[Rumor] - Rock Band DOA Down Under?

[Dr.Finger]

Bad news for music fans in Australia (and presumably New Zealand as well). IGN is reporting (http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/898/898716p1.html) that retailers in Australia are just not interested in Rock Band.

There are a lot of reasons for this retailer reticence. The game is very big and heavy - taking up a lot of valuable space in traditionally small game stores - it costs a lot even at the wholesale level, and it's already close to a full year old. Guitar Hero: World Tour is similarly big and expensive, but the Guitar Hero brand already has a significant presence Down Under, and it should be released there fairly close to it's North American and European release dates.

Add those two factors together and publisher Electronic Arts is rumored to be dropping plans for an Aussie release of Rock Band 2 altogether.

Source - Joystiq (http://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/17/rumor-rock-band-may-never-come-to-australia/).

This one gets the rumor tag, but it jibes with several firm stories I've heard recently about Rock Band ever coming down under. What say our AUS-NZ contingent?

[Smithersnz]

It could be the fact people are unwilling to pay $520 for it, which is what they were going to charge. It could be the fact it has taken a year for them to get around to sending it down here. Or it could be the fact that EA told us we were only getting one shipment, so we should consider ourselves lucky. That's not a good way to treat your customers.

[Smithersnz]

Oh, and to put it into perspective, RB costs more than a Wii in NZ

[Earth Djinn]

Well I imported the UK (game only) version of Rock Band for 360 a couple months ago, and even though I can only do guitar parts, its still a whole lot better than nothing.

I figure Ill just import the Rock Band 2 disc and buy the full instrument set for GH4, and then I can do everything.

[Uniqueusername]

$388 was the price point I heard for Australia. (More than a 360.)

If the retailers want to stick it to EA by not stocking their overpriced crap, that's fine by me. Hopefully, it's the start of a trend- I'm all for anything that might help cut prices.

[carnage11]

This is speaking of Rock Band and not Rock Band 2 correct? Umm....why not just wait and release Rock Band 2 down there and just forget about Rock Band?

[Dr.Finger]

This is speaking of Rock Band and not Rock Band 2 correct? Umm....why not just wait and release Rock Band 2 down there and just forget about Rock Band?It's both. If retailers completely ignore RB1, then EA likely isn't going to invest the time and money needed to being RB2 to the region.

[grunter]

I gave up waiting and imported it a while back.

The rumors have the Aussie Rockband bundle including the game at $450US.

For the xBox 360, I imported the PAL version of the game only from the UK and imported the Rockband bundle (drum, mic, guitar, usb hub and NTSC game) from the US. Even with the delivery charges included, it cost a total of $310US to get it delivered to my door in Australia.

For comparison:
$190.00US to buy the Rockband bundle delivered in the US.
$450.00US to buy the Rockband bundle, undelivered, in Australia.
$310.00US to import the Rockband bundle and a separate PAL copy of the game, delivered to Australia.

That's some crazy arsed pricing even for an Aussie release.

[Cade]

I've seen rockband ads in the EB near my work, so maybe just EB will be stocking them, or maybe the ads are lying.

[Talon-]

It could be the fact people are unwilling to pay $520 for it, which is what they were going to charge. It could be the fact it has taken a year for them to get around to sending it down here. Or it could be the fact that EA told us we were only getting one shipment, so we should consider ourselves lucky. That's not a good way to treat your customers.

This is what I've read about the subject.

[johnymitsu]

Doesn't bother me, there was no way I was going to pay some stupidly high price for fake plastic instruments, I got over Guitar Hero 3 and i'm glad I did. Still, I have a few friends that were pretty excited about it, so it sucks for them I spose.

[Uniqueusername]

Here's another way to look at it: It looks like you can buy a real electric guitar, amp, 3 piece drum kit and microphone for slightly less than the toy ones and the game... :p

[Yeti]

Glad I picked up the disc whilst in Blighty last month now:) Though I'll be gutted if I don't get the chance to DL some DLC.:(

[TrackZero]

It could be the fact people are unwilling to pay $520 for it, which is what they were going to charge. It could be the fact it has taken a year for them to get around to sending it down here. Or it could be the fact that EA told us we were only getting one shipment, so we should consider ourselves lucky. That's not a good way to treat your customers.

Pfft, looking back so far with it. I'd pay $520 for it without blinking an eye.

[Chris_D]

Any serious aussie gamer who's not in on the import scene yet deserves whatever local distributers give them. It does suck a bit for casuals but then I doubt they hang out and post at Evil Avatar.

[Darkbase]

Yahtzee's gunna be pissed...

[JimmyDanger]

I've seen rockband ads in the EB near my work, so maybe just EB will be stocking them, or maybe the ads are lying.

I actually heard that EB's warehouse (where most 90% of their stock in Oz is distributed from) - and their courier (that delivers said product to all the stores around the country) - just didn't want to touch it.

Too much cost with shipping it around the country - when 2 units would be a similar box size/weight to their entire regular product "new releases" delivery for the week (for an average size EB).

As far as I know - EB let EA know they weren't interested, and few other retailers "stepped up", so it was dropped.

[Scramble]

This really doesn't surprise me. I'm dissapointed of course, but when it's been out for a full year in the States now, and GH has had basically a simultaneous worldwide release previously, it doesn't look good. Sucks that we'll only be getting the shitty post Harmonix GHWT Rock Band game. GH3 lost all it's feeling.

[johnymitsu]

Pfft, looking back so far with it. I'd pay $520 for it without blinking an eye.

...You'd really pay over $500 for plastic toy guitars and drums? American/Canadian dollars for you on top of that.....

[MosBen]

Why is it so expensive lengthy a process to bring games to Austrailia? Once the game is converted to PAL for the UK, what's the big deal?

[Uniqueusername]

Once the game is converted to PAL for the UK, what's the big deal?
Nothing. Imports work fine. Even imports from Asia or the US usually work unless region locked.

It's just price gouging- the same reason we got a $1000 PS3 with no BC, and why the Wii costs more than the 360.