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Details revealed on Wal-Mart-exclusive AC/DC Rock Band tie-in

5:46 AM on 09.30.2008, Samit Sarkar 32 comments

Details revealed on Wal-Mart-exclusive AC/DC Rock Band tie-in photo
     Rock Band

Remember when we told you about a leaked Wal-Mart memo that essentially confirmed exclusive Rock Band AC/DC songs for the retail chain? Now we’ve got proof, courtesy of a New York Times article detailing the promotion. In case you hadn’t heard, AC/DC is releasing a new album, Black Ice -- their first one in eight years -- on October 20th (October 18th in Australia), and in America, the record will be sold exclusively at Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club, and on their Web sites.

This isn’t the first time that Wal-Mart has secured something like this -- recent new albums from Journey (Revelation, 2008) and the Eagles (Long Road out of Eden, 2007) were initially only available through the same avenues. But this is the first time that Wal-Mart has been able to score an exclusive music videogame. Yes, you read that right: MTV has struck a deal with AC/DC and its label, Columbia Records, to produce a full-on standalone exclusive disc for Wal-Mart called AC/DC Live: Rock Band Track Pack.

More after the jump.

[Via New York Times thanks to power-glove -- who else?]

The title will be available for every console that Rock Band is produced on (i.e., PS3, 360, Wii, PS2), and according to the promotional Web site that Wal-Mart has put up, it will cost $29.88 on the PS2 and $39.88 for the current-gen versions. While the promo site itself doesn’t say so, the NYT piece confirms that the 18-track set list is, indeed, taken from the band’s seminal 1991 performance at England’s Castle Donington, which was released on DVD (and later, Blu-ray) as Live at Donington [aside: I own the Blu-ray, and it rocks].

The Web site does advertise “more than 99 minutes of game play for each instrument,” and in an important note that seems to suggest we’ll eventually see this released as DLC on the Rock Band Music Store, says, “All tracks from the AC/DC Live: Rock Band Track Pack will also be available for play in Rock Band and Rock Band 2.”

Of course, that could just mean that you’ll be able to import the songs to your hard drive off the game disc, à la Rock Band, so we’ll have to wait and see how that plays out. Either way, the prospect of playing AC/DC classics like “Back in Black” and “Highway To Hell” has produced a bulge in my pants the likes of which have rarely been seen before. Check out the full list of songs below.

  1. "Thunderstruck"
  2. "Shoot to Thrill"
  3. "Back in Black"
  4. "Hell Ain't a Bad Place to Be"
  5. "Heatseeker"
  6. "Fire Your Guns"
  7. "Jailbreak"
  8. "The Jack"
  9. "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap"
  10. "Moneytalks"
  11. "Hells Bells"
  12. "High Voltage"
  13. "Whole Lotta Rosie"
  14. "You Shook Me All Night Long"
  15. "T.N.T."
  16. "Let There Be Rock"
  17. "Highway To Hell"
  18. "For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)"

Next page: More Wal-Mart sucks stories




JTHomeslice's Avatar
JTHomeslice at 09/30/2008 06:26
I'm gonna have to get this.
JamnOnTheOne's Avatar
JamnOnTheOne at 09/30/2008 06:29
If these are studio tracks then I'm all for it, if they're live tracks then it's a big boatload of fail.
Samit Sarkar's Avatar
Samit Sarkar at 09/30/2008 06:32
@JamnOnTheOne: I don't mean to be an ass, but did you read the full post? The tracks are from Live at Donington, a DVD/Blu-ray of a live performance recorded in August 1991. In other words, they're live tracks. That doesn't make them any less awesome, though -- hell, in some cases, the Live at Donington versions are slightly better than the studio tracks! Definitely track down the DVD and give it a rental or something -- it's a rockin' good two hours of fun.
yaisuah's Avatar
yaisuah at 09/30/2008 06:36
@Samit: This actually isn't the first Wal-mart video game exclusive, they somehow got Chibi Robo Park Patrol for the DS exclusive.

@Jamn: Considering it says ACDC >LIVE< ROCK BAND TRACK PACK, and its the same set list as their live cd, do the math and be ready for you're dumb ass fail.
Samit Sarkar's Avatar
Samit Sarkar at 09/30/2008 06:38
@yaisuah: Interesting. Well, with that sentence, I was just going off of the New York Times article, so I've now amended the article so the factual error has disappeared. Thanks for the heads-up!
toejam316's Avatar
toejam316 at 09/30/2008 06:43
@Yaisuah: Oh the irony. "...do the math and be ready for you're dumb ass fail."
Interesting use of "you're", I must admit.
Demios's Avatar
Demios at 09/30/2008 07:38
Oh great, how the fuck do i get this for the ps3, im in Ireland.

This could be the track pack that gets my dad to play this game.
Nick Chester's Avatar
Nick Chester at 09/30/2008 07:41
Honestly, I don't need this much AC/DC in Rock Band. Aside from their staples, I'm not a huge fan of the band. Plus, all of these tracks sound the same, anyhow.

;)
J03yyz's Avatar
J03yyz at 09/30/2008 07:49
great! a standalone disc that only plays AC/DC...
i would MAYBE get this if you had to buy a voucher or something for DLC..

then again Nick Chester is right... they all sound the same.
JimmySky's Avatar
JimmySky at 09/30/2008 07:58
I like the idea of this but I think for the price you should also get a copy of the "Live in Donington" DVD along with the game if they are selling as a stand alone disc... but then again I am cheap.
SWE3tMadness's Avatar
SWE3tMadness at 09/30/2008 08:08
I'm with Agent MOO on this one. A bit expensive, but I've been wanting to play a good number of these songs on Rock Band/Guitar Hero for awhile, so I'll pick it up anyways. :D
ShawnKelfonne's Avatar
ShawnKelfonne at 09/30/2008 08:16
@J03yyz:

If you notice, it says "All tracks from the AC/DC Live: Rock Band Track Pack will also be available for play in Rock Band and Rock Band 2." There's probably some sort of Disc Export.
weedgan's Avatar
weedgan at 09/30/2008 08:17
My question is,

Is a difficulty level for any Ac/Dc song even needed?

I'm a huge fan of the band, but all of there stuff is in 4/4 and very simple song structure.

But then again, Back in Black is the biggest selling album in history only 2nd to thriller, so you cant put the band down for that...they are fucking loaded bastards.

P.S/ The fact that these are all live tracks is cool, but when a band plays live they always get off time a bit...that might piss off some people and start more tv/game latency issues.
Mxyzptlk's Avatar
Mxyzptlk at 09/30/2008 08:26
Hmm... kinda want, but I'd also prefer master tracks. Hopefully those will eventually show up as DLC.
Caster Tr0y 357's Avatar
Caster Tr0y 357 at 09/30/2008 09:25
@weedgan.. most rock songs are in 4/4 basically for the drummer. one of the few bands i can think of rite now that strays from that is Rush, and only because Neil Peart is unbelievably amazing.

and really, the only one hard enough to be on rock band is thunderstruck.. everything else can be played on a real guitar by most people.. lol it mostly centers around B, A, and E power chords played with some heavy distortion..
digitaldemigod's Avatar
digitaldemigod at 09/30/2008 09:40
@caster I can think of dozens of bands that don't play in 4/4 so maybe you're only thinking of shitty radio bands... you know, the same guys that can't play a guitar solo so they just dropped those from their music.

Megadeth, Metallica, Suicidal Tendencies, Nevermore, Nuclear Assault, just a few bands that don't always use 4/4.

So anyway, if this is a standalone, will there be achievements?
JoshDunford's Avatar
JoshDunford at 09/30/2008 09:43
It kindof makes sense for it to be live, considering you're playing for an audience in the first place.

It will just add even more enthusiasm to the crowd! :)

Also, if you're pretty much ripping these to put them on your hard-drive from the disc, will you have to register it or something, to keep from just passing it around virally?

-Jd
JamnOnTheOne's Avatar
JamnOnTheOne at 09/30/2008 09:53
@Samit

I did read the full post and frankly this statement confused me. An official promo site contradicting a NYT piece. I had assumed it was studio tracks arranged in an order to mirror the live set based on the information I read from the promo site.

"While the promo site itself doesn’t say so, the NYT piece confirms that the 18-track set list is, indeed, taken from the band’s seminal 1991 performance at England’s Castle Donington, which was released on DVD (and later, Blu-ray) as Live at Donington [aside: I own the Blu-ray, and it rocks]. "
Necros's Avatar
Necros at 09/30/2008 10:00
I was totally sold for 18 songs for $30, even if I'd normally prefer not to shop at Walmart, but $40 for the next-gen versions? Eh...

@ JoshDunford

They come with a code that allows you to export them, and I'd assume it's a one-use code.
JoshDunford's Avatar
JoshDunford at 09/30/2008 10:08
@Necros
Bah, I knew it wouldn't be that easy!!

Even so, the price sounds good for what you're getting, live or not.

Most of these are pretty much their biggest hits. The only problem I have is with everyone else: AC/DC really does sound very similar from song to song. Andrew W.K. went to the same school of music. That dude LOVES to fuckin' party.
JamnOnTheOne's Avatar
JamnOnTheOne at 09/30/2008 10:11
Either way...This should be looked at just like Guitar hero: Aerosmith.

If you balked at that because of the short track list, you should not buy this...Else, hello hypocrisy!
king3vbo's Avatar
king3vbo at 09/30/2008 10:16
FUCK YEAR
GuitarAtomik's Avatar
GuitarAtomik at 09/30/2008 10:56
Knigge's Avatar
Knigge at 09/30/2008 11:19
I'll get it when it becomes DLC, 'cause FUCK Wal-Mart.
sleepingagain's Avatar
sleepingagain at 09/30/2008 11:56
i want this... asap... fucking walmart
The Grudge's Avatar
The Grudge at 09/30/2008 18:12
Fuck wal-mart. I'll wait till it is not an exclusive.
Dexter345's Avatar
Dexter345 at 09/30/2008 18:16
It looks like GuitarAtomik was right.
B-Radicate's Avatar
B-Radicate at 09/30/2008 18:19
Yes, please. Thanks.

This, plus the free 20 downloadable songs they're releasing by the end of the year will be more than enough Rock Band for me. Score.
braulio09's Avatar
braulio09 at 09/30/2008 22:00
mmmm delicious TNT
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