The proposed Japanese version of Rock Band was going to be THE rhythm game for fans of Japanese pop and rock bands. The project first came to light back in 2008, and now three years later it's still nowhere to be seen.

We'll probably won't ever see it as Harmonix and co-developer Q-Entertainment have already put it on the backburner, but Harmonix CEO Alex Rigopulos says never say never. Harmonix still wants to do it at some point in the future, but right now there are a few big roadblocks that have pushed it to a lower rung on the priority ladder.

In a panel interview during this year's Tokyo Game Show, Rigopulos explained that "very difficult" licensing issues as well as having to increase peripheral manufacturing kept the project from becoming reality. These issues were compounded by the space limitations in typical Japanese homes.

"Even for people who have the space, Japanese families tend to not make a lot of noise in their homes," said the Harmonix CEO. "They generally have a quieter lifestyle at home 'cause they're living in closer quarters, and also Japanese families don't entertain in their homes as much."

Bringing the game to arcades instead would solve the space requirements, but Rigopulos believes it would compromise the inherent musicality of the game experience: "One of the challenges is that arcades are very, very noisy, and so if you're trying to make something that's really a musical experience and you've got 37 other arcade machines all turned up to full volume, it kind of impairs the musicality of the experience."

Adding Japanese tracks to a predominantly Western game like Rock Band a decidedly niche project, but it's definitely got an audience just waiting for it. Contending with licensing issues can get tough, however, so it wouldn't be surprising at all if it never does see the light of day.

Via [Joystiq]

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