ-Guitar mix)
• N.A.S.A. – “Strange Enough ft. Karen O, ODB & Fatlip” vs. Isaac Hayes – “Theme From Shaft”
• Noisia – “Groundhog” Beat Juggle (Produced and mixed by The Scratch Perverts)
• Paul van Dyk – “Nothing But You” vs. Sandy Rivera and David Penn – “I Can’t Stop (David Penn Remix)”
• Public Enemy – “Shut ‘Em Down” vs. Beck – “Where It’s At”
• Public Enemy ft. Zakk Wylde – “Bring The Noise 20XX” vs. Justice – “Genesis” (Produced and mixed by DJ Z-Trip)
• Public Enemy featuring Zakk Wylde – “Bring The Noise 20XX” (DJ-Guitar mix)
• Q-Tip – “Good Thang” vs. Billy Squier – “The Big Beat” (Produced and mixed by J. Period)
• Queen – “Another One Bites The Dust” vs. Beastie Boys – “Brass Monkey” (Produced and mixed by DJ Z-Trip)
• Queen – “Another One Bites The Dust” vs. Daft Punk – “Da Funk”
• Rihanna – “Disturbia” vs. Kid Sister – “Control”
• Rihanna – “Disturbia” vs. The Killers – “Somebody Told Me” (DJ-Guitar mix)
• Rihanna – “Disturbia” vs. The Trammps – “Disco Inferno”
• Shlomo – “Beats” vs. Billy Squier – “The Big Beat”
• Street Sweeper Social Club – “Fight! Smash! Win!” vs. Beastie Boys – “Intergalactic” (DJ-Guitar mix)
• Tears For Fears – “Shout” vs. DJ Shadow – “Six Days (Remix ft. Mos Def)”
• Tears For Fears – “Shout” vs. Eric B. & Rakim – “Eric B. Is President” (Produced and mixed by DJ Jazzy Jeff)
• Tears For Fears – “Shout” vs. Eric Prydz – “Pjanoo”
• The Aranbee Pop Orchestra – “Bittersweet Symphony (Instrumental)” vs. LL Cool J – “Rock The Bells” (Produced and mixed by DJ Jazzy Jeff)
• The Scratch Perverts Beats and Pieces (Produced and mixed by The Scratch Perverts)
• The Killers – “Somebody Told Me” vs. Eric Prydz – “Pjanoo”
• Vanilla Ice – “Ice Ice Baby” vs. MC Hammer – “U Can’t Touch This”
• Vanilla Ice – “Ice Ice Baby” vs. Paula Abdul – “Straight Up”
• Wale – “Lookin’ At Me” vs. Black Eyed Peas ft. Tippa Irie – “Hey Mama”
• Weezer – “Beverly Hills” vs. Evidence, The Alchemist, Aceyalone, Rakaa & 88 Keys – “Fresh Rhymes And Videotape” (DJ-Guitar mix)
• Wild Cherry – “Play That Funky Music” vs. Gang Starr – “Just To Get A Rep” (DJ-Guitar mix)

Now all you need is the right outfit, and you can be rocking (mixing?) out like this.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

[via Joystiq]

The on-the-go version includes a variety of songs, and may even support DLC–no confirmation yet either way. Game modes will include Quickplay and Tour Mode, and even multiplayer, for those who are ready to rock in groups. Here’s the list of included tracks:

• 30 Seconds to Mars – “Attack”
• 30 Seconds to Mars – “The Kill”
• AFI – “Girl’s Not Grey”
• Angels & Airwaves – “It Hurts”
• Beastie Boys – “Sabotage”
• Blink-182 – “All the Small Things”
• Blondie – “Hanging on the Telephone”
• Finley – “Tutto E’Possibile”
• Foo Fighters – “Learn to Fly”
• Foo Fighters – “Everlong”
• George Thorogood and the Destroyers – “Bad to the Bone”
• Jethro Tull – “Hymn #A43″
• Joan Jett – “Bad Reputation”
• Lynyrd Skynyrd – “Simple Man”
• Motorhead – “Ace of Spades”
• Rise Against – “Give It All”
• Silversun Pickups – “Lazy Eye”
• Smashing Pumpkins – “Cherub Rock”
• Steve Miller Band – “Take the Money and Run”
• Squeeze – “Tempted”
• The All American Rejects – “Move Along”
• The Go Go’s – “We Got The Beat”
• The James Gang – “Funk No. 49″
• The Pixies – “Debaser”

Sadly, there will be no tiny plastic instruments. That would have been pretty awesome.

[via Game|Life]

I may sound a little over-enthusiastic in the above… but probably only if you haven’t experienced the highly addictive craziness that is Lumines. Q Entertainment’s wild puzzler looks good, sounds good, and will imprint itself upon your brain and reign there forever. And it’s coming to the iPhone! Pricing and firm release date have not yet been announced, but sometimes, the news is enough.

And just in case you’d rather experience Lumines via XBLA or the PSN store, the downloadable versions are about to get their prices slashed. Truly, there’s a little something for (almost) everyone in this news.

[via Joystiq]

The objective of PixelPop is simple. You just stand there in your hot pink Japanese super hero leotard, gyrating your hips to the music. Watermelons fly by and you karate chop them as they whiz past. Sounds like a typical day to me.

All you do is click the mouse to the beat of the music to chop them in half. Simple enough, right? As the game progresses, the fruit starts flying fast and furiously, and the the watermelons are replaced with just slightly more elusive apples. Oh yeah, and if you happen to try and karate-chop one of those flying bombs – here’s what you’ll see…

So what are you waiting for? Head on over to Nitrome and play some PixelPop now.

Joystiq recently posted an “unofficial” full list of the songs from the game, a list that’s looking more and more un-unofficial all the time, considering that all 22 of the new songs were on that early list. But even if every other song is a mistake (unlikely), with half the tracks out in the open, there’s plenty of info available for anyone who might be on the fence over buying yet another Guitar Hero installment.

Here’s the list of the confirmed tracks, including the new songs:

• Attack! Attack! UK – “You And Me”
• Band Of Horses – “Cigarettes, Wedding Bands”
• Beastie Boys – “Gratitude”
• Beck – “Gamma Ray”
• Billy Squier – “Lonely Is The Night”
• Blur – “Song 2″
• Bon Jovi – “You Give Love A Bad Name”
• The Bronx – “Six Days A Week”
• Children Of Bodom – “Done With Everything, Die For Nothing”
• Coldplay – “In My Place”
• Darker My Love – “Blue Day”
• Darkest Hour – “Demon(s)”
• David Bowie – “Fame”
• Deep Purple – “Woman From Tokyo (’99 Remix)”
• The Duke Spirit – “Send A Little Love Token”
• Elliott Smith – “L.A.”
• Elton John – “Saturday Night’s Alright (For Fighting)”
• Face To Face – “Disconnected”
• Garbage – “Only Happy When It Rains”
• Iggy Pop – “Lust For Life (Live)”
• Jeff Beck – “Scatterbrain (Live)”
• John Mellencamp – “Hurts So Good”
• Kaiser Chiefs – “Never Miss A Beat”
• Kings Of Leon – “Sex On Fire”
• Kiss – “Shout It Out Loud”
• Love and Rockets – “Mirror People”
• My Morning Jacket – “One Big Holiday”
• Nirvana – “Lithium (Live)”
• The Police – “So Lonely”
• Queens Of The Stone Age – “Make It Wit Chu”
• Rammstein – “Du Hast”
• The Rolling Stones – “Sympathy For The Devil”
• Rose Hill Drive – “Sneak Out”
• Santana – “No One To Depend On (Live)”
• Sonic Youth – “Incinerate”
• Screaming Trees – “Nearly Lost You”
• Sublime – “What I Got”
• The Sword – “Maiden, Mother & Crone”
• Thin Lizzy – “Jailbreak”
• Thrice – “Deadbolt”
• Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers – “American Girl”
• Tom Petty – “Runnin’ Down A Dream”
• Vampire Weekend – “A-Punk”
• The White Stripes – “Blue Orchid”
• Wolfmother – “Back Round”

[via Joystiq]

At this point, I would typically make fun of the silliness (and potential awesomeness) of this title, but I’m distracted by the Jack White-ness of the above character. The combination of guitar and outfit is a little too evocative, and Mr. White has been known to wear a few ill-fitting hats here and there over the years. But the necklace throws it all off (though not quite as hilariously as the LEGO chest hair in another screenshot. So instead, it seems they’re just going with “minifig rock dudes who look like they might be actual rock dudes.” That’s a fair approach.

Oh yeah. Chest hair.

So Jack White-ness (and my own personal White Stripes obsession) aside, it looks as though the LEGO and Rock Band franchises will both be well represented here in a fun combination that should add a new dimension to music gaming.

A partial track list was revealed as well, and it’s likely we’ll see more announcements as we get closer to the game’s release date.

• Blur, “Song 2″
• Carl Douglas, “Kung Fu Fighting”
• Europe, “The Final Countdown”
• Good Charlotte, “Boys and Girls”
• Pink, “So What”

[EDGE Online via NeoGAF]

When Japanese game developer Yuji Naka, the man behind Sonic the Hedgehog and Nights, first started talking about Let’s Tap, it was called a game “even penguins” could play, and that it was played controller-free. It’s easy to understand something like Donkey Konga, with the original game’s bongo peripherals, but this is some sort of Finger-Tapping Hero business that can be difficult to understand. Fortunately, there are some great trailers available, complete with catchy theme music.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Let’s Tap was released in mid-December in Japan to a lukewarm response, but the game is being given a second chance in the rest of the world with a rumored North American release on the way.

[61FPS via NeoGAF]

DJ Hero has been on the radar for quite some time, ever since the trademark turned up last year. And while the title has yet to be officially announced, Activision CEO Bobby Kotick recently confirmed not only the game’s existence, but that it was due this year.

Gameplay in DJ Hero is said to be similar to that in Guitar Hero, and the game may even include sections in which players can use a guitar controller. That way, if you don’t already have one, you’ve got a reason to buy one. It’s brilliant!

[CNBC via Joystiq]

With music games rocking the industry and raking in the cash, it’s no surprise someone like Webber wants to increase his mountain of cash get in on the action, particularly considering that he’s expanded before, notably with BBC shows and American Idol episodes. Expect a lot of singing, and maybe even a little auditioning when the titles debut.

Masquerade!
Paper faces on parade…
Masquerade!
Hide your face so the world will never find you…

Oh, you know you want it.

[PaidContent.org via Game|Life]

The Peterson BB-1 BodyBeat keeps you on beat by sending tiny little pulses down the wire to your fingertip. This silent method of learning the rhythm lets you concentrate on playing your music, instead of listening for clicks or watching for blinking LEDs.

So if your rhythm needs a little fine-tuning (or you just have none whatsoever), head on over to Sweetwater Music and get on the beat. The Peterson BodyBeat retails for just under $100 USD.

The Yellow Drum Machine drives around the room looking for things that might make an interesting sound when tapped on. If he likes what he hears, he starts going to town with a little riff. Once he’s bored, he moves on, looking for something else to make noise with.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

As the ‘bot drives around, he avoids obstacles until it detects an object that looks like it might be a nice musical surface, takes some audio samples, and if he finds the sound to be pleasing, composes a little matching rhythm using the original sound sample and plays a little song.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Created by robot hacker fritsl, the little drummer dude is cobbled together from a variety of odd parts, including a PICAXE 28 microcontroller, this sound sampler, a couple of geared motors, an old wood cheese crate and plenty of hot glue.

[Let's Make Robots via MAKE]

Designed by Hannes Hesse, Andrew McDiarmid and Rosie Han – students at UC Berkeley’s School of Information, the Bubblegum Sequencer identifies the locations of strategically-placed gumballs to create rhythm tracks.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Simply place the appropriate color-coded gumball into the position in the sequence you want, and a computer takes care of generating sounds to match their placement. A camera underneath the table detects the position and color of each gumball, then automatically maps the colors to notes and the appropriate audio samples in the computer.

The best part – when you’re done jamming out, you can chew on your creation and blow some bubbles.

Some of my favorites include “Cheap Cheap the Cooking Chicken’s Rap” and “Instructor Mooselini’s Rap”

So what are you waiting for? It’s time to add these to your MP3 player today! The songs are available courtesy of Sony and PSPFanboy in this .ZIP archive (19.5MB download.)

[via Kotaku]

The digital timepiece is designed for aspiring musicians, DJs and anyone else who wants to know how many beats per minute are in a rhythm. Simply enter BPM mode, then tap away on the large metal plate on the front of the watch. The watch will then calculate the approximate beats per minute you’ve been tapping. In BPM mode, the watch also cranks out some goofy messages on its scrolling display, designed to inspire your jam, including the classic “the roof is on fire!”

While I’m not 100% sure on the real world application for the watch, it is pretty cool looking. It’s got a nice metal case with black accents and a black leather band. Plus, its bright white-on-black LCD display (backlit by a white LED) is much easier to see than most inverse displays I’ve seen. It’s even got a mini-flashlight mode to help DJs find their CDs in the dark (that is, if you’re still playing CDs — that’s so 1995!)

Best of all, the watch is just ¥7,900 (appx. $65 USD), so what’s not to like.