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Midnight launch for Rock Band keeps Best Buys open late
We've already traveled to the land of blue, bleak, and reek to check out Rock Band, so with the in-store buzz definitely there, we had to think a midnight launch would be coming -- and it is. 75 locations in 32 states open their doors at midnight to arm you with your "rocksenal," which is actually more than were participating in the Guitar Hero III launch.So if you're worried about potentially securing a copy (thanks to EA's boast of confidence regarding their stock), this might be a possible solution for you. And after all that sweet unannounced, but coming DLC spied from the pages of OXM, how is anyone with a pulse not excited? Full listing of stores participating rest behind the break.
MTV Games confirms Rock Band delay for Canada; coming Dec. 17
Yesterday, we reported a rumor concerning Rock Band's release in Canada. Turns out it was true, with MTV Games confirming (via Shack News) that the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 game has been delayed in the country until December 17, alongside the original PS2 release date.Electronic Arts has previously noted it was only producing a handful of copies for the holiday season, leading conspiracy theorists to surmise supplies are being redirected to the U.S. Whatever the reason, Canadian gamers will not be playing the game next week like they thought they would as recently as two days ago. Rock Band is still expected to arrive in the U.S. November 20, just in time for the pre-holiday shopping madness known as Black Friday.
Timmy, Timmy! A South Park bonus in Rock Band
Rock Band purchasers will be in for a South Park treat when unlocking the game's bonus tracks, because Timmy is in the house.IGN got the scoop on a special South Park bonus track that'll be included in Rock Band entitled "Timmy & The Lords of the Underworld". And yes, it's the same song that was featured in the fourth season's "Timmy 2000" episode. A preview of the song is embedded above for your convenience and we hope you can hear and appreciate Timmy and the band's vocal range. Sweet, sweet harmony ... Tim-my, Tim-my, Tim-my!
Rumor: Rock Band delayed in Canada until Dec. 19 [update 1]
Harmonix and Electronic Arts' love child Rock Band is supposed to launch its North American tour in a little over a week, but Canada might not be seeing this game until just before Christmas. Canadian retailer Future Shop (owned by Best Buy) has updated its listing for the game with a new release date: December 19 for Xbox 360 and the day after for PlayStation 3. (Curiously, a version of Rock Band without instruments is also listed for those dates.)A number of readers have also reported that their local Canadian EB Games are corroborating the four-week delay. There's no official word from EA or Harmonix yet. Online retailers are prone to error, and with just a week before the game is slated for release, we hope that's all it is. Otherwise, given such short notice and such a noticeable delay, local EA offices might have a mosh pit of angry Hockey fanatics to contend with.Update: bits bytes pixels and sprites has an interview with Harmonix where it is noted that packaging regulations (i.e. Canadian boxes must have English and French text) might cause a short delay -- though we hardly doubt that would justify four weeks of absence. It should also be noted that the PS2 version of the game is due out December 17 which, if the delay is indeed an error, would explain the origins of the miscommunicated release date.[Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]
Rock Band factoids galore
Multiplayer has posted a list of nine factoids about Rock Band that you might not know. Actually, the facts aren't all specifically about Rock Band, but they all have a little something to do with Harmonix at the very least. Maybe you wanted to know what it's like for the company to collaborate with MTV and EA, or perhaps you'd be interested in seeing how Rock Band mitigates lag while playing online. Perhaps the thought of more peripherals (like keyboards or cowbells) in future iterations of Rock Band tickles your fancy. Our favorite bit of info is learning about the Harmonix practice area in the basement where the various musicians at the company can practice playing real music.Actually, scratch that. Our favorite bit of info is a thinly veiled jab at Guitar Hero III and Neversoft. Co-founder Eran Egozy notes that Harmonix encourages its employees to play music because otherwise they would "just be fakers." He adds, "it's the combination of us being musicians and videogame makers that really makes us have that special quality. It's kind of pervasive throughout the entire company. We wouldn't bother trying to make skateboarding games." Ouch.Hit the "read" link for the full list of factoids.[Via Joystiq]
Nine things you may not know about Rock Band
Interestingly, we're not sure that these are necessarily nine things that make us want to rush out an purchase Rock Band. Like the fact that Harmonix has a full band practice area in their basement. That honestly just kind of makes us jealous. We are, however, intrigued by the possibility of including keyboards or (more importantly) cowbell to the set in sequels.We're also happy to hear that the devs have based their World Tour Mode on the experiences of cool bands like Freezepop. We'd like to humbly suggest that other bands be consulted for sequels, like a "Sex Pistols" mode consisting of an hour of fun and three decades of coke-fueled irrelevance. And don't miss the "Def Leppard" mode, sure to be the one time no one's fighting to be the drummer.
Rock Band DLC 'splosion: CCR, Radiohead, Bowie, and more!
If today's news of downloadable Guitar Hero III Velvet Revolver and Foo Fighters track packs got your motor runnin' (on XBLA or PSN, pick your poison) then you're going to blow a gasket reading the below list of Rock Band downloadable tracks, conveniently extracted from the physical pages of this month's OXM magazine and replaced by beautiful digital bits, helpfully transcribed by the good folks at ScoreHero. We're talking 24 confirmed tracks, from 17 monsters of rock. And that's not to mention the other Rock Band DLC we've already been promised, like The Who, Nirvana, and The Grateful Dead.Hit that jump for the latest list in all of its glory.[Big ups, Quastor]
First few waves of Rock Band DLC revealed
Coming straight from the pages of the latest OXM and finding its way onto the ScoreHero forums is a list of the first few months of Rock Band downloadable content love. No prices or official dates have been revealed just yet, but the musical DLC will be headed to the XBLM with artist packs taking priority. Anyhoo, let's get to the music. Bands getting their own track packs include Queens of the Stone Age, The Police, Metallica, Black Sabbath and David Bowie. There will also be themed music packs like the Punk Pack and additional a la carte songs for download too. Complete list of confirmed Rock Band DLC is just a click away, follow our lead and go towards the break. Go towards the break!
Velvet Revolver, Foo Fighters Guitar Hero III track packs hit Xbox Live
We think the signs are pretty clear now that Activision isn't taking the threat from Rock Band lying down. Just a bit more than a week after Guitar Hero III was released, we already have two meaty song packs to download through Xbox Live and enjoy.For 500 points ($6.25) you can get either a Foo Fighters pack that includes "The Pretender" from the new album "Echoes Silence Patience & Grace", "All My Life" and "This Is A Call" or the Velvet Revolver pack, with "She Builds Quick Machines","Slither" and "Messages". Each of the packs are by the original artists. With a nice boost like this to the track listing before the old songs have even gone stale, it's clear Red Octane is playing for keeps. ... You may not want to count Guitar Hero out just yet.Update: Activision has also announced that boss battle anthems and "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" will be downloadable (for free!) later this month for play outside the game's Career mode.
Rock Band is gold, game also sold separately
It's official future rockstars, EA, Harmonix and MTV Games have just announced that development on Rock Band is complete and the game has gone gold. It is currently being whisked away to an undisclosed manufacturing plant to be pressed to disc and nestled next to its numerous peripherals all packaged in one giant box. Or at least some copies will. In the press release announcing Rock Band's gold status, EA also confirmed that the game will be available in two flavors this year, the $169 peripheral bundle and as a stand alone game for $59. And we're glad to see the two flavor confirmation, because for a while we've received mixed messages regarding how it would release to retail at launch. Rock Band will be available November 20th and now you have two purchasing options.
Rock Band finally gone gold
So Guitar Hero III has been out for about a week and you've played it from start to finish numerous times. With no signs of any downloadable content in the near future (what's up with that?) where can you turn for more rhythm based rock gameplay? Well, fear not for the holy grail of rhythm games, Rock Band, finally went gold today. The game has been shipped off to manufacturers ready for the November 20th release date (December 18th for the PS2 version with PS3 compatible guitars). That's fifteen days to go - we're counting the hours, are you?
Rock Band done, sent off to manufacturing
Which is where most modern music comes from, rite? Harmonix and MTV Games have announced that multi-peripheral musicfest Rock Band has gone gold and is now rocking and rolling off assembly lines in order to meet the November 20th release date. The game, which is expected to be in short supply at first, will be sold in a $169.99 bundle only until 2008. Once the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions are out, a PlayStation 2 version priced at $159.99 will follow on December 18th.That gives you three different versions to choose from this holiday season -- all of them sure to leave a mess of wires running across your living room floor. We've also asked Harmonix to confirm whether or not Rock Band utilizes a USB dongle for the PS3's wireless guitar (a la Guitar Hero III). If that's the case, owners of the 40GB PS3 will also require a USB hub to make up for the system's halved number of ports. Nobody said starting a fake band was easy!
Wireless guitar works with PS2 and PS3 versions of Rock Band
So you've decided to buy Rock Band this December, but for some reason you're going to nab the PS2 version, complete with wireless guitar. All of a sudden, you inherit a PS3. What do you do? Apparently, you shrug and use the guitar on the PS3, as it will be compatible with either the PS2 or PS3 version of the game. Since the drum and microphone use the same USB interface, it's assumed they'll work in the same way.Another reason to buy the PS2 version -- it comes with a USB hub. If you're getting the new 40GB PS3 (which has 2 USB ports instead of 4) and the PS3 version of the game, it doesn't have a hub bundled in. It's a strange thing that could get overlooked, but knowledge is power and with power, you can rock. With friends!
Rock Band impressions ... from a Best Buy kiosk
When we heard of the existence of a Rock Band demo station at Best Buy locations throughout the country, we knew what had to be done: find the station, rock out in torn Posion tees and acid wash jeans while refusing to give toddlers a turn, have management escort us off the premises, and report back. We've taken care of the previous steps (who knew 50-year-old Gladys would have a gorilla grip), and now it's time for us to drop a knowledge bomb on all y'all. Here it is: Rock Band rocks.
Eight more Rock Band bonus tracks spotted
Our mother ship (which is more commonly known as Joystiq) just got the scoop on eight new Rock Band bonus songs thanks to a few tipsters and Harmonix being a tad careless with classified info.After watching 1UP's latest Rock Band video preview, a few Joystiq tipsters spotted seven "yet to be officially announced" bonus tracks, each broken up into separate categories based on their difficulty. Then, another tipster mentioned that the Honest Bob and the Factory-to-Dealer Incentives' MySpace page confirmed their track "I Get By" to be a bonus track too. Bonus songs we're sure the EA gods didn't want anyone to see just yet, but can be viewed after the break.And after doing a little math and adding up the game's 45 officially confirmed tracks with the newly discovered eight bonus songs we get 53 out of the 58 total. Only five more to go.
More of Rock Band's bonus tracks unveiled
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/gaming_news/More_of_Rock_Band_s_Bonus_Tracks_Unveiled/'; We already knew 45 out of Rock Band's 58 tracks, but a keen pair of eyes uncovered seven more previously unannounced songs in 1UP's video preview (also part of last Friday's 1UP show). Whoops! However, this isn't a flagrant foul or some intentional penalty, but most likely just an oversight that ends up benefiting us -- the gamers!The song list shows up at 1:27, and shows the songs categorized by difficulty. Here's the seven "new to us" tracks, which brings the number of known songs up to 52:ApprenticeThe Konks' "29 Fingers"Vagiant's "Seven"Solid SongsFlyleaf's "I'm So Sick"The Mother Hips' "Time We Had"Moderate SongsAnarchy Club's "Blood Doll"The Acro-Brat's "Day Late, Dollar Short"Crooked X's "Nightmare"So, want to let us know the last six, Harmonix? We'll be your best friends in the whole wide world -- promise!EDIT: Another Joystiq reader tipped us off to a blog posting by the band Honest Bob and the Factory-to-Dealer Incentives stating their song, "I Get By," is in Rock Band. Only five left now![Thanks, Brian and Andy]
EA: Rock Band will be hard to find
According to EA CEO John Riccitiello, Rock Band will be a very hot commodity this holiday season. During a recent conference call with investors, as reported by GameDaily BIZ, he noted that EA likely won't be able to keep up with demand for the game, suggesting that people should line up outside their local stores a day early if they want to secure a copy. We're not sure if it's necessary to go that far, but nevertheless, EA expects they will sell all of their initial supplies and further expects that the title will remain in short supply through the end of the year.In other news, Riccitiello also intriguingly notes not only additional songs coming to Rock Band, but also "add-on SKUs." Whether these are the individual instruments or something else entirely (custom instrument parts, perhaps?), we'll have to wait to find out.[Via Joystiq]
EA says there won't be much Rock Band to go around
If you were planning to set up shop with a few of your friends and make a pseudo-band, courtesy of Rock Band, you may want to inform your friends that securing a pre-order or some other method of purchasing would be a good idea. Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello said the game will be in short supply, rather, they will be unable to keep up with demand for the game. Verbatim, he said: "If I were you, on the nineteenth of November, I would get in line outside your favourite retailer, because we've got one hot product." Is he being a little cocky, or offering friendly advice? Perhaps a little of both.In addition to add-on songs "every week", the other SKU's to net you another instrument and other such things, Rock Band really is going to be a hot item. If you want to get the PS2 version in December, that's your call, but getting to do all the online stuff with the PS3 and 360 versions is a lot more tempting. But, lining up? That's what people do for console launches and the Halo games. It's your call, but if you've pre-ordered, you should be fine.
EA: Rock Band may face shortages through year's end
Continuing their tradition of sitting in on droning investor earnings report calls (so you don't have to!) Gamasutra noticed EA president John Riccitiello predicting that Rock Band bundles may be tough to come by for a while. "We won't be able to put up enough inventory to meet the demand of this fiscal or calendar year," Riccitiello told the investors, adding that those who don't buy at launch "won't be getting one for Christmas, unless you know someone at one of our retailers."While Riccitiello could be plausibly accused of simply trying to talk up demand in advance of the Nov. 20 launch -- he did encourage listeners to "get in line outside your favorite retailer, because we've got one hot product" -- we find the idea of shortages very easy to believe given the game's strong pre-order sales. With Guitar Hero III already selling out at retailers nationwide, it looks like the market for rhythm games might just be big enough for two expensive, hard-to-come-by products.
Best Buy sells Rock Band a little early
It looks like a Best Buy in Marina, California was a little confused about what "floor model" meant and accidentally put a boxed 360 version of Rock Band out for sale instead of setting it up as a demo unit -- and the eagle-eyed Tim Menz managed to spot the oversize box poking out of the Guitar Hero 3 display and "casually" purchase it. Apparently the UPC was already in the system but didn't raise any flags when it rang up for $169. Tim didn't bother with any of that silly rock music nonsense and skipped straight to selling out on eBay, but pulled the auction when EA called him and politely asked him to return the kit to the store. He hasn't done that yet, since it's a little unclear whether Tim got a full copy or just an in-store demo -- anyone out there know the answer?Update: Tim got back to us and says it is in fact the demo, but he's put it back on eBay for all you desperate to rock.Update 2: Tim just let us know that Best Buy is now offering him a full refund plus a $100 gift card -- looks like Big Blue wants their toys back.[Thanks, Thomas]
