Posts Tagged ‘Rock Band 3’

As most of you are already aware, Rock Band 3 received a patch a few weeks backthat added several changes (and songs) to the game. For most people, the patch went off without a hitch, but for some of our European friends, that patch included a nasty side effect.  Xbox 360 players in Europe who exported Rock Band into Rock Band 3 found that the European bonus songs that had been working in Rock Band 3 before (Beettlebum, Hysteria, Manu Chao, L’Aventurier, New Wave, Perfekte Welle, Rock and Roll Star, and Countdown to Insanity) were not loading.

Harmonix decided that instead of going through the hassle of creating a new patch, a DLC code for the songs that are not working would be distributed free of charge to affected users. The 204mb “EU Title Update Pack” will restore the songs removed in the most recent patch.

From @HMXHenry over on the RockBand.com forums, here is how you can get resolution to your problem if you are one of the affected players:

Affected users (i.e. EU 360 players that imported RB1 into RB3, downloaded the newest title update and then found that several songs from RB1 import were no longer available) can email support@rockband.com for a DLC code that will reintroduce the missing songs.

Please make sure the subject line of the email reads: Dani California Bug (X360) – Missing EU songs post patch

Also, please include your name, your gamertag and your country in the body of the email. We’ll reply with a code as soon as possible so you can get these 8 songs back in your library.

During business hours, people appeared to be getting a pretty good turnaround on the codes, so definitely hit Harmonix up if you’re missing some of your songs!

Also, if after you download the update pack, and run into issues with Dani California, it may take a few times before the game finally recognizes it.

[Thanks to Mat for the heads up!]

Rock Band’s hardware partner, and now new publisher, Mad Catz announced earlier today that they have now begun shipping several different Rock Band 3 game and hardware bundles for the Xbox 360 across North America. While the game is just over a year old, Mad Catz is attempting to entice people with a free code allowing gamers to download five tracks by the Red Hot Chili Peppers. The songs included are Californication, Otherside, Under the Bridge, By the Way, and The Adventures of Rain Dance Maggie. 

No word was given on whether similar plans for Rock Band 3 bundles on the Wii or PS3 are planned.

[via BusinessWire]

Mad Catz recently announced their latest financial quarter results. Sales and profits were down, and the finger is being pointed at Rock Band 3. Has the rhythm gaming genre “softened” over the last few years? Without a doubt. But I’m going to highlight a number of facts that Mad Catz is presenting in their latest quarterly financial statement, and before I put together the pieces as to why their explanation doesn’t sit well with me, see if you can first figure out why this doesn’t make sense.

• Revenues for the latest quarter ended September 30, 2011 were reported at $25.8 million, a 31 percent decrease from the $37.4 million reported during the same period one year ago.
• Profits decreased 29 percent during the period, from $10.5 million to $7.4 million.
• Mad Catz claimed that “In the United States, the decrease in net sales is primarily attributable to sales of our Rock Band 3 products in the second fiscal quarter of 2011, which was released in September 2010.“
• They also claimed that “The decrease in games as a percentage of total gross sales primarily related to lower sales of bundled products of the Rock Band 3 game. The decrease in controllers was primarily related to products compatible with the Wii and PlayStation 3.“
• Finally, in their press release, they noted that “Although we improved sales of our increasingly important audio and PC products, these gains were more than offset by weakness in our video game products, as the revenue from Rock Band 3 product sales fell sharply.“

First, the bad news. This doesn’t bode well for the re-release of Rock Band 3 this year, but does help to explain why the re-release is only planned for the Xbox 360. They note that Wii and PS3 players aren’t buying instruments at the same rate as the Xbox 360. This is corroborated by unofficial and anecdotal figures we have seen on DLC sales between the three consoles, and doesn’t necessarily come as a surprise.

What puzzles me is that based on what I’ve seen and heard here, the forums, and on social media, demand for Rock Band 3 peripherals appeared to be higher than supply. Even now, it’s extremely difficult to get your hands on many different Rock Band 3 peripherals, so I’m somewhat confused as to why demand isn’t being satisfied when claims that “sales are down” are being listed as excuse. As an outsider, it seems like Mad Catz is being reluctant to commit to the franchise at the risk of generating excess supply which, to be fair, is a legitimate business reason, but may not paint them in the best light in terms of the fans.

But that’s not what bothers me. What I’m about to illuminate some will write off as “spin,” but there are some facts here that definitely need to be highlighted. Mad Catz’s financial statement for the quarter ended September 30, 2011 was compared against the same quarter last year, ended September 30, 2010. Mad Catz specifically lists that Rock Band 3 was released in September 2010, when it was actually released on October 26, 2010, a full month AFTER the comparative quarter ended. This presents a serious issue in the validity of their variance analysis.

Excuse me while I get technical for a moment, but generally accepted accounting principals state that revenue is recognized when the following four conditions are met: 1. Persuasive evidence of an arrangement exists. 2. Delivery has occurred or services have been rendered, 3. The seller’s price to the buyer is fixed or determinable and, 4. Collectibility is reasonably assured. While I don’t doubt that three of these are easily met, I’m questioning whether delivery has occurred in quantities large enough for Mad Catz to justify on their own financials that Rock Band 3 “was released in September 2010.” While Mad Catz was releasing some peripherals prior to Rock Band 3′s release date, I find it hard to believe that the majority of peripheral sales occurred prior to the release of Rock Band 3. In fact, it doesn’t make sense at all, as they specifically reference “lower sales of bundled products of the Rock Band 3 game,” which could NOT have happened prior to October 26, 2010 (with a few lucky exceptions).

What do you think? Is Mad Catz throwing Rock Band 3 under the bus unfairly? Or is there something bigger that I’m missing?

[Found via Gamasutra]

Following last week’s “controversy” surrounding the Country Track Pack 2 DLC/export, I noticed some interesting language being used by @HMXHenry on some of his comments both on the forums and on Twitter. My spidey-sense was tingling, and I had an odd feeling that a “surprise” announcement may be coming today. I didn’t think much of it, as actively supporting a game well over a year past launch is relatively unheard of (although Harmonix did it with Rock Band 2). I’ve had these feelings before, and typically nothing ever comes to pass, but this time was different. Just a few moments ago, @RockBand announced that a title update (AKA a “patch”) will be arriving TOMORROW for Xbox 360 and PS3 players that enables the following features/enhancements:

• Soundgarden’s Black Hole Sun and the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Dani California will now be available in Rock Band 3 to anyone that previously imported Rock Band 1.
• New filter added allowing players to hide songs rated “One Lighter.”
• Setlist crashes surrounding combinations of the songs Surfing with the Alien, Satch Boogie, The Hockey Theme, and Caprici di Diablo have been fixed.
• Other legal/security tweaks.

Last week, I read an interesting interview with Brian Chan, senior designer at Harmonix, where Gamasutra picked his brain about casual gamers’ view of the “gimmick” of plastic guitars. This question aside, Brian is pretty dead on with what’s “hot” with the current gaming industry: motion-gaming, microtransactions, mobile titles, etc. I’ve chatted with him before, and this interview reinforces the fact that Brian clearly knows what he’s talking about. His response about gimmicks and an increased immersion in music games stuck with me. Here’s what he had to say.

“Gimmicks, so-called, are really just risky moves taken in the larger narrative of innovation. They are bold and sometimes stupid, but we should applaud such risk-taking. And sometimes they are thin at the start, but many good ideas mature over time and with iteration. They [plastic guitar peripherals] seem like pretty obvious steps in a larger project of immersion, of forgetting yourself in an experience. Immersion is a difficult thing to grow across successive games because of the tendency towards increasingly deeper immersion, which is often similar to a move towards the hardcore. Maintaining accessibility for the newcomer while deepening the experience for the veteran is incredibly tough, and it only gets more difficult as a franchise develops.”

In essence, for a franchise like Rock Band, he touches on an increasing gap between a casual player who simulates a musical experience for a handful of songs, and a “hardcore” gamer who wishes to maximizes their experience by actually learning a real instrument across hundreds or thousands of songs. What originally started out with Guitar Hero simulating one instrument, eventually expanded into five different instruments with multiple variations of “plastic” instruments that can prepare you for playing a song on a real instrument. The difference between the two extremes this far down the franchise is pretty significant.

After the MASSIVE success of Guitar Hero 3, the franchise released sequels that saw less and less engagement, and I wanted to see the franchise go back to their core competency by just just focusing on the Guitar/Bass. Instead, they offered insane power ups and “pig warriors,” which may have been one of the factors that caused the franchise to go on their current hiatus. Coming out this month is RockSmith, which will offer a focused direction of just teaching players to learn real guitar. No drums. No keyboard. No vocals. Not even bass (as far as I’m aware). Gameplay-wise (and yes, I’m over-simplifying it), it is Rock Band 3′s Pro-Guitar, and nothing else. As Rock Band attempts to offer all things to all players, are they spreading themselves too thin? Are they trying too hard to be everything to everybody? By offering the option of playing a real instrument, is Rock Band potentially alienating or confusing the casual player, and essentially becoming too “hardcore?”

Add your thoughts in the comments below!

[via Gamasutra]

In early August, we heard that MadCatz would be re-releasing Rock Band 3 and select peripherals this coming holiday season. And thanks to Joystiq, not only did we learn that the relaunch was initiated by MadCatz themselves, but it also appears that at this point, the relaunch appears to be Xbox 360 only.

When Harmonix left Viacom, they luckily were able to retain the rights to the franchise, and through the efforts of MadCatz, they will be the sole financier of the relaunch, and this will be the first retail game that MadCatz will publish.

While news of the relaunch being Xbox 360 only may make some of the Rock Band die-hards on the other two consoles nervous, a single-platform launch of an established franchise by a new publisher is a good way for them to “test the waters.” I wouldn’t read in to this potential console-exclusivity as a harbinger of things to come for the franchise.

Through Joystiq, Harmonix CEO Alex Rigopulos commented, ”They’re actually doing the retail distribution as well as marketing support, etc. They’re acting as de facto publisher for the title.” He continued on that the marketing push will be aimed at a wide audience, including ”people who are still playing Rock Band 2 or Guitar Hero players who haven’t even entered the genre yet.”

[via Joystiq]