MTV Games confirms Rock Band delay for Canada; coming Dec. 17

by Ross Miller { Nov 12th 2007 at 6:55PM }

Yesterday, we reported a rumor concerning Rock Band's release in Canada. Turns out it was true, with MTV Games confirming (via Shack News) that the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 game has been delayed in the country until December 17, alongside the original PS2 release date.

Electronic Arts has previously noted it was only producing a handful of copies for the holiday season, leading conspiracy theorists to surmise supplies are being redirected to the U.S. Whatever the reason, Canadian gamers will not be playing the game next week like they thought they would as recently as two days ago. Rock Band is still expected to arrive in the U.S. November 20, just in time for the pre-holiday shopping madness known as Black Friday.

Tags: breakingnews, canada, delay, ea, electronic-arts, harmonix, mtv, mtv-games, mtvgames, rock-band, rockband

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

Neebs @ Nov 12th 2007 6:57PM

Eh?

Your Ad here 555-1923 @ Nov 12th 2007 6:59PM

Rock band? Phff Heroin Hero is the way to go.

I almost caught the dragon this afternoon what about you guys?

brandon_r87 @ Nov 12th 2007 7:01PM

I almost caught him, but I OD'ed and ended up at an EVgames in a pile of vomit and blood. So close!

Deck @ Nov 12th 2007 6:59PM

I don't live in Canada, but that is pretty lame.

bVork @ Nov 12th 2007 7:01PM

Thanks, EA, for making my Christmas shopping easier. I was going to get this for my brother but the release date of Dec. 17th means that I won't be able to ensure that it arrives by Christmas. Therefore, I'll get him something else. Maybe Guitar Hero 3.

Andre @ Nov 12th 2007 7:30PM

Just grab a copy on eBay.

bluezy @ Nov 12th 2007 7:05PM

Well, i live right near the border, so i can just as easily get it in the States.

Viridium @ Nov 12th 2007 7:07PM

Not that I want this game - but first we Canucks are screwed with the LCE of Mass Effect (which I DO want), and now this.

sheppy2.0 @ Nov 12th 2007 7:23PM

Meanwhile you canucks got the LE version of Forza 2 and we didn't. Which really sucks because it had a 137 page guidebook to the game, three exclusive cars, and some decent packaging to boot.

gonk @ Nov 12th 2007 7:28PM

yeah but car games are lame

Silent Xenocide @ Nov 12th 2007 7:40PM

Seriously, Forza 2? That was what, 20 years ago?

finnith @ Nov 12th 2007 7:46PM

That'd would've been great with me if I was gonna buy a game that I suck at.

snahfu @ Nov 12th 2007 7:22PM

Simple...don't buy the game. Send a message to EA. I cancelled my full pre order today.

TheGuy @ Nov 12th 2007 7:35PM

@snahfu

Rock Band is made by Harmonix, which isn't owned by EA.

As for this news, yeah it sucks for us Canadians. This smells like supply redirection from Canada to the US to me.

why not the LS2LS7? @ Nov 12th 2007 7:59PM

Rock Band is distributed by EA.

Silent Xenocide @ Nov 12th 2007 7:26PM

I would be upset, if this wasn't rock band.

Count Noobula @ Nov 12th 2007 7:27PM

I don't even want this game, but it sucks balls that Canada doesn't get it for like another month after the U.S. EA can lick my balls after I dip them in Alfredo sauce. Is this some kind of backlash because the Canadian dollar is so high? And wtf is with Canada not getting Mass Effect LCE? The damn game is made here, why can't we have a collectors edition too?

Evan @ Nov 12th 2007 7:40PM

Another theory to the delay: a legal problem licensing one of the songs.

emmzee @ Nov 12th 2007 7:44PM

Sucks for people in the USA too, at least those living near the border, since this probably means that there will be a lot of Canadians crossing the border to try to buy Rock Band.

finnith @ Nov 12th 2007 7:54PM

Isn't that good for the American retail industry?

If this is bad for someone, it's bad for Canadian retailers because the audience who was going to buy the game is just going to get it through alternate methods. Not to mention the fact that most gamers will be poor by December 17, and the Canadian gamers will be poorer since we still pay more.

emmzee @ Nov 12th 2007 8:04PM

It's good for the retailers, sure, but not for the gamers trying to buy Rock Band when it sells out from all us Canadians coming down to the 'states to buy it.

zuburi @ Nov 12th 2007 8:33PM

Stop flooding our currency with those damn Canadian nickels!

Silent Xenocide @ Nov 12th 2007 8:53PM

I seriously doubt that Canadians buying it from the US would really affect much. For one, the US is 10x bigger population wise, and then how many Canadians out of the people who were going to purchase rock band, are really going to cruise down south.

Geist @ Nov 12th 2007 10:11PM

Buy it in the States anyway, it's cheaper down there and our dollar (Canadian) is better! Awesome.

glassd @ Nov 12th 2007 8:42PM

Once again us Canadians get shafted by the US gaming companies, Specificly by MTV. We can't access ANY of the videos and stuff that they put up. I'm really getting fed up with being just a second thought from these companies. There is a huge market in Canada for this stuff too. get it through your heads, or else your gonna piss off alot of people and just me us quit giving you our hard earned money.

glassd @ Nov 12th 2007 8:43PM

Wish there was an edit button, I noticed some typos.

Fukanzen @ Nov 12th 2007 9:01PM

are youfucking kidding me?!

honkyjesusownsu @ Nov 12th 2007 9:41PM

It's just another toy instument game.

Steve @ Nov 12th 2007 10:24PM

My pre-order as of now is cancelled.

I'm going to buy Guitar Hero 3, the game I shunned my friends for buying.

Thanks a lot EA, this is a crock of BS.

Razorlution @ Nov 12th 2007 10:40PM

Can't you just order it from an online retailer in the States, and have them ship it here?? With the difference in the dollar, Im sure it will equal out with the shipping price.

I love our Dollar :)

holliman @ Nov 12th 2007 11:52PM

On first blush from the headline, I thought the CRTC caught wind of the game and wanted to regulate it under CanCon laws by making EA add more Rush and The Guess Who.

(Although if that same thing meant our neighbors to the north were get Broken Social Scene in the game I'd even be importing.)

Donald @ Nov 13th 2007 8:18AM

Or Anne Murray.

*shudder*

Rocketboy @ Nov 13th 2007 1:44PM

You wish, rumor has it that they are making it an all Kim Mitchell game. Of course, with bonus Rita and Friends content, and an Anne McMurry unlockable or two.

grapejoos @ Nov 13th 2007 2:33PM

Man, I would kill for some BSS in this game. 7/4 (Shoreline) would be really fun.

glutto @ Nov 13th 2007 8:28AM

Let's face it. The problem is Quebec.

They need the extra time to print and package dual-language French manuals and covers.

Gary @ Nov 13th 2007 9:58AM

Thought this might happen. No, you can't purchase games from Amazon.com, ebgames online, or any other U.S. online retailer and have them ship it to Canada. It's against their stinkin policies.

75% of Canada's population lives max 150km from the U.S. border. Just drive down and grab it if you can't wait.

AirIntake @ Nov 13th 2007 10:13AM

Yes, but you still need a passport. Also the price of gas to drive >300km (there and back) really adds to the price of the game. But what do I care, I'm from the 25% of Canada that lives further than 150km away.

JJ Rooster @ Nov 13th 2007 10:48AM

So in this case a firmware mod and newsgroups really do pay off!

Lummox @ Nov 13th 2007 2:44PM

So playing with no drums or microphone? That game has been out for a couple weeks already. It's called Guitar Hero III.

JFriah @ Nov 19th 2007 4:40PM

Wow. This is total horse crap.
a) it is being delayed because of a manual not being ready in a language I don't speak (French).... sorry... affects me in a BAD way. I speak and read English, the original language of the game.

b) the price of the CDN dollar is once again forcing me to buy from OUTSIDE Canda for yet another product.

c) did I mention this is total horse crap?

d) happy thanksgiving to my lucky American (hey, are all your manuals in Spanish?) counterparts.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
This is actually enough to make me not buy the game at all. I hope a lot of English-speaking Candians feel the same.

toomasio @ Nov 19th 2007 7:45PM

it has to do with our dollar..has to be.

anyways..im gunna call up my eb and cancel my pre-order. this is a swift kick to the balls.

Canada always gets fucked on this shit. this really pisses me off. Just like our MUCH music channel..we are getting the left-overs of MTV. FUCK YOU MTV (and your shitty rap music). im not even gunna buy this shit anymore..gunna be broke by dec 17th anyways.

Chris @ Nov 20th 2007 9:16AM

This is so goddamn stupid and frustrating. Way to tell us at the last second (I just found out today) when I should be picking up my PRE-ORDER instead.

It's one thing if they didn't have EXTRA units to put on sale, but pre-order is ore-order.

Anyone that thinks they will get a copy fro the States - check out Amazon.com where they are totally sold out but arseholes are selling them privately for $400 plus.

george @ Nov 20th 2007 6:28PM

i think that the actual reason that rock band is going to be late is because they are making a Ps2 version of the game. i figured this out because on the rock band website (which is american) only advertises the xbox and ps3 versions but canadian retailers advertise xbox,ps3, And ps2 versions. but it still might be all your amazing theorys too.

Jon @ Nov 21st 2007 8:14PM

I Live in Quebec. And yes I am french, I beleave that we are to blame, really...Delaying all of Canada for some french crap? It's no worth it. And also our Dollar may be also the cause, but I really think it's the traduction crap that's dellaying all of this. Sorry fellow Canadians.

cindy @ Nov 22nd 2007 4:55PM

The reason why Rock Band was delayed in Canada that I heard is b/c the box didnt have bilingual writing on the box. No English AND french, no sale I guess. Anyway i guess thats just one rumour

luke @ Nov 24th 2007 6:59PM

ok obviously it is not delayed by the french manuals. what does that have to do with manufacturing the 3 instruments have you ever seen any video game EVER! that has been delayed because of this? no the most logical reasons would the the music licencing issues. canada has very different music licencing laws than the states does ( were still waiting for video marketplace) and so they probably havn't sorted that out fully yet and the fact that the game comes with 3 instruments while every other game comes with just a disk makes it alot more difficult to manufacter and ship to all of the canadian stores

Marty_McFly @ Nov 29th 2007 11:30AM

Here is the reason why. One of my buddies works for EA here in Canada, EA put a hold on their canadian shipments to be able to respond to the crazy demand this game generates for the holiday season by building up a sufficient inventory to send to retailers. Nothing about french manuals or packaging is the issue. Simply being able to respond to the high demand to keep customers happy.

Kraai @ Dec 2nd 2007 1:10PM

So? You guys are really impatient.

Let's support Harmonix in their endeavors because they are the best rhythm game company around. Guitar Hero III is going to just be rehash of the same old, same-old, only with shinier characters. Harmonix seems to release a sequel to their games to fix gameplay and add worthwhile content, and not as an exclusive cash-grab. GHIII seems like a cash-grab to me, whereas Rock Band is doing something that hasn't been done before.

Support Harmonix: Ditch the new GH games, regardless of release dates.

chris @ Dec 4th 2007 4:14PM

My EB where I pre-ordered in Vancouver said they might not be getting any at all.

Hmmm. Guess that's the last time I pre-order anything. It's SUPPOSED to guarantee you a game. Not only do we get the shaft on the Canada delay, but potentially again when it "apparently" comes out Dec 20th.

They've butchered production so badly that I wouldn't be surprised if it's late January that I get my hands on a copy.

At least hopefully by then any bugs will be ironed out.

Ri-frikken-diculous.