Dance Central DLC to cost more than Rock Band's, Harmonix explains why

Dance Central Project Lead Kasson Crooker tells Joystiq that the game's downloadable content will cost more than the $2 Rock Band standard. The Harmonix developer explained that the "complexity" involved makes DLC for Dance Central "significantly different" from that offered in Rock Band and noted that we can expect to hear more on pricing closer to the game's ship date later this year.

Harmonix's approach to Rock Band pricing has always seemed fair, but we wanted to know the specific differences in creating DLC for DC. Crooker elaborated, "Because [Dance Central DLC] comes with a brand new unique routine with the three difficulties, we have to: engage the choreographer, find the song, license the song, come up with a routine, get them into a [motion capture] suit, shoot all the choreography, integrate the animation, build the filter system, the flash cards, the [voiceover] for 'Break it Down' -- it's a pretty elaborate process that is not only a lot more expensive, but a lot more time consuming."

Standardized weekly DLC a la Rock Band is unlikely at the game's launch. Each DLC routine is designed for use in "Break it Down" and "Perform It!" modes, as well as the the multiplayer "Dance Battle" mode.