Rock Band DLC coming to the Wii/PS2....kinda.

[Rock Bandit]

Straight outta Cambridge (http://www.rockband.com/forums/showthread.php?p=591953#post591953): Harmonix will be releasing a Rock Band expansion pack for all the DLC starved owners of the Wii and PS2.

Cambridge, MA – May 5, 2008 -- 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 Rock Band™ Track Pack Volume 1 for the Wii™ home video game console from Nintendo and PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system. The 20-Track Pack features an electrifying mix of classic hits and current favorites, including songs by Boston, Nine Inch Nails, Stone Temple Pilots, and All American Rejects. The Rock Band™ Track Pack Volume 1 will be available on July 15th, 2008 for a MSRP of $29.99. Complete details are as follows:

The 20 track expansion will feature the following (all masters):

30 Seconds to Mars - The Kill
All American Rejects - Move Along
Blink – 182 - All the Small Things
Boston - More Than a Feeling
David Bowie - Moonage Daydream
Faith No More - We Care A Lot
Grateful Dead - Truckin’
The Hives - Die, All Right!
KISS - Calling Dr. Love
Lynyrd Skynyrd - Gimme’ Three Steps
Nine Inch Nails - March of the Pigs
Oasis - Live Forever
Paramore - Crushcrushcrush
The Police - Synchronicity II
Queens of the Stone Age - Little Sister
Ramones - Teenage Lobotomy
Smashing Pumpkins - Siva
Stone Temple Pilots - Interstate Love Song
Weezer - Buddy Holly
Wolfmother - Joker & the Thief

As the name Rock Band Track Pack Volume 1 would indicate, we can expect more of these in the future.

So what's the consensus? Is a 20-track expansion at $30 (or $1.50 a song) a fair deal? Considering those songs are $1.99 each on Live and PSN it would seem like a discount but at the same time you don't have the freedom to pick and choose what you want as you would when purchasing them online.

[divinechaos]

So this will be in a seperate disc and will save to the Wii/PS2's Memory Card? I don't get it.

[Deadend]

Will I have to Insert the Rock Band DVD to make it work? Or is it stand-alone expansion?

[Zanzibar]

I'm sure this has to be a standalone disc, right? They'll just double the basic character models, code and swap out the 'original' songs with these new ones.

Sounds like the only real solution available for these platforms.

[mkelehan]

I'm sure it'll be standalone, and I think the price is right. Activision would charge $50 for this.

[Kuya Cocoy]

PS2 owners have no choice, really. Wished there were more songs at the same price.. Bonus tracks, Haromix? Exclusives?

[Jetherik]

I understand the limitations of the Wii and this is a decent solution - except out of the 20 songs, I would want maybe 6-7. With each expansion pack - it would have to be at least half the songs before I bought it. Too bad you can't customize your song selection.

[absolut taco]

both the wii and ps2 use memory cards, right? it shouldn't be hard to allow copying the new songs onto the card so you wouldn't have to swap discs if you wanted to play a song from the original setlist...

[jeffbax]

It wouldn't make any sense for it to not be a standalone disc. Honestly, I wish I could get this for PS3 because after selling my 360 and being unable to really sell the ~$150 in XBLA gear I just don't trust digital distribution for a lot of things and would rather just have a disc.

[Kuya Cocoy]

I think it's going to be more like Persona:FES where you do a disk swap everytime you wanna use these songs, and back again. Sorry newcomers, no free rides. :P

[Roc Ingersol]

I understand the limitations of the Wii and this is a decent solution - except out of the 20 songs, I would want maybe 6-7.And that's why I don't mind the $1.50 pricing. Per-track it looks like a good deal. But unless you're playing DLC like Pokemon, you're better off 'paying more'.

Personally, I think I have 9 of those tracks. ~$18 < $30 ftw.

[mister_slim]

I think it's going to be more like Persona:FES where you do a disk swap everytime you wanna use these songs, and back again. Sorry newcomers, no free rides. :P

Maybe they'll do it SingStar-style.

[Rock Bandit]

Update:

Rock Band Track Pack Volume 1 is it's own standalone disc.

Via Wired (http://blog.wired.com/games/2008/05/harmonix-expans.html)

[court12b]

ah here's the official thread. Just logged in to say Yay!

[Sl1pstream]

both the wii and ps2 use memory cards, right? it shouldn't be hard to allow copying the new songs onto the card so you wouldn't have to swap discs if you wanted to play a song from the original setlist...

How are you going to fit them on an 8MB PS2 Memory Card?