The Questyen

It doesn't say anything about mobile game in the article it says for PC and consoles.

Spiderbite

Anybody around here still play this? I still play for fun about once a week or so.

The band I was in for Rivals disbanded or nobody plays anymore I guess. If there are still players here or room in the dvdtalk band that wants my occasional points, I would be glad to join up. I don't play online as a group or anything like that but my solo points could still contribute.

Adam Tyner

My wife and I fire it up every once in a while, especially if there's DLC we're interested in. I have to admit to forgetting it's a thing sometimes, especially since Facebook is fussy about actually showing me Rock Band posts.

The Questyen

I play for about a hour every week or so.

Spiderbite

So is there still a DVDTalk band or is someone in a band that wants some extra points that needs the occasional player?

Kelkee

I don't have the rights to add you but look up the band Lorem Ipsem. I believe there is one spot left. Many members are from DVDTalk.

Also the official forums for Rock Band are going away in March. Doesn't look good for the future of RB and 2019 may be the final year for this version.

Spiderbite

Will do. Thanks.

And that sucks about RB. It is still a good, fun game. I guess it had its heyday though.

Are the forums just that dead? Do they give out any sales or player numbers anymore?

Kelkee

I love RB but the community for this genre is so tiny now. Since HMX is not going to pay any more for new hardware to be manufactured then its only a matter of time before this era of RB is sunset.

BBS Forums in general are a dying breed cause of FB, Reddit, Discord etc. An entire generation can't be bothered with this non-social media form. Even DVDTalk is a relic of what it once was.

I haven't seen official sales or player numbers in a long time and the last roadmap for RB was in 2017.

Lots of factors come into play as to why this genre is dead. The music industry is a complete waste of what it once was is probably the biggest. People shop differently. People consume music differently. People communicate differently.

fujishig

For me, it was when they changed it to make it more realistic instead of the cartoony colored buttons that I lost interest. It's a shame too because my kids have a blast with the very basic game in the arcades, but I'll have to dig up an older console to let them play it.

I'm actually kind of surprised we haven't had a Dance Dance Revolution come out in a few generations now, that still seems to be popular in the arcades as well. Unless it still comes out but just not in the West or something.

Kelkee

DDR is in the same boat as the plastic guitar genre. Since Microsoft abandoned Kinect and Sony abandoned the Move.

These games rely on an additional peripheral to function and people are just not paying for that any longer.

But willingly pay $900.00 for a smart phone their kid can throw birds at pigs on.

19K

Adam Tyner

For anyone who's wondering how existing peripherals/DLC will work on the next-gen consoles:

Twitter

Spiderbite

That's great news. I still play pretty regularly. It is a great stress reliever and still tons of fun when we hold parties.

Unfortunately more stress and less parties due to the pandemic.

steebo777

Really good news, I was hoping that would be the case but didn't want to sell my PS4 before being positive about it.

Adam Tyner

Epic Games just bought Harmonix! It sounds like Fortnite is going to be their central focus, but they’re still planning on continuing with Rock Band DLC.

stingermck

Now just re-release all the instruments please

Spiderbite

I wonder how much money it even makes them anymore? Do they release any sales figures at all? I am impressed that they still release weekly DLC even now. I still play it regularly and usually buy several tracks off my wish list each month even now.

Luckily all of my instruments still work but it is crazy how they keep releasing DLC with zero ways to buy an instrument if you need one. They obviously do not care about getting new players for the future which always concerns me. I see people constantly ask for them to release instruments. Wonder how much money that may be costing them by not having instruments...or would it cost them more to have them available?

I will cry when one of them finally breaks.

Adam Tyner

Alas...!

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I think it's the headaches of finding someone to actually manufacture them. Red Octane is gone. MadCatz went bankrupt. PDP bowed out years ago. Anyone who made 'em wouldn't be able to manufacture at any real scale since it's such a niche product, they're so big and bulky that warehousing/shipping are more difficult than usual, there are the platform-specific hassles since these are technically Xbox and PS controllers (presumably beyond the scope of something you could just Kickstarter)... I feel like the people who would really want to make this happen would find the logistics impossible, and the companies who could work through those issues wouldn't see enough of an upside for it to be worth it to them. But I'd love to be wrong.

Spiderbite

It is just bizarre that the game is still going on but they aren't selling replacement instruments.

I have wondered if one of my guitars breaks if I would be able to easily fix it myself or find someone who could. I remember at one time people were recommending others to go to pawn stores as the best place to find instruments but that is probably a chance long gone at this point. I am so glad I got my X1 instruments when I did. They were selling for thousands of dollars on ebay awhile back. It appears you can get them for a $150 or more currently. That tells me that a lot of people have given up and moved on.

So any idea what kind of money the game still makes or how many players are still using it across the various platforms? Must be enough since they seem to be keeping the lights on for now.

I think it was you, Adam, that said they work just fine on the XSX so I am eager to try that out if I ever can find a XSX.

stingermck

Yeah I don't understand not growing the customer base, but oh well.

Adam Tyner

From what I understand: all of the XB1-era instruments work fine with the current systems, wireless 360 guitars work but require the legacy adapter, and the wired 360 guitars are a no-go.

I'm on the PS side of the world, and I'm using my PS4-era instruments fine on the PS5. I haven't tried any of my PS3-era instruments with the USB dongles, but supposedly those'll work too.

I'm sure they'd love to, but it's a risky and expensive endeavor to remarket a 6 year old game that didn't do gangbusters when first released or with the Rivals relaunch, and every company who's made the instruments for Harmonix games either no longer exists or has no interest. There's such a stench of failure associated with this hardware that I have a hard time picturing any of the bigger players wanting to roll the dice. I'd love to see a new round of instruments, but because it's such a small niche and not really something you could get stores to stock, it'd probably be boutique-y and expensive if it were to happen at all.

E Unit

Oldie question here…..I have all of the instruments when it was on the PS3. Can I still use them for these new ones?

Spiderbite

See Adam's quote above.

I sure miss my Beatles Rock Band. I sure wish it could have been incorporated into the newest release. I would even re-buy all the DLC and music that was included on the original disc for full price if they could release it.

Adam Tyner

Yes! It's the only reason I still keep all my PS3 instruments semi-handy. I'd happily pay full price to experience all of that again (without having to jump through the hoops of hooking up the PS3 again, anyway).

Adam Tyner

AN UPDATE ON ROCK BAND 4 DLC
So it sounds like Fortnite Festival is the closest thing we'll have to new Rock Band content near-term. But still, the support we've seen so long after this game dropped is pretty astounding, and I can't complain about 8 or 9 years of DLC!