I was excited when the 360 and PS3 versions were released (though I own neither system) because of the downloadable content (DLC) and online play. $170 is steep, but for such potential, worth it. Too bad I don’t have a 360 or PS3.
Then the PS2 version came out, and I gave a hearty “meh.” Ten bucks less, and you lose the DLC and online play. That’s kind of the driving force for the game, in my mind. So my money stayed in my wallet, hoping for a Wii version, and my PS2 gathers dust.
Now the Wii version is announced. And it’s $170. Five exclusive songs on the disc. But no DLC, no online play. Again, the compelling reason to have this game, to part with $170, is just not included. But it’s with an added insult as being the same price as the 360 and PS3 versions.
And it’s not like Harmonix couldn’t include online play. Many games do. I can attest for myself that Smash Bros. Brawl works all but flawlessly online. And it’s not just Nintendo’s first-party games. Madden 08 is online. From the wikipedia link, I see 16 games currently released with some form of online play, and at least four more coming soon.
Looks like I have a choice if I want to get in on Rock Band: Drop $170 on a crippled version, or $520 to get a new console and a fully realized version.
Wow, I really can’t believe they did that. We don’t have a PS3 yet, but Rock Band will be one of the first games we buy when we do get one. (Come on, stimulus check!!) We do have a Wii, but I agree with you that taking out the DLC/online play makes it a rather sucky version of the game.
I think if Nintendo’s 3rd party game developers don’t step it up, the Wii might end up in trouble.
Given that Guitar Hero has online play, this doesn’t make much sense to me. And what’s this “strengths of the system” BS? The strength of the system is largely in the controller–which Rock Band doesn’t even use. Geez, at least drop the price.
I was thinking of getting Rock Band after we get a 360, but now I think I’ll just skip it altogether and get GH3 to piss them off.
You and me both. I have $80 in saved-up GameStop gift cards with which to help me make that decision, and I’m reasonably savvy in the ways of the used electronics market, but it’s going to be a palpable hit on the ol’ wallet any way you slice it.
It seemed inevitable that Harmonix would catch on to the fact that, of the three “next gen” consoles out there, there’s only one that’s hard to find on store shelves because it’s still selling out every shipment…and that was the one console they’d chosen to deny their killer app. Must have seemed a bit ridiculous in retrospect to cut their potential customer base in half, but there you have it. Like the OP, I expected this.
Also like the OP, I didn’t expect that it’d be this late, this expensive, or this gimped, all rolled into one package and thrust at Wii gamers like the giant middle finger it is. “Dammit, can’t ignore Nintendo anymore…FINE, here’s your stupid port. Don’t think we’re doing any more work for you, though. Now suck it up and fork over full price.”
So, as much as I wanted Rock Band for the Wii – and as much as I didn’t want to part with four to five hundred bucks – it looks like a used 360 and RB disc, along with my old GH controller and a third-party drum peripheral, are in my future. Harmonix won’t see a single dime from me, where only months ago I would gleefully have given them 1,700 of 'em. As they say in the vernacular, gg hrmnx. GG indeed.
I don’t know, it’s hard for me to be surprised by this… As much as I love my Wii, it’s not really a “next gen” system in the same sense as the 360 and PS3. No hard drive, so no DLC. And its online capabilities are just not as flexible and robust as the other systems (though they could have done something). For a game like Rock Band that relies heavily on HDD storage and online capability, and supplies its own peripherals instead of using motion controls, the Wii may as well be a PS2.
I’ll have to think about which one I want. On the one hand, getting the Wii version means I don’t have to buy a new system. On the other, I do get tired of the songs available in GH3, so I’d like to be able to have more variety.
With Smash Bros. Brawl, I can create my own maps, save screenshots and video replays and send them to others. On the Wii menu itself, you can download games off the Virtual Console as well as other applications. I have yet to make use of my SD card for additional storage.
Wow. I was dying for Rock Band for Wii but this cooled my ardor completely. I don’t know if I’ll bother. There’s absolutely no reason for this but laziness.
Sure it’s techically possible, on a small enough scale. The Wii’s internal storage is many times smaller than the smallest hard disc on a PS3 or 360. And you’ve got your game saves and VC downloads in there already. How big is a typical Rock Band track, 5-10 megs? So you buy two or three albums and you’re done. I just don’t think Harmonix is aiming at numbers like that.
Is that how big they are? I don’t know, I don’t have any interest in Rock Band itself. Still, there is always the option to add an SD card to the Wii for data storage, and 1GB and 2GB cards are cheap these days.
I don’t know, I’m just assuming separate audio channels for the instruments, plus whatever overhead for the note chart. Larger than a typical MP3 but I wouldn’t think much more than 10 megs. Allowing users to store DLC on removable SD cards would be a good solution, but I think Nintendo is paranoid about piracy. IIRC that’s why you can’t do it with VC downloads.
I think some GH and RB songs topped out at 25-30 mb, depending on how long the songs were. I can check tonight and say, but this still seems beyond lazy. (And why doesn’t Nintendo let games work off the SD card storage? 4gb should be plenty for a good amount of RB songs!)
Yeah, but you can still save game data, like saved games, screenshots and replays of the games that provide for them. Songs would seem to fall in the same category. But if they’re that large, then yes, that’s problematic.
Contrary to what the Wii fanboys continually say this quote is absolutely true and I think the Wii is doomed if it doesn’t get some real support from 3rd party devs instead of crap games or ports thrown together to cash in on the craze and lack of good games.
If you mean in the popularity race, then yeah, you’re probably right. I attribute it to 3rd party developers being too damn scared to try going out on the Wii limb more than any fault of the Wii, personally.
If you mean profits-wise, the Wii is utterly blowing the other two away, and even if they stopped production right now and no more Wiis were ever sold, Microsoft and Sony would still have a bear of a time catching up, because they make what profit they can in games, selling the consoles at a loss. Nintendo makes money on every unit moved. I don’t think Nintendo’s all that concerned about winning the console wars when they’re bringing in money by the truckloads.
“Doomed” seems a bit extreme; doomed to be what? Just a large success, rather than the biggest success in the history of the industry? The thing has already outsold the Gamecube, and that was profitable for Nintendo as I recall.
The console wars have been hashed and rehashed and baked into brownies by this point, but what I meant by my post was this:
Nintendo wants to sell lots of caonsoles and games, and make lots of money (Just like Microsoft and Sony.) Sure, the Wii is selling bazillions of consoles at a high profit rate, but if the 3rd party support isn’t behind them in the long haul, the fanboys are eventually going to lose faith and drift to other consoles. That means that instead of selling 27 bazillion Wiis, they will only sell 20 bazillion, and people who were once loyal diehard Nintendo supporters will eventually discover that PS3 and/or Xbox 360 have the advantage. Once PS3/360 “steal” the Wii’s fanbase (not saying a total takeover, just a general loss of numbers), it will give them a bigger advantage in the NEXT console war. Lather, rinse, and repeat.
The thing has already outsold the Gamecube, and that was profitable for Nintendo as I recall.