If you're wondering where the hell those 20 free Rock Band 2 tracks that were supposed to be released on November 4, wonder no longer. They're coming. Just not, you know, right now.
According to a post by Harmonix's Sean Baptiste on the official Rock Band forums, codes were going out (via email) last night, slowly but surely. That was yesterday, and today is today. And today the story is a bit different.
"We have hit an unexpected delay with getting the content online with Microsoft and are working diligently with them to get that resolved," he writes on the forums. "We have suspended sending out the token codes until the content becomes available. Sending out the codes before the content is live will just result in more confusion. We hope to have this resolved in the next 24 hours and apologize profusely for the delay."
Oh, Microsoft! These bizarre, behind-the-scenes certification delays never get old. We're always on the edge of our seats. As for the codes going out to PlayStation 3 owners, Baptiste says they're working with Sony, and should have more information soon.
Interestingly enough, "issue 6" of Harmonix/MTV's community email "zine" that I received two days ago actually said the songs would be available "early next week." My guess is that was written last week, but maybe it's more relevant than I first thought.
My suggestion: Stop whining. Make a setlist with your favorite 20 songs and play it until your ears bleed. Patience is a virtue. But so is whining on the Internet, so do what you want. I'm going to go play Gears of War 2.
Contest:
5:02 PM on 11.05.2008
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EVERY band and song that you have EVER liked, was at some point, something you had never heard.
Also, Harmonix should have made sure the tracks were good to go before they ever announced a date. I want Prequel to the Sequel dammit!
If it were just a matter of singing a song or something that's one thing. I enjoy playing the songs I enjoy in Rock Band because they're songs I know and enjoy.
Am I going to snub the free songs? No, there might be something in there I might genuinely like. But I don't like that there's nothing in there I know. That irks me. There ain't a frickin' bone that's been thrown to me on that setlist. Nothing.
I've HEARD of X-Japan. As in name recognition.
I welcome independent/lesser known artists into the game, but independent bands do not sell copies of the game like mainstream stuff does. Technically that pretty much validates why they're all lesser known bands but still, it wouldn't have killed them to stick SOMETHING in there that people widely know.
In-game difficulty says nothing of the quality of the music itself. For instance, "Through the Fire and Flames" is insanely hard in GH3, but that doesn't mean it deserves a Grammy and your undying affection.
Also, the whole "you should play a real instrument before you judge" line of thinking is flawed on so many levels that I don't even know where to start. Do you think it's a prerequisite that you direct a major motion picture before you can judge the quality of a film?