Major Rock Band Update this week, Music Store and More
EA just blasted my inbox with some exciting news: Rock Band is getting an update this week, with the focus being on a brand new in-game music store. The music store will allow you to view tracks sorted by album, genre and more, with album art and song difficulty for each instrument displayed. This update will also include "additional game features that address many of the popular requests by the gaming community" which could mean anything!
I am thrilled to see EA keeping their word in making Rock Band a brand new way to experience music, and the addition of a music store means better organization for the 100+ downloadable tracks so far, and also most likely means that full album downloads are mere weeks away. Rock Band is already my favorite game of all time, and with this news its only going to get favoriter. Is that even a word?
Full press release after the ol jumpy.
Update Wired has a rundown of what exactly this entails, including sexy screenshots of the new store. Score.
ROCK BAND™ DOWNLOADABLE CONTENT GOES“SIX TIMES
PLATINUM”
6 MILLION SONGS IN ROCK BAND PURCHASED IN JUST OVER 3 MONTHS
BRAND NEW IN-GAME MUSIC STORE FEATURED IN ROCK BAND™SOFTWARE
UPDATE HITS THIS WEEK
Cambridge, MA - March 20, 2008 – Red hot music video game Rock
Band continues to fly off shelves and satisfy music fans and gamers
voracious appetite for rock as more than 6 million game levels based
on songs have been purchased since its launch on November 20, 2007.
With an impressive weekly stream of downloadable content since launch
and an unmatched offering of over 70 songs available for purchase to
date, Rock Band has gone six times platinum featuring a diverse
selection of artists ranging from classic rock to up and coming,
emerging acts.
"Thank you to the music lovers who have helped Rock Band reach an
incredible milestone of over 6 million purchased downloads at such an
early stage,” stated by Paul DeGooyer, SVP DVD, Gaming and
Audio, MTV. “The success of Rock Band downloadable content to
date firmly reinforces our vision and its potential as a platform for
music discovery. By empowering players with the ability to customize
their Rock Band library with a rapidly growing selection of rock
artists and songs on a weekly basis and adding great new features such
as the in-game music store, we are thrilled to give fans more ways to
enhance and enjoy their Rock Band experience.”
As an ever evolving platform for players to experience music like
never before, Harmonix and MTV Games also announced the release of a
software update this week which features the new in-game Rock Band
Music Store. This innovative new feature allows Rock Band players to
preview and purchase downloadable individual music tracks and packs
from the vast selection of offerings available to date without ever
leaving the game as they build their own custom Rock Band library. The
Rock Band Music Store has a user-friendly interface to streamline and
enhance the music shopping experience and will be available via a free
download through the Xbox LIVE® and PLAYSTATION®Network this
week. Accessible from the main menu, the Music Store now lets you
view, purchase, and sort all downloadable songs tracks by Artist, Song
Title, Genre, Albums, Pack, and more! You can also view album art,
listen to song previews, as well as check out detailed information
about a song, such as difficulty for each instrument.
Also included in the Rock Band software update are additional game
features that address many of the popular requests by the gaming
community. Access to Xbox LIVE or the PLAYSTATION Network is required
to download the Rock Band feature update. Users will be prompted to
accept the Music Store software update automatically when starting
Rock Band while connected to Xbox LIVE or PLAYSTATION Network.
Rock Band™ allows online play and possesses features that
expand the boundaries of music gaming. Rock Band™ downloadable
content is playable and integrated into setlists in all game modes
including: Solo Tour, Band World Tour, head-to-head competition either
locally or online, and from any Quickplay mode. In order to play
downloadable content for head-to-head matches or multiplayer online,
all players must own the same downloadable track. Downloadable content
for the Xbox 360® is available for purchase via Xbox LIVE®
Marketplace for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system
from Microsoft using Microsoft Points and is downloaded directly to
the Xbox 360 hard drive. Downloadable content for the PLAYSTATION 3
system’s version of Rock Band is available for purchase on the
PLAYSTATION®Store through the free PLAYSTATION®Network and is
downloaded directly to PLAYSTATION 3 system's built in hard drive.
On top of the over combined 125 Rock Band tracks available to date
via disc or download purchase, fans can continue to expect more music
available for download every week through 2008 through a variety of
song packs, albums and individual tracks with suggested retail pricing
varying from $.99 to $2.99 per track (The equivalent of 80 to 240
Microsoft Points for Xbox 360), with the vast majority selling for
$1.99 (160 Microsoft Points for Xbox 360). For a complete list of Rock
Band songs available for purchase to date, please go to
http://www.rockband.com/dlc.
Rock Band was the number one selling game in the months of January
and February by revenue according to NPD.
Rock Band is rated “T” for Teen (lyrics, mild suggestive
themes) by the ESRB.
EA is the exclusive distribution and marketing partner for Rock Band,
managing distribution for the game.
For more information on Rock Band and Harmonix Music Systems please
visit http://www.rockband.com and http://www.harmonixmusic.com.
What say you?!