Rock Band gets official Euro date News

well its about time. I'm not sure if I'm still as excited by Rock Band anymore, I'm a little burned out on all the iterations of Guitar Hero! Maybe when i see the box on the shelves it will become impossible to resist!

Any news on the RRP? :P

'Die Toten Hosen' could be translated as "dead trousers", if you have to. But please - don't.

er, and whats the pricing going to be anyway? It's hard to get excited, if you don't know how much you have to sell your organs for, to get enough money for a set.

Finally, it's been a long time coming!

I wonder how much that cost MS?

Thank god. I can finally find a use for all the trade in junk I've accumulated recently.

Very smart move from MS. This is just the type of game they need to become more attractive to the casuals.

At god damn last!

But what's the price? That's the REALLY important bit for me. I'm a patient guy, but I need to know how much I'll be fleeced of when I finally DO get it!

meh

If my £60 bundle preorder goes through, I'll get it, otherwise, no

LOL This does amuse me as anybody who really wants this game for the PS3 has imported from the US by now, and will only make the rest of the PS3 owners import it too. With all PS3 games being multiregional this exclusivity really is useless! Its this type of thing that made me get rid of my 360 a couple of weeks ago, and I have had it, well 4, since launch.

So how will you DL and buy the DLC if you imprted?

IGN are reporting that it will cost £129.99 for the instruments and £49.99 for the game making the real cost for the full Rock Band experience is £180. Wireless guitars are £59.99 and drum kits £69.99.

I think that this game is now dead to me with this astonishingly insulting price tag.

Well, finally, goddamit! Let's see, then we'll have to wait another half a year for the individual pieces? I do hope htey'll be availablle right away. I already have the great Les Pauls, no interest in the inferior Stratos of the set. Just give me the mic, the drums and the DVD, thank you.

Oh well, I'm going to be rockin' out for some 14 hours tomorrow, maybe that'll soothe my thirst for another month.

I've heard 200 euro mentioned for several times from people who should know, so around that, then, I'd wager.

You can pick a real guitar up for less than £60 (be it a bad one) and a real drum set for less than £70 (again, bad ones) But then you can make real music!

Regarding importing: normal people will not import, and it's the massmarket they're going for. There will be lots of people still wanting this once it's out for the PS3 and Wii in Europe.

Any more than £150 for the lot and I might have to think about whether to buy it. £150 or less and SOLD!

Also regarding importing, the game is selling millions. I very much doubt every PS3 owner in Europe who wants the game would have imported it by now.

@Morriss

I just log in and download it using a US account, which Sony actually have no problems with and have recently made a comment that the PSN store will remain region free, and then it will allow me to play it under any ID once I have purchased it. I have imported a number of games now and its all good.

Furthermore.... as with when people imported UT3 many people do have this and quite happily play together online there is places were European people join in forums to play so it reduces the lag. My point was that this exclusivity is pretty useless with the fact that PS3 owners will just now go and import it instead, which microsoft cannot stop.

Also, 14 comments until the inevitable "buy real instruments!" comment. Is that longer than usual or about the norm?

@Windowlicker: the insturment bundle INCLUDES the game. £130 is a lot better than the price we all guessed when the US one was - which was, um, £180. I'm personally betting on £150.

Guitar Hero III's £70 with guitar, £50 for the game and £50 for a guitar. That gives you an idea.

About bloody time!

@Sanctus

Here is the text from IGN, it does state that the instrument bundle comes without a copy of the game. Seems silly but until it is confirmed either way, this report will have to do.

"UK, April 8, 2008 - Electronic Arts has at long last settled on an official European release date for Rock Band. However, don't get too excited unless you're an Xbox 360 owner – the May 23 launch on Microsoft's console will doubtless please 360 owners, but those hoping to jam on PlayStation 3, PS2 and Wii will have to wait until later in the summer. Initially it will only be available in the UK, France and Germany too, with other European territories to follow.

Perhaps more disappointing is the price: unlike the US, which received a Special Edition that includes the game, a Fender Strat guitar, the drum kit and a mic, all for $169 – Europe will only get an Instrument Edition priced £129.99 / 169 Euros, including the three peripherals but not the game – which, bought separately, will set you back £49.99 / 69.99 Euros. So, if you want the proper Rock Band experience, the minimum you're going to have to shell out is around £180 / 240 Euros.

Quite why EA has decided to release the Instrument Pack without the game is anyone's guess, although it's likely retailers will bundle the two together, if not at launch then hopefully shortly after. In addition, wireless guitars will be available separately for the princely sum of £59.99 / 79.99 Euros, with standalone drum kits setting you back £69.99 / 89.99 Euros.

There is some good news though. In addition to the 58 songs featured in the US game, Europe will get eight news tracks from English, French and German bands, all bundled on the disc:

- Beetlebum (Blur)
- Rock 'n' Roll Star (Oasis)
- Hysteria (Muse)
- Manu Chao (Les Wamaps)
- New Wave (Playmo)
- Hier Kommt Alex (Die Toten Hosen)
- Perfekte Welle (Juli)
- Countdown to Insanity (H-Block X)

What's more, the 70-plus downloadable tracks already available in US will be waiting for European rockers come May 27, priced 160 MS points each. Plus, US players can get their mitts on the eight European tracks around the same time. Quick recap then: if you want to the ultimate Rock Band experience, with two guitars and every song at your fingertips, be sure to put aside £330 / 430 Euros. On a positive note, going forward, Europe will have access to new downloadable songs at the same time as the US."

Also, remember to add a microphone stand to the tally. I wouldn't dream of singing without. Thankfully, you can get a good enough budget one for very little.

Gay. I've been waiting patiently for this for months and months, now I have to wait until September? Bog off Harmonix, that's nearly a year after the yanks got it.

No word on the pricing of the microphone, but that'd set me back 90 e for the drums, 70 e for the game and perhaps 40 for the mic - a grand total of 200 e. It's what I was prepared to pay anyway. I do expect two guitars + drums + mic + game bundles to surface very quickly, though.

What a joke. EA can fuck right off.

Tempted to import now.

"You can pick a real guitar up for less than £60 (be it a bad one) and a real drum set for less than £70 (again, bad ones) But then you can make real music!"

Well, I certainly couldn't. Not without a good few years of practice. And that's kind of the point really, isn't it?

If what IGN say is true, then EA really need to rethink their strategy. Restricting the game to 360 owners who can shell out just under £200? Doesn't sound like an instant-seller to me.

@ windowlicker if this is true then its an exclusivity period of being rippedoff! someone asked How much did this cost MS.....The answer is nothing because people buying it will ultimately pay for the exclusivity period. People see this as a good thing and a one up to Microsoft but really this is bad for 360 owners, and would have been better for you to have it released on all consoles at the same time so price would have been competitive. Its no different than the anti competitive laws MS has been breaking on the PC platform for years. This is exactly the reason why I have got rid of my 360!

360 owners should remember that they can also use their GH guitars with the game. So, if there is an edition of the game with the drumkit only, that would be a more economical way to go about it (the GHIII wireless guitar is REALLY nice too. So that works out great).

Wendelius

Importing this on PS3 will be cheaper than buying the 360 version in Europe, thanks to that low, low dollar.
As long as you know people that will send it to you in an unmarked box, skipping out on import taxes.

Still, to the mainstream gamer, this is a plus for MS.
Not that it will win them back Europe, but then again, nothing ever will.

At last!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
AAAAAAAAH!


Fucking finally!

Importing is something that savvy gamers will consider, but not many kids or parents of young kids will have the knowledge or ability to do that. Remember the survey that Sony did that showed that less than 30% of PS3 owners knew it was a Blu-Ray player? It's unlikely then that they'll know it's multi-region. Also, importing is likely to result in a hefty Customs Duty unless you're VERY lucky!

Oh good god will all of you please shut up? Why is it that all insecure fanboys suddenly 'blame' Microsoft? They had nothing to do with this game being released on 360 first. The people doing the localisation clearly arent finished with the PS3/PS2 versions, which is why they will be late. Have you not noticed it's been like this for just about every multiplatform game? Seriously, get a grip on reality and stop flinging your hate around and making excuses for yourselves. It's utterly pathetic.

Also, you read way too much into everything. This article says nothing about an exclusivity deal - Eurogamer put 'timed-exclusive' in the article simply to get more views.

High fives all round!

An acceptable proposal, but if it gets pushed back again, so help me God, I'll ... whine, complain and buy it anyway ...

Sigh ...

"High fives all round! "

I agree! can't wait to finally play it!

Wendelius

Too late

Played this on my mates imported special edition (all the kit) over the weekend. It is the mutts nuts. The guitar is great once you get used to it and the drums are just amazing. I even enjoyed the singing.

I really want it, but I just don't know if I've got the space for it.

Hysteria is an awesome choice. Great guitars and great drums throughout.

I don't have a PS3 so I'm not directly affected by the exclusive 360 release but I would be rather enraged if I had a PS3 only. This game has taken ages to arrive here and now it's only out for one console for a while as well. Great move from MS no doubt but a pain for Wii/PS3 owners.

It's a shame that EA let this happen, I know money means a lot but sometimes a little fan 'service' can't hurt.

Edit: Hopefully they will be able to at least settle this GH3/Rock Band guitar dispute until then.

Buying. It.

Still no word on *why* it was put back so long for Europe?

It's about time though

Its ridiculously priced. Regardless of the pedigree of the game and developer they can do one if they think I am parting with that kind of cash for a box of plastic instruments and a game disc. How much was the US PS3 version?

The Special Edition does include the game. That would be a pretty silly bundle if it didn't. Edit^2: well, I stand corrected. That's pretty damn retarded.

The game is indeed awesome and well worth the money. In fact, I'm a bit miffed by the later PS3 release date because I was considering buying another full set to get another guitar (Hello Activision, btw!) and have a look if newer drumsets might be a bit bouncier (the crappy rebound is the one thing I really don't like about my drums).

As for mics. You can use most standard USB microphones. I think Logitech makes a cheap one. But you really want the bundle anyway.

But man is that ever a shitty german song selection (no doubt it will sell well, though). The only fun song is a song that's already in GH3, so no points for originality there. What a slap in the face for any german band that actually does "rock". As an aside, "countdown to insanity" as the title suggests, is in english, not german. (Since Tokio Hotel are in the english list, I assume it's not sorted by the bands origin.)

Edit: the US bundle price is $170. The delay and most likely the PS3 exclusivity thing is because of lack of hardware supply. At least I sincerely doubt that translating the couple of loading screens into 3 languages would have taken half a year. And they obviously didn't spend any time evaluating local music either.

I'd rather get a Wii than this.

WTF!!!!! so europe gets screwed for pricing again!!!! screw that I'll stick with Guitar Heros for the time being

ShadowsFall1978: Bollocks. The amount of people who imports stuff is negligible.

£129 without the game?!

Pardon my language but EA you can fuck right off.

The instrument bundle makes sense from a distributor point of view. They probably have localized versions of the game and this way they don't need to have region-specific bundles (which means that if the game doesn't sell well in, say, Italy, it doesn't have instrument packs "locked up" in Italian SKUs).
It's rubbish for the consumer though, and also means they're not just using the typical dollar-price-is-euro-price ripoff, but actually ADDING another 70 euros for the game: Americans pay $180 and we pay $375 to get it 6 months (or more) later. WTF?

Fuck 'em.
Not paying that.