Just yesterday, Harmonix were all zipper-lipped about the pricing of their downloadable song content. When I asked them up front whether or not I'd (personally) be pissed off about the pricing and delivery, all I was told is that we'd "be happy." One day later, GameSpot spills the beans, and here's the moment of truth ...
Like Guitar Hero III, Rock Band will also offer three-song packs for download, and will cost 440 MS points ($5.49). Not only is it slightly cheaper than Activision's offerings, but the three tracks will also be available as individual downloads for $1.99 a piece. Harmonix is saying that future songs may be sold individually for as little as $.99 (80 MS points), and as much as $2.99 (240 MS points), but most will cost $1.99.
Also of note is the game's DLC release schedule (which starts on November 20) has been set through December 18. Week one alone sees the release of 15 tracks, which does NOT include the promised Who album which is said to be available at launch. Having had a chance to see (and play) some of the unannounced DLC (no, I'm not talking), I can stand behind Harmonix Community Manager Sean Baptiste's statement: "[When it comes to DLC] we're not f**king around."
Hit the jump for the release schedule and see the lack of f**king around for yourself.
Week of November 20, 2007: (*--asterisk denotes a cover version)
Metallica Pack
"Ride the Lightning"--Metallica
"Blackened"--Metallica
"And Justice for All"--Metallica
The Police Pack
"Can't Stand Losing You"--The Police
"Synchronicity II"--The Police
"Roxanne"--The Police
Queens of the Stone Age Pack
"3's and 7's"--Queens of the Stone Age
"Little Sister"--Queens of the Stone Age
"Sick Sick Sick"--Queens of the Stone Age
Individual Tracks
"Fortunate Son" as made famous by Creedence Clearwater Revival *
"Juke Box Hero" as made famous by Foreigner *
"Bang a Gong (Get It On)" as made famous by T-Rex *
"My Sharona" as made famous by The Knack *
"Cherry Bomb" as made famous by The Runaways *
"Joker & The Thief"--Wolfmother
Week of November 27, 2007
David Bowie Pack
"Moonage Daydream"--David Bowie
"Heroes" as made famous by David Bowie *
"Queen Bitch" as made famous by David Bowie *
Week of December 4, 2007
Black Sabbath Pack
"N.I.B." as made famous by Black Sabbath *
"Sweet Leaf" as made famous by Black Sabbath *
"War Pigs" as made famous by Black Sabbath *
Week of December 11, 2007
Punk Pack:
"Rockaway Beach"--Ramones
"I Fought the Law"--The Clash
"Ever Fallen In Love" as made famous by Buzzcocks *
Week of December 18, 2007
Individual Tracks
"My Iron Lung"--Radiohead
"Buddy Holly"--Weezer
"Brass in Pocket" as made famous by Pretenders *
Contest:
11:15 PM on 11.14.2007
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http://youtube.com/watch?v=BQAKRw6mToA
I really hope they figure out that $.99 a song is a lot better price, that would be awesome.
Free is better than 99 cents, but I'm not complaining about that either.
FORTUNATE SON, FFS.
Also, when do we get There's Nothing Left to Lose? I want to play Generator, that shit would be titties on Rock Band.
I don't want to belittle Harmonix's work on this, cos I love them and think they are brilliant, but no commercial good is sold based on the effort put into it. They're sold based on how much they can get away with charging.
With lower prices, more songs will sell. A lot more. Instead of going back and forth on message boards, we'd all get most of the available songs.
So yeah, glad some of you are happy w/ the cost. I'm not and I will show it by not paying for the DLC. Gonna still love the game to death though.
In short; this is a huge step up. This is a huge improvement on what we had previous; I for one am stunned at the value. Go Harmonix. Gotta support those companies who (within reason and profitability) support their consumer.
Essentially you're getting 16 ways to play the same song for 2 bucks.
And thats only if your playing alone.
Eh, it's pretty sw33t, but first guitar game to get Billy Talent wins
I don't feel iTunes or any other music download service is comparable either, as you get to keep that music and listen to it wherever you want. You're getting a version of the song that only plays with the game. Also you aren't usually downloading covers of songs.
Anyways, at the very least, a lot of this DLC doesn't suck, so it's still worth considering.
I'm still waiting to see what the albums will cost. Also what about PSN prices?
We are happy that it's cheaper than the GH3 DLC even when apparently, in comparison, RB tracks require more work than GH ones.
Also don't worry, if the DLC ends up just unlocking code on the disc once it comes out you'll see everyone here getting angry.
So why should they charge twice that to get a song after the fact. You will have already been investing $170 if you get the Rock Band kit.
HAWT SHIT!
God I hate that I have to wait till next year to get this game. I just can't afford it for next week. I can't.
I understand what you're saying, and I still believe that $2 is too much for a GH song, but there's so many parts to the Rock Band songs (vocals are probably the biggest bitch) that I think it's fair here. If the songs WEREN'T available seperately I'd be kind of pissed, but they are.
That plus their flexibility to go even cheaper (I assume the more expensive songs will be from asshole bands that demand it cough*vanhalen*cough) makes this seem like good news to me.
All Metallica songs from the pack are PRE BLACK ALBUM?
Im i the only one ultra stocked about that?
These guys know music. I could've bet it would be some Load or worse yet St-Anger bullshit.
Is that a type with David Bowie? 2 songs being covers and 1 being origonal. Sounds a little off to me.
"Sorry, but the "work" that goes into making a song isn't as much as you think. Doing all the lighting and animations is nothing more than throwing a few lines of code in the scriptfile with the note sequences. You can do this stuff yourself on a custom track for GHII. It does take a little time, but it's not really difficult. I just think it feels weird when you compare it to price/track ratio of the game itself."
See, that's where you're wrong -- one of the things Harmonix stressed to me was the time and attention to detail in how the camera moves, what the "performers" do and when (which is different for each song), how the camera is edited, etc. It may have been a simple matter of dumping in a few lines of code to make the lights flash in Guitar Hero, and it shows.
When you play Rock Band and you actually pay attention to what is happening behind the notes. It's hard to tell if you're playing, but honestly, what they've done with the presentation of the performers is really impressive.
Anyhow, if you don't think the tracks are worth the money, that's fine. It's not MY game, and I don't care. But personally, I think that because Rock Band is such an incredible social experience, they are far more valuable than the Guitar Hero tracks.
hopefull they will get the 23min opus a change of season from dream theater soon.
Huzzah.
My fate is sealed.