Rock Band Wii drum kit pictured, nagging questions answered

165 Comments by James Ransom-Wiley Mar 24th 2008 5:35PM

click to enlarge

Today's Rock Band for Wii announcement left us with some lingering questions. Here are Harmonix's answers [update: added answers to Mii support, 480p questions]:

Will the Wii version of Rock Band include the Rock Band Store, and downloadable tracks?
When developing Rock Band for the Wii platform, we focused on making the core gameplay experience as solid and enjoyable as possible while tailoring it specifically to the strengths of the platform. The Wii version still contains the robust four-player band experience and all the fun at the core of other versions of Rock Band. However, because the Wii's online capabilities and potential have yet to be fully realized, we wanted to wait before we explored online functionality for Rock Band to ensure that players get the high-quality of online performance they've come to expect.

Will the Wii "bonus songs" be Wii-exclusive, or five songs included on the disc from the Rock Band DLC store?
We'll announce the songs closer to launch. Stay tuned!

Will the Wii version have missing or crippled features similar to the PS2 experience?
Rock Band for the Wii will have functionality similar to the PS2 version.

If there is character creation, will there be Mii support when creating your Rock Band character?
No, there will be no character creator. When developing Rock Band for the Wii platform, the primary focus was to make the core band gameplay experience as fun and solid for everyone -- from the software to the Rock Band Wii drums, wireless Stratocaster guitar controllers and microphone peripheral. In tailoring Rock Band to the strengths of the Wii console, character creator unfortunately didn't make the cut.

Will Wii's Rock Band be compatible with Wii's Guitar Hero III guitar?
Harmonix and MTV Games believe in an open standard philosophy of hardware and game compatibility. We think that there should be interoperability between music instrument controllers across all music games. This is clearly in the best interest of consumers, game developers and console manufacturers and will only help to grow the music game genre as well as inspire innovation and creativity. Third-party developers and publishers are welcome to freely support the Rock Band peripherals in their games. Support for the GHIII guitar peripherals in Rock Band on the Wii was not possible without Activision's permission. Therefore, any questions regarding lack of compatibility with GHIII hardware should be directed to Activision. [In other words: No. Check out our updated 'Guitar Guide' for complete compatibility details.]

Will each instrument need to be connected to a Wii Remote?
The Harmonix development team considered a lot of options in creating the Rock Band for the Wii instruments. At this time, we felt that sticking with the current peripheral functionality was the best route. [Read: No Wiimotes necessary!]

Any changes to peripherals relative to the PS3/360 versions?
Check out photo for white drums!

Will the bundle include a powered USB hub, like the Xbox 360 release?
The bundle will ship with a USB hub.

Will Rock Band be widescreen, 480p compatible?
Rock Band for Wii audio will be in stereo with Dolby Pro Logic II support at launch. [The game] will also be 480p compatible.

Tags: breakingnews, drum-kit, ea, harmonix, mtv, pi-studios, rock-band, rock-band-wii

(Page 1) Reader Comments

Ignatius: Mar 24th 2008; 5:38PM

I'm not usually one to quibble over color. But DAMN that is a blaring awful white.

rTwelve needs a wii: Mar 24th 2008; 6:16PM

It captures the Wiimote well

samfish (Brawl: 2793 0291 2277): Mar 24th 2008; 5:42PM

Que The Price Is Right fail sound.

BPM X: Soul Eraser [SSBB: 5026 4120 1186]: Mar 24th 2008; 5:59PM

Cue, even. ;P

rTwelve needs a wii: Mar 24th 2008; 6:16PM

Or possibly queue? :P

Neowyrm: Mar 24th 2008; 6:23PM

I pick Q.

Morien: Mar 24th 2008; 6:33PM

John de Lancie says what?

samfish (Brawl: 2793 0291 2277): Mar 24th 2008; 7:08PM

heh. I was in a hurry when I typed that?

ThornedVenom (Harley Quinn Defense Force): Mar 24th 2008; 7:32PM

Q is for Dr. Tran.

dvdguy: Mar 24th 2008; 8:35PM

Winner.

deaftly: Mar 25th 2008; 10:58AM

Im Ron Burgundy?

OTAM: Mar 24th 2008; 5:43PM

Rock Band without DLC is like Gears of War without bullets.

DBuck_Eye: Mar 24th 2008; 5:57PM

No, that would mean that people would have played Gears for the shooting. We all just bought it for the chainsaws.

deaftly (Brawl - 1075-0467-4222): Mar 24th 2008; 5:57PM

or Fernando without a mullet.

Shmil (Brawl Code 2621-2310-1994): Mar 24th 2008; 6:08PM

or dead rising without zombies
i need to go play that again

cold school: Mar 24th 2008; 5:43PM

I spell Wii: G-I-M-P-E-D

zelderman: Mar 24th 2008; 5:49PM

No the devs are what is gimping it. The Wii has potential but the developers would rather shell out ports and other stupid ass games. i love my Wii, I just wish the devs weren't lazy.

copa: Mar 24th 2008; 6:18PM

Sorry, zelderman, PS3 fanboys already own copyright on the "I love my console, it's just that every game developer is stupid and lazy" argument.

You'll need to pay royalties or switch to something else.

John McPoop: Mar 24th 2008; 7:23PM

The wii is what's gimped.. Why do you think they always have gimped versions, less than stellar visuals and the shit end of the online stick.... The Wii is good for games with Mario on the cover or in the title and capcom ports. Other than that its simply Game Cube version 1.5 + Waggle and Mii's... Then again how could anyone expect the DEVs to have inline play or DLC for this game... Hell you would fill up the pitiful excuse for memory after a few days of downloading...I guess you could swap out SD cards and do some heavy duty file management... Thats pretty immersive isn't it?

Neebs: Mar 24th 2008; 8:59PM

Don't downvote him dammit. I have a Wii myself and I'm pissed at how gimped the lack of a suitable online service and lack of storage memory on the console is and it's crippling games.

Phil: Mar 24th 2008; 9:09PM

Oh the PS3 SO does not own the "I am a great console, I just have crappy developers" statement. Look at games like Drakes Fortune, Resistance, UTIII, Ratchet and Clank, Burnout Paradise, hell, the only BAD ports to the PS3 are F.E.A.R. and POSSIBLY Orange Box and DMC4 but those are LOADING PROBLEMS. THAT'S NOT GIMPING.

The Wii IS getting shafted. It's COMPLETELY unfair and the game was announced LONG after WiFi had taken effect. Why they couldn't set it up so there's at LEAST a freaking online co-op (career) mode is BEYOND me. Have four friends swap friend codes with pre-assigned parts to the band and play! I know there's a bunch of coding to it but COME ON. This seems like Harmonix is phoning it in and saying "Hey, Rock Band on the Wii! ...Yes, we know the Wii has online but everyone hates friend codes anyways so who cares?!"

Screw you Harmonix, you had PLENTY of time to work out an online mode for the Wii version, you're just too damn LAZY!

Mike Jenkins: Mar 24th 2008; 10:40PM

The point of playing Rock Band online is to jam with other people and if you're the only one who owns Rock Band (as is the case in many circles of friends) then you're going to be playing online with strangers. Without a way to match up with strangers it's a pointless addition to the game that obviously wasn't made for the Wii in the first place. If they had to cut out other things like character creation why would they include online play that nobody would use anyway?

Mike: Mar 24th 2008; 11:14PM

I wouldn't really know if the memory on the Wii is insufficient to store stuff on because no games offer anything to freaking store on it.

fatherb: Mar 25th 2008; 1:34AM

I have owned a wii since launch and have been playing Nintendo games since 1986 and I love Nintendo to death but the wii is gimped just look at Smash Bros Brawl the game seems like it is going to break the system when you play just listen to the disc read it is horible. Maybe thats what we get when Nintendo forces people to make games for them (ie. announcing the game before you even ask a retired game maker to make the game for you) I own 30+ wii games and play less and less daily all I know is that Nintendo better not do this next generation. its been down hill since gamecube minus the DS but that is getting outdated very quickly as well.

deaftly (Brawl - 1075-0467-4222): Mar 24th 2008; 5:44PM

So basically its what we all knew, its the same crippled ps2 version.

Tiptup300: Mar 24th 2008; 6:54PM

No, its just "similar" to the gimped ps2 version.

mmxzero: Mar 24th 2008; 11:41PM

And now the other side of the story as to why some Nintendo fans seemingly dont buy 3rd party games...

Cephas: Mar 24th 2008; 5:45PM

Ok, if the Wii Guitar Hero guitars won't work, but if the peripherals plug into a USB port, then will the USB Guitar Hero Guitars (like the Xplorer) work?

Fosssil: Mar 24th 2008; 5:45PM

Those cool white drums are about the only thing this version has going for it.

embassy: Mar 24th 2008; 5:48PM

hmmm, i might buy this for my lil brother. he wont know the difference.

:keeps the 360 version for himself:

Jhongerkong: Mar 24th 2008; 5:48PM

"Will the Wii version have missing or crippled features similar to the PS2 experience?

Rock Band for the Wii will have functionality similar to the PS2 version."

Just became a non-buy for me.

Roto13: Mar 24th 2008; 6:23PM

Yup. I could live without DLC (I do it with GH III) but there's a damn good reason I didn't just buy the PS2 version when it came out. Lord knows I'm not buying it now.

NATO_Duke: Mar 24th 2008; 5:49PM

Anyone that doesn't criticize this version of RB should be shot.

Lone Starr: Mar 24th 2008; 5:50PM

"However, because the Wii's online capabilities and potential have yet to be fully realized, we wanted to wait before we explored online functionality for Rock Band to ensure that players get the high-quality of online performance they've come to expect."

Diplomacy FTW.

Prof_Chaos: Mar 25th 2008; 9:05AM

I like that devs would wait for someone else to do it. Press the issue for DLC and Nintendo have no recourse but to work with you on it.

Oops space will be an issue? I guess we will have to release that USB hard drive peripheral and make millions on it.

If any dev has the ability to press Nintendo for upgrades and features it's the guys flying high.

Curtis the Claw: Brawl Code 1075-0441-3284: Mar 24th 2008; 5:51PM

I hate WiiS2 games.

DangerMouse: Mar 24th 2008; 6:00PM

They're better than WiiSP games.

baef: Mar 24th 2008; 6:35PM

You must not have played God of War: Chains of Olympus yet...

Curtis the Claw: Brawl Code 1075-0441-3284: Mar 24th 2008; 6:47PM

"You must not have played God of War: Chains of Olympus yet..."

Um....what does that have to do with WiiS2 and WiiSP games? To qualify as either of the above it has to be on a Wii and either a PS2 or a PSP.

Skippy: Mar 26th 2008; 2:19PM

God of War: Chains of Olympus is a PSP game.

Mr Khan: Mar 24th 2008; 5:56PM

Aye, Rock Band was as much about the dynamic content as it was about the core experience

Yep, PS2 asset sharing sucks

Markez: Mar 24th 2008; 5:56PM

What got so shortchanged on the PS2 version that everyone thinks it blows?

All things considered, I'll likely buy this for my 360 at some point instead of my Wii. Regardless of the fact that I never know when my 360 will tank again.

ttr: Mar 24th 2008; 6:15PM

No customizable avatar
No DLC
No leaderboards
No online play
No band world tour
Quickplay only
Final Destination

elmer: Mar 24th 2008; 11:19PM

@ttr

Don't forget the trade off PS2 gamers got in return: a $10 saving...Oh Wait!, we're paying full price here!

Bastards.

Sam406: Mar 24th 2008; 5:56PM

Proper title for this article:

"Rock Band Wii drum kit pictured, nagging questions answered closer to launch, stay tuned!"

Toasty Toaster Man: Mar 24th 2008; 5:59PM

If GH can do online play, why can't Rock Band?

embassy: Mar 24th 2008; 6:05PM

im guessing handling 4 instruments simultaneously online is little more complex than just a guitar and bass.

Roto13: Mar 24th 2008; 6:29PM

I don't see why. It's the same basic principal. Button presses in time to the music.

Bacon Supreme: Mar 26th 2008; 4:11PM

Or maybe Harmonix just doesn't want to screw around with Friend Codes.

Safiel: Mar 24th 2008; 6:00PM

I always figured they were holding out on a wii release for downloadable content support from nintendo (which from the sounds of things is close). Why hold out for so long to release something sub par? Unless this feature magically gets introduced later, I'll pass.

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