Like The Beatles itself, the box that houses The Beatles: Rock Band Limited Edition is startlingly huge.
The package arrived last week while I was in Seattle for the Penny Arcade Expo, and since then it has claimed a huge chunk of my office as its own. The 33 inch wide, 21 inch high, and 8 inch deep box is the biggest retail package I have seen for anything outside of a big-screen television or a refrigerator. Videogame retailers have never seen anything of this size before; my mind boggles at the logistics of finding storage for these things in already cramped retail environments.
So what's in the box? Well, now that's it empty, my cat Ico -- easily five times her size, it makes quite a comfortable resting place for kitties. But what will be in it when you open it up? Hit the jump to find out.
Of course, to start you'll find the box for The Beatles: Rock Band game itself. Inside of it you'll find eight postcards (shown below), as well as advertisement inserts for the game's upcoming downloadable content, and other The Beatles merchandise.
Also included is the wireless Höfner violin bass peripheral, modeled after the instrument famously played by The Beatles' Paul McCartney. The longer bass neck gives it a slightly different feel than the standard Rock Band guitar, but otherwise plays the same. Despite the fact that it's not utilized in The Beatles: Rock Band, the bass does have an effects switch, which is a bit more difficult to change on the fly due to how damned small it is. It's a solid peripheral, and when playing either bass or guitar in the game, I didn't have any strum or button issues.
The wireless drum set included is Ludwig-branded, the casing around the four drums heads a "black oyster pearl finish." The pedal itself features The Beatles logo, and just in case you forgot what game you're playing, the package also includes a branded "kick drum head." I may have imagined it, but the pads themselves appear to have a bit more bounce; otherwise, these are the drums that shipped with Rock Band 2.
The Limited Edition also ships with a microphone stand and a USB microphone, of which I didn't take a picture. Picture it in your mind. It should be easy if you've ever seen a microphone stand and a USB microphone -- there's nothing particularly special about either of these things that's included in The Beatles: Rock Band Limited Edition. I will note that the microphone stand is of a higher quality than I had expected, at least compared to the abysmal $19.99 retailer-branded Mad Catz stand sold in GameStop.
If The Beatles: Rock Band is your first Rock Band experience and you're looking to populate your house with fake instruments, the Limited Edition package is certainly one of your options. Of course, it's going to hit your wallet for a whopping $249.99, so weigh your love of The Beatles carefully against your other, likely less expensive options. I'll admit that even though I'm not a die-hard fan of The Beatles, I did get a tinge giddy when I noticed that the digital McCartney and I were holding similar instruments.
Look out for my full review of The Beatles: Rock Band later today.
Contest:
12:00 PM on 09.08.2009
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On a completely unrelated note, I don't think I've ever heard of a better name for a cat. Mind if I steal it?
>_>
Also, Nick, I don't know if you can test this for us, but does The Beatles: Rock Band have Lips microphone functionality?
Unfortunately, we don't have review units for those peripherals. :(
@The Reborn:
Your complaint is valid, but not for this article -- very clearly the only tag visible on this post is "PS3."
@Dexter345:
Yup, LIPS mics work fine!
@that1dude24:
Go for it. I have two other cats -- Blinx the Time Sweeper and Atari.
Dawww. Oh well, I'll just blindly take the plunge then. Something so sexy looking couldn't POSSIBLY be broken and flawed. I'm pretty sure that was just my ex-girlfriends (zing).
Hell, if anything, I'll review 'em. Don't think I've done a C-blog yet anyways.
THANKS A FUCKING LOT!
*begins penny-pinching*
Best. Cat names. Ever.
I have to respectfully disagree. What page are you reading this on? In any case, Limited Edition bundles were/are available for Wii, PS3, and Xbox 360. We received the 360 version.
I believe the guitar is seperate.
Historically the bundles exclude a second guitar because, well, I dunno actually. For $250 though it is a bummer.
At the top it's tagged PS3 at the bottom 360.
We do our best to confuse everyone as much as possible. (Note: We're working on making the tags that appear be more useful. Promise.)
Nick! Wait!
Before you leave this post and never look at it again answer me this: Did the postcards come in the box or in the disc case? What are the chances me opening my disc case tomorrow will equal postcards of gaiety to fall onto the ground?
Don't get me wrong I'm not complaining rather backing up your point that it did have a PS3 tag. Tbh, I've never really taken note of the tag system.
I <3 mine very much. It has been beatles night every night for about a week :)
I am in love with you.
Sincerely,
Colette Bennett
Also, that Beatles thing ain't too shabby either.
CHEST!
I believe they were in the game box, so there is hope! (My mind is a bit cloudy on that point.)
@Cupacaubrey:
I bribe her with tuna.
There's a picture of it here. It's on the bottom, out of sight, probably so you don't hit it with your hand while playing.
I also should note that on both of the new peripherals (the drums, the bass) the start and guide buttons are less sensitive. I thought they were broken at first, but actually require you to hold them down a bit longer before they react (again, likely a design choice so that you don't accidentally pull a Peter Moore and hit it while rocking).
Ico, you adorable!