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S'OK, PS3 owners. When McDonalds inked their little Rock Band advertising deal with Harmonix and MTV, they weren't just catering to the 360-owning demographic. They're thinking of you, too. So while the initial announcement may have come from Microsoft, MTV have since contacted us to let us know that the deal - which sees a range of songs on sale for 50% off - will apply for Rock Band on the PS3 as well.
Cheap Rock Band Tracks Are For PS3 Owners As Well
S'OK, PS3 owners. When McDonalds inked their little Rock Band advertising deal with Harmonix and MTV, they weren't just catering to the 360-owning demographic. They're thinking of you, too. So while the initial announcement may have come from Microsoft, MTV have since contacted us to let us know that the deal - which sees a range of songs on sale for 50% off - will apply for Rock Band on the PS3 as well.
rock band
Rock Band Tracks Go Cheap Til June
What do you get when MTV, Harmonix and McDonalds decide some Rock Band-themed advertising is in order? You get cheap Rock Band tracks, that's what. Starting May 6 (tomorrow) and running until June 2, eight Rock Band tracks will be offered - two per week - for the bargain price of 80 MS points each. This week, it'll be "Crushcrushcrush" by Paramore, along with Boston's "Rock 'n Roll Band", with later weeks including Grateful Dead's "Sugar Magnolia", Faith No More's "We Care A Lot" and Lynyrd Skynrd's "Gimme Three Steps". No word yet on whether this includes PS3 owners as well, hopefully we'll hear more about that tomorrow.Grab selected Rock Band tracks for only 80 points each [Microsoft]
rock band
Wii And PS2 Get Rock Band Track Packs In July
PlayStation 2 Rock Band owners have to be sick of playing the same songs over and over again by now, and with Wii owners eagerly awaiting the June 22nd release of the game, the question of delivering downloadable content to the online-handicapped systems is finally being addressed - offline.
MTV Games, Harmonix, and EA will be releasing the Rock Band Track Pack Volume 1 for the PS2 and the Wii on July 15th. $29.99 at your local game purveyor nets you an additional 20 songs for the game, chosen from the DLC already available on the PS3 and 360. It's an okay mix I suppose, with some of my favorites - NIN's "March of the Pigs", Faith No More's "We Care A Lot", and Weezer's "Buddy Holly", but I much prefer being able to pick and choose my songs rather than be handed a chunk all at once.
I am going to assume these packs are standalone, going by the size of the files and both systems lacking a hard disk. Still, more Rock Band fun is more Rock Band fun, right? Hit the jump for the full track listing, and see where you fall between delighted and disappointed.
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rock band
Rock Band Sells 3 Million Games, 10 Million Songs
Rock Band's new in-game store was introduced for two reasons. One was to make things easier for you as a shopper. The other, more important (for MTV/Harmonix) reason was to make sure you just buy more damn songs. Which seems to have worked a treat, because Viacom have announced that ten million Rock Band songs have now been downloaded, up four million from March 20. Which was only a month-and-a-half ago! They also report that they've sold three million copies of the game itself, which when you consider the vast majority of those would have been bundle sales, is a number that must have the accounts types at Viacom, MTV and Harmonix tickled seven shades of pink.Rock Band Ships 3 Million; 10 Million Songs Downloaded [GameDaily]
rock band
Rock Band Drives Viacom Profits Skyward
Rock Band has been very, very good to MTV parent company Viacom, who announced that first quarter profits rose 33% based mainly off the sales of the sales of the title, along with higher advertising revenue at MTV Networks. The media conglomerate also enjoyed a revenue increase of 15% for the period, surpassing analyst expectations at $3.1 billion. Between having one of the hottest games on the market and their Iron Man movie opening this weekend (saw it last night, and it was amazing!), it's not hard to imagine Viacom's executive chairman Sumner Redstone rocking out to Blue Oyster Cult in celebration, as the Reuters article suggests. What is hard is trying to wipe the mental picture from your head. Thanks a bunch, Reuters. More »
accessories
Rock Band Stand Reviewed, Declared Decent
In most households, Rock Band has destroyed any semblance of a classy living room. But this stand by Dude Thing Creations hopes to organize your life and justify your tax bracket with their Rock Band stand (for everything but drums). Running $55 and constructed of wood, Gizmodo had a hands-on and declared, "It works! propping up your guitars against this thing is much classier than leaning them against walls, cabinets, chairs, dogs or ottomans. There's even two sets of hooks on either side so you can wrap your cables around them for even more neatness."
Anticipating the comments, I'm going to point out that, yes, you could make such a contraption at home for less money. But given what we've already spent on Rock Band, what's another fitty?
Lightning Review: Rock Band Stand Keeps Your Guitars, Controllers and Mics in Check [Gizmodo]
announcements
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Rock Band's First Album Announced, Our Harmonix Q&A
Today, Harmonix has officially announced the first album that will hit the Rock Band store: Judas Priest's Screaming For Vengeance. Arriving April 22/24 on Xbox 360/PS3, this10-track album will cost $14.99 with individual tracks being offered for $1.99 apiece. Then in May, The Cars' self-titled record will become the second full-album release from Rock Band. The Pixies' Doolittle will follow in June.
While this is precisely the news that all Rock Band fans have been waiting to hear, it raises a ton of new questions. Is $14.99 the new standard album price? And how often can we expect new albums? Luckily, we had the chance to discuss the announcement with Harmonix's CEO Alex Rigopulos, who was more than happy to answer all of our fanboy questions. We posted an abridged, cleaned (sans-Mark's-question-stuttering-and-boring-parts) Q&A after the jump.
rock band
Rock Band Wii Bonus Tracks Aren't Much Of A Bonus
So the Wii gets five "bonus" tracks on its version of Rock Band, does it? Five exclusive tracks, perhaps, to ease the pain over the fact the system won't support DLC? Course not. The five tracks are simply a quick, cheap workaround to that DLC problem, as they're all currently available as DLC for both the 360 and PS3. The "bonus" tracks are:
Oasis - Don't Look Back In Anger
The All-American Rejects - Dirty Little Secret
The B-52s - Roam
The Police - Roxanne
The Ramones - Rockaway Beach
Eh. Remember, though, if you're feeling a little let down by this (and indeed the whole DLC/Wii mess in general), don't blame Harmonix, they're on your side. Blame Nintendo.
[Pic]
rock band
Mötley Crüe Still Alive, Releasing New Song Via Rock Band DLC
Can't let the competition get one up on you! After Def Leppard announced last week that one of their new songs will be debuting in Guitar Hero III, Mötley Crüe have today been wheeled out by the Rock Band camp, with news that their latest single, "Saints of Los Angeles", will be premiering not on the radio or TV but as a piece of Rock Band DLC. I'm trying to get excited over this, but really, wheeling out new stuff from these decaying old bands really doesn't do it for me. I want "Kickstart my Heart", not some new, inevitably-rubbish song.New Motley Crue Song to Debut as Rock Band DLC [Shacknews]
dlc
Rock Band DLC Brings More Classic Rawk And PS3 IOUs
For those who are looking to drop some of your extra dollars—raining from the trees and flooding your gutters—on DLC, enjoy this week's Rock Band update. The Classic Rock pack includes:
"Call Me" by Blondie (master)
"Simple Man" by Lynyrd Skynyrd (master)
"Message in Bottle" by the Police (master)
Also of note, Harmonix reports that PlayStation 3 owners should get these new tracks this Thursday when the Sony's store comes back online, along with any other back tracks that have been missing from their store.
DLC Week of 4/15 [Rock Band Forums via GameInformer]
rock band
Harmonix On Europe: Let Them Eat Cake
Rock Band's impending European launch isn't getting the kind of PR Harmonix and MTV would like. Something about the price, or something. Well, feeling the sting of the internet barbs that have been slung their way, Harmonix have spoken out in defence of their pricing structure, with VP Greg LoPicolo posting on the official boards a ton of reasons why the game's going to be so expensive. Some seem entirely plausible, some a little less plausible (the guitars are made in China? They were for the US edition, too), all lead to him concluding his defence with this:...we're not gouging you, primarily because doing so doesn't serve our interests. We can only build our franchise if you buy our games. You may conclude that Rock Band isn't worth the price charged, and that is your prerogative. But it's not magically going to get cheaper because you wish it to be so.Oh Greg. I feel for you, because you have no other choice but to say that. But deep down, surely you know it's not going to stick with consumers. All those arguments about VAT and shipping, all your desire to steadfastly defend your product, they're all ignoring the key issue on the consumer's end: this price is straight-up unaffordable. They couldn't give two shits how much it costs to ship some plastic guitars from China if they walk into a store and see that a single game will cost them more than a Wii or Arcade 360.
Commentary on Euro Pricing Flamefest [Rock Band Forums]
mods
Rock Band Stompbox Mod Allows Unfettered Hip Thrusts
Not that this has ever happened to us, but sometimes, we've heard, if you're like jumping around and stuff, while playing Rock Band/Guitar Hero—once again, not that we'd know—it's theoretically possible for your Overdrive/Star Power to be accidentally activated. What can a gamer do in such a situation? One industrious modder cracked the controller's case, removed the Overdrive activation mechanisms completely and then wired a guitar effects pedal to the circuit board. Now, he's able to get really crazy while playing Rock Band—if he's into that sort of thing—not that we'd know.
Sure, some might call it overkill. But we're calling it just enough kill. Hit the link for the full tutorial. Images seem to have been pulled (probably for bandwidth purposes).
Rock Band Stompbox [Bashhh via Engadget]
rock band
Harmonix to Nintendo: Wii Need A Hard Drive
When we heard that Rock Band was coming to the Wii without DLC, we'd long since anticipated the problem, our psychic powers stemming from the Wii's obvious lack of decently proportioned internal hard drive. Now Harmonix's design director Rob Kay has confirmed that the Wii's lack of storage was indeed the reason Rock Band Wii will not have DLC:Come on Nintendo, we need a hard drive.He continued: More »
rock band
Rock Band European Release Doesn't Include Australia
Hey, Australia. All that fuss over Rock Band that went down last night? You know, about the release, and then the price? Don't worry about it. None of it applies to you. While European and Australian release dates are normally in-step, for Rock Band they're not, with EA Australia only telling us "There is no announcement on Rock Band for Australia yet". Bummer. Now's as good a time as any to remind you that over Christmas I heard rumours from retailers that thanks to fears over its price the game may not be coming here at all, so between that and the inevitably astronomical price, I'd be getting intimate with the online importing scene if I were you. Just in case.[Pic]
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European Rock Band Tracks Coming To US
Were you drooling over Europe's Rock Band track list, but ultimately happier that you didn't need to buy peripherals separate from the game for an astronomical price? Yeah, we were too. But MTV Games has confirmed that the UK-exclusive tracks will actually be reaching US Xbox 360s and PS3s through optional DLC. A price, a date and just how the powers that be are going to divide up the 9-track list have yet to be divulged. But we're betting that we'll see typical 3-track packs for standard prices.
Hit the jump for the list of tracks that you may or may not be buying.
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rock band
When Rock Band was released in the US, it cost $169, and came with the game, guitar, microphone and drums. Not a bad deal. But in Europe, on May 23? Good heavens. The game won't come in a single bundle. Instead, there's two products available at lauch. One is called the "Instrument Edition", which costs £130/€170. It comes with a guitar, drums, and mic. That's it. No game. No, if you want the game as well, it'll cost you another £50/€70. That brings the cost of the game and three instruments to £180/€240. Or, USD$378. Three hundred and seventy-eight dollars. I know, things are always more expensive in Europe, but...damn. Whether it's MTV or EA behind this price, you can take that price, and you can stick it up your arse.
EA clarifies Rock Band pricing [Eurogamer]
Europe Totally Fucked Over On Rock Band Pricing
When Rock Band was released in the US, it cost $169, and came with the game, guitar, microphone and drums. Not a bad deal. But in Europe, on May 23? Good heavens. The game won't come in a single bundle. Instead, there's two products available at lauch. One is called the "Instrument Edition", which costs £130/€170. It comes with a guitar, drums, and mic. That's it. No game. No, if you want the game as well, it'll cost you another £50/€70. That brings the cost of the game and three instruments to £180/€240. Or, USD$378. Three hundred and seventy-eight dollars. I know, things are always more expensive in Europe, but...damn. Whether it's MTV or EA behind this price, you can take that price, and you can stick it up your arse.EA clarifies Rock Band pricing [Eurogamer]
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