With Rock Band and Guitar Hero seemingly battling it out for rhythm game supremacy this holiday season, all eyes are on the future, and that means downloadable content.
Closing in on the week of the former’s release, Harmonix has finally dished out all the pricing details for Rock Band alongside a month-long release schedule.
Guitar Hero’s USD $6.25 (500 MS Point) standard for song packs of three has hardly been ideal — that much the gaming community has deciphered, and all eyes have been on Rock Band to adopt a more affordable DLC option. While not as bank-busting as GH3’s pricing, Band keeps it competitive with pricing, while still keeping its eyes on profit with the following pricing scheme:
- Three Song Pack: $5.49 (440 MS Points)
- Individual Song: Ranges from $0.99 - $2.99 (80 - 240 MS Points)
What’s great is that your songs can be purchased a la carte. GameSpot, which broke the story, notes that “‘the vast majority’ will come in at the standard $1.99 price point.” Details on the promised full album downloads are still murky, but the first few weeks of content that’ll be hitting each console’s respective online commerce center have been revealed, and are included after the break.
Downloadable Content Schedule via Gamespot
Week of November 20, 2007: (*–asterisk denotes a cover version)
Metallica Pack
“Ride the Lightning”–Metallica
“Blackened”–Metallica
“And Justice for All”–Metallica
The Police Pack
“Can’t Stand Losing You”–The Police
“Synchronicity II”–The Police
“Roxanne”–The PoliceQueens of the Stone Age Pack
“3’s and 7’s”–Queens of the Stone Age
“Little Sister”–Queens of the Stone Age
“Sick Sick Sick”–Queens of the Stone AgeIndividual Tracks
“Fortunate Son” as made famous by Creedence Clearwater Revival *
“Juke Box Hero” as made famous by Foreigner *
“Bang a Gong (Get It On)” as made famous by T-Rex *
“My Sharona” as made famous by The Knack *
“Cherry Bomb” as made famous by The Runaways *
“Joker & The Thief”–Wolfmother
Week of November 27, 2007
David Bowie Pack
“Moonage Daydream”–David Bowie
“Heroes” as made famous by David Bowie *
“Queen Bitch” as made famous by David Bowie *Week of December 4, 2007
Black Sabbath Pack
“N.I.B.” as made famous by Black Sabbath *
“Sweet Leaf” as made famous by Black Sabbath *
“War Pigs” as made famous by Black Sabbath *Week of December 11, 2007
Punk Pack:
“Rockaway Beach”–Ramones
“I Fought the Law”–The Clash
“Ever Fallen In Love” as made famous by Buzzcocks *Week of December 18, 2007
Individual Tracks
“My Iron Lung”–Radiohead
“Buddy Holly”–Weezer
“Brass in Pocket” as made famous by Pretenders *
From the looks of this list, it appears that Red Octane has a lot to be worried about. What are your feelings about the a la carte pricing? Giving the choice to the consumer is always a home run in our book.
