Rock Band 2 manual details bonus DLC, Rock Band song transfer works smoothly
by Alexander Sliwinski 
{ Sep 14th 2008 at 8:55AM }
Click to embiggen
When the official announcement finally came last week that Rock Band 2 would release today on Xbox 360, one little bullet point on the press release about an additional 20 free DLC songs nagged us. Looking at the back of the Rock Band 2 manual now, we still have no idea what the DLC is, but we do know how we're going to get it. Going to the site listed in the image above currently gives this message: "Please check back in a few days for the opportunity to enter your Registration Code and sign up to receive the Bonus Downloadable Tracks." We've been told by Harmonix the tracks will release later this year.
Also, while we're on the subject, transferring the original Rock Band tracks to the sequel is really as simple as purchasing the license. No muss, no extra fuss.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Neebs @ Sep 14th 2008 9:08AM
Um, shouldn't you all have blanked out the code in your article picture?
Neebs @ Sep 14th 2008 9:31AM
Oh damn. I see it.
jonbo298 @ Sep 14th 2008 9:34AM
Look at it again...and again if need be. Rinse repeat until joke is realized ;)
jonbo298 @ Sep 14th 2008 9:40AM
Argh..comment system was slow to realize you saw the joke. /cuts self
oti @ Oct 9th 2008 8:43PM
NO
Haggard (Free Mr.ESC!) @ Sep 14th 2008 9:08AM
The code on your manual is visible on the article but not in the gallery : /
Anyway.. you guys are lucky - we probably won't see RB2 on PS3 in Europe for about a year...
Haggard (Free Mr.ESC!) @ Sep 14th 2008 9:09AM
Ok, I just demonstrated incredible visual skills and actually read the code.
OMGOMG @ Sep 14th 2008 9:52AM
Joystiq already serving out fresh ownage today, I see.
john @ Sep 14th 2008 9:13AM
the code says : this wont work dont bother . lol
Vanilla Mummy @ Sep 14th 2008 9:49AM
I still think 10 or so of these are going to be Beatles songs, since I remember an article saying an undisclosed company got rights to use their music in a game.
OMGOMG @ Sep 14th 2008 9:53AM
I doubt it.
But if that were the case, holy shit.
lolwhocares @ Sep 14th 2008 11:08AM
yeah. it was activision. notice that paul mccartney and the wings "band on the run" is going to be on GH:WT. but it would be a nice surprise for harmonix to have grabbed them.
Xoviet chiK @ Sep 14th 2008 8:49PM
Paul McCartney (and John Lennon, Ringo Starr, and George Harrison for that matter) are all in iTunes... Yet they still can't get The Beatles.
E.J. @ Sep 15th 2008 8:36AM
Beatles catalog owned by Sony BMG and Michael Jackson.
Jeff @ Sep 14th 2008 10:19AM
I don't like the idea that they're forcing you to get 20 specific songs.
They should just give you a free album download or something. 10-20 free DLC tracks.
Haggard (Free Mr.ESC!) @ Sep 14th 2008 10:30AM
What if they'd put the 20 they're planning to release free on the disc? What if they hadn't even bothered with the 20 songs?
Beggars can't be choosers.
Averna @ Sep 14th 2008 10:41AM
Hehe, complaining about free stuff is funny.
mr nimblewick @ Sep 14th 2008 10:52AM
I'm trying to understand the minds of the people who choose the stories to post on this site... but I just can't.
vidGuy @ Sep 14th 2008 11:08AM
Let's see. Rock Band 2 is out now. A lot of us don't have it yet. A lot of us who will buy it are interested in how the free DLC and song transfer work. Thus, Joystiq to the rescue.
mr nimblewick @ Sep 14th 2008 11:35AM
Right, but then I think about all the new games that I have to learn about elsewhere while seeing the 20th post of the week about DLC on Rock Band or Guitar Hero.
tmacairjordan87 @ Sep 14th 2008 1:16PM
"Right, but then I think about all the new games that I have to learn about elsewhere"
Luckily for you you're a nintendo fan, so you don't have to look for much.
Zachary Hinchliffe @ Sep 14th 2008 2:33PM
snap.
mr nimblewick @ Sep 14th 2008 7:54PM
Thank god we have trolls like you, tmac.
vidGuy @ Sep 14th 2008 11:06AM
My understanding was that the 20 free DLC were songs that they had intended to put on the game but couldn't because of disc space. If you look at the number of songs on the game, it's definitely pushing the DL-DVD size.
It'd definitely be cool if they just gave away 20 free downloads /of your choice/ but I don't think that was the thinking behind this.
Joe H @ Sep 14th 2008 11:20AM
Actually I'm pretty sure it was time constraints, not disc constraints. That and, it gets people used to buying things in the music store, even if its free, so that more people will be aware of the presence of DLC.
CubeGuy @ Sep 14th 2008 11:25AM
NVR-GNA-GIV-YOU-UP-NVR-GNA-LET-YOU-DWN
David @ Sep 14th 2008 8:32PM
SIGH.
*puts a ZERO back on the number of days since I've last been Rickroll'd*
E.J. @ Sep 15th 2008 8:38AM
omg, he got me too.
suineg @ Sep 14th 2008 11:27AM
This helps with the 'pirating' by giving those people that buy it legit a way to get the 'full' experience.
I applaud it.
CubeGuy @ Sep 14th 2008 11:41AM
That hadn't occurred to me. Brilliant plan.
vidGuy @ Sep 14th 2008 11:54AM
Used game buyers will also lose out if the game doesn't come with the manual or if the first person already did the downloading.
obo @ Sep 14th 2008 7:49PM
Last I checked, pirating on the 360/PS3/Wii was practically nonexistent.
This only hurts used-game buyers and sellers. Why buy a used game at $50 when you get the new game for $60, and a code for 20 DLC songs - which, if sold, cost be a minimum of $20. It's only a deal if you don't want $10 worth of those 20 songs.
Coincidentally, places that sell used games are going to have a hard time convincing people it's a good deal at $50, so they'll either have to cut the price and profit margins, since people would likely rather sell the game on eBay than take less than $25 for it as trade in.
Ballsy move, and a smart one, aimed straight at GameStop and friends. I'd be surprised if this didn't become common practice - buy Madden 10 new, get a code for free roster updates. Buy Burnout Heaven new and get a code for new cars and game modes, etc.
Buy it used, oh well! Maybe you shouldn't be such a cheap-ass gamer.
j.howlett @ Sep 14th 2008 9:06PM
i hear piracy is kinda easy on 360 if you don't go online. if publishers wanted to put a hurting on gamestop they would stop offer them exclusive pre order and other extra stuff. i figure it still happens because they get preorder to boost early sales and push those who would wait a week for used copies to get in early
Dave Silva @ Sep 15th 2008 12:38AM
Hopefully they'll have the DLC available for a modest fee for those people who buy used games often. :p
umm....hello??? @ Sep 14th 2008 11:50AM
...bought RB2 last night at a 24-hour WalMart. started the Tour but so far quite a few of the starting songs aren't that great. anyone else?? we're working on unlocking everything so that we can get to the good stuff.
I like the idea of 20 bonus tracks...haven't entered the code yet. hopefully they're good but they're free so yeah, beggars can't be choosers.
also, this is MS's diabolical way of getting me to upgrade to a larger harddrive....too many songs!!
Gunner McGrath @ Sep 15th 2008 9:00AM
Agreed.. when a Pearl Jam song is a welcome relief from the rest of the set you know you're doing a bad job picking songs.
Dr. @ Sep 14th 2008 12:04PM
Here's a public service announcement for any fellow Canadians trying to get their hands on the game: It seems Future Shop is insisting the game isn't out til Tuesday, despite the website clearly stating otherwise. Go to Best Buy instead, they've got it AND they're willing to sell it to you. Win.
Travis @ Sep 14th 2008 2:51PM
got mine at futureshop today buddy
but yes...their employees aren't too swift
Dr. @ Sep 14th 2008 3:38PM
Quite. It's good to hear that some of them are smart enough to read release date from a computer, at least...
tmmoore_nc @ Sep 14th 2008 12:11PM
Maybe you should blank out the code.
vidGuy @ Sep 14th 2008 12:52PM
Maybe you should read the code.
tmmoore_nc @ Sep 14th 2008 1:02PM
I deleted the reply email because I saw the code afterwards. This went up without me doing the email confirmation. Weird.
eldee @ Sep 14th 2008 1:20PM
maybe you should either a) actually read the code, or b) read the comments posted prior to yours saying the same thing and quickly realizing it was a joke
PuniPuniSakura @ Sep 14th 2008 12:41PM
Hopefully this isn't a 360 only thing.
tmacairjordan87 @ Sep 14th 2008 1:19PM
After seeing Battery and Painkiller on drums on expert on youtube, I think they should also be giving away 1 free drum replacement for anyone who buys the game...specially the bass pedal. Seriously, we're going to need it.
RavenPaul @ Sep 14th 2008 2:31PM
Anyone know if you have to transfer ALL the songs form RB? I'd like to only have a few from RB on RB2, there are some that I NEVER want to hear again!
vidGuy @ Sep 14th 2008 3:29PM
You have to transfer all of the songs, except for a few that you can't transfer because of licensing issues. BUT, you can then go into your console's memory for the game and delete any songs that you don't want moving over to RB2.
kathartik @ Sep 14th 2008 6:03PM
if you look closely on the back cover of the manual where the code is, you're not submitting that code to live, you're submitting it to www.rockband.com/bonsutracks where you'll get the code for live... however, that site isn't up and ready to go yet and just says check back in a few days
FunkMassaChief @ Sep 17th 2008 2:14AM
I work with Gamestop, and I can definetely say the code won't stop a cheap gamer from buying a game cheaper. The people that buy used have two objectives. Either A) they want a new game 5 dollars cheaper or B) we have the 7 days if you don't like it deal and most people want to be able to bring it back (aka Too Human syndrome). Rock Band is one of those "I'm keeping this game because if I ever get more than one friend over to my house, our band is gonna kick ass!" Anyway, I'm pretty pissed off that I can't find a list of the 20 songs. I'm sorry but as much as THEY love Bang Camaro I could take a crap in a cardboard box and it would sound better than those assclowns. I don't need 20 "bonus" songs I wont play because I don't like the bands OR the songs...
ALSO! we got the song list for GH:World Tour and it includes but is not limited to....BEAT IT!?!?!? WTF? Awesome. Period. Hotel California!? Bad ass!
And a BUNCH of the songs on RB2 for some reason are on World Tour...they don't even care about the RB people and GH people anymore. It's just "let's sell them the same shit again with a different name and see if they fall for it......................oh, they did. HA!"
Matt @ Sep 17th 2008 6:53PM
wow i got the game at midnight sunday and i didn't even think of looking at the manuel