This June 22nd, barring sudden legal action on the patent 405 incident, Nintendo's family friendly Wii can play finally play host to 2007's smash hit Rock Band.
EA CEO John Riccitiello had previously revealed the existence of the Wii version in a investment conference call in late January, but today EA, Harmonix and MTV bring us the details: $170 buys you (and two of your friends) the Rock Band: Special Edition bundle, including a wireless guitar, drum kit and microphone. If PS3 incidents have made you bundle-shy, GameSpot reports that both a stand-alone version of the game and individual instruments will be available on day one.
The game will ship with 63 tracks, which means that Wii bandits get five more songs than either Xbox 360 fanboys or PlayStation adherents... but now for the bad news.
Speaking to Shacknews, a Harmonix representative confirmed that "the Wii edition of Rock Band will not include online multiplayer or support for downloadable content." Integrated iTunes-esque music store? Downloadable tracks every week? Potential for EA to sell six million more of those tracks? Not on Wii, and what a shame.
The reason why, according to GameSpot:
"The Wii version still contains the robust four-player band experience and all the fun at the core of other versions of Rock Band. However, because the Wii’s online capabilities and potential have yet to be fully realized, we wanted to wait before we explored online functionality for Rock Band to ensure that players get the high-quality of online performance they’ve come to expect."
They say wait -- but we say don't hold your breath. After all, the Wii doesn't have a hard drive. But hey, as long as the Wii plays tracks in stereo, right?
Update 4:20PM: Joystiq has the answers to some of your lingering questions, like whether the bonus songs will truly be Wii-exclusive (a resounding maybe), whether the game will be crippled like on PS2 (yes) and, yes indeed, whether the game will actually have more than one channel of audio. (Yes.)
Full press release:
Cambridge, MA – March 24, 2007-- Harmonix, the leading developer of music-based games, and MTV Games, a division of MTV Networks, which is a division of Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), along with distribution partner Electronic Arts, Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS), today announced plans to release the award-winning music video game Rock Band on the Wii™ home video game system from Nintendo in the U.S. and Canada on June 22, 2008 for the suggested retail price of $169.99.
Rock Band for Wii will be released as a Special Edition bundle including the software, drums, microphone and a wireless guitar. Stand alone instruments will also be available on June 22nd for people who want to build their band one instrument at a time or want to play the drum versus drum game mode. The game will feature 63 songs including five bonus songs for Wii gamers to enjoy.
“The Wii’s success among casual and core gamers of all ages makes it an ideal match for the cross-generational appeal of the music featured in Rock Band,” says Bob Picunko, Vice President of Electronic Games and Interactive Products, MTV
“The social interaction and addictive nature of the Rock Band experience is a perfect fit for the Wii and will undoubtedly be fun for the entire family,” says Steve Singer, licensing VP from Nintendo.
Rock Band is an all-new platform for music fans and gamers to interact with music like never before. The game challenges players to put together a band and tour for fame and fortune – all while learning to master lead/bass guitar, drums and vocals. Featuring the most master recordings of any music game ever by the world’s biggest rock artists, Rock Band includes tracks that span every genre of rock ranging from alternative and classic rock to heavy metal and punk. Rock Band has garnered over 40 awards this year including Game Critics Award: Best of Show E3 2007 and three awards at The 11th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards including Outstanding Innovation in Gaming, Family Game of the Year, and Outstanding Achievement in Soundtrack.
Rock Band is rated “T” for Teen (lyrics, mild suggestive themes) by the ESRB.
Rock Band is currently available on the Xbox 360™ video game and entertainment system from Microsoft®, the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system, and on the PLAYSTATION®2 computer entertainment system.
EA is the exclusive distribution and marketing partner for Rock Band.
For more information on Rock Band and Harmonix Music Systems please visit www.rockband.com and www.harmonixmusic.com.
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