Though Xbox 360 owners have been enjoying Harmonix and MTV Games' ubiquitous music title since mid-September, the timed exclusivity of Rock Band 2 is just about to expire. MTV and Harmonix issued a press release this morning, confirming to eager PS3 owners that their shredding sequel is still on track for its October 19th release date, and confirmed pricing for all related software and peripherals. Wii owners, on the other hand, will need to renew their patience: Rock Band 2 will not be available on the Wii until December, rather than the November release that had been rumored up to this point. Take heart, though, dear Nintendo minstrels -- Harmonix intends to make it up to you with strong DLC support, so... you'll need to get some SD cards and prepare to copy your music back and forth. I'm sorry.
Will you still be ready in a couple more months to rock?! Dates, prices, Wii details, and the press release are after the break.
Here are the relevant details, price-and-date-wise -- you'll notice these numbers are comparable to what we've seen for the 360.
Rock Band 2 Shipping and Pricing Information:
October 19, 2008
- Rock Band 2 Special Edition Bundle (Xbox 360 and PLAYSTATION 3 system) $189.99 MSRP
- Rock Band 2 Standalone Software (PLAYSTATION 3 system) $59.99 MSRP
- Rock Band 2 Standalone Drums (PLAYSTATION 3 and PlayStation 2 systems) $89.99 MSRP
- Rock Band 2 Standalone Guitar (PLAYSTATION 3 and PlayStation 2 systems) $69.99 MSRP
December 2008
- Rock Band 2 Standalone Software (PlayStation 2 system) $49.99 MSRP
- Rock Band 2 Standalone Software (Wii) $49.99 MSRP
- Rock Band 2 Standalone Drums (Wii) $89.99 MSRP
- Rock Band 2 Standalone Guitar (Wii) $69.99 MSRP
- Rock Band 2 Special Edition Bundle (Wii) $189.99 MSRP
But here, Wii players -- here's some reconfirmed support details for you:
Rock Band 2 for Wii, developed by Pi Studios under the direction of Harmonix, will be fully featured with online modes including World Tour and Battle of the Bands, an innovative character creator, weekly downloadable content and more! With more than 100 songs on the Rock Band 2 Wii soundtrack and an additional 30 downloadable tracks available for purchase at launch, Rock Band 2 Wii owners will have access to the most impressive music catalogue for a music-based videogame on the console. In addition, fans can expect a roll-out of the current downloadable content offering every week until the entire back catalogue is available.
By "100 songs," Harmonix is referring to the 20 free songs available after launch -- the ones we're waiting on for every platform. As for buying your DLC, you're going to have to do that in two different places: You'll need to go to the Wii Shop Channel to buy your Wii Points, but then come back into the game to buy your new music through the in-game Music Store. Nintendo sure is great at online stuff, aren't they?
Here's the full press release for all further details. Pay attention to the caveats at the end...
CAMBRIDGE, MA – October 16, 2008 – Harmonix, the world’s premier music video game development company, and MTV Games, a part of Viacom’s MTV Networks (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), along with distribution partner Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS), today announced that Rock Band® 2 for the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system will be available on October 19, 2008. In addition, Rock Band 2 for the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system and the Wii™ home videogame console from Nintendo will ship in December 2008.
In addition, the Rock Band 2 Special Edition Bundle for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft will also be available on retail shelves October 19, 2008.
Rock Band 2 Shipping and Pricing Information:
October 19, 2008
- Rock Band 2 Special Edition Bundle (Xbox 360 and PLAYSTATION 3 system) $189.99 MSRP
- Rock Band 2 Standalone Software (PLAYSTATION 3 system) $59.99 MSRP
- Rock Band 2 Standalone Drums (PLAYSTATION 3 and PlayStation 2 systems) $89.99 MSRP
- Rock Band 2 Standalone Guitar (PLAYSTATION 3 and PlayStation 2 systems) $69.99 MSRPDecember 2008
- Rock Band 2 Standalone Software (PlayStation 2 system) $49.99 MSRP
- Rock Band 2 Standalone Software (Wii) $49.99 MSRP
- Rock Band 2 Standalone Drums (Wii) $89.99 MSRP
- Rock Band 2 Standalone Guitar (Wii) $69.99 MSRP
- Rock Band 2 Special Edition Bundle (Wii) $189.99 MSRPRock Band 2 for Wii, developed by Pi Studios under the direction of Harmonix, will be fully featured with online modes including World Tour and Battle of the Bands, an innovative character creator, weekly downloadable content and more! With more than 100 songs [1] on the Rock Band 2 Wii soundtrack and an additional 30 downloadable tracks [2] available for purchase at launch, Rock Band 2 Wii owners will have access to the most impressive music catalogue for a music-based videogame on the console. In addition, fans can expect a roll-out of the current downloadable content offering every week until the entire back catalogue is available.
In addition, Rock Band 2 owners (Xbox 360, PLAYSTATION 3 system and Wii) will have the ability to export their in-game band avatars to RockBand.com to use as profile images as well as order custom Rock Band merchandise including apparel and figurines.
Rock Band 2 for Xbox 360 was released on September 14, 2008, and has received numerous editor’s choice awards and a combined metacritic score of 93. Rock Band 2 has revolutionized music gaming with the ability to export most of the songs from the original Rock Band disc [3], Online World Tour, daily Battle-Of-The-Bands Tournaments, Auto-Calibration to eliminate TV lag, wireless drums, quieter, velocity sensitive drum heads, support for up to three cymbals (sold separately), No Fail Mode, and a real Drum Trainer.
Rock Band 2 features the largest music catalogue of any music-based videogame to date including over 100 songs [4] on the Rock Band 2 soundtrack with an unrivaled blend of classic and new artists including AC/DC, Guns N’ Roses, Bob Dylan, Pearl Jam, Motörhead and more! With the addition of complete and immediate backwards compatibility for songs purchased from Rock Band’s ever-expanding online music store and the ability to export most songs from the original Rock Band disc, the Rock Band music library will feature more than 500 songs [5]by year’s end.
The Rock Band online music store recently surpassed 21 million paid downloads since the game’s launch in late November 2007. With more than 400 tracks available to date via disc and download purchase (complete list of tracks at www.rockband.com/dlc), the massive Rock Band Music Store allows players to preview and purchase downloadable individual music tracks, packs and albums from the vast selection of offerings available as they build their own custom Rock Band library.
Rock Band 2 is rated “T” for Teen with descriptors of lyrics and suggestive themes by the ESRB.
For more information on Rock Band 2 and Harmonix Music Systems please visit www.rockband2.com and www.harmonixmusic.com.
[1] The Rock Band 2 game disc will feature 84 tracks. In addition, players will have access to an additional 20 free DLC tracks following the game’s launch. Online connection required.
[2] Rock Band 2 DLC tracks for Wii are available through the in-game Rock Band Music Store only. Wii points must be purchased outside the game through the Wii Shop Channel. Online connection required. An SD card can be used for additional storage of Rock Band track downloads.
[3] Online connection and title update download required. Owners of the original Rock Band will be able to export 55 of the 58 tracks from the original Rock Band disc for play in Rock Band 2. The following Rock Band disc tracks will not be available for export into Rock Band 2: * "Paranoid" as made famous by Black Sabbath, * “Run to the Hills” as made famous by Iron Maiden, and "Enter Sandman" by Metallica. (* Indicates a cover song, all other songs are original master recordings.)
[4] The Rock Band 2 game disc will feature 84 tracks. In addition, players will have access to an additional 20 free DLC tracks following the game’s launch. Online connection required.
[5] Online connection required for export of Rock Band 1 soundtrack, as well as all DLC tracks, packs and albums released to date as well as future DLC releases. Nominal fee of $4.99 (400 Microsoft Points) required for export of Rock Band 1 soundtrack to compensate music licensors for expanded use.
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