Rock Band - 23rd May

Mr E

Posted over on the Guitar Hero forum, but I think its worth posting here.

Its out on the 360 (only!) on May 23rd. Other formats to follow later in the summer.

All downloadable tracks will be available immediately too, which is fantastic news.

More here: http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=130870

Furp

Just saw the great news this morning although no word on the price yet, although there is a press event on today so maybe we will know later on.

the corpo

eurogamer posted the prices. complete version comes in around €240, which is shocking

you will have to fork out for on an Instrument Edition at GBP 129.99 / EUR 169 - comprised of the drum kit, guitar and microphone - then buy the game separately for GBP 49.99 / EUR 69.99.

in the US the total kit comes to €107....

Furp

I just saw that, it is a scandalous price.

http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=130927

Over double the price of the US and you have to buy it as separates, really what are they thinking, especially with the exchange rate surely its cheap to manufacture. I wont' be buying at that price. Is it region free as I could get someone to purchase on an upcoming trip to the states.

Even on amazon.com at the moment its $148
http://www.amazon.com/Rock-Band-Special-Xbox-360/dp/B000TT4GBG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1207647800&sr=1-1

Which at todays exchange rate is €93.

johnny_ultimate

If 240 is right, that is absolutely ridiculous!
I would love to buy this game, but I would feel guilty paying that much for a single game, even with all the fancy periphirals.
EDIT: and Xbox version isn't region free so it can't be imported.

unklerosco

I read the first post n thought "AT LAST!!" then I saw the price... WTF??? I was expecting it to be around €140-160 n even at that it would be pushing it...

€240!! I could buy a new 360 n have €40 left over for that...

F-Stop

Ha! The shameless rip off merchants. I'd like Rock Band, but not at that price.

K.O.Kiki

Hi Europe!
Here, have some late games, hope you brought enough lube.

mayordenis

lol oops just posted this in the games forum, ah well, its ****ed up though, might just get it nicely region free on my ****ty ps3.

Burning Eclipse

F*ck my life.

No, that's being too dramatic. Being entirely serious here though, I predict enormous consumer backlash and a swift price drop. Particularly when importing a ps3 version would be much cheaper. And would help incentivise buying a ps3 for those on the fence...

Am I being naive...

ShaneU

Not going near it at that price.

smog

TBH i just wanted it for the Drums (Have both GH and SS) but 240?? not a chance
And no doubt live will be suckin you in for more cash for song packs.

witnessmenow

Ill be importing it on the ps3 from yankee land soon.

You could literally buy the full game pack in america and buy the game here for less than that!

Mr E

If you look at the comments on Kotaku, Eurogamer, and even the Rock Band Forums (where the thread title is "April Fools was last week, how about you tell us the real price"), there is huge backlash against the price.

EA are going to have to act on it, or its going to leave a bad taste in everyones mouth.

(Note - Kotaku link needs to be edited manually - guess what word was used in the URL)

faceman

Can you get the instruments in a pack from the US? And then buy the game here? It would still be cheaper presumably?

ShaneU

faceman wrote: »

Can you get the instruments in a pack from the US? And then buy the game here? It would still be cheaper presumably?

yeah, providing it avoids customs.

D3UC3 J3

I've been playing this since last Friday, Bud Rising / MS Promo.

I'm not convinced it's all it should be.

The guitar is a bit fiddly by comparison to the GH ones.

The Drums will be hated by non drummers for being difficult and hated by drummers for being to easy (Trust me, this is the feedback so far).

The set list is mediocre by compariosn to GH2 & 3 (But then i suppose to different folks thats subjective).

There are certainly less songs on the disc. The Harmonix in house ones are pretty crap, and i loved the freezepop track on GH2!

Also and most dissapointing for me is that it's too easy. I can play some songs on expert in GH but all of them in this. It's just not as satisfying when you finally get a really good score.

Finally, €240 for the special edition! There's only one guitar in there btw! (And it's wired i'm pretty sure of.)

I think for that price only a fool will buy it.

I certainly won't anyway, and i really wanted to DL all the Boston songs!

Hitch a Ride FTW!!!

IMHO it's a pity

EDIT: Forgot to say the singing is pretty good. The RB mic we got was broked so we had to use a HS connected to a wireless, but i can't say whether it ads to the game or not as i'm a terrible singer!!!

Mr E

Nice review....
(I still want it! )

Not for €240 though.

ShaneU

taken from a kotaku post

Comparison of MSRPs for different electronics in Europe and US (converted to dollars):

Xbox 360 20GB: US $349.99 - EU $425 (€269,99) = +21.5%
PS3 40GB: US$399.99 - EU $630 (€399) = +58%
Standard PS3/360 game: US $69 - EU $109 (€69) = +58%
Apple iPod Touch 16GB: US $399 - EU $582.9 (€369) = +46%
Dell Inspiron (base model): US $499 - EU $709 (€449) = +42%
Panasonic PT-AX200U projector: US $1999 - EU $2367.8 (€1499) = +18%

And so on... this is all list prices (MSRP) taken on random but it holds true for most electronic companies. If it's not 1 Euro per Dollar, it's usually less. However, for Rock band it goes:

US $169 - EU $377.5 (€239) = +123.4%

And just for kicks, the previous king of ripoffs:
PS3 40GB: US $399.99 - Scandinavia $757.76 (SEK4495) = +90% "

Ri_Nollaig

ShaneU wrote: »

taken from a kotaku post

Comparison of MSRPs for different electronics in Europe and US (converted to dollars):

Xbox 360 20GB: US $349.99 - EU $425 (€269,99) = +21.5%
PS3 40GB: US$399.99 - EU $630 (€399) = +58%
Standard PS3/360 game: US $69 - EU $109 (€69) = +58%
Apple iPod Touch 16GB: US $399 - EU $582.9 (€369) = +46%
Dell Inspiron (base model): US $499 - EU $709 (€449) = +42%
Panasonic PT-AX200U projector: US $1999 - EU $2367.8 (€1499) = +18%

And so on... this is all list prices (MSRP) taken on random but it holds true for most electronic companies. If it's not 1 Euro per Dollar, it's usually less. However, for Rock band it goes:

US $169 - EU $377.5 (€239) = +123.4%

And just for kicks, the previous king of ripoffs:
PS3 40GB: US $399.99 - Scandinavia $757.76 (SEK4495) = +90% "

i dont think prices quoted in the US include vat so +20% sounds about right, but +120%!!!!! they are having a fu.cking laugh
nice artistic representation though

Mr. K

I, for one, think the price is pretty reasonable. They're giving us so much and asking so little. After all, you can't take it with you. Why not give your hard-earned cash to a company that churns out the same games year after year? Why, it only costs nearly as much as the console you're playing it on!

Yep...who doesn't love EA? But really, if we don't buy it, they'll have to lower the price!

chrislad

That price is disgraceful.

My only query is whether RB will work with the GH3 controller? If so, that at least saves me the price of a guitar. I'll probably just pick up the game and leave the rest.

Kinetic^

I won't be picking up either the game or the peripherals. I stay away from EA at all costs these days, only game I'd fork out money for would be the Madden series and it's been a while since I've done even that.

I just don't get how they can justify a price like that. :mad:

I used to buy their games when younger but the games were just the same every year, so I switched from NBA Live to NBA 2K, FIFA to PES......just better games. However there's tonnes of little kids out there who have their parents pay for it. If I ever have kids, no EA games for them!!!!!! :pac:

Not The Real Scarecrow

anyone know if it will be compatible with guitar hero 3 guitar or do you have to buy they're equipment?

Basq

Shag it... i'm not made of money.

Selling my body for a failure..!

johnny_ultimate

It should definitely be boycotted at this price. The game looks spectacularly fun, but if people pay for this it will just let the companies know they will get away with it.

Unfortunately, the internet uproar doesn't always spill over to reality, so lets just hope people reject it based on price alone.

Basq

€139.99 for Rock Band: Band In A Box (Instruments Edition)
€55.99 for Rock Band: Solus (Game)

---

€194.98 - Total

johnny_ultimate

basquille wrote: »

€139.99 for Rock Band: Band In A Box (Instruments Edition)
€55.99 for Rock Band: Solus (Game)

---

€194.98 - Total

Do play ship big electronic packages to Ireland? I'd imagine they wouldn't sell the instrument pack.
Even at 195 euro its a disgrace. I would have thought 150-160 would be the maximum they would charge for it, which is still excessive. The play RRSP provide another confirmation of how much the high street stores will be charging

Wish the 360 version was region free...

koneko

Haha. Was looking forward to it, but not a chance are they getting that much out of me for it, after such a big delay as well. Piss off, EA.

Smellyirishman

GH controllers are compatible with the 360 version so I'll probably pick up the game anyway and then try to get a relativly decent price on the drums somewhere down the line. Shame the price is so bloated, been dying for this games release for the past 6+ months.

Rochie IRL

The pricing is just stupid, America has the game months we have to wait and then pay way over the odds.

Can anyone tell me if EA are going to do the same as they did with Army Of Two. is rock band going to have the (EU) stuck on it so we can't play with people outside europe.

D3UC3 J3

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

It should definitely be boycotted at this price.

Will it though??? Let's hope so. "EA RB Sales lower than expected due to boycott over higher regional prices"

Kinetic^ wrote: »

I stay away from EA at all costs these days, only game I'd fork out money for would be the Madden series and it's been a while since I've done even that.

Tiger Woods PGA Series is also a good one, hopefully the new f1 will be as good as old too!

Smellyirishman wrote: »

GH controllers are compatible with the 360 version so I'll probably pick up the game anyway and then try to get a relativly decent price on the drums somewhere down the line. Shame the price is so bloated, been dying for this games release for the past 6+ months.

This is true - I've played it with bothe the GH2 Explorer and the Wireless GH3 guitars.

Funny thing is that in the promo EA have had to send us over a NTSC Game and XBox 360 and the GH periphs are all from here. (Save the RB periphs being out of a NTSC box also)

Rochie IRL wrote: »

The pricing is just stupid, America has the game months we have to wait and then pay way over the odds.

Can anyone tell me if EA are going to do the same as they did with Army Of Two. is rock band going to have the (EU) stuck on it so we can't play with people outside europe.

I didn't even think of trying this online when I had it at home but i very much doubt its the case.

There was some fundamental (but retarded) reason why Aof2 was like that i think???

Kinetic^

D3UC3 J3 wrote: »

Tiger Woods PGA Series is also a good one, hopefully the new f1 will be as good as old too!

If they mess F1 up, I will personally hunt the developers down!!! :mad:

D3UC3 J3

Kinetic killed a guy. Mark, Did you throw a trident?

Kinetic - Yeah, there were horses, and a man on fire, and I killed a guy with a trident.

Look out EA! :eek:

00sully

ah f*ck EA - i will never buy another game from em again - this couple with Battlefield shennanigans (oooh weapons anyone?)

wtf like? seriously, boycott ALL ea games. if i meet anyone who works in ea im gonna kick em in the nads.

"ea execs sit back, smoke a cigar and say...f*ck it, raise the price another 20"

synacron trion

Definitely not buying this game even if the price drops which I'm sure it will have to to actually sell. The fact that they held out this long without releasing the game and then setting this absolutely ridiculous price...they can shove it.

faceman

synacron trion wrote: »

Definitely not buying this game even if the price drops which I'm sure it will have to to actually sell. The fact that they held out this long without releasing the game and then setting this absolutely ridiculous price...they can shove it.

The price aside, i havent been keeping abreast of why the game was delayed by i had wondered if it was something to do with the music rights for Europe?

D3UC3 J3

That's it exactly!

synacron trion

D3UC3 J3 wrote: »

That's it exactly!

Was it? I read on here, I think, that it was because of the shoddy design of the drum pedal. Which would lead me to believe why they'd rip us off by charging us more to offset the price of repairing all the drum kits but if it was because of music rights it would make more sense.

D3UC3 J3

Nah i doubt it, the one i played was thrown together by EA for the demo and an NTSC version at that.

The mic doesn't work and the usb hub is third party. It had two GH2 explorers in the box too.

But, the bass pedal for the drum is g2g!

Smellyirishman

D3UC3 J3 wrote: »

But, the bass pedal for the drum is g2g!

I wouldn't say that, metal replacements are doing hot business on eBay and all of the top players have a kick replacement of some sort.

Also, they never came out and said why the game was delayed and especially never made mention of music rights causing the delay. The closest thing they gave for a reason was another "myriad of little things" excuse, transport, laws, localisation etc....

D3UC3 J3

Seemed fine to me but maybe they are.

No harm in making it better and being able to put more ware into it!

Smellyirishman

It's pretty common for them to break for most good players.

Wiki.