Posts tagged Rock Band at Nintendo Wii Fanboy

Posts with tag Rock-Band

Rock Band Track Pack no replacement for DLC, available July

Posted May 5th 2008 2:17PM by Alisha Karabinus
Filed under: News

Rock Band for Wii isn't even ~~screwing you over~~ out yet, and already the downloadable content problem has been solved! All you have to do is buy an additional disc with a whopping twenty tracks for $29.99! No, you don't get to choose which ones you want and spend only a little money. You want extras? Pony up, suckers!

It's one thing -- and an acceptable thing -- to milk customers for a few bucks at a time for additional songs they really want. It's another thing altogether to offer up a full expansion for thirty dollars less than a month after the game is released. That's right: Rock Band isn't scheduled for the Wii until June 22, and this Track Pack is due July 15. And it's labeled Volume 1, naturally ... expect another round not long after that. We're anticipating September.

The only logical explanation for this travesty is that Harmonix is upset that they missed the Wii boat and are now scrambling to scrape as much quick cash as possible. The question is: will Wii owners take the rather unattractive bait? Fume your way past the break to see the full track listing for Rock Band's Track Pack Volume 1.

Continue reading Rock Band Track Pack no replacement for DLC, available July

Guitar Hero rumored to add peripherals

Posted Apr 23rd 2008 3:00PM by Candace Savino
Filed under: Rumors, Peripherals

There are rumors abound that Activision will be adding new instrument peripherals and a microphone to Guitar Hero IV, because of statements made by Activision's CEO Bobby Kotick in a recent interview with Conde Nast Portfolio. Should these bode true, though, we think this is a questionable move by the company. Although Rock Band is widely hailed as the better game, it seems lazy for Activision to turn its franchise into exactly (or at least, almost exactly) the same thing.

Let's think of the other negatives. Since Guitar Hero and Rock Band guitars are incompatible with the competing game (thanks to Activision), we can assume that if drums become a part of the GHIV experience, they will be, too. This means that people who want to own both will not only have to deal with a mountain of guitars (supposing they enjoy a good bout of local multiplayer), but also two drum sets cluttering up their homes. Moreover, this blogger has come to think of Guitar Hero as "the poor man's Rock Band," meaning that you don't have to pay an arm and a leg (just an arm) to get it. It's not cheap, but it's cheaper. Should the series turn into Rock Band, however, that will take away its economic edge.

Now, there could be good things about this rumored change. If Activision added some unique instruments (maybe a keyboard?), the game could offer something that Rock Band can't. Should it turn into nothing but a clone, though, we can't say we support that.

Kotick also mentioned that the game will include a feature that utilizes local bands, but what the CEO meant by this has yet to be clarified.

[Via Joystiq]

Harmonix was hesitant over Wii, now big fans

Posted Apr 16th 2008 5:00PM by Chris Greenhough
Filed under: News, Interviews

Well, we finally know the answer to a question that's been floating around since before the Wii version of Rock Band was confirmed: when it came to the Wii edition, what took so long, fellas? After all, Nintendo's console not only sells lots, but it's also a hit with the social gaming crowd, who'd surely lap up Rock Band.

The answer is a familiar one, because like so many other developers and publishers before it, Harmonix failed to anticipate just how popular this Wii thing was going to be. GameDaily grilled Harmonix VP of Product Development Greg LoPiccolo on this, who manfully admitted that "when we made the initial decisions about where to place our resources, [the success of the Wii] wasn't as clear as it became in retrospect and really for us, it was simply a matter of resources." Or, to put it another way: Harmonix likes money.

LoPiccolo also confessed that Harmonix had been reluctant to hand over the development reins of the Wii version to a different company, and that the studio "wasn't comfortable handing much of the core off to others, because we wanted to make sure that it was everything we wanted it to be." Whether Wii Rock Band is everything we want it to be is still up for debate.

Gallery: Rock Band

First Rock Band Wii shots arrive, fail to cheer us up

Posted Apr 15th 2008 9:00PM by Chris Greenhough
Filed under: Screens

Rock Band's taken its fair share of flak recently -- some would say it's been perfectly justifed -- but perhaps these first screens of the Wii version in action will help slow the barrage of complaints about the game.

To the surprise of nobody, they're pretty much identical to the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions of Harmonix's multi-instrumental extravaganza (minus the super-sharp HD look, obviously), and, y'know, that means it's quite a pretty game, at least. Convinced, yet? No? You're still dwelling on that missing DLC and online play, aren't you? Can't blame you. So are we. Sigh.

Gallery: Rock Band

GHSkinz adds style to your fake instruments

Posted Apr 15th 2008 8:00PM by David Hinkle
Filed under: Fan stuff, Peripherals

Folks looking to jazz up their plastic Les Pauls for Guitar Hero or instruments they'll be jamming with in Rock Band, take note. Website GHSkinz is looking to offer you skins and other accessories for your fake instruments.

The skins themselves look like they're high quality, but with that comes the problem of price. It won't be cheap to outfit your instruments. But, then again, when your guitar looks as badass as this, we're not sure you're going to care about how much you spent to make sure it looks this way.

See also: Give your Rock Band drums some extra lives

NMS08: Joystiq hands-on with the future of Wii

Posted Apr 15th 2008 1:30PM by Alisha Karabinus
Filed under: News

Big-brother blog Joystiq's own Zack Stern got a little face time with some of the biggest games of your fanboy future at last week's Nintendo Media Summit, and mostly, the verdict is good, even in some surprising places. We've linked all of the hands-on impressions below, but will offer a quick recap here:

Rock Band for Wii is not quite a complete travesty; improvements made to the original Rock Bands are present here, and apparently, there is at least discussion of how to handle the online play/DLC problem, but whether or not that will be managed as a later add-on or reserved for a sequel was not said. But it's not all sunshine and rainbows ....
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is the opposite of Rock Band, however, in that it sounds even better than we expected. Zack spent some time in the Wii-specific multiplayer duel mode, and it sounds as though the level of depth (and sheer fun!) to be found there will make Wii owners and Star Wars fans very happy. We're looking forward to it!
BOOM BLOX may seem like a simple game, but while we're on the subject of depth, this is another title with a lot to explore and discover, and we know a lot of you are excited about it -- so much so that you'll challenge the bloggers to steel cage matches and all. It's cool. We like to know you care.
Samba de Amigo both is and ain't the original. It looks and feels like the Dreamcast game, but Wii remotes just aren't maracas. We did get our wish, though you can use two Wiimotes instead of a Wiimote and a nunchuk if you want, to get your samba on.
Wii Fit is fun, with a lot of enjoyable mini-games, but Zack felt they might get repetitive after a while. Then again, what exercise routine doesn't? That's why they call it a routine, amirite?

Read: Joystiq hands-on with BOOM BLOX
Read: Joystiq hands-on with Rock Band Wii
Read: Joystiq hands-on with Samba de Amigo
Read: Joystiq hands-on with Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
Read: Joystiq hands-on with Wii Fit

NMS08: Rock Band 'bonus' simply PS3/360 dregs

Posted Apr 15th 2008 6:30AM by Alisha Karabinus
Filed under: News

The mystery of our Rock Band's "bonus" tracks has been solved -- and the songs are nothing you haven't seen before, especially if you've been following the available DLC for the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions of the title. Here's your extra content, Wii owners. Merry freakin' Christmas.

"Dirty Little Secret" - The All American Rejects
"Roam" - The B-52's
"Don't Look Back in Anger" - Oasis
"Roxanne" - The Police
"Rockaway Beach" - The Ramones

Gallery: Rock Band

No Wii Rock Band in Europe until August [update]

Posted Apr 14th 2008 9:00PM by Candace Savino
Filed under: News

We're not surprised that the majority of you aren't excited by the Wii's gimped version of Rock Band. If you actually were looking forward to it, though, and happen to live in Europe, EA just offered you another kick in the face. The company announced today that the Wii, PS2, and PS3 versions of Rock Band won't be hitting the continent until August 29th. So, if you were planning on jamming this summer with your fake band on Nintendo's console, it's not going to happen.

Of course, you could always get the Xbox 360 version instead, since it comes out in May and actually has online play and DLC, unlike the Wii version -- but it might cost you an arm and a leg. Though, to be honest, we're not really sure what the going rates for arms and legs are these days.

[Update: EA retracted their confirmation of the date, and is back to saying that all non-360 versions of Rock Band will release in Europe "later this summer." The company also states that the August 29th date on the fact sheet was an error. Very shady, EA!]

[Via Kotaku]

Give your Rock Band drums some extra lives

Posted Apr 10th 2008 1:30PM by David Hinkle
Filed under: Fan stuff, Mods, Peripherals, Video

One of the complaints of those who have picked up Rock Band for consoles that aren't the Wii is that the drum set included can be kind of loud. We get it; you're jamming along to your favorite song and don't realize you're actually shaking the walls because you're drumming so damn loudly. The landlord gets upset, kicks you out and you're forced to now call the box that Rock Band came in your home.

Well, there might be hope for an alternative future. Thanks to the mod above, you can add some style to those boring drums, as well as help mute the loud banging that comes as a result from wailing on them. For those of you living in close proximity to other human beings, we imagine this is something you're going to want to look into.

Gallery: Rock Band

[Via Engadget]

Harmonix explains gimped Wii Rock Band

Posted Apr 9th 2008 5:00PM by Chris Greenhough
Filed under: News, Interviews

So it appears you're all pretty upset about the Wii version of Rock Band. And hey, we can't blame you -- we feel the same way! The reduced feature-set of the Wii game hurts, and like many of you, the lack of online play and DLC may well force us to purchase another version.

But according to developer Harmonix, none of this is really its fault -- nope, it's the Wii that's to blame, specifically the lack of a Wii hard drive. Quoth Harmonix design director Rob Kay: "[...] We need a hard drive. That's what we want. The whole problem is there's nowhere to store it. If the platform could do it, we'd jump on it."

Which is a valid point, actually. With single songs on other versions weighing in at around 30 - 45MB, the Wii's 512MB of internal storage would fill up quickly. We remain justifiably cross, however, at the missing online play.

Wii and friends: A Great Match

Posted Apr 9th 2008 3:00PM by David Hinkle
Filed under: Nintendo Wi-Fi, Features, WiiWare

Why do we love the Wii with friends? Because we want all to share the splendor and majesty that comes from playing the best home gaming console around. So that's why we set out to bring you a nice, easy package of great multiplayer games for the Wii.

Both online and local multiplayer is covered, as well as games that have released and those that are still in production. We hope you find this useful in your own life, in some small way, or at least a good place to link a friend who has no idea what they're getting into with the Wii. So read on and see what we have in store, then come back here and tell us what multiplayer experiences you enjoy most on the Wii!

Wii Warm Up: Let's talk Rock Band (again)

Posted Apr 3rd 2008 9:00AM by Alisha Karabinus
Filed under: Wii Warm Up

The last time we talked about Rock Band in the morning topic, we didn't yet know that we were getting the shaft. Yeah, we said it: Rock Band for the Wii sucks. Personally, this blogger is more unhappy about the lack of DLC than the lack of other online functions. That's a lot of money to spend on a game that can't be updated similarly to the other next-gen versions, and considering we've got WiiWare on the table, no DLC just seems wrong. We're used to dragging friends over to play Wii; after all, we've played more multiplayer Wii in person than online by a long shot. It's old hat by now. Not being able to play online is sauce in the flavor of weak, to be sure, but no DLC means no sale from where I'm sitting. Of course, a lot of you probably feel differently; maybe you'd rather have online play, or perhaps you're actually excited about Rock Band. If so, please explain that one to us, because we are confused.

Rock Band drums and boxart revealed

Posted Mar 25th 2008 12:45PM by Chris Greenhough
Filed under: Peripherals, Screens

Click to enlarge image.

As disappointing as it was to hear that the Wii version of Rock Band would be closer to the PS2 game than those on next-gen machines, we're not about to start booing the game off stage just yet. Besides, who says the Wii version is inferior in every way to its next-gen brethren? The Rock Band drums, for instance, look absolutely spiffy in Wii white -- we genuinely prefer these to the black versions that appeared on other consoles. Okay, so that's a small victory, but it's a victory nonetheless.

Speaking of Rock Band peripherals, GameStop has already listed prices for the drums ($79.99), wireless guitar ($59.99), the game on its own ($49.99), and the Rock Band Special Edition Bundle For Rich Sods ($169.99). Hit the gallery for some boxart goodness.

Gallery: Rock Band

[Via press release]

Rock Band coming to Wii on June 22nd [update 2]

Posted Mar 24th 2008 2:15PM by JC Fletcher
Filed under: News

Harmonix has finally made it for-really-real official: Rock Band is coming out on the Wii. They announced today that Rock Band will come out for Wii on June 22nd in the U.S. and Canada, in a Special Edition package including drums, a wireless guitar, and a mic, for $169.99. Standalone instruments will also be available.

Rock Band will feature 63 songs, which includes five "bonus songs" -- we don't know what any of the songs are or what it means for some of them to be "bonuses." Songs that are available as DLC on other platforms? Nintendo stuff? No idea. But as long as there are songs in the game for us to play fake instruments to, we kind of don't care. We are down with Waggle Rock.

[Update: thanks to a post on the Rock Band forum from a Harmonix staffer (via Joystiq), our enthusiasm has diminished somewhat. "The feature-set is a lot closer to the PS2 version of Rock Band which was also developed by Pi Studios," according to the post. Interestingly, he also said that the peripherals don't use the Wiimote, which calls Guitar Hero interoperability into question.]

[Update 2: MTV's Multiplayer blog answers the DLC question definitively: "There will be no DLC available, but the Wii version will have the five additional songs on the game disc."]

[Via Gaming Bits, thanks, Rivithed!]

Wii Warm Up: Let's talk Rock Band

Posted Feb 3rd 2008 10:30AM by Chris Greenhough
Filed under: Wii Warm Up

EA confirmed earlier this week that it would be bringing Rock Band to the Wii, an announcement which prompted spontaneous high kicks and even the splits from most of the Wii Fanboy crew. This is a fantastic development, and the pairing of Rock Band and the Wii seems absolutely right. It's the ultimate party game for the console that is most suited to social gatherings.

So, we can't help ourselves. We want to chat some more about Harmonix's big-budget rhythm game, and get some of your thoughts. Firstly, will you be buying it? If so, all of the instruments? And which role will you be playing?

Also, is this the kind of thing your relatives would play with you? We'd love to see bands that span the generations, with grandmothers on bass and uncles maintaining a steady beat on the drums. Our families won't have a choice, frankly. They will be playing and they will enjoy it.

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Nintendo Wii Fanboy

Rock Band Track Pack no replacement for DLC, available July

Guitar Hero rumored to add peripherals

Harmonix was hesitant over Wii, now big fans

First Rock Band Wii shots arrive, fail to cheer us up

GHSkinz adds style to your fake instruments

NMS08: Joystiq hands-on with the future of Wii

NMS08: Rock Band 'bonus' simply PS3/360 dregs

No Wii Rock Band in Europe until August [update]

Give your Rock Band drums some extra lives

Harmonix explains gimped Wii Rock Band

Wii and friends: A Great Match

Wii Warm Up: Let's talk Rock Band (again)

Rock Band drums and boxart revealed

Rock Band coming to Wii on June 22nd [update 2]

Wii Warm Up: Let's talk Rock Band

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