Oh, boy. EA has finally come out and announced a European release date for Rock Band, a game that has been out in America since last November. Sadly, that’s about as good as the news is going to get for European gamers; as I like to say when the American Idol champion is crowned, “It’s all downhill from here.” So here we go: Eurogamer has confirmed that Rock Band will be out in Europe on the 23rd of May.
That particular Friday will see the release of the Xbox 360 version of the game — and that’s it. That’s right, folks: Rock Band will be a timed 360 exclusive in Europe; for now, all EA is saying is that PS3, Wii, and PS2 versions will follow sometime “later this summer.” Hm...I wonder if Microsoft had a hand in that. Regardless, the real kick in the nuts comes in the form of the bundling and pricing of the game and its peripherals.
For some reason that is unbeknownst to me, EA won’t give you the full package in one neat little box. That’s the way they did it in America, anyway ($169.99 for the PS3/360 “Rock Band Special Edition”). Across the pond, the “Instrument Edition” — which includes the drums, mic, and guitar only (no word on whether the pack-in guitar is wireless) — will cost you £129.99 / €169.99. Then, if you actually want to, y’know, use those plastic instruments for something other than making noise, you’ll have to shell out an additional £49.99 / €69.99 for the game disc.
Hit the jump for some more (tear-inducing) number crunching, as well as my own musings on this story.
[via Eurogamer and...oh yeah, Eurogamer]
[Update: So much for having something to take solace in — MTV Games has confirmed to Shacknews that the nine European tracks (see the list after the jump) will eventually be made available as DLC for North American Rock Band owners. The post-jump portion of the post has also been updated to reflect this. Woohoo, I’ll be able to get my Muse on!]
Hm, what’s that? I just felt as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced. Eurogamer did the math for us: the EU total comes out to £180 / €240, while America's all-inclusive price of $170 translates to a mere £85 / €107. Ouch. So you’re paying more than double what we’ve been paying in the good ol’ U.S. of A. Finally, there are details on standalone instruments: a drum kit will sell for £69.99 / €89.99 by itself, and a wireless guitar will cost you £59.99 / €79.99.
If I were you, my European counterparts, I’d take to the streets — V For Vendetta style. I don’t even live in Europe, but I think that this blatant disregard and mistreatment of an entire continental market is outrageous. By May 23rd, not only will you have had to wait over half a year for Rock Band, but you’ll also have to pay twice the cost of the American bundle.
I wonder if EA saw Nintendo and Sony throwing Europe a bone by releasing Mario Kart Wii and Gran Turismo 5 Prologue, respectively, in that region first — and then decided that it was totally okay for them to try and pull these shenanigans. Then again, some of you may take solace in the fact that you’ll be getting nine exclusive bonus tracks geared specifically towards a European audience:
Blur – “Beetlebum”
Oasis – “Rock 'n' Roll Star”
Tokio Hotel – “Monsoon”
Muse – “Hysteria”
Die Toten Hosen – “Hier Kommt Alex”
Juli – “Perfekte Welle”
H-Block X – “Countdown To Insanity”
Les Wampas – “Manu Chao”
Pleymo – “New Wave”
After all, I’d kill to have some Muse songs to play in Rock Band. Frankly, though, I don’t think that a 70-song library for the European version is worth the ridiculous price premium. But when the game launches in Europe, gamers there will have the full contingent of existing North American DLC tracks available for purchase. In addition, all downloadable songs from that point forward will be given to both markets each week. Songs will cost 160 Microsoft Points each — I wonder: will EA not vary the price at all for European DLC songs?
Either way, I still see this as a very poor business decision on EA’s part. The whole setup — a 360-only launch, high price, and inexplicable bundling — appears to be a giant middle finger from EA to Europe. Especially after they region-locked the online play in Army of Two, what else are gamers supposed to interpret this as? Hell, at this absurdly high price point, Rock Band may not even sell all that well in Europe. What do you guys think?
Contest:
9:18 AM on 04.08.2008
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It beggars belief. You can get a 360 for the same price!
Does Europe have a target painted on it?
Too bad the 360 US version isn't region free…
Also, I want to play "Rock and Roll Star." Hopefully these "exclusive" tracks will make their way stateside...just like the "exclusive" OXM tracks made their way to to PS3 version.
If EA didn't own most things, I'd be boycotting their wares.
Not buying, this is just unacceptable.
I think for some reason they've waited so long that most ppl over here would of forgot the price comparison when it was launched in america. And not putting the game with the instruments they got some fuckin nerve at that price tag.
The other big problem which isnt personal is the fad factor. When they were gearing up for its usa launch I think everyone was hyping into it, and [gamers] were ready for some simultaneous release of some form.
Problem I find is that all the youtube mastery vids are up there now, half the friendslist that you found did have the game have stopped playing and gone back to cod4 of gears etc.
And as for gamers uniting to protest, i think jim sterling commented on this in podcastle on byronic commando. go listen :p
However, the bundle break up looks like a mere excuse to fleece us, and the whole thing smacks of a clusterfuck. No, a few extra songs do not make up for this bullshit.
I'mma sticking with Guitar Hero.
11sec Video
to EA to inform them of how bad they just messed up.
Well, living in south america is always shittier.
The store i went had the American bundle for US$340 (it´s really US$370 but you can negociate with the seller).
So you think it´s cheaper? No it´s not!
1 sol (Peruvian currency) is like US$0.50. So i end up paying 740 soles for the bundle.
Third world countries FTW!
I was SO looking forward to this. I told my friends for months that we would so play this thing together, what fun it would be. But not for the price of another fucking 360 or Wii. Grr I hate the guts of who ever is responsible for this. I would like to smack him with a sack filled with 240 Euros worth of change until his mother starts bleeding. ANGRYYYY!!!!
Keep it in your pants EA.
Mark my words! I'm not going to buy this game! Not for that price and not with that "exclusive" songs!
gta4 and mgs4 are out soon and id rather spend my money on those
look at EA, they're just... giving and giving :)
Fuck you EA.
I used to say that EA were not so bad, that they generally were better. Now, they can fuck right off.
All anticipation for this game has drained. I will be sticking to my guitar hero.
I'm used to being ripped off what with living in the UK but this full on takes the piss. The package costs MORE in GBP than the US one does in dollars?!?!
I was checking the Adobe site the other day and realised their prices were almost the same in GBP as US dollars and was bemused but this is an absolute joke.
Maybe they WANT the game to fail in Europe - there's no other logical explanation for this kind of behaviour.
But I don't have money for that kind of powerful protesting.
:(
I don't think anyone has the kind of money they are asking for. £180 for ONE GAME. I see an epic fail coming on, then they'll blame it on piracy or some shit.
Is anyone actually planning to buy this thing now? I mean wow, I'm actually quite taken aback by how ridiculous this is. The person responsible for pricing must be some hillbilly that thinks all Brits live in castles and have man-servants & stuff.
See, i've known this for about a week, since one of our stores main supplier changed their rock band listing from the ordinary packages to two;
"Rock Band (band In Box)" and "Rock Band (music Disc)"
The bastards where planning it all along...
And yeah, in these troubled times, we still have the fact that this article has the best headline picture ever!
STOP THIS SHIT!
NOW!
Seriously hope there is a mass fucking boycott and EA lose shit loads of money, but I can't see it happening.
...right?
Way to spit on the faces of the people who painfully waited for this game you guys. Good job.
because your gonna save a lot of money having to buy a $2000 pc every other year to keep up with the new games...
wow ea acting unscrupulously. shocker! ea is the dick cheney of gaming.
So just import it for the controllers and get the euro game for €107 + €70 = €177. Sell the game disc on eBay to make up for shipping, and you've got your 170€ deal.
It's import and boycott time!
Funny to see EA & the 360 making it happen.
but on topic, I really feel bad for the people of europe who always gets screwed on products being released