Rock Band 3

[GamerMan316]

Harmonix has confirmed that Rock Band 3 buyers will be able to export songs from Rock Band 2 into the new game.

As with the similar process for RB1, Harmonix's John Drake confirmed that rockers can hand over a few pounds to export songs from the previous game onto their hard drive where Rock Band 3, will pick them up, letting you play all yourold favs in addition to the selection of new tracks.

Better still, it's confirmed that the feature will be in all three console versions of the game, so Wii owners won't be left out.

Drake did, however, say that there can be licensing issues for a couple of songs so they might not all make it through the transition.

He also told RockBandAide that while the cost of regular downloadable tracks will remain the same, songs for RB3's Pro Mode will be slightly higher due to Harmonix having "a lot more work to do" on those songs.


I want to know if we will be able to play keyboard on any of the exported songs, probably not though

Good stuff mate, as for the keyboard working on exported songs, i've just read this on the official Rock Band forums.

"We have the technology to update older songs and DLC for keyboards, pro-guitar, and pro-bass, and maybe harmonies. Two things: 1. Keep in mind, especially any of you familiar with the RBN, there are no keyboard audio streams in those old songs, there's like actual substantial changes, so if you miss a note with the keyboard, the keyboard goes away, which we think is really important for gameplay. [2.] And it's a lot of f**king work."

"For right now, we're focused on launching Rock Band 3, the first slate of DLC (the first DLC going forward with keyboards, will have keyboards), and then I think we're going to do some selective updating of the back catalog. We don't have time on our calendar, we don't have pricing, and we don't have information on how it's going to work yet."

However, the keyboard can be used to play guitar or bass tracks for those songs that do not have keyboards charted.

[GamerMan316]

Rock Band 3 Pro tracks to cost extra

Bad news for those looking forward to the new Pro Mode guitar tracks in Rock Band 3 - they're going to cost you more than the regular songs.

"All DLC released for Rock Band 3 will be fully Rock Band 3-compatible, which means it'll come with Pro Mode for keyboard and drums, harmony mode, etc," MTV's Paul DeGooyer told IGN.

"The only thing that's more difficult for us in terms of authoring time is the guitar stuff, so we've decided to sell Pro Mode for guitar separately. If you're not interested in Pro Mode for guitar, you can still get the DLC that should conform to our current DLC pricing, and you get Pro Mode for all your other instruments."

At the moment, DeGooyer pointed out, your average downloadable Rock Band song costs $1.99. Purchasing Pro Mode for guitar will cost an extra dollar.

"It's not going to be five bucks or anything. We think it's a really fair price," he said. "The alternative would be of course to include it (in the regular download) and up the price for everybody, which I don't think is really fair."

According to DeGooyer, not all tracks will have a Pro Guitar mode. There are plans to retrofit Pro Mode to some tracks already in the Rock Band library, but the details are yet to be locked down.

"We haven't completely worked out exactly how we would be able to get it to market, in a way that recognises people who have already purchased it, and thus be able to supply the updated file at a discount, which would be our preference," said DeGooyer.

Rock Band 3 is out on 29th October.

[GamerMan316]

Harmonix: Rock Band can go on and on

There are plenty of new places to take the Rock Band franchise in the next five years, developer Harmonix has insisted.

Rock Band 3, due later this year, adds a keyboard but that's not the end of the road for the series. CEO Alex Rigopulos told Edge that the studio is only scratching the surface.

"There's a lot of creative terrain to explore with Rock Band: new forms of interaction between the player and the music. We still have some very exciting things planned."

Bring on the 21-stringed Malian kora, we say.

Sales of music games such as Rock Band and Guitar Hero plummeted a whopping 46 per cent in the US last year, prompting talk that the two franchises were played out.

Rigopulos also hinted at an impending return to two of the studio's earliest games – PlayStation 2 titles Frequency and the excellent Amplitude.

"We loved those games and of course have been focused on other areas in recent years. Rock Band's been focused on rock music, Dance Central has the luxury of focusing on all kinds of other music, but in terms of rhythm-action-type games focused on electronica, that's something we'd love to come back to at the right moment in time. Or something completely new focused on that style of music."

Rock Band 3 arrives on DS, PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on 29th October.

[GamerMan316]

Rock Band 3's First DLC Will Be From The Doors

Here's some news that will light your fire *snigger*. The Doors will be the first batch of DLC coming to Rock Band 3 post-launch, but even better is the fact that you'll be able to grab them for absolutely free during the first week joining "Break On Through (To The Other Side)", which will already be on the game disc.

The tracks will of course be fully-compatible with Rock Band 3's keys and Pro Mode, and there will be an additional pack of nine Doors tracks to purchase alongside the three being given away for free.

"I'm very excited that keyboards are finally a part of Rock Band. It's about time you guys got hip to the necessity of keys in rock," said Ray Manzarek, keyboardist for The Doors. "This is going to be great for all the gamers, because it's a lot more difficult. Rock Band 3 will require some brainwork, so let's 'Break On Through!'  By the way, get those free downloads: 'Light My Fire,' 'Riders On the Storm' and 'Touch Me' are all great keyboard songs."

Too right they are Ray, my old mate. Check out all of The Doors downloadable content, which will be available from October 26th in North America and October 29th in Europe:

The Doors Downloadable Tracks

    * "Light My Fire" (Free from Oct. 26 – Nov. 1 in game, features Pro Guitar and Pro Bass)
    * "Riders on the Storm" (Free from Oct. 26 – Nov. 1 in game, features Pro Guitar and Pro Bass)
    * "Touch Me" (Free from Oct. 26 – Nov. 1 in game, features Pro Guitar and Pro Bass)
    * "Hello, I Love You"
    * "L.A. Woman"
    * "Love Her Madly"
    * "Love Me Two Times"
    * "Peace Frog"
    * "People Are Strange"
    * "Roadhouse Blues"
    * "Soul Kitchen"
    * "The Crystal Ship" 

Pricing is still to be confirmed and as you know, Pro Mode tracks will set you back more than their regular counterparts. Look out for Rock Band 3 at the end of the month.

[markav]

Heard about this a few days ago, great news. I will be getting every single track no doubt

[DFUSIONITE]

Heard about this a few days ago, great news. I will be getting every single track no doubt

The doors are one of my favourite groups ever, i will definitely be getting some of those tracks myself.

[sambo]

Rock Band 3's First DLC Will Be From The Doors

The Doors Downloadable Tracks

    * "Light My Fire" (Free from Oct. 26 – Nov. 1 in game, features Pro Guitar and Pro Bass)
    * "Riders on the Storm" (Free from Oct. 26 – Nov. 1 in game, features Pro Guitar and Pro Bass)
    * "Touch Me" (Free from Oct. 26 – Nov. 1 in game, features Pro Guitar and Pro Bass)
    * "Hello, I Love You"
    * "L.A. Woman"
    * "Love Her Madly"
    * "Love Me Two Times"
    * "Peace Frog"
    * "People Are Strange"
    * "Roadhouse Blues"
    * "Soul Kitchen"
    * "The Crystal Ship" 

Where is "Spanish caravan" The intro would have been great for Rock Band.

[GamerMan316]

Billy 'The Piano Man' Joel Coming To Rock Band 3 As DLC
No "Uptown Girl" thankfully

It was bound to happen. With a nickname like 'The Piano Man', we were wondering when we'd be seeing confirmation that Billy Joel would be coming to Rock Band 3, now with added keyboards, and here it it is.

"The addition of the keyboard made me interested in bringing my music to Rock Band," said Mr. Joel. "The game introduces music to an enthusiastic audience in a powerful way, and now also helps players get a grasp on the fundamentals of the keyboard."

Piano Man Joel has sold more than 100 million records worldwide and has scooped six Grammys since his first hit in 1973. He's also both a Rock and Roll and Songwriters' Hall of Famer.

There'll be a bunch of Joel's tracks available for Rock Band 3 from December 14th, including the following:

    * "Big Shot"
    * "Captain Jack"
    * "It's Still Rock N Roll to Me"
    * "Movin' Out"
    * "Only The Good Die Young"
    * "Piano Man"
    * "Pressure"
    * "Say Goodbye to Hollywood"
    * "The Entertainer"
    * "The Stranger"

The DLC songs will include Keys and Pro Key Parts.

Rock Band 3 is out on October 26th in North America and October 29th in the rest of the world.

[DFUSIONITE]

I like Billy Joel but Fizz absolutely adores him, she has pretty much every album (including greatest hit's) that he has ever done, no doubt she will be well made up with this news.

[GamerMan316]

I like Billy Joel but Fizz absolutely adores him, she has pretty much every album (including greatest hit's) that he has ever done, no doubt she will be well made up with this news.

Is Fizz an Uptown Girl fan though? 

[DFUSIONITE]

I like Billy Joel but Fizz absolutely adores him, she has pretty much every album (including greatest hit's) that he has ever done, no doubt she will be well made up with this news.

Is Fizz an Uptown Girl fan though? 

yes i believe she is, but her fave song of his is 'piano man', as is mine.

[GamerMan316]

I like Billy Joel but Fizz absolutely adores him, she has pretty much every album (including greatest hit's) that he has ever done, no doubt she will be well made up with this news.

Is Fizz an Uptown Girl fan though? 

yes i believe she is, but her fave song of his is 'piano man', as is mine.

Cool, mine's "We Didn't Start the Fire" which pretty much tells you how much I like him.   

[dfusioness]

i love every single track but my fav album is piano man without a doubt, gutted ive never seen him live 

[markav]

This is the last ever rock band game.
It must be because it is music game perfection
I can't have my keytar till next weekend though as the kids want to give it to me for my birthday, bless em.

[Failed]

Tell them, Failed said they're mean for making you wait a week