Rock Band 3 To Feature Real-Time Pitch Correction

G4 received an interesting press release moments ago from a company called iZotope. iZotope is a middleware company that is licensing technology to Harmonix for use in Rock Band 3 -- technology that will allow in-game pitch correction and other vocal effects while playing Rock Band 3.

Here's the description of how iZotope's tech will be used in the game: "Rock Band 3 provides players with the option to enable vocal effects commonly used in the music industry, assisting players to sing on key more easily with pitch correction and bringing the tools that pros use into the living room."

"The ability to have pitch correction in real-time helps to enhance the vocal gameplay and players' in-game performance in Rock Band," said Eran Egozy, CTO and co-founder of Harmonix. "We're excited to feature iZotope's technology and this new middleware in Rock Band 3 so that our players can enjoy the type of vocal effects that professional rock stars utilize for live stage performances in their homes this holiday."

I called iZotope to get some more details.

"The goal is to help vocalists sound better, not for all kinds of craziness," Alex Westner Business Development Manager at iZotope told me. "We make pro effects for real muscians, and we're bringing those real tools into the game."

I asked if we'd be able to get a T-Pain effect in Rock Band 3 and Westner said, "That's something you have to talk to Harmonix about. We can't really comment on what Harmonix is going to do in the game. But it's possible."

The goal, according to Westner is to make listening to a Rock Band singer with less-than-stellar chops more pleasant by correcting their screeches on-the-fly. "It will get some of the more shy people playing the game," he said.