Rock Band 2 dated for PS and Wii

By Oli Welsh Published 27 February, 2009

UK instrument pricing slashed, too.

EA, Harmonix and MTV have announced that Rock Band 2 will be coming to British Sony and Nintendo fans within the next two months, and that they're cutting the cost of the game's instruments over here.

PS3 and PS2 will get the musical sequel on 27th March, while a Wii version will be released on 24th April.

The game's been out for Xbox 360 since last year, and indeed for all formats in the US since then - but an exclusivity arrangement with Microsoft has kept it off rival consoles in Europe for the intervening months.

The game will sell for GBP 49.99 or PS3, GBP 39.99 on Wii and GBP 29.99 on PS2.

The prices of instruments will also be revised: standalone drums will cost GBP 49.99, guitars GBP 39.99 and a full "instrument edition" set will set you back GBP 89.99.

There'll be official software and hardware bundles for the first time in the region, too. These come in at GBP 119.99 for PS3 and Xbox 360 and GBP 109.99 for PS2 and Wii.

These are now much more in line with US prices for Rock Band than previously. Justice at last.

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About Oli Welsh

Oli is Eurogamer's acting deputy editor and reviews editor and likes to take things one word at a time. He is among the best dressed people in South London.

Read more articles from Oli by visiting the Oli Welsh archive page.

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Comments (35) Latest comment 3 years ago

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

  • andywilkie35 #1 3 years ago

    wahey! Definitely picking up the new drumkit, my RB1 version is on its last legs I think

  • kinky_mong #2 3 years ago

    I'm assuming the instrument bundle is the 2nd generation instruments because it doesn't actually say. Anyway it's about time too!

  • Widge #3 3 years ago

    So about £70 for a guitar bundle. I'm going to hang on, fingers crossed for a cheapie Morrisons or Argos deal like what appeared with GHWT.

  • LiamK #4 3 years ago

    Are they the new instruments? The article doesn't actually say, slightly worringly.

  • ChrisS #5 3 years ago

    Hurrah. Too late, I fear, for EA to make the brand a success in the UK, though. Guitar Hero's had too big a head-start.

  • Widge #6 3 years ago

    Well... I'm going to get it, even if its purely for the better DLC support and being able to port tracks over.

  • Ignatius_Cheese #7 3 years ago

    £50 for a set of new RB2 drums sounds like a deal! £50 for the old set? Not worth it...

  • Erinan #8 3 years ago

    Yeah, are they the RB2 instruments (brilliant) or the RB1 ones (just alright)?

  • daz_john_smith #9 3 years ago

    Sounds like the they're RB1 instruments to me since it says: "The prices of instruments will also be revised" which to me sounds like it's suggesting that the instruments are already out over here, which the RB2 ones have not been. Still some sort of confirmation on this from Eurogamer would be nice for the people who've been pining for RB2 instruments for ages now.

    Considering GHWT is only currently around £125 it seems like better value to get that full band set and buy RB2 seperately that way you're getting 2 games.
    Edited by 1 at 27/02/09 @ 10:52

  • myiagros #10 3 years ago

    am i right in thinking that the new instruments are still not available in europe for the 360 version??

    Hopefully these prices are for the new instruments and a similar 360 bundle will appear at the same time.

  • Oli Verified Reviews Editor, Eurogamer.net #11 3 years ago

    I'm afriad the press release doesn't make it clear if they're the new instruments, folks. We'll see what we can find out for you.

  • Spielo #12 3 years ago

    PLEASE seek confirmation that the drums referred to in the article are the RB2 Wireless Drums and not the RB1 faulty drums!!

    Also please find out if the Xbox RB2 instruments are being released on this date! I've been waiting to buy drums until the good ones come out, and I've had RB2 + 2 GH3 guitars + Mic since November :(

    EDIT: Thanks Oli!!
    Edited by 1 at 27/02/09 @ 10:54

  • Mortey #13 3 years ago

    I've already got it, to be honest most of the songs aren't that great and most of the good ones you already have on GH4, but the porting over of the songs (even if it is without Metalica) is brilliant.

    I am interested in the drum kit, even if it is just for the GP's you can get with it!!

  • Doctor_What #14 3 years ago

    Buggeration. I finally got bored of waiting for the PS3 version a couple of weeks ago and bought the full kit of RB1 stuff. Cockweasles.

  • daz_john_smith #15 3 years ago

    Had a look on the Rock Band forums and there's not much more info there. One person made a good point though by saying that these RB2 game and instrument bundlesthey speak of may come with the RB2 instruments. I wouldn't hold my breath, considering how the games have been handled in Europe in the past and the pricing of those bundles I'd be surprised if they were the RB2 instruments.
    This post from the their forums made me chuckle:

    "
    Cpt Bedlam

    "Quote:
    Originally Posted by joepjens

    Dear HMX,

    This open letter is to inform you that I want to give you guys money!

    Yes you read that correct. I am willing to give you guys money. In fact I am waiting on the oppurtunity to give you guys my money!

    You guys have made such a cool game, that I feel like I should give you guys more money.

    Not only is the gameplay much improved (squares are much better than circles for example) from games I had experience with (these being GH games and singstar), I also think the song selection is a lot better. I am not a fan of the metal tracks, but there is a wide selection for everyone to enjoy. So no one gets left out.

    So even after buying the game, a whole lot of DLC, I feel like I should give you more money. I hope you come to collect.

    There is nothing you have to do! Except for just this one tiny thing: release some ps3 instruments in europe! This should not be that hard, in your factory in China, label the boxes with EU instead of US. So a minimum amount of time and effort investment is needed, to get this extra cash!


    Yours sincerely,

    Joepjens"

    Dear European customer,

    Please buy the RB1-instruments. We concentrate our business on the US market but Europe still is an important area for us to dump old hardware that cannot be sold anywhere else. (And we hope most of you won't notice)

    regards,
    Harmonicks
    "

  • MusePT #16 3 years ago

    daz_john_smith it was me that commented that... my reasoning is this:

    Makes no sense in packing a bundle with old instruments, they will drop the price for the stand alone RB1 instruments to try to sell them, and will also sell the full band kit with the new instruments, but that's just me thinking

  • oasismark #17 3 years ago

    I made a phone call to Mad Catz last week cos i bought the cymbal add ons, and the mad catz rep stated the RB2 drums were coming out in the UK in March.

    I also called EA support asking about RB2 kit, and they said the PS3 version was out in a band bundle in March, so the 360 kit should be out too.

    This must be the RB2 kit.

    If they are making a big announcement about cheaper RB1 kit, then the RB2 kit must be about 6 months away.

    Could they make us wait a whole year for the RB2 kit???
    Edited by 2 at 27/02/09 @ 11:52

  • Eighthours #18 3 years ago

    Jesus, that's £60 less than I paid for the Rock Band instrument pack last year.

  • Stu #19 3 years ago

    Looking forward to finding out from EG if this is the RB2 instruments they are releasing here.

    Am I right in thinking that the RB2 drums make less noise? I put some foam pads on my RB1 drums but they still make a racket and you have to hit them harder...

  • Erinan #20 3 years ago

    @Stu: they do and I love them to bits. They're so perfectly sensitive as well, you can play those cymbal hits very softly yet quickly. Getting the cymbals soon, soooo looking forward to this \o/

  • dr_lha #21 3 years ago

    So UKers can stop complaining about the price compared to the US now, right? RB2 bundles in the USA are officially more expensive at current exchange rates than they are in the UK, even including the higher rate of VAT in the UK.

    Maybe they'll knock down the RB1 bundles like they did here. You can get RB1 game+instruments pack for $99 pretty much everywhere here.

  • oasismark #22 3 years ago

    to dr_lha

    1. its not confirmd that its the RB2 kit yet.

    2. We had a right to complain, why pay more for the same product.

    3. If it IS the RB2 kit, it shows complaining works, and yes we will stop :)

  • kangarootoo #23 3 years ago

    On a tangent, bit it seems like the best place to link this.

    GH Mettallica gameplay.
    http://ww w.gametrailers.com/player/46121...

  • Fleisch #24 3 years ago

    the new instruments arn't even available yet in the UK, despite having a dec2008 supposed release.

  • steviepunk #25 3 years ago

    @Oasismark
    "I made a phone call to Mad Catz last week cos i bought the cymbal add ons, and the mad catz rep stated the RB2 drums were coming out in the UK in March.

    I also called EA support asking about RB2 kit, and they said the PS3 version was out in a band bundle in March, so the 360 kit should be out too.
    "

    I certainly hope this is correct, I've been waiting for the RB2 drums for a while and it's been getting very frustrating waiting. Also fancy getting the Mad Catz cymbals as well, though didn't both pre-ordering while the drums hadn't been announced.

    Very much liking the new price point though (even if it does turn out to be RB1 kit) :)

  • Toothball #26 3 years ago

    I wonder, if they are releasing instrument bundles I wonder if they'll remember to release Xbox ones too. The first time I saw a wireless guitar for Xbox was December, which was seven months after the game was originally releases. I'd have bought two on launch if they'd been there, but instead it left us with a disgruntled bassist using my Guitar Hero 2 guitars.

    I've upgraded most of my gear already though, with an Ion Kit and a Bass and Microphone from Mad Catz. I'm our guitarist though so the rest of the band gets more benefit from those than I do.

    I guess the best part is that now I'll have some slightly happier Wii and PS3-owning friends.

  • cak #27 3 years ago

    Just for the record, the price has already been cut for some days here in Italy: now the drums can be found for 49€ and the guitar for 39€, which means about half the price they used to have.
    At first I was excited after reading this news, but then I said: meh, they're talking about the same old crappy RB1 peripherals (and btw, there's no doubt about that). It's a good sign nevertheless, because the price cut may be a sign that they're trying to clear the inventory before releasing the new RB2 instruments, although I still don't expect to see them in Europe before summer. Anyway, if I should ever spot the complete bundle for around 50£, that would definitely be a deal. I'll keep an eye on that.

  • AhSoul #28 3 years ago

    Yay about time! Doubt I'll change my instruments though - I'm happy enough with my RB1 ones.

    Chop Suey FTW :D

  • oasismark #29 3 years ago

    any more news on this?

  • brommers #30 3 years ago

    @toothball
    Just finished upgrading my ion kit with the cymbal expansion. Looking to get the brain in a couple of months ( though i can't seem to find it for less then £185) so will be able to play it without the game. I have to say i am really, really pleased with the kit. Have you played it yet?

  • Toothball #31 3 years ago

    @brommers

    Yeah, the Ion kit is really something else. The pads are really nice to drum on, and being able to position them wherever suits is really useful. The cymbals really add to the experience, and after getting used to two of them I couldn't really do without the third. Can't really help but snigger when I see people talking about the Guitar Hero kit these days.

    Sadly it's not really made me any better at drumming. Still can't defeat Run to the Hills on Hard. There's got to be some way to beat it.

  • Machetazo #32 3 years ago

    This doesn't look like its even worth deciphering. It just looks like more EA bullshit, when it comes to this franchise. Several months down the line: "EA is proud to announce the Rock Band 2 Instrument Edition bundle, shipping to retail..."
    oh, joy, looks like you got me again! :p [/sarcasm] Not this time. I'm not accepting this, anymore.


    Edited by 1 at 01/03/09 @ 14:53

  • aphexstwin #33 3 years ago

    @ toothall: its not the drumkits that are the problems between rb and ghwt. i would only buy the ion kit if i could use it in ghwt. if you can then im off... but i wouldn't use them in rb because the cymbals are crossmatched to drums, which defeats the object of having cymbals in the first place. rb2's problem is rb1 and (correctly) making either game compatible with the other. if that werent the case then rb2 could have been a really good simulator: as it stands atm only ghwt gets close to that.

  • oasismark #34 3 years ago

    Hows the investigations going Oli? If this turns out to be the RB1 kit, i'm importing, cos the RB2 kit will be held back till Xmas.

  • Toothball #35 3 years ago

    @aphexstwin:

    Sure, the way the Rock Band note charts work it doesn't matter if you play the pad of a cymbal, and there's not really anything in game to suggest whether a beat coming your way should go for one or the other. The only thing you can do is to play it by ear, which does leave things more confusing while you try to decide what to hit while also keeping track of what you're supposed to be doing.

    But if you stick with it it's not so hard at all. With most songs it quickly becomes clear what you're playing for the most part. And once you've set up the kit in a way you feel comfortable with you can play without thinking about where the pads and cymbals are because they're where you want them to be. And by that time you're doing most of the beats on your hi-hat and snare, rolling your way across the pads and finishing up your fills with a satisfying crash on the appropriate cymbal. Sure you can get by playing the game only on the pads and ignoring the cymbals, but once you start incorporating the cymbals playing without them just doesn't feel like drumming anymore.

    I hear the kit does work with Guitar Hero, but only in the same way as the regular kit, with one less note on the charts. The cymbals do register as different inputs in Rock Band, but they don't seem to have accounted for this in Guitar Hero. And after playing on the Ion, the Guitar Hero kit feels small and inflexible. It's nice to have the cymbals raised above the pads, but they're still pretty close together. And the drum rolls across the kit aren't the same over three pads. The Rock Band method of doubling up pads and cymbals on the note charts seems less immersive at first glance, but it allows you to play it as a game on four pads, or as drums by incorporating the cymbals as you see fit. Guitar Hero's five fixed notes work out a little less versatile. Makes quite the difference overall. Make sure to give it a go if you get the chance.