Topic: Rock Band Wii DLC to be Distributed on Discs

[Nick DiMola]

First track pack to launch shortly after Rock Band’s release.
 http://nintendoworldreport.com/newsArt.cfm?artid=15905

 When Rock Band was officially announced for the Wii a few weeks ago, downloadable content was still an uncertainty. It appears now that it is unlikely to happen, as Harmonix and MTV Games plan to release the downloadable tracks from the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions as a series of track pack expansions on discs for Wii.    

The first track pack will feature an assortment of 20 already-released tracks, from modern favorite such as 30 Seconds to Mars to timeless classics such as Boston and Lynyrd Skynyrd.    

Rock Band Track Pack Volume 1 will be available at retails outlets on July 15 for $29.99.        

YOU CAN'T STOP THE ROCK!!    

MTV Games, Harmonix and EA Announce "Rock Band™ Track Pack Volume 1" for Wii™ and PlayStation®2 System Will Be Available July 15, 2008    

Cambridge, MA - May 5, 2008 - Harmonix, the leading developer of music-based games, and MTV Games, a division of MTV Networks, which is a division of Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), along with distribution partner Electronic Arts, Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS), today announced plans to release Rock Band™ Track Pack Volume 1 for the Wii™ home video game console from Nintendo and PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system. The 20-Track Pack features an electrifying mix of classic hits and current favorites, including songs by Boston, Nine Inch Nails, Stone Temple Pilots, and All American Rejects. The Rock Band™ Track Pack Volume 1 will be available on July 15th, 2008 for a MSRP of $29.99. Complete details are as follows:    

Release date: Tuesday, July 15, 2008    

Tracks:    

30 Seconds to Mars The Kill
 All American Rejects Move Along
 Blink - 182 All the Small Things
 Boston More Than a Feeling
 David Bowie Moonage Daydream
 Faith No More We Care A Lot
 Grateful Dead Truckin'
 The Hives Die, All Right!
 KISS Calling Dr. Love
 Lynyrd Skynyrd Gimme' Three Steps
 Nine Inch Nails March of the Pigs
 Oasis Live Forever
 Paramore Crushcrushcrush
 The Police Synchronicity II
 Queens of the Stone Age Little Sister
 Ramones Teenage Lobotomy
 Smashing Pumpkins Siva
 Stone Temple Pilots Interstate Love Song
 Weezer Buddy Holly
 Wolfmother Joker & the Thief
   

**All 20 tracks utilize original master recordings**   ** All tracks are available as DLC on competing platforms**    

Price: $29.99 MSRP    

Rock Band is the ultimate platform for music fans and gamers to interact with music like never before. The game challenges players to put together a band and tour for fame and fortune - all while learning to master lead/bass guitar, drums and vocals. Featuring the most master recordings of any music game ever by the world's biggest rock artists, Rock Band includes tracks that span every genre of rock ranging from alternative and classic rock, to heavy metal and punk. Rock Band has garnered over 40 awards this year including Game Critics Award: Best of Show E3 2007 and three awards at The 11th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards including Outstanding Innovation in Gaming, Family Game of the Year, and Outstanding Achievement in Soundtrack.    

Rock Band is rated "T" for Teen (lyrics, mild suggestive themes) by the ESRB.    

Rock Band will be available for the Wii starting June 22, 2008. Rock Band is currently available on the PLAYSTATION®2 computer entertainment system, the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system, and on the Xbox 360™ video game and entertainment system from Microsoft®.    

EA is the exclusive distribution and marketing partner for Rock Band.    

For more information on Rock Band and Harmonix Music Systems please visit www.rockband.com and www.harmonixmusic.com.

[Nick DiMola]

Well on one hand it's great that they are delivering this in some capacity, but it certainly isn't an attractive system for me.

[LuigiHann]

Better than full-priced sequels, I'd say, but yeah, kind of meh.

[UltimatePartyBear]

It would be nice if you could transfer the songs from this disc to the Wii's internal memory or an SD card for use with the main Rock Band game disc, but disc-swapping isn't all that appealing.  Then again, Activision isn't even bothering to do this much with GH3.

[DAaaMan64]

LOL *AHEM*

[Kairon]

At $1.50 per song, isn't the price average cheaper here than for most DLC songs?

[Enner]

Kinda "eh" due to disc swapping hassle. However, it's nice that they're putting out new content.

Oh, is it a bit cheaper than what the 360 and PS3 are doing?

[Kairon]

Isn't the average price $2 per song on the 360 and PS3, and $5.49 for a set of 3 songs? This is cheaper, but you can't pick and choose.

[Morari]

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[NWR_insanolord]

I liked it better when the lack of extra songs was going to make me not buy this game, now I need to come up with $200.

[Ian Sane]

I'll give them credit for at least making the content available in some fashion.  They could have just done nothing at all.  But why the hell is an online console like the Wii getting denied online content?  But then we could compile quite a list of questions like those.

Does anyone still try to defend Nintendo's decision to not go online with the Cube?  You look at lag problems and friend codes and then stuff like this and it's clear that an extra gen of online experience would have been a ton of help.

[vudu]

LOL at Faith No More We Care A Lot

Does anyone really care about pre-Patton FNM?

[redgiemental]

LOL at Faith No More We Care A Lot

Does anyone really care about FNM?

FIXED

Also I completely agree with Ian. Just look at the PS2 and what internet service it had. Then compare it to the ps3 service. A generations experience can be very valuable and the Wii's online service looks meagre and backward compared with what Sony and Microsoft are offering.

I do applaud the decision to at least give Wii owners a chance to get the DLC, albeit in a less than ideal way.

[vudu]

I knew someone was going to say that. 

By no means am I a FNM fan, but still, pre-Patton?  What the Hell?  They might as well have given us Anne's Song.

For the uneducated, check out the videos below.  Some of the most OMG what is this 80s music you'll ever hear.

We Care A Lot
Anne's Song

[Morari]

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[GoldenPhoenix]

I'm not sure GC being online would have helped much because previous to that Nintendo had online experience. We have to realize Nintendo does their own thing regardless of experience.

[UncleBob]

Should sell Wii "albums" on 256MB SD cards that can be loaded while the RockBand disc is in...

[blackfootsteps]

Should sell Wii "albums" on 256MB SD cards that can be loaded while the RockBand disc is in...

That's a cool idea. How many songs do you think you could get on each card?

[UncleBob]

I haven't a clue... anyone who has the 360/PS3 version have any idea what size the downloads are?

[Morari]

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[Tansunn]

But why the hell is an online console like the Wii getting denied online content?

My best guess would be the tiny amount of storage available in the console.  The other system has gigs of storage built in.  The Wii has, what, a gig or two?  Mine's already almost full with VC games and save data.  Yeah, they could make it save to a SD card, but the player would need to have one first.  With the discs, anybody who wants it can purchase it and use it. 

[blackfootsteps]

512MB

[UncleBob]

Let's say a RockBand track is 4 times the size of a Guitar Hero track.  If a GH track is 10 MB, then our pretend RB tracks are 40MB.  So, 20 tracks would be 800MB, which, I suppose, would require a 1GB SD card.  Anyone know the cost to manufacture a 1 GB SD Card vs. a DVD?

And that's assuming it couldn't fit on a 512 card... Quick search shows 512MB cards selling for about $5/each.  I know it'd be more expensive than DVDs, but it'd be way more user-friendly...

[Djunknown]

Well talk about hitting a shot in the dark...

I guess a nice way of saying mea culpa would be to offer all the DLC released to date as an expansion disc or included in this bundle. But that's some pie-in-the-sky vision, so don't mind me...

Not quite the way I envisioned, but hey, at least it beats getting absolutely nothing.

[Shecky]

Let's say a RockBand track is 4 times the size of a Guitar Hero track.  If a GH track is 10 MB, then our pretend RB tracks are 40MB.  So, 20 tracks would be 800MB, which, I suppose, would require a 1GB SD card.  Anyone know the cost to manufacture a 1 GB SD Card vs. a DVD?

And that's assuming it couldn't fit on a 512 card... Quick search shows 512MB cards selling for about $5/each.  I know it'd be more expensive than DVDs, but it'd be way more user-friendly...

Also very user-corruptible.