Shagrath

It definitely seems like they're targeting the casuals, and not the whales, which I think is a stupid decision. The casuals aren't going to be the ones buying weekly DLC and keeping food on their tables for months. They're going to be the ones that break out Rock Band at parties when they're drunk and want to belt out some really horrible renditions of Bruno Mars songs.

I'm just really skeptical that anything other than the bare minimum features is going to make it in at launch.


I know that they built this new game from scratch. Unless they don't have the rights to their own old code, I think that was maybe a mistake. I'm sure there were a lot of things there that they could have transferred over to the new consoles with very little effort.

Kelkee

I'm not going back or stock drums either but not buying the game or a bundle isn't going to solve anything really.

Remember people have been hacking drum kits and brains since RB2 I believe so there is that to fall back on.

If you have not already please go to the offical HMX forums and make your voices heard there.

ION/E-Kits
http://forums.harmonixmusic.com/disc...and-rb4#latest

MPA2
http://forums.harmonixmusic.com/disc...want-it#latest

flashburn

Thanks for the links.

I think hacking the Ion kit's to work is going to be extremely difficult or impossible if the dongle doesn't support wired controllers though.

Kelkee

I agree but I'm rationalizing this by hoping that they are going for the most bang for their bucks right now. Hitting the casuals first will hopefully fill their coffers with cash to be able to feed the whales.


Does anyone know if this is true about the old code? If it is then things would make more sense.

Kelkee

http://www.rockbandaide.com/21107/e3...unity-manager/

mattysemo247

It seems like all they care about is getting the game out before Guitar Hero. RB is out 10/6 and GH on 10/20. But releasing a half assed version of a franchise that everyone is generally fond of is a terrible idea. Especially since this is the first release on the new consoles and after taking a couple years off. If this bombs, they have no one to blame but themselves.

And I still can't find a $60 release, which is weird as hell because I sure as shit don't need any more plastic instruments taking up any more space in my basement. But at this point I guess it doesn't matter since I'm not picking it up at release anyway. Not in the state it's in now.

Shagrath

I heard the only way to buy game-only is a digital release, which is yet another way to screw over their loyal fans. For casuals this might be okay, because a lot of them probably don't have their instruments anymore though.

Music

so much butt hurt so soon...


Go buy the awesome Guitar Hero Live game... that'll show 'em!

Dan

Yeah, it's a solid strategy... it's just disappointing that the game is so... lacking... on release.
I'm a filthy casual when it comes to this game, but even I'm disappointed.

orangecrush

For me, the vast majority of the old DLC working on this is the strongest selling point along with the old instruments working. That may be because between the PS3 and 360 I have nearly 1K tracks along with like 4 guitars and 2 drum sets.

Kelkee

Does anyone have one of these? http://cronusmax.com/

If it works like it claims to work then this would go in your console and your MPA would plug into it and then drumming ensues.

fujishig

I'm curious why a digital release wouldn't be welcomed, unless you want the disk as a collectors item or something. I can kind of understand with most standalone games that you want the physical disk to own or whatever, but this is a game that is almost entirely dependent on DLC and digital content anyway, so it's not like the disk does you much good in case of an apocalypse and you aren't able to download your stuff again.

If anything, a digital-only release cuts off some casual fans that would buy the game off the shelf, which would be bad for them, but not for the consumer.

pinata242

Yeah, "Rock Band as a Platform" shouldn't need a disc. I wouldn't be surprised if the bundles were just download codes.

RichC2

Yep, I fully support this going digital. Plus it's a party game, being able to load it up without swapping out whatever was in the drive is a plus.

flashburn

Only if RB4 supports drumming with a normal gamepad. Being that there won't be a wired drumset, it's not even like they could add support to emulate the standard drumset. Only if the dongle they are working on also supports legacy wired drumsets, then would it be possible. I can't imagine if they add USB support to the dongle they wouldn't also add support for the Ion kits at the same time.

Music

Aside from being able to get the game only version at a cheaper price, yeah, there is no reason, especially for the "loyal" "die-hard" fans.

Adam Tyner

A Harmonix rep posted on NeoGAF that there will be a disc-only release.

redbill

WHAT? Disc-only. no-breakneck speed. no individual instruments?

The "We're an indie studio that blew through our millions on hackysacks and foosball tables, and we're too incompetent to implement features we already wrote" will only go so far.

Obi-Wanma

He didn't say that you won't be able to download it. He said there will be a disc-only release, as in you can buy the disc without having to buy an instrument bundle if you already have lots of plastic instruments lying around.

redbill

that talks me off the ledge a bit, as does reading the actual Q&A from rockbandaide instead of the summary from here. The actual quotes make it seem like a lot of stuff (like breakneckspeed) just wasn't in the build they played at E3, but probably will be in the real game.

pinata242

You mean that fan summaries can be alarmist and hyperbolic? Color me shocked!

Music

No.. not them.... not here...

DJLinus

Well, there is an "unofficial" reason why some would want a disc option. In order to play customs you need the disc, a particular version at that. The RB3 download and later pressings of the discs have an unremovable title update that prevents the customs from working. So there's one reason, assuming that the customs community can figure out how to create compatible songs for RB4. (And I'd think that niche group of people would be considered RB die-hards.)

pinata242

If RB Customs somehow continues into the RB4 world, which is a far stretch given the new hardware and security, but they couldn't even get past the most recent 360 updates (as you point out) so there's no reason to think HMX would just lose that code outside of a massive hacky sack incident.

Kelkee

And now there is this hope for those with e-kits or IONS:

http://www.bytearts.com/products/midi_rocker_lx