mind in rewind

last_dread

KaneRobot

AgainstOne

AgainstOne

I know, was just adding to what you said, is all!

EnigmaNemesis

Nitemare1

Week of November 20, 2007: (*--asterisk denotes a cover version)
Metallica Pack
"Ride the Lightning"
"Blackened"
"And Justice for All"

The Police Pack
"Can't Stand Losing You"
"Synchronicity II"
"Roxanne"

Queens of the Stone Age Pack
"3's and 7's"
"Little Sister"
"Sick Sick Sick"

Individual Tracks
"Fortunate Son" by Creedence Clearwater Revival (Cover)
"Juke Box Hero" by Foreigner (Cover)
"Bang a Gong (Get It On)" by T-Rex (Cover)
"My Sharona" by The Knack (Cover)
"Cherry Bomb" by The Runaways (Cover)
"Joker & The Thief"--Wolfmother

Week of November 27, 2007
David Bowie Pack
"Moonage Daydream"
"Heroes" (Cover)
"Queen Bitch" (Cover)

Week of December 4, 2007
Black Sabbath Pack (Covers)
"N.I.B."
"Sweet Leaf"
"War Pigs"

Week of December 11, 2007
Punk Pack
"Rockaway Beach" by The Ramones
"I Fought the Law" by The Clash
"Ever Fallen In Love" by Buzzcocks (Cover)

Week of December 18, 2007
Individual Tracks
"My Iron Lung" by Radiohead
"Buddy Holly" by Weezer
"Brass in Pocket" by The Pretenders (Cover)

ShaggyB

The songs are $1-3 cos they can be. Activision proved it w/ the GH2 DLC and the standard was set. As abysmal as the prices were, people bought it, so here we are. Happy or not.

burgerdog

I can't imagine that there's a lot of profit to go around on the $1 song pricing, given the downloadable music price points and the amount of work that needs to go into developing a Rock Band track.

My guess (and it's a total stab in the dark) is that a song's going to be sold for $1 when the rights holders agree to make minimal profit off of the song for the purposes of publicity. I remember reading about Harmonix being receptive to bands who wanted their music in Rock Band. It seems like that would be a great way for smaller bands to get some mainstream exposure, which would hopefully lead to actual profit via album sales.

Heck, if I was in a band, just knowing that my music was being played in Rock Band would be pretty great.

Boy Howdy

Deeds

Saxboy

Unfortunately most of the songs on GH that you unlock are trash, and or can be played it most modes, etc.

Paint it Black, no online co-op, other songs, no quickplay, etc.

And their DLC is rubbish as far as songs are concerned compared to Rock Band's. RB has much better DLC right away.

EnigmaNemesis

EnigmaNemesis

/agree

Neal Peart and/or Vinnie paul kick major ass.

I always said Peart was too good for Rush, he just stood out like a sore thumb. So far beyond what the rest of the band could do. Almost out of place.

That said, I can wait to jam out some Tom Sawyer (since it is a cover and the voice isnt as high pitched). And I hope they would add some Pantera for sick guitar riffs and Vinnie Paul heavy but smooth can playing.

But we all know, "I have a fever, and the only cure is more COWBELL"! Bring on Fear the Reaper!!!!

EnigmaNemesis

gils0n

ビッグ ボス

As I said I was hoping the songs would be closer to the $1.50 range. Yes, I recognize that there is content in the form of 16 "note tracks" being done here. But also recognize that these songs are only available in RB. Unlike a $1 iTunes track I can't toss it on my computer / iPod / what-have-you. That's why I think personally $2 is a bit much -- the price justification due to effort is partially offset by the loss of flexibility.

Still, based on choice alone RB DLC is waaaay ahead of GH3. Price-wise it's just a tad better, but still high enough that I'm not going to buy tons of it -- but at least I can buy only the stuff I really want since they're giving us some choice.

BigWeather

Just for the record once everything is unlocked Guitar Hero 3 has 46 tracks, and 25 bonus tracks.

Nitemare1

And are we gonna have all these songs available for the European release when it comes out?

LoopyChew

GrapenutsRobot

TRT-X

harlock_JDS

wheres the nirvana cd!!

Truepatriot

BY AJACY AT 11/08/07 07:39 PM
so here's a question for you all...
WHICH WOULD YOU RATHER HAVE:
1. 3 song "packs".... $6.00 per pack
2. 1 song ala-carte... $3.00 EACH song

Discuss.

~~

BY ENIGMANEMESIS AT 11/08/07 07:41 PM
@ajacy: Where do you get $3 each song?

~~

BY THENINO85 AT 11/08/07 07:42 PM
@ajacy: I'd rather have whatever you're smoking.

~~

I gotta say I like this pricing scheme, i can't believe people are still whining and saying they should be in the game anyways... wow.

Why did they bother selling mario 2 and mario 3 seperate? why are we paying extra for those games!?!?! They should have been together!!!

What if they raised the price to $200.00.... then would you want those extra songs?

jeez.

ajacy

Cathaoir

Oops.. did I just instigate a.. war..

Ruba

What's more, Harmonix really does seem to be going for the "game as content delivery platform" model. Meaning unlike someone like Apple who can afford to have low margins on content since they're making money hand over fist on the hardware, Harmonix needs a relatively larger margin, since they're actually selling the hardware bundle at a loss (at least initially).

4dSwissCheese

joeymojo

Pegleg Joe

XvCowboyvX

The point of DLC with Rock Band is that this is how they are going to release additional songs. Would you rather they make an incremental title with no new features and just additional songs every year, sorta in the same vein that Madden updates its roster and slaps a new year on the end of the title and sells it on an annual basis? The entire point of this system is you get to avoid paying for expansion pack disks by picking and choosing what additional songs you DO want and having it play for the same game (instead of having GH1/GH2 songs not cross-compatible).

Keeb13r

Entire songs need to be created from scratch when masters aren't available. Once a song is in a separated form, the vocals need to be analyzed for pitch and phonemes that then need to be coded into the game. The guitar track has to be crafted from lead and rhythm so that the best playability in a note chart is achieved. This needs to be done on four difficulties. The exact same goes for the bass and drum tracks. That's 16 encoded tracks. Then you have to split up parts for each track on the head-to-head modes. On top of all this, stage cues and lighting go into each song as well so that the arena works properly in regard to camera work and music alignment. The developers do not do this for free. They have to charge for all this work and then they have to charge more just to come out with a profit. Nobody ever wants to accept this so they go on continuing to naively believe that if the songs are over 50 cents, they're ripping you off. Grow up, people.

You should be thankful that any songs are even going to end up as low as $0.99.

Magnet

And if you actually watch the show you'll see that he started the band with Hetfeild not joined. But he does admit he couldn't play well, but its allot of 'style' not every band needs to have the best drummer ever. it wouldn't have worked with Metalica's style.

Ergophobia

slavefaith

I'm obviously not an expert, but I have seen him do everything Larz has done.

You also realize, of course, that even the band admits (via "Behind the Music") that when Larz joined, it wasn't because he was a great drummer, or even that the other guys in the band liked him. It was because he (and Larz's father) had contacts within the recording industry and a running van that could haul their shit.

He may be better than me. My buddy? No, I don't think so. But that might be that I am bias, since I think Larz is a tool of epic proportions.

PapaBear434

We have been complaining for years on GH DLC. Bitching about availablity, bitching about packs and the costs, bitching about cover bands and not originals.

I think everyone is just being irrational when it comes to the costings, a song on RB and GH are not just the songs ripped, they have to be programmed and copyright costs. On top of that RB has done an amazing job of getting master track which of course has even more of a cost.

If you compare GH to RB, you are looking at one - two tracks on GH to RB's FOUR. RB has also made them cheaper and given us the option of individual song purchase.

RB have dedicated themselves to giving us a never before seen commitment to DLC tracks, a weekly listing. On that release sheet alone it dwarfs the ENTIRE collection of list of GH tracks.

This is not an evil conspiracy by the makers of RB to rip you off for money, would you prefer expansion disks that a released every 6 months - 1 year which is guarenteed to have songs you don't like on it for $50?

This is about really harnessing the technology that Xbox Live and PSN has given gamers this gen. This is not about developers being lazy, the RB boys have taken on a challenge that no-one has had the balls to do up to this point.

To the people who say... oh look at all the tracks that could be in the game... Guess what... if DLC wasn't planned from the start these tracks would have never been on the original disk. Each DLC would have been created in anticipation of DLC purchase, the costs of developing them would have been offset against the possible purchase profits...

See the word possible. Each DLC they create has no guarnatee that it will make a profit, so in turn RB is taking a risk against future earnings providing such deep licensed music.

Even then, while you would assume that packs like metallica would sell gangbusters, we all know how tight (anal-rententive) the Metallica boys are with licensing, and obviously it would have higher costs than some of the lesser known artists.

I think people should stop being so paranoid, and acting like gaming companies owe you something. They are offering hours and hours of replay value that you don't get in many games today.

DLC is not always an evil thing.

slavefaith

Ergophobia

WiggyDee

Silicis_Astrum

noelix

CaptLtrl

kingme

Which (along w/ the DRM) is why I don't buy music online. If they made the songs cheaper, they'd have incrementally more sales, so while the per-song return would be much lower, the overall profit for work that only has to be done once would be greater.

It used to be every single song sold had to be pressed, packaged and shipped, and most online music pricing pretends that's still the case. A similar thing that happened when CDs came out. CDs are cheaper to produce than tapes, but cost more to purchase. Better quality or no, it's an anti-consumer trend and I chose not to support it.

burgerdog

You're getting an inferior version of the song. One that only works in a certain location and with certain hardware. Even in this location, you can't just "listen" to the song. You can only interact with the song one of four ways.

In a semi-competitive market, this inferior product would be worth less than the CD version. As the MP3 player manufacturers know, people will pay downright insane markups for a product that allows mobility, like CDs that can be played anywhere.

Rant: Of course, this pricing is to be expected. The entertainment industry in this country (and I'm guessing other countries, too) is highly uncompetitive. Hence the illogic in pricing and the relative insanity of their business model. They have no incentive to change. Someone needs to take a sledgehammer to them. And it's not going to be the government. Hate to break it to you, but the RIAA and all other entertainment lobbying groups are only going to grow stronger over time. Why? Congressmen value their jobs. You thought the Iraq War was controversial? Imagine how many people would be PISSED if Grey's Anatomy was cancelled and the TV bigwigs blamed Congress. You'd see the entire Congress thrown out over an essentially meaningless turn of events. Democracy at its finest.

thenino85

Where the average song costs $2.

Kirbytheslayer: In-Kirby XMB

Eman311

UH!!

Gunhaver

BOMxAgonyxScenex

metal_dawn

Tell me, how many music companies are going to willing let you sell their song for $1, when other songs are being sold for $3? Maybe at the beginning songs will be $1, but if this thing takes off, you can guarantee that will be a relic of the past.

Even if "the good songs" are only $3, do you really think the record companies are going to let you tell them that Tracks C through Z sucks and should only go for $1, when their "market research" tells them that $2.25 is the best pricing, and they want to stick with that number? Oh yeah, and by the way, they also happen to hold the rights to a bunch of "the good songs" and suddenly are second guessing the whole market, what with piracy and all. Unless maybe you give them some "minor" concessions to restore their faith in your brand?

Face it, this is a recipe for disaster. Apple, much as I personally dislike them, had the power to bargain with the record companies. EA or MTV doesn't have that kind of bargaining ability. MTV is a shill for the record companies, not an adversary, and E.A. is probably just as eager to sell everything for $3 as the music industry is.

You just lost a customer that was willing to sell out 170 clams for your plastic controllers. And maybe even buy a second guitar-shaped controller. You know, one of those early adopters that end up shaping the future of your brand with grassroots viral marketing. Just thought you'd like to know. Then again,it's not like you guys have any real competition in the genre. I can't think of any other games in the "fake musical instrument playing" genre. Certainly none that are pop culture phenomena with universal name recognition, and definately none that are much cheaper than your game.

thenino85

I do however think the pricing is a little high too. It certainly wouldn't stop me if there were songs made available that I REALLY want to play.

metal_dawn

Vone

AgainstOne

AgainstOne

AllKindsOfRalph

AllKindsOfRalph

Solidius

@rcomegys: i'd choose 360 for 2 simple reasons:

1) you can get deals on marketplace point cards (circuit city had them buy-one-get-one-free recently). there are currently no retail cards for PSN, you pay straight up for DLC with your credit card.

2) do you want to be bothered with batteries for a wireless guitar? and the possibility of signal interference or batteries dying in the middle of a song?

AgainstOne

The problem was you could only buy them in packs of 3. You'd get one song you wanted, with limited usage, for essentially $6.

Kirbytheslayer: In-Kirby XMB

Keeb13r

I was a dork.

Also... @EnigmaNemesis: I agree, Rush gets on my nerves quick... they need to do more instrumentals...

Eltigro

No dice, EA, 99¢ is what the market will bear. Or at least it would if the market weren't a screaming horde of idiots.

etho

I am not a huge fan of Rush. Like their music, but the lead singer/bassist is a tad annoying after a while.

But I will say Neal Peart is the best drummer to ever live in our time.

EnigmaNemesis

they were originally going to be used for Guitar Hero 2 DLC, but i'm not into extortion.

AgainstOne

KevvyBear!Rawr!

Atilla_the_Nun

Kirbytheslayer: In-Kirby XMB

When that whole album (which is my fav album of all time) is available color me one happy man.

Now, get on with the Coheed. I would like to see Good Apollo I available in full.

BrywalkerX

Also, brilliant use of ASCII characters to make a symbol of rock, sir.

BlueFlame

DigiMish

If they made the songs 50 cents, i'd buy pretty much everything that would ever be offered. at a buck to 3, I may get Ride the Lightning, but on principle am going to avoid buying any DLC.

Why is it that every company that offers DLC completely blows it? Make a bunch of novelty downloads for pennies. Eventually some game is going to do this and make tons of money, but until then we just have to grab our ankles apparently.

burgerdog

Ideally it'd be $1.50ish per son (flat rate) with a discount for the 3-packs (say $4 instead of $4.50).

Also, I'm stunned MTV isn't seizing on an opportunity here. Aren't they partners in Rhapsody? I'd offer a slightly more expensive (or heck, the same price) to get the RB song *and* rights to the song on Rhapsody -- who knows they might actually be able to chip away at iTunes' lead taht way.

BigWeather

Well the guitar for the PS3 is wireless.

Something I wish was for the 360 right away. But what difference does it make I suppose when the mic and drums need to be plugged in anyhow. What is one more wire at that point.

EnigmaNemesis

The bit that makes me sad though is that while these prices might be fine for you guys and I'd certainly pay that amount for tracks I love (and given the number they'll be releasing there's gonna be love for everyone)... the Aussie prices for the 360 will still be way higher cause of the stupid points cost :( (Xbox points cost us almost 50% more)..don't know wether the PS3 gets any similar 'love' but yeah :(

ChaoticLusts

GH3 DLC songs are roughly $2.00 each, but you're forced so spend $6.25 all at once for songs that only let you play guitar and bass/rhythm. And they don't work in most of the game's modes.

Rock Band DLC songs are going to mostly undercut all of GH3's content by offering cheaper songs in an a la carte fashion. Not to mention YOU CAN PLAY 4 INSTRUMENTS and each song will be usable in every game mode (including multiplayer Band World Tour).

This is pretty good news. The only bad part is ... where is Who's Next on this schedule? :(

Keeb13r

J. Kyle

Reason I care is, I have to decide which console to buy for. Have both pre-ordered at the moment, but do I buy for my 360, or for my PS3??

rcomegys

pcgecko85

because i think people are ripping the song apart and are making sure that its on rythm. I think thats the biggest reason. I mean if you want to listen to it sure it could cost a dollar but your paying for others worked hard to do to get it playable

FP Shindokie

Cause the cool ones will be $3 and the shitty ones $1 (joke).

It probably has something to do with how much royalties each band gets. Thus the scale in price so MTV/EA/Harmonix/MSFT still get their same cut.

EnigmaNemesis

I'd pay $3 for "Welcome Home". I would not pay $3 for St. Anger.

From that comes their logic. Rape em on the awesome, give away the lame.

Kirbytheslayer: In-Kirby XMB

pcgecko85

they're trying to reap alot of money off a few people... that's the goal of DLC, to capitalize on the people who buy the game...

but if they just gave these tracks away with retail or for download later, they'd end up generating more hype and selling more copies in the first place...

instead of milking alot out of a small group of consumers, they'd milk a little out of a larger group of consumers.

this is called 'economics of scale' =)

growing gaming, making more money and making it more affordable to everyone happens via an economy of scale approach.

it makes it cheaper and more accessible, while still generating more revenue.

that's the problem with DLC as it stands. it's elitist rather than populist, and pushes gaming away from the mass market.

this_is_sparta

Dumari

Oh yeah? So retail games would have tons of extra songs in them? I do recall games having "expansions" or even "sequels" to accommodate these feats.

EnigmaNemesis

BPMΣ

So is like this dude in a famous band that is better than Metallica?

Or one of these "lessons since a wee one" and a hopeless dreamer bashing all that is not him?

Cause if this guy isnt Neal Peart or Vinnie Paul, I dont think there is room to bas Larz.

EnigmaNemesis

Ratuna

okenny :) ...building bridges (to hide under)

=O

hooray. =/

another load of features cut from a retail release to be sold for extra later, and the idiots cheer and buy!

this_is_sparta

Blackened is great and all, but I really wanted "Welcome Home"

I've been waiting to yell out the word "Santarium" forever, and now I'll probably have to wait longer.

Kirbytheslayer: In-Kirby XMB

Shteve

Michael McWhertor

Stormrider

okenny :) ...building bridges (to hide under)

My friend is a drummer. Had lessons since he was six. The only guy I know who can play techno on a drum set.

The guy used to say "If Larz Ulrich can drum to it, a retarded monkey could drum to it."

I have about as much rhythm as a three legged camel, so I have to take his word for the quality of Larz ability.

PapaBear434

I was kind of hoping for And Just For All as a full album, but I'll take what I can get.

Michael McWhertor

*creams pants*

Buttpickle

FP Shindokie

drweazel

Those are the the songs I want.

Kirbytheslayer: In-Kirby XMB

Wonder how any of the Metallica songs will work on drums, unless you have to jam your foot like a maniac on the bass pedal...

jynxycat