EA fesses up, Rock Band coming to Wii

66 Comments by Alexander Sliwinski Jan 31st 2008 9:10PM
Filed under: Nintendo Wii, Rhythm

According to IGN, EA CEO John Riccitiello confirmed the "coming launch" of Rock Band for Wii in a rather roundabout way. The confirmation came during a conference call to discuss EA's quarterly earnings when Riccitiello referred to the "coming launch" of the Wii version. Just in case that wasn't clear enough, IGN did get confirmation from EA that the rock star simulator would indeed be making a Wii debut. There was no release date given for the launch -- or information on instruments, price, or DLC – but hey, at least now we finally know it's coming.

[Thanks, Fernando]

Tags: BreakingNews, EA, Harmonix, Rock-Band

Source

(Page 1) Reader Comments

Co: Jan 31st 2008; 9:15PM

.....didn't see this one coming. Oh wait, we did.

Tegolin: Jan 31st 2008; 9:19PM

So would all the instruments be white?
Wireless or USB?

Raikage (Wii FC 5508 0487 4434 0992): Jan 31st 2008; 11:53PM

More importantly... DLC without it... GH3 is better, much better...

DarkTetsuya: Feb 1st 2008; 1:21AM

Well the guitars will likely just be shells ala Guitar Hero, but the mic and drumset will probably be USB.

Vegnagun bwf: Jan 31st 2008; 9:27PM

Fernando tipped you off about a Wii game? I didn't even think Fernando liked the Wii!

Fernando Rocker: Jan 31st 2008; 10:08PM

Fernando Rocker: Jan 31st 2008; 10:33PM

So... making hearts with my name uh? =)

Vegnagun bwf: Jan 31st 2008; 10:56PM

All over my school books and written on my arm in sharpie: "Vegnagun + Fernando furever"

sheppy2.0: Jan 31st 2008; 10:57PM

Yes, it was your name and not the sarcasm of the statement what made that voting up happen.

Vegnagun bwf: Jan 31st 2008; 11:03PM

Is that sarcasm? What's sarcasm?

Fernando Rocker: Jan 31st 2008; 11:06PM

sheppy

We were joking... did you see my happy face? =)

Vegnagun bwf: Jan 31st 2008; 11:12PM

I was reading your comment about your Rock Band Band, sheppy, and I now know what I want to do.

We should make a band of joystiq posters. Fernando, You, I and some other slob. We'll call it 'Santa in the Mid-80's' and we'll tour America. We'll be known for our signature stage presence and swagger. We'll do barrels of cocaine laced with antifreeze. Let's do it.

Fernando Rocker: Jan 31st 2008; 11:14PM

Well... everyone here has a weird musical taste... =p

What music do you enjoy?

Vegnagun bwf: Jan 31st 2008; 11:20PM

I meant a Rock Band Band. How would I go about getting to Mexico or Spain or wherever you live. Mexico and Spain doesn't just grow on trees.

Fernando Rocker: Jan 31st 2008; 11:24PM

When I was liing in LA, there are a lot of heavy metal fans...

I like heavy metal, with slow tempo... I love the songs with high pitched voices and the sound of the drums of the 70's and 80's records.

I love Dio, is one of my favorites bands... Deep Purple, Rainbow, Whitesnake... I love the work of Ritchei Blakcmore... classics too: Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, the style of Randy Rhoads, Judas Priest, Grand Funk Railroad...

Strypers is on my favorites to... Skid Row, Iron Maiden, Van Halen, Michale Angelo, Don Dokken, The Eagles, Tangerine Dream, Quenn, Kiss...

But from Nirvana to date, the rock is crap... damn Nirvana... they ruined rock.

Fernando Rocker: Jan 31st 2008; 11:25PM

I live in USA =)

*Legal resident...

Vegnagun bwf: Jan 31st 2008; 11:31PM

Zeppelin, Maiden, and Queen are always good. I really love Queen though, I'm going to see them in concert soon, but it won't be that great with Freddie being dead and all. I like Pink Floyd, The Who, The Unlovables, Vai, and Rush and many, many more! Gotta love Rush.

sheppy2.0: Jan 31st 2008; 11:41PM

Eh, currently trying to get decent enough on guitar to start an Industrial Punk style band. Kind of hard to explain... only two examples of the sound I'm aiming for that I know of is Mindless Self-Indulgence and Mad Capsule Markets. I can work synths like a mother, but synths aren't very fun so I'd prefer to prerecord those bits. But since I severely suck at guitar, it'll be a while before I can get any kind of band together. Not to mention it's kind of hard to get practice in when I'm a full time artist and freelance shit on the side...

As for musical tastes, well, I'm 100% all over the board. However, if I must list my top five bands, I'd say I start with The Refreshments, then The Beatles, then Nine Inch Nails, Gravity Kills, and finally Green Day.

Vegnagun bwf: Jan 31st 2008; 11:44PM

I mean like Rock Band; over Xbox live.

Fernando Rocker: Jan 31st 2008; 11:50PM

sheppy

I just heard that band Gravity Kills in youtube... damn, they suck... really. It's not that hard to play the parts on the guitar. And the singer... I don't how can someone like that guy voice.

If you are going to play guitar, at least lear from the good guitar players...

"We're a ship without a storm
The cold without the warm
Light inside the darkness that it needs, yeah

We're a laugh without a tear
The hope without the fear
We are coming - home"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cuq8078RsKw

sheppy2.0: Jan 31st 2008; 11:50PM

Ummm, currently 360-less. Waiting on the Jaspers before I reinvest.

Besides, world tour isn't online compat, is it?

sheppy2.0: Feb 1st 2008; 12:08AM

Ummm.... I'm not trying to learn from Gravity Kills. Gravity Kills is good as pure rage music and they mix even electronica into their tracks. If you want to know the sound I'm GOING for...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-tdWBsum2c

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=foYuSl3s40k

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bxOKYVd_MI

As I said, this is the kind of sound I'm going for. Heavy, hard, melodic, yet with trance and house undertones.

Raikage (Wii FC 5508 0487 4434 0992): Feb 1st 2008; 12:21AM

MSI eh Sheppy? Very interesting band...

Peter: Jan 31st 2008; 9:27PM

Will the wireless versions of the instruments require us to put Wiimotes into them for them to work?

Sora267: Jan 31st 2008; 9:27PM

I'd LOL if they let us use the Wiimote + Nunchuck as air drums. That'd be SO COOL!!!!

Riptor820: Jan 31st 2008; 9:34PM

Haha, holy crap.

finnith: Jan 31st 2008; 9:52PM

If anything, EA (as well as most other companies) just want more of your money so that wont be a feature.

joshua: Jan 31st 2008; 9:27PM

It will probably be a straight port of the PS2 version, which had the gameplay intact but lost pretty much everything else cool in the game.

jsn: Jan 31st 2008; 9:33PM

yes it'll be interesting to see what sacrifices are made.

Dopple Boppler: Jan 31st 2008; 9:41PM

I'm sure they'd put online in; Guitar Hero 3 did it, and it's actually pretty good on the Wii version. However, I could live without the online play, but downloadable content is a must, and that probably wouldn't be happening. I love my Wii, but I'll probably just stick with Guitar Hero 3 and continue playing Rock Band at my friend's house on his 360.

Ordeith: Jan 31st 2008; 9:37PM

If it has no DLC, forget it.

If it does, it will probably be gimped anyway - not enough storage on the Wii.

MobiusXP: Jan 31st 2008; 9:39PM

What about the SD Cards that people use?

Tiptup300: Jan 31st 2008; 10:45PM

Yes because those can hold hundreds of songs!

Squeek: Jan 31st 2008; 11:02PM

Actually, they can.

As to how much the chart files take up, that's a different story. But if the average song is 5 megabytes, a one gig SD card can hold 200 songs.

Aj2good4you2: Feb 1st 2008; 12:58AM

200 songs? doubt it,the dlc as it is right is about 25 mb a song if not more. i have about 30ish and its already a gig

Mr Khan: Feb 1st 2008; 3:41PM

huh, i wouldn't have thought it that big, unless all the character animations are responsible, which of course could be dumbed down on the Wii version anyway

I have 24 Minutes of CD-Quality music on my server folder at school, and it only rolls up to about 22 MB, and i figured the code for the note indicators couldn't be all that big

Mr Khan: Jan 31st 2008; 9:43PM

Fuck yeah!

Well, I don't have the time, or the money.....

But, fuck yeah!

Lone Starr: Jan 31st 2008; 9:44PM

This will be REALLY interesting to see.

One of the whole reasons the Wii has been doing well is the low price point. Now EA will release a game that will have costs approaching that of the entire console. Hardcore Wii owners aside, will the majority of Wii owners be willing to spend this much on a game?

ill trooper: Feb 1st 2008; 12:31AM

I think it's sort of the other way around... This will pull even MORE casual gamers in. Both the Wii and 'Rock Band' have the same appeal: Fun gaming without needing a degree in Halo or GTA.

We've all seen it: Someone visits their friend's place for dinner or a party or whatever, plays bowling/tennis/Rock Band, decides they want that same fun in their own house - "I don't usually play video games, I don't have a system... What do I need for that?" they ask, and the host (re: enabler) tells them: You need a Wii. Or in the case of 'Rock Band,' the answer was "Xbox 360" or "PS3," but now, both needs can be met with one combination, if you can find it: The Wii, and Rock Band for the Wii. Which, of course, will be less of an investment than either of the other two systems and Rock Band.

So I think people will actually see this as the _cheaper_ way to play 'Rock Band' and I'm sure it will be very popular.

As for DLC on the Wii, that should be interesting.

Lone Starr: Feb 1st 2008; 2:05AM

That's a good point. There may be some who do buy Rock Band like you describe, but I think the overall effect still works against that smaller trend. Furthermore, if what you say happens, we shouldn't necessarily assume the person will buy a Wii even though it is cheaper. The prospective buyer may want Rock Band on the system that his/her friend has, especially considering online functionality (friends list, dlc).

The other thing is that your theory is really hard to test. We can easily see how many people buy Rock Band on the Wii and estimate the effect I initially spoke of, unlike the other way around (Wii AND Rock Band). The short supply of Wiis only compounds this problem.

Cheezeman3000: Jan 31st 2008; 9:48PM

Hmmm... I may actually buy this if it has a reduced price point. I don't have a 360 or a PS3 (only have the prior versions of those consoles), so this is looking very attractive.
The option of doing air-drums could make it a lot cheaper as well.

raptorspike: Jan 31st 2008; 9:49PM

All i can say is f*** yeah!!! I've been waiting this announcement for a while. just give us wireless guitars and USB mic and drums. and give us the best graphics possible!

Phillip: Jan 31st 2008; 10:05PM

Why would someone want air drums? That might be the stupidest idea of all time. I'm down for buying it as long as I can play online and download new songs. I have a three sd cards, so storage really shouldn't be a problem.

Eric: Jan 31st 2008; 10:12PM

Could we please use our Guitar Hero Les Pauls and avoid the issue they had with the PS3/360 (whichever it was, I forgot)?

Duscrom: Jan 31st 2008; 11:29PM

Doubt it, That's Activision's deal. Ad Activision is evil.

ThornedVenom: Jan 31st 2008; 10:19PM

FUCK YEAH SEAKING

ThornedVenom: Jan 31st 2008; 10:19PM

FUCK YEAH SEAKING

Alex: Jan 31st 2008; 10:20PM

nice, I hope it comes out at launch with a version without instruments, cause I already have a guitar and don't care for the microphone, drums might be nice though.