Guitar Hero II song packs

By Tom Bramwell Published 11 April, 2007

Up on Marketplace now.

Anybody strumming through the excellent Xbox 360 version of Guitar Hero II will be pleased to hear that there are three song packs available on Xbox Live Marketplace today.

Priced 500 Microsoft points apiece (GBP 4.25 / EUR 5.82), the "Track Packs" each feature three songs that ought to be familiar to those of you who played Guitar Hero on the PS2.

Track Pack 1 consists of Bark at the Moon ("as made famous by" Ozzy Osbourne), Hey You (The Exies) and Ace of Spades (Motorhead). Track Pack 2 is Killer Queen (Queen), Take it Off (The Donnas), Frankenstein (The Edgar Winter Group), and Track Pack 3 is Higher Ground (Red Hot Chili Peppers), Infected (Bad Religion) and Stellar (Incubus).

You can also grab a pair of GHII picture packs (100 points each) and a theme (150 points) if you fancy splashing a bit more to tart up your console.

For more on Guitar Hero II's next-gen encore, check out our Guitar Hero II Xbox 360 review elsewhere on the site.

Picture of Tom.

About Tom Bramwell

Tom is Operations director of Eurogamer Network and Editor-at-Large of Eurogamer.net. He joined the company in February 2000.

Read more articles from Tom by visiting the Tom Bramwell archive page.

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Comments (121) Latest comment 5 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • alimokrane #1 5 years ago

    Say with me RIP OFF!

  • richardiox #2 5 years ago

    £4.25 for 3 songs??!! I thought a "song pack" would have a minimum of 10 tracks or something. Welcome to the future.

  • gizmo #3 5 years ago

    That is STINKING value for money.

    I don't like the look of the future :\

    £12.75 for an extra 9 songs? Jesus, thats more than your average CD. No packaging, no insert, no mastering, NO WRITING THE THING IN THE FIRST PLACE.

  • Killerbee #4 5 years ago

    Hmmm... pricey, particularly when you consider that the Singstar updates give you ten times as many songs for only around four times the price.

  • Uncle_Fishboy #5 5 years ago

    I don't normally particiapte in these moans about pricing of downloadable content, but they are taking the piss on this one. What fucknuggets let them get away with charging that much for 3 pigging songs. Arseknoblets.

  • peasoup #6 5 years ago

    Maybe they should of added "supergrass - in it for the money" to one of those packs...har har ;)

  • Phattso #7 5 years ago

    I think I'd have less of an issue with this if the game wasn't less than a week old. This content could have (and perhaps should have) been in the retail release. Especially when asking people to shell out sixty quid for game+accessory this is a double slap in the face coming so soon after.

    I have no problem with a firm making cash, but this is almost painfully cynical and very curiously timed.

    But like with most things: the people loving the game don't care. I'm the same with the upcoming Gears of War content, so I suppose I have no right to complain here. Won't stop me, like. ;)

  • rashes #8 5 years ago

    this is a bit much... as is GH 3 coming in a few months time.

  • AcidSnake #9 5 years ago

    Pricey indeed...
    Also pack 3 is a pretty useless selection...
    Can't go wrong with the first two though...
    Though I suppose they've added the co-op bass/rhythm guitar track as well...

  • lennon #10 5 years ago

    "Maybe they should of added "supergrass - in it for the money" to one of those packs...har har ;) "

    Had they done so then I would have bought that pack. However the songs in the packs available are of no great interest to me as I already have nearly 70 songs i dont really like then I will pass at this point. :)

  • LeeroyJenkins #11 5 years ago

    TOTAL. BLOODY. RIP. OFF.

  • Moz #12 5 years ago

    Surely £1 a track would be the fair price, seeing as you can download the MP3's for 75p and the extra 25p for the work done by redoctain adding the note sequenses.

    This would still be expensive given as you get 70 tracks with the main game.

    While these little 3 track packs give you more choice, we do seem to be paying MS a lot for the freedom to choose.

    Will just have to see how much tracks are on Sing Star. And with that your going to be able to buy singular tracks which is a far better idea.

  • gazareth #13 5 years ago

    Can you buy spare guitar controllers for this yet?

  • asphaltcowboy #14 5 years ago

    Well, disappointed with the price point... might wait til I've done all the ones supplied with the game first, then decide... Given the cost of the game + guitar compared to the PS2 version (£15/20 difference)... I'd hope that each pack would be (at most) 300 points!

  • phl0w #15 5 years ago

    Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't those, except the RHCP song, on the PS2 version of GH? I thought they would at LEAST offer some new tracks by Satriani, Vai, or something like that.
    Rip off. If Bark at the Moon, Killer Queen and Stellar made it in one pack, that would be fine by me, but they managed to only put one excellent song in each pack, the rest is just ok.
    Back to the PS2 versions.

    EDIT: PS2 of course! Maybe I should have showered at least, before posting this crap first thing in the morning ;)
    Edited by 1 at 11/04/07 @ 11:21

  • asphaltcowboy #16 5 years ago

    Xbox version of GH? Er...?

  • optimusprym8 #17 5 years ago

    I was expecting 400-800 for 5 songs as well, they are arranged in-game in fives... but then I was also expecting each pack to contain maybe one/two good songs and the rest all shite but these are at least good songs in one pack with little fluff.

  • OllyJ #18 5 years ago

    500 points...no.thanks.

    what a rip off!

    I'm really almost angry!

  • Wolfman #19 5 years ago

    Where is Cowboys From Hell?

    :(

    -wolfman

  • TheBiGW #20 5 years ago

    I had to register inorder to post this but I think £1.41 per song is an absolute disgrace. They should have released these songs for free, or 300 points for the lot at the very most.

    How do these people sleep at night?

  • OllyJ #21 5 years ago

    on a bed of our cash...and tears.

  • tomwhitaker #22 5 years ago

    Wank. Was really looking forward to this but come off it... at that price, at least let me choose on a song-by-song basis.

  • jonsaan #23 5 years ago

    Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiipppp

  • jonsaan #24 5 years ago

    Go and buy a real guitar and learn to play along to any song you want.

  • Der_tolle_Emil #25 5 years ago

    The worst part is that they are not going to get any cheaper. I am very tempted to download those, especially the 1st pack, but I will probably wait until I am through the tracks that came with the game. Maybe a low attachment rate of the first three packs let's them reconsider the pricing and the future packs will be cheaper.

  • Wendelius #26 5 years ago

    'll get Pack 1 because I like Ace of Spades (one of the only songs I ever tried on the PS2 GH) and am curious about Bark At The Moon.

    But the price is high enough that it will make me think seriously before getting more packs. Pity. 200 points less per pack and I would no doubt just get all 3.

    Nobody forces us to buy anything though. The original game already comes with a generous (compared to the PS2 version) 74 songs. So I guess we'll just have to pick and choose or add-ons carefully.

    I'd like to know whether they have been "enhanced" to contain the Bass track.

    Wendelius

  • oldfruit #27 5 years ago

    I was really hoping for the entire track list from GH 1 to be made available and I would have paid good money for that in its entirety.

    If they are going to be released in bite size chunks then this should be on a song by song basis so we get real choice for our money!

    And no 'More Than A Feeling'. W*****s!!!

  • Steroyd #28 5 years ago

    GH + XBLM was a perfect match until the songs got sold in packs.

    How could MS drop the ball on a sure fire thing.

  • #29 5 years ago

    Ah well, I'm not paying that so I'll just stick with the songs I have.

    Kind of regretting trading in GH1+2 for this now :(

  • gizmo #30 5 years ago

    "Digital distribution means cheaper games" They said.

    Bullshit - do the maths.

    (Here's a clue - the main game has over 70 songs for less than £70 and includes a guitar yet each song is more than £1)

    (Bloody greater than and less than signs eating my post)
    Edited by 3 at 11/04/07 @ 11:34

  • dbeamish #31 5 years ago

    I was quite excited until I saw the prices. WHAT A BLOODY GIP. EG - who can we contact about this to voice our annoyance?

  • Sir_TimAlot #32 5 years ago

    I didn't believe it at first, i just laughed at a friend who told me and told him theres no way it could be 500 points for 3 songs, it has to be about 10, but low and behold I nearly shat myself when the truth was realised, people can moan about us moaning all they like but its not going to change the facts thats is a great big dirty rip off.

  • MoGamer2006 #33 5 years ago

    How many songs were there in the original GH1? If they're releasing them three at a time for this price, anyone care to 'do the math' (as our US idiot cousins call it) and work out how much we'll be expected to pay for them all as downloads?

  • Sir_TimAlot #34 5 years ago

    30 of the more "famous songs" so 10 packs of 3 songs, at 4.25 quid a pop, gee, only 42.50 quid for something that retails with all the physical costly aspects for about 15 quid, awesome!

  • kaosridder #35 5 years ago

    insanity. hoped for the tracks of gh at perhaps 1500. Well, id like to hear exactly how they reached this pricepoint.

  • dudefella #36 5 years ago

    Ridiculous. Didn't GH1 have 48 songs, exlcluding the bonus songs? THat would mean at this rate, you'll end up paying more for just the songs of GH1 than the entire sodding game costs. Outrageous.

    I have only one thing to say: If you, like me, think this is fucking ridiculous, just DONT BUY any of the packs and show MS/Red Octane we're not gonna take it up the ass and ask for seconds.
    Edited by 1 at 11/04/07 @ 11:52

  • Wendelius #37 5 years ago

    >>insanity. hoped for the tracks of gh at perhaps 1500. Well, id like to hear exactly how they reached this pricepoint.

    That's actually a fair comment. I would certainly pay up to 2000 for all the GH songs and probably a bit more per song for original content. But I'm wondering whether Eurogamer could try and contact the makers to see how they came up with such a surprising price point?

    Wendelius

  • paulf #38 5 years ago

    47 songs in the original of which 30 are 'famous' ones ie ones you would likely pay for

    rrp for disc with songs only (close but no guitar) is £30 minus 1 penny although you can get it for around 22 quid

    so around 1 quid a song, but you get packaging and disc etc, so really to be fair the pricing should be around 20 quid for the whole lot or 67p per track (ie less than half what they are going for)

  • gizmo #39 5 years ago

    This whole subject must be due an article soon. A respected industry commentator needs to make peoples concerns heard.

    This really does fly in the face of the arguements about digital distribution meaning cheaper games for all.

  • dr.glyndwr #40 5 years ago

    Here's what I tried to post on majornelson.com, but the comment hasn't appeared and the site may not be working:

    "This is far, far too expensive. I already own GH1 and 2 for the PS2 and was seriously considering trading them in for the Xbox 360 version, then buying all the DLC so I can get a single game with all the songs in. This is how the costs break down in the UK:

    For the PS2, I bought GH2 with a guitar for £35. I bought GH1 by itself for £25 (the pack with the guitar was out of stock) and I bought a second guitar later on for £20. Total cost for both games and two guitars was £80 and I could have gotten it cheaper if I'd waited for a GH1+guitar pack to be in stock.

    For the Xbox 360, I need to pay £60 for GH2+guitar, and at the above rates I need to pay £1.41 per track. There are 30 mainstream songs and a futher 17 by less well known bands in GH1; to get all those songs into GH2 for the Xbox 360 would cost me a staggering further £66, for a total cost of £126. And I still only have one guitar.

    So, to get all GH1+2 content and two guitars for the PS2 cost me £80 and for the Xbox 360 with just one guitar it is £126. In return for that, I get... what? Updated visuals, leaderboards, and achievements, and the mildly tweaked GH2 engine applied to the GH1 songs?

    No thanks. I'll wait for Rock Band and cross my fingers that Harmonix don't get greedy with their DLC charges."

    I'll add here, in response to people defending these charges, all this content has already been release at a lower price in GH1 for the PS2. There is no work for the developers to have laid the tracks out, all that stuff was done already with the small expcetion of the bass or rhythm lines for the co-op mode. It's difficult to see how this is anything other than pure profiteering.

  • Fab4 #41 5 years ago

    You could buy the actual songs cheaper than that.

  • Steroyd #42 5 years ago

    No thanks. I'll wait for Rock Band and cross my fingers that Harmonix don't get greedy with their DLC charges."

    /Nearly dies laughing.

    You do know Rock Band is being published by EA... and EA has to collaborate with MS and Sony to get the Dl's on their service's respectively so good luck holding onto that faint bit of hope.

    albeit EA would have to go against Sony's SingStore pricing (which is on a per song basis), so on the PS3 there is that dim bit of light slowly fading out.
    Edited by 1 at 11/04/07 @ 12:13

  • dr.glyndwr #43 5 years ago

    You do know Rock Band is being published by EA

    Yeah, I do know all that and I'm aware it's a pretty far fetched hope. Unless sales of these GH2 DLCs are poor enough to send a clear message, of course. I'm certainly voting with my feet on this one.

  • Moonprince #44 5 years ago

    Was so tempted to buy this before seeing these prices. Sure, as a whole the figure isn't much. But for what you're getting - nah, not worth it.

    Have a word Eurogramer! Make a stand for us!
    Edited by 1 at 11/04/07 @ 12:23

  • Rushy #45 5 years ago

    Unbelievably expensive.

    I don't mind paying for downloadable content, but only if it is reasonably priced.

  • sanctusmortis #46 5 years ago

    Wow. I was expecting, say, 1200 points and get them all bar the bonus tracks, but 500 per 3 just means nobody will bother.

    Even 100 points a track would be more reasonable.

  • PlugMonkey #47 5 years ago

    I'm not paying that for 1 good song.

    Which I guess means I'm sticking with the songs I already have.

    Which I guess means sticking with the PS2 version I already have.

    The iTunes model is surely the way to go with this. As proven by iTunes.

  • OllyJ #48 5 years ago

    "I have only one thing to say: If you, like me, think this is fucking ridiculous, just DONT BUY any of the packs and show MS/Red Octane we're not gonna take it up the ass and ask for seconds. "

    Didn't work for Lumines, didn't work for GRAW....


  • peteb #49 5 years ago

    its the principle of the thing

  • #50 5 years ago

    Also, 100pts per track means you can pick and choose what you want, instead of paying 500 pts for the one song you really want, and two others that don't really float your boat.

  • gizmo #51 5 years ago

    "Your basically complaining that they are overcharging by something like 60p per track? sixty whole pence you say? "

    Its when you multiply it up.

    A pound isn't much, but multiply it by a million and it's getting there.

  • Moz #52 5 years ago

    @ManicMinerUK 60p is alot when it's the difference between 90p and £1.50

    Insodently I would probably except £1.50 a track if I could buy them on a per track basis. But I'd be a lot more choosey then if it was £1

    I just don't get this price point. at 300 points for 3 track they would get lots of people buying 1000 points and then getting all 3 packs straight away, at this price they are going to be luck to get people to one pack!

  • richardiox #53 5 years ago

    And after than EPic interview yesterday about Gears Of War DLC I am now more and more convinced its MS enforcing and dictating these pricing structures rather than the developers themselves.

    To not allow a developer to give away free content is outrageous and again, bodes terribly for the future of "pay-to-play" gaming where a one-off purchase of the retail software is no longer enough.

  • spliffhead #54 5 years ago

    No thanks, too much.

  • zuljin #55 5 years ago

    @richardiox
    "To not allow a developer to give away free content is outrageous"
    Remember that at the end of the day, Microsoft is offering a service by posting this content on the store. They'll be asking for money from either the developer or the gamer. But most likely both :)

  • septimus #56 5 years ago

    It's expensive, no matter how you look at it ManicMinerUK...

    Not sure why you are so adamant to defend it. It's not as though we can't afford it, but you don't make money by spending it on overpriced crap from the market place.

  • McBradders #57 5 years ago

    The pricing is bad. Very poor value for money, regardless of how you look at it.

    So, goofs on the 360 release of GHII are...

    1. High percentage of broken guitars straight out of the factory.

    2. Unable to purchase a second guitar peripheral at launch

    3. Incredibly overpriced DLC.

    4. No AC/DC

    Shame on you, Activision.

  • peteb #58 5 years ago

    also, 60p could be the difference for some people between forking out for another 2100 card or not

  • PlugMonkey #59 5 years ago


    I think you'll find 60p is always 60p. Currency is funny like that, fairly standardised values to it.

    What a tit. So you think that a 60p increase on something that costs 5p is the same as a 60p increase on something that costs £1000? After all, 60p is 60p? Economics not your strong suit then.

  • belziah #60 5 years ago

    @ManicMinerUK

    I think you should buy songs for everybody ..................

  • ElectricDemon #61 5 years ago

    Disgraceful pricing. I went out at the weekend and bought my first 2100 points card in preperation for the GH DLC, but at that price they can just fuck off. Wouldn't exactly cripple them if they lowered the price and made it a track by track basis, surely with it costing bloody £70 to begin with, they're making a decent amount of money?

    I might just get the full version of Castlevania: SOTN instead, loving the demo.

  • TuftyMcTavish #62 5 years ago

    Holy crap, Batman! I only played GH for the first time ever last night, and this morning I find out how much the extra DLC I was so looking forward to is going to cost. Crap-a-doodle-do!!! I look forward to hearing how MS/RedOctane are going to spin this little outing. I really thought they'd learned something in recent weeks/months, but apparently not.

    I want this content, I don't want to pay as much as that for it. 500 - 600 points for all the first set of songs would have been more like what I wanted to pay.

  • AcidSnake #63 5 years ago

    I think PlugMonkey was speaking in relative terms...

    Also to the one who said there were only 30 famous songs in GH...You're forgetting the almighty Zakk Wylde and his Black Label Society...Fire It Up!

    Also in all the calculations people are making they forget that the code is reusable...
    They can also be downloaded by GH3 owners in all probability...On both X360 and PS3...Making the price even higher...

  • lennon #64 5 years ago

    I think he was trying to point out that if something is worth 5p and you charge 65p its not the same as adding 60p onto something worth £1000

    If your spending a grand an extra 60p is hardly going to put you off.

    I generally dont mind the price of content. I was quite happy to buy the Shivering Isles but the price for these songs does seem badly placed and has put me off even buying one pack.

  • Wendelius #65 5 years ago

    ManicMinerUK,

    I see your points but your comparisons are deeply flawed simply for the fact that it's all about deviation from expectations.

    If you expect to pay £1 for, say, a song on iTunes and Apple suddenly prices it at £1.60, it's not only a 60% price increase but also very likely to exceed your threshold of "value for money".

    If you expect to pay £1000 for a plasma screen (and consider it good value at that price) and it rises to £1000.60, you are not even going to notice the price increase or get upset.

    You must take deviation, percentage and expectations into consideration to talk economics from a consumer point of view. Not simply basic addition and subtractions. That's basic maths, not economics. :p

    That being said, even I who am lenient and will likely happily eventually pay 800 points for Boom Boom Rocket, find this song package price a bit steep. I'll buy some of them. But Harmonix and MS are making sure that I will be a lot more selective than my purchases and, ultimately, spend less points than I would at a better price point. I won't scream in outrage. But I am disappointed.

    Wendelius
    Edited by 1 at 11/04/07 @ 14:01

  • Freelancepolice #66 5 years ago

    It is far too steep but as lumines showed us, people will pay.

  • gizmo #67 5 years ago

    Methinks ManicMiners next bonus cheque is dependent upon some sort of DLC ;)

  • CorporalSpank #68 5 years ago

    You guys are like a broken record sometimes.

  • paulf #69 5 years ago

    it's not a matter of 'just' 60 pence either, as you can see from my previous post, the cost for the same content on the ps2 is around 67p per track so you pay over twice as much for the same thing on the 360, that whereinth the ripoff lie

  • Wendelius #70 5 years ago

    @ManicMinerUK

    "but I still say 60p is 60p. If its a principle thing I can respect that, but it's not unreasonable to point out all this outrage and mud-slinging is over an amount of money (per track) so trivial that if you dropped it and it rolled down a drain you'd maybe tut a bit and then walk off. "

    There is another thing you are not considering. To stick with my example, you are likely to buy 1 plasma screen every few years but you might buy many songs a month. So not only is the increase relatively more significant but you will pay it many times over. It adds up to pounds very quickly...

    A lot of people were looking at the DLC as a good reason to upgrade from the PS2 version. Similarly, many others will have waited for the 360 version because of that often repeated promise. So you can't be too surprised if people are upset if the pricing is suddenly that steep.

    Sure some people just are drama queens and go too far. I'd still be interested in Eurogamer stepping up to the plate and trying to get comments on whether Harmonix foresees cheaper pack or single track pricing in the future and how they came up with that value...

    Wendelius

  • bloodflowers #71 5 years ago

    For bonus points - are these just unlock codes? Easy to tell.

    Too expensive, regardless.

  • spliffhead #72 5 years ago

    Does the ridiculous overpricing mean it's time to re-review?

  • peteb #73 5 years ago

    anyone fancy starting up one of those petition thingys for cheaper prices?

    i couldn't be arsed...

    but i would sign it!
    Edited by 1 at 11/04/07 @ 14:35

  • kangarootoo #74 5 years ago

    Let me add my thoughts to the pile (just in case Harmonix are reading this and repetitious weight of numbers actually counts for something).

    Overpriced IMO. If a pack had three top tracks I might just be persuaded on occasion, but as it is both packs contain two tracks I like and one munter. This does not spell good value to me.

    What about releasing tracks as individual downloads? Maybe bundling 3 together is supposed to come across as good value, but for me personally it comes across as "you STILL have to buy content you don't want, despite the main lure of DLC being the ability to avoid exactly that".

    I love GH and I've got both PS2 versions. The thing that was tempting me toward buying the next-gen versions (despite them being pretty much duplications of what I already own) is the variety DLC can bring. If this pricing model stays in place, this kanga shall not be shopping (but shall be viewing Rock Band with great suspicion until its DLC for the time being).

  • kangarootoo #75 5 years ago

    @bloodflowers

    Lets not get into that discussion again please.

    It utterley, absolutely, completely does NOT matter whether the content is already on the disc or not. You don't own it till you pay for it. If you haven't paid for its use, it doesn't matter where it is. End of story.

  • Moonprince #76 5 years ago

    Wendelius - patience of a saint.

  • peteb #77 5 years ago

    id really love to not buy these and would hope that others wouldn't either in an effort to "vote with our collective b button" but i just know i'll fall victim to the "getting drunk on a friday night and buying crap from xbox live marketplace" syndrome....

  • kangarootoo #78 5 years ago

    @peteb

    Such a petition already exists surely. Its called "not buying it".

    The vendor will get the message much more clearly than some list of random names.

  • grimly_reaped #79 5 years ago

    I think it's certainly too much.

    The thing is, with 'Microtransactions', there's money to be made from impulse purchases, where the consumer thinks they getting something for minimal outlay. That's probably one of the reasons why MS use points instead of real currency - it obfuscates what the consumer actually has to pay (500 points doesn't seem as bad as 4.25, since I don't have the vaguest idea of what the exchange rate is ... until I read the article of course)

    When I see a price like 4.25, my first thought is that it's 2 pints of beer (obviously I don't live in London). 3 songs for 2 pints? Bit much. 3 songs for 1, that would be a bargain!

    However, a lot of people will keep paying these prices because they want the content. I want it, and still may fork out for all 3, but I am a GH addict (I have the RSI to prove it).

    MS ought to rethink their strategy ... I started using 4od recently - TV shows are 99p to rent, the DRM only lets you watch for 48 hours, but 99p is still a bargain. There are certainly 'sweet spots' they should aim for where they're going to be making enough money and the consumers just going to think "bargain, I'll get that" even if they didn't really want it.
    Edited by 1 at 11/04/07 @ 14:45

  • peteb #80 5 years ago

    @kangarootoo

    yea fair point! they can shove it until they drop the price!

    horse armour v2

  • zuljin #81 5 years ago

    @Grimly_Reaped
    "When I see a price like 4.25, my first thought is that it's 2 pints of beer (obviously I don't live in London)."

    Thats the whole point isn't it. So much of this is subjective, but at the end of the day, if enough people are willing to pay it, then thats what they'll charge. Personally I'm not willing to pay more than £4 in London for 2 pints. So I don't! Problem solved :)

  • kangarootoo #82 5 years ago

    @peteb

    Hopefully they will get the message. I guess if enough people decide this price point is OK, things will stay where they are, but hopefully that won't be the case.

  • SwedBear #83 5 years ago

    They charge what they think they will get out of it. That's capitalism and while I think it is perfectly valid to feel it is to expensive I dont get the whole outrage/start petition/the world is falling over attitude that ALWAYS erupt here.

    I have no problems paying for something if i think there is good value. In this case pack 1 seems good value to me since I want those songs, the other packs do not. I am pretty sure there are others that feel differnently and either are interested in more packs or in none. Comparing it to itunes, a cd or even gh1 is to me completely irrelevant. i cannot import a iTunes song or a tune from a cd into the program and get the notes for both lead and bass and gh1 isn't available on xbox not to mention it doesn't support the second player.

    Do not get me wrong. I fully understand if someone think it is a bit to expensive and as always I think the best way to convey it is not to buy it. But I also feel that as always here on Eurogamer it is blown far far out of proportion. People are exploding over the difference of ~4€ (compared to if it had been 5 songs instead of 3). That isn't enough to get a beer or lunch or dinner or movie or anything these days. Lets try to keep some kind of perspective.

    But hey, this hasn't stopped the discussion before. And I certianly will not feel bad for buying any of the packs if I feel it is worth the money.

  • peteb #84 5 years ago

    @kangarootoo

    i have a feeling though that most people believe MS wouldn't change the price or that by not buying it they won't make a difference, so they pay for it, and nothing changes, and because nothing changes when other people see in future something is a bit pricey, they whinge a bit, maybe even put it off a bit, but as the prices haven't changed before they eventually buy it and the cycle continues....

    they know we want the stuff, and most of us haven't the sense not to download it in defiance. it comes down to it in the end that we'd rather have the download than not have the download, at whatever price. its our own fault really :(
    Edited by 1 at 11/04/07 @ 15:02

  • kingmob #85 5 years ago

    Well I'm disappointed. Way too expensive for what you get.

    I'd rather they offer individual songs for 100 - 150 ish points or at least offer "themed" packs: Indie, Classic, etc.

    At the moment there's 3 songs I want and, typically, it's one in each pack. Bugger. Guess I'll have to get Boom Boom Rocket instead.

  • grimly_reaped #86 5 years ago

    "I dunno, its the way some people think they have a RIGHT to cheap/free content, that's what bothers me."

    For me, I don't mind paying for content. I mind paying too much. It's about value for money, and it's about the companies being able to charge what they want because there's virtually a de facto monopoly - since there's no GHII/DLC combo for PS3, then there's no real competition is there (maybe things will be deifferent when GHIII comes out). They can charge what they like and people either have to pay their prices or miss out. Missing out in this case isn't a huge deal ... if they have a PS2 and they didn't trade in their GHI for GHII360.

    Like I said, they ought to think about lowering the prices to a point where the consumer will just buy things without worrying about it - that way there'll be less complaints and they'll probably make more sales.

    No one has an inalienable right to a cheap product, but on the other hand should the company be able to charge as much as they want, safe in the knowledge that Jo Public will pay because he can't get it anywhere else?

  • SwedBear #87 5 years ago

    The reason a lot of people do buy DLC and certainly will buy this is because they still think it is worth it. Take me for example. As a grown up (yuck) I have mortages, humongous electric bills, a £12000 investment in a new heater coming up, other bills etc etc. Every day I have to eat lunch for at least 5-6£. I go to a movie maybe once a month for 7-8£. I buy a few DVD's each month. I buy games. I buy clothes. Etc etc. In that perspective a DLC for 4-5£ for a game that I enjoy is peanuts. And I am pretty sure I am not alone. Unless you buy every possible DLC and Live Arcade game (or all those themese etc.) the occasional DLC will never feel really that pricey. In the perspective to everything else we pay for a few quid here and there really is irrelevant.

    Of course that is what Microsoft wants us to feel, thus the whole idea with Micropayments. Same with Nintendo and VC or Sony and PSN and (soon) Home. As long as they are upfront with the cost and that it is my choice to decide if something is worth it or not I see no harm to it.

    I certainly will not accept any "blame" for keeping prices up just because I buy DLC when I want it.

    The best way to "hurt" companies is not to buy the DLC if it is not worth the money. If others do not feel that way jsut accept they have different priorities.

  • Moonprince #88 5 years ago

    I'm in a mood over the people I have to work with - I know, if I don't like it then leave. I'm trying. Thanks the comment though Mr Miner, it did raise a smile ;)

  • Moonprince #89 5 years ago

    Oh... And these prices are INSANE! What were they thinking!!! Only a madman would pay those prices surely!!!

    :p

  • peteb #90 5 years ago

    >Oh... And these prices are INSANE! What were they thinking!!! Only a madman would pay those prices surely!!!

    :p <

    yea i suppose its better for MS to have the extra money than us anyway....

  • Der_tolle_Emil #91 5 years ago

    SwedBear: Good argument. It took me over a year to spend about 4000 MS points. I bought 3 arcade games (Cloning Clyde, Texas Hold 'em, Castlevania SOTN) and the rest goes to DLC for PGR3 and Viva Pinata.

    500 for 3 songs might be expensive and I agree it is but I spend so little money on DLC anyway that I don't think it is all that overpriced. I'd rather pay 500 points for a pack of three than spend 200 points for nearly every game I have just to get another outfit or useless shit like this. (Yes, I know Viva Pinata is exactly that. But a game I spend hundrets of hours with is something different).

  • SwedBear #92 5 years ago

    grim_reaped had a good point earlier about finding the seet-spot. Let's for a moment ignore where the sweet-spot is in this case.

    Something I havent seen much though on the marketplace is prices going down after a while. I think much of the discussions about right price would be moot if prices were adjusted over time so older content could be had much cheaper than new content.

    And FWIW - I do think you guys who rather would like the tracks separately are right. That would be my preferable way to buy them also. That way they definitely could get away from any discussion regarding how many good songs each pack had and also if they wanted they could differentiate prices so that unpopular songs are cheaper than popular songs.

  • kangarootoo #93 5 years ago

    @peteb

    "they whinge a bit, maybe even put it off a bit, but as the prices haven't changed before they eventually buy it and the cycle continues.... "

    Then I guess we (as in the collective We) get what we ask for. A pity I agree.

    @SwedBear
    +3 on your post starting,

    "The reason a lot of people do buy DLC and certainly will buy this is because they still think it is worth it".

    And I thought I was the only one playing that tune :)

  • Moonprince #94 5 years ago

    Ha! Not many people make the connection. You have +10% more respect from me than you did this morning just for that one post ;)

  • grimly_reaped #95 5 years ago

    "Yes, if the company in question is creating unique content then they should be able to charge whatever they want. Are you suggesting they should be dictated to, by some mechanism outside of good old fashioned market forces, on how they choose to price their own work?"

    Yes, yes I am ;)

    I guess what I mean is that 4 quid for content that is availble on other platforms,for a quantifiably lower price, is being sold at a cost that surely can't be justified through the cost of distribution and re-engineering the track for GHII multiplayer. If you don't have a PS2, you can't pay the lesser price (the lesser price being higher since you have to by the whole game, but that comes with about 15x the number of tracks and the guitar). They can charge what they want for this, there is certainly nothing stopping them, but the prices just do not seem commensurate with what you are getting for your money.

  • rashes #96 5 years ago

    I wonder what type of revenue management/yield analysis they do on this stuff? Of course some people will buy it at this price but I think a lot that otherwise would have won't because it's not a good price.

    but what if by dropping the price by 20/30% they got 50% more people buying it.. and hence made more money. I wonder if they have run models or polls with gamers to get to these prices or if its some arbitrary figure that MS gives them?

  • grimly_reaped #97 5 years ago

    "then you shouldn't buy it. "

    What about people who only have a 360, but wanted to try the 'classic' tracks. They've just forked out 70 quid, to play just 9 of the older tracks they now have to pay 12.75 more. That's not exactly a bargain. If they brought it thinking they'd get the tracks for a more reasonable price, were they mislead (can they have been since there was not an announcement about prices before launch ... maybe just optimistic)?

    And, the odds are I will buy it any way - I have 1 and II on the PS2, but liked the songs and fancy a crack at them on the slightly moddified GHII engine.

    Hypocrite? Probably ;)

  • ViralNinja #98 5 years ago

    As long as they put Franz Ferdinand and Queens of the Stone Age in the same pack they'll get 4.25 out of me.

  • rashes #99 5 years ago

    @ManicMinerUK:

    Fair point... Well if that price is as a result of their models then we're going to be shafted for a few years to come :-(

  • lennon #100 5 years ago

    Judging by the comments here on the GH forums and on Major Nelson they havent done a very good job at identifying what the consumer is willing to pay. Of course maybe those that are willing to pay outweigh those that dont and instead of complaining are busy purchasing but I cant help but think this is a real missed oppertunity.

  • #101 5 years ago

    FOR THOSE ABOUT TO PAY, WE SALUTE YOU (yes we do).

  • DanMW #102 5 years ago

    Personally I think the price is high, divide the number of tracks on the PS2 game by 3 and multiply by £4.25, and I'm sure you are better off buying the PS2 version if you have a PS2.

    I don't agree about releasing them as packs, I think it would be much better if they were sold individually, why make someone have to pay for a song they might not necessarily want?. Or at least let people choose 3 tracks they want, oh... but then they wouldn't buy all three packs!!

    You have the power, buy them if you think it's good value, just ignore them if you don't agree with the price, me I'll stick to the PS2 version.

    DLC, very bad invention.

  • Lovemoose #103 5 years ago

    The real problem for me in this debacle is this: I could write a song, pay the same people who do the tracks for GH to play for me, get it published and on to Itunes, and still not make half of the money these new songs will be making for the publisher.

    It's not a rip-off in terms of the cost per se, it's a rip-off in comparison with music in general.
    Edited by 1 at 11/04/07 @ 16:25

  • lennon #104 5 years ago

    @ManicMinerUK - I would disagree. What you would usually find is a vaguely equal amount of people critciising/praising and people saying meh.

    What you have here and in other places is a large number of people saying it appears over priced for what it is and relatively few people saying its ok. I agree with you its not the end of the world but to be honest I am really disapointed because I just cant view these packs as value for money and I really wanted to as I love the game.
    Edited by 1 at 11/04/07 @ 16:28

  • Moz #105 5 years ago

    Maybe we're looking at this from the wrong angle, anyone know how much 500 points is in dollars?

    It could be that the price point is perfect in america, I know we pay more, but how much more? For full games the price difference might not be as noticable as we are used to that markup. How every while we still pay more for films and music the price gap isn't as big.

    EDIT/ just looked on EB's website $19.99 for 1600 points. So $6.25 for 500 which is about £3.20
    Edited by 1 at 11/04/07 @ 16:40

  • SteVader #106 5 years ago

    Maybe we're looking at this from the wrong angle, anyone know how much 500 points is in dollars?

    $6.25
    Edited by 1 at 11/04/07 @ 16:40

  • DanMW #107 5 years ago

    Lets see, GHII for 360 £69.99 RRP including guitar. The game has (I believe) 74 tracks altogether, that would work out at £0.95 per track or 112 points, and that's including the guitar.

    Let's take say £20 off for the guitar (the RRP for the PS2 guitar on its own is £29.99). Say £50 for 74 tracks, 68p per track or 80 points.

    I know this is a very simplistic way of looking at it, and that there might be many factors to consider (perhaps someone knowledgeable of this things can enlighten us)

    But £4.25 for 3 songs, £1.42 or 167 points, it just looks expensive no matter how you look at it.

    Edit: Put it another way, you'd pay £105 for the tracks if you got them all via downloads instead of £69.99, and that doesn't include the guitar
    Edited by 1 at 11/04/07 @ 17:18

  • DanMW #108 5 years ago

    Of course nobody does, because we have no choice, there's no competition as such and they get away charging whatever they feel like.

  • JediMasterMalik #109 5 years ago

    Are MS trying to make XBL the most expensive online gaming proposition ever?

  • lennon #110 5 years ago

    Being the best comes with a price tag you know.....

  • TheUnionFrag #111 5 years ago

    BLOODY HELL! I could buy half an album on MSN Music UK for that price. I'm all for DLC, but at reasonable prices for what you get. £4.25 for something you're going to spend half an hour doing is not good value. Especially when the game and controller costs a bucketload in the first place.

  • Turrican #112 5 years ago

    Main forum is here:

    [link url=http://forum.guitarh erogame.com
    ]http://forum.guitarh erogame.com
    [/link]

    Seems most people on there are naffed off too.
    Edited by 2 at 11/04/07 @ 23:41

  • SuperBas #113 5 years ago

    No thanks, overpriced.

  • Lovemoose #114 5 years ago

    Course, the other hassle is that if you don't like one of the songs from the packs, the perceived price of the track/s you like goes way up.

  • DUFFKING #115 5 years ago

    Petitions showing up now:

    http://ww w.petitiononline.com/GHIIDLC/pe...

  • DanMW #116 5 years ago

    1600+ signatures so far, not bad considering it was very rencently put up. Don't ignore it, take action I'm sure if plenty of us sing it, they'll do something about it.

  • Kafkaesque #117 5 years ago

    Good to see people can do their maths on here. Now here's a crazy suggestion - let's look at this from a qualitative perspective for a moment.

    People who've posted on here have just talked about pricing models and cost per song, no-one seems to have mentioned why a lot of people have been chomping at the bit to get these songs on GH2 360. I couldn't give a monkey's what it costs (within reason...), the chance to play BatM and Frankenstein with HO/POs that work AND practice mode? Priceless. Only question is when's Cowboys From Hell coming out, that song needs the GH2 gaming mechanism even more than BatM.

    I can't be the only person who's thinking this way. Or have the accountants taken over the asylum...

  • NegativeZero #118 5 years ago

    Wow. It's like they took the track list for Guitar Hero, looked through it carefully, picked out all the tracks that I don't wish were in GH2, and put them up as downloadables.

    I hope this isn't all of the downloadable packs they make. I purchased the 360 version of the game because of the dowloadable potential, maybe I'd have been better off with the PS2 version.

  • adhuin #119 5 years ago

    expensive sure, but if enough suckers (me included :( ) buy these, then its the right price.

    On scoreboard there's around 7000 listed scores for the most popular downloadable song (ozzy's song from gh1)
    On the other hand there is over 220 000 career scores listed, which means only about 3% of the game owners have purchased any new songs. Can't say if thats a lot or not.

  • ProtoformX #120 5 years ago

    This is certainly drawing some fire from the user base. I didn't own a 360 at the time Oblivion was released so I don't know much about the whole horse armour issue but at this current pricing I'm not prepared to pay for these out of principle. I think 2000 points for the complete career set of tracks from Guitar Hero is a fair price. Penny Arcade have also commented on the pricing which is a good thing as I believe the industry is aware how many people read that site and factor Gabe and Tycho's ramblings into their decision.

  • Pachinko #121 5 years ago

    Was seriously considering buying the 360 version, but seeing the total rip-off that is the DLC content, there is no way in hell I'm buying it. Up yours, Harmonix and Activision.

  • warlockuk #122 5 years ago

    I think I'm mainly pissed off as I was hoping to buy all the songs for GH1 as DLC when I got the game and now it'll end up costing more than 60 quid for data they pretty much already have. The fanboys'll still buy but some folks just won't pay £2.50 for a can of coke no matter how cold it is.

  • asphaltcowboy #123 5 years ago

    I'm gonna wait. Signed the petition too. It's ridiculous. I just want a decently priced GH1 pack...

  • darkbhudda #124 5 years ago

    Now I don't like the prices either so what they should do is release whiney crybaby series of pack for $1/song and then do what they do with TV shows going to DVD and change it to cheaper music so they don't get screwed on the renegotiation of licensing fees. So you buy Bark at the Moon and instead get some generic elevator rock music from some obscure band.

    Stop comparing it to iTunes, it's not anywhere near the same. It's particularly hilarious since people complain about $1/song for iTunes and say it should be cheaper. Usually about half the price. Which is they standard discount for anyone complaining about price.

    And stop comparing it to the original game. They have totally different profit margins and price/cost ratios.

    You want it to be $1/song, justify it with a full cost breakdown costed down to the lowest level, including the cost of whiteboard markers they used, or shut the hell up. You want to complain, fine, but don't pretend you know how much something costs or should cost.