Blizzard Arcade Collection Could Prove Problematic for Streamers
This year's BlizzCon kicked the weekend off with various announcements, including titles aimed at the nostalgia of long-time Blizzard fans. Burning Crusade Classic, an expansion to World of Warcraft Classic, aims to give veteran players and curious newcomers the chance to experience the first expansion to the popular MMO the way it was in 2007. Diablo 2: Resurrected, led by former developer Vicarious Visions, was officially announced with the promise of keeping the core Diablo 2 gameplay intact. To cap off the nostalgia trip, the Blizzard Arcade Collection was announced and released for all major platforms.
The collection includes The Lost Vikings, Rock N Roll Racing, and Blackthorne. Following its release, many fans shared their experiences with the classic titles by streaming them on Twitch. While The Lost Vikings and Blackthorne are perfectly fine, Rock N Roll Racing comes with a caveat that potential streamers need to be aware of.
As the name suggests, Rock N Roll Racing's main draw is its inclusion of classic rock music blended with fast-paced car combat racing. This served as the precedent for future titles such as Brutal Legend and Guitar Hero. However, those who stream Rock N Roll Racing were warned by Blizzard developer Adam Fletcher to not stream it with music playing, as the music featured is licensed and "not cleared for streaming."
Originally released for the SNES and SEGA Genesis, with a GBA port later, Rock N Roll Racing as part of the Blizzard Classic Arcade series features licensed music from various artists in the form of MIDI tracks. Here is the list of songs featured in the game:
- "Bad to the Bone" by George Thorogood and the Destroyers
- "Highway Star" by Deep Purple
- "Paranoid" by Black Sabbath
- "Peter Gunn" by Henry Mancini
- "Born to be Wild" by Steppenwolf
- "Radar Love" by Golden Earring (Genesis exclusive)
Alongside the original versions, new definitive versions of the three games are also included in the Blizzard Arcade Collection. In the case of Rock N Roll Racing, its definitive version has high-quality artist performances of the game's soundtrack. While the remastered songs aren't cleared for streaming, this also includes the original MIDI soundtrack as well. The warning issued out to Twitch streamers came hours after another DMCA-related incident involving Metallica performing on Twitch for Blizzard.
During a performance by the heavy metal band, the audio was cut, transitioning to royalty-free music in stark contrast to what the band is known for. The music replacement was done courtesy of TwitchGaming in response to potential DMCA claims, however the music wasn't censored on the official Blizzard channel. The warning from Blizzard was more than likely a way to cover its bases as well as any potential streamers who would stream Rock N Roll Racing on the Blizzard Arcade Collection.
Blizzard Arcade Collection is available now on PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.
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