First wave of Rock Band DLC now available

The guys (and gals) over at Harmonix are a quick bunch, sticking to their schedule and releasing the first wave of Rock Band downloadable content to the XBLM this morning. And just like any other game that releases DLC the day of launch (sorry Rock Band, you aren't immune to criticism) we question the developer's intent and wonder why they couldn't have included the content in the retail game. Icky stuff, we digress.

The DLC is exactly what we expected, with Metallica, Queens of the Stone Age and The Police Packs all priced at 440 Microsoft points and other random singles available for 160 points apiece. There's so much offered today that we posted a complete list of this week's Rock Band DLC after the break, so be sure to take a look through the content and make purchases accordingly. That is, if you can actually find the game.

Today's Rock Band DLC
Metallica Pack - 440

"Ride the Lightning" by Metallica
"Blackened" by Metallica
"... And Justice for All" by Metallica

The Police Pack - 440
"Can't Stand Losing You" by The Police
"Synchronicity II" by The Police
"Roxanne" by The Police

Queens of the Stone Age Pack - 440
"3's and 7's" by Queens of the Stone Age
"Little Sister" by Queens of the Stone Age
"Sick Sick Sick" by Queens of the Stone Age

Individual Tracks - 160
"Blackened" by Metallica
"... And Justice for All" by Metallica
"Ride the Lightning" by Metallica
"Sick, Sick, Sick" by Queens of the Stone Age
"3's and 7's" by Queens of the Stone Age
"Little Sister" by Queens of the Stone Age
"Synchronicity II" by The Police
"Roxanne" by The Police
"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" by Wolfmother

(asterisk denotes cover song)

Reader Comments (24)

god i wish guitar hero was more like this. i dont wanna buy the whole set of peripherals cause im only interested in guitar but that dlc may change my mind.

"And just like any other game that releases DLC the day of launch.... [we] wonder why they couldn't have included the content in the retail game."

The developers have plenty of time, between the game going gold [game code is completed and sent to the plant for the media to be pressed] and reaching the shops, to finish off extra content.

I am all about criticizing copies who release content so quickly. I think the market place is awesome for having it though. I mean so many copies are forced to meet these deadlines (which I disagree on) and the companies cannot complete the project 100%. It's no excuse to just not include something in the game that could have been there in the first place if they just spent the time to put it on the disc. Either that or it's another case of the money train.

This however I do not feel is the case with Rock Band. Judging by the size of the song files on the DLC content. I would say it was a space issue. They couldn't fit all of the songs on the disc so they just release them as DLC....makes sense to me.

So I have no problem with them making that content available on launch day.

I think it's just all the licensing for the songs that is the reason it wasn't included in the final game...
but I like the packs and the fact that you can pick and choose songs. Good stuff Rock Band!
I really can't wait to get the Metallica stuff!

At some point they also just have to stop. If they're going to be doing this on a weekly basis, why didn't they include next week's too? It'd never end.

Plus at some point I have to imagine they have to stop just for profit concerns. I'd love if it had 100 songs in it, but I can't imagine that's economically feasible.

I said the same thing, thanks for the rip off.

yea...first wave...for those that managed to buy it. :P hehehehehhehe

DLC on the day of release is stuff that should be on the disc. Period.

i've got no problems with launch-day DLC. you don't want to pay the extra few bucks, then don't.

i won't be buying all of the downloads, but i'll definitely get the police, metallica and qotsa stuff. and the who pack next week.

I'll be getting the Metallica pack fo sho. Anyone know when "One" will be released as DLC?

the developers have to pay artists for each song and of course they aren't going to absorb that cost. after a certain break even or profit point, the developer would need to increase the cost of the game in order to add more songs. maybe they could've added the 3 'police' songs but instead of $59.99 they would've charged $64.99. bottom line is that a developer isn't going to infinitely add songs when they're paying the artist for the songs plus development costs.

Give Harmonix a little credit... they've never been out to screw their loyal gamers. Unlike the majory of other release-day DLC, songs have an inherent cost to them, thanks to licensing. If the launch included the content and cost 15 more bucks because of it, you'd grip about that too.

From the begining, Harmonix has said they intend Rock Band to be a constantly growing music platform. I'd rather pay a few bucks here and there for songs I prefer than have to drop 100 bucks every year and get a bunch that I don't care for with it.

I am fine with the day one DLC, honestly @11 has it exactly right.

That said, I think it is HILARIOUS that Rock Band already blows Guitar Hero 2 and 3 out of the water with the amount of available DLC. After all of the talk about GH2 and GH3 having the most downloadable content ever on live!

(Please don't get me wrong, I own both GH2 and 3, and have bought their DLC, love those games and am dying for my Rock Band to arrive. )

"DLC on the day of release is stuff that should be on the disc. Period." - Gemini Ace

You do realize that Rock Band went gold (was finished) weeks ago? This DLC probably didn't exist in it's completed form then. If they would have waited to add this stuff to the final game, the game wouldn't come out until next month, and then you'd be complaining that they didn't include next months' DLC into the game also. Where does it end? A game's development does not finish on the day of it's release. It actually ends a month or more before that, which is why you often seen for PC games patches released on the day (sometimes even before) a game hits the stores.

DLC is really a gay term for all the stuff that should've been there in the first place. Anyway, when's the Megadeth pack coming out? :P

While I don't like the idea of DLC in the first place, I don't understand why so many people are trying to defend the practice. Yes, we know it went gold weeks ago. It was stated on a hundred other comments on Digg, etc. for the past few days already.

All I want from rock band DLC is Dethklok. That would complete me.

@Loban

I know how game development works. I also know that having a bunch of DLC ready for launch day means they planned to do it like this from the beginning. Which means they pulled certain songs that could have been on the retail disc specifically for DLC because they knew the fans would be clamoring for them. I'm sure these songs were in development at the same time as the rest of the game.

Would be nice if they gave a shit about the UK and released this game at the same time as the US. I read that it will be out "Q1 2008".

Quite disgusting really but hey, what do you expect from EA distributing it!

Sad, especially missing the Xmas season!

Went to Target on lunch break and they just pulled a shipment off the truck! Can't wait to go home and rock out this evening.

Got some DLC to purchase when I get home (it's been an expensive Tuesday)

For the people complaining about DLC for Rock Band, I believe the problem was the cost of licensing the music. These are all name bands, even though they're older bands & the songs aren't their #1's. Regardless, it still costs A BUNDLE to license music. Even crappy old songs.

When was the last time you heard "Happy Birthday" in a movie or on TV? Think about it, families sing this song many times a year to each other. Yet in 10,000 years, if people are looking back at our culture, they would have no idea we sang that song so much based on our movies & TV shows. Cause it costs too much $$$.

But as for Oblivion's horse armour, that's another story!

No DLC for Canada yet :( Picking up my copy tomorrow in New York, hopefully I can find a bundle!

What they appear to be doing is releasing a bunch of songs across various genres and time periods to gauge a) appetite for DLC and b) what sells and what doesn't. They'll plan out their strategy from there using the data from this first batch.

Note how they made a big noise about oodles of DLC for Guitar Hero II, and when the 3 overpriced packs (presumably) didn't sell, we didn't hear anything more about it.

First wave of Rock Band DLC now available

Reader Comments (24)

Posted: Nov 20th 2007 1:30PM (Unverified) said

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Posted: Nov 20th 2007 12:30PM Gemini Ace said

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Posted: Nov 20th 2007 2:29PM Gemini Ace said

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