Rock Band Unplugged has no more 'planned' weekly DLC
by Alexander Sliwinski 
{ Dec 1st 2009 at 2:30PM } 
Harmonix stated it is "very pleased with the performance of the Rock Band Unplugged game on PSP, the Rock Band PSP bundle and PSPgo starter kit" and appreciates Sony's support of the title, which currently has around 100 tracks via disc and DLC combined. The developer states that the DLC team is currently focused on the ambitious "Rock Band Network, weekly console DLC, and unannounced future projects." Harmonix isn't ruling out future Unplugged DLC, as it may be "part of event releases," but it appears that weekly updates are done for now.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Grimcicle @ Dec 1st 2009 2:36PM
I'm amazed the console Rock Band DLC is still going, honestly. I think it's safe to say that Harmonix are second to none in terms of DLC support for their titles.
Archon (PSN: Archonik, XBL: DarkARHN) @ Dec 1st 2009 3:32PM
Why? They are probably building it up for Rock Band 3. Remember that until this day, you can still play ALL of your DLC in Rock Band 1 as it is 100% backwards compatible.
Grimcicle @ Dec 1st 2009 4:02PM
Because prior to Rock Band, this level of DLC support was unprecedented.
Jawmuncher (PSN & XBL:Jawmuncher) @ Dec 1st 2009 2:37PM
Just wanted to say that this isn't because of piracy.
From what I was reading Rock DLC is one of the few things on PSP that hasn't been cracked. So at least we know all people playing DLC are legit
exovedate @ Dec 1st 2009 2:41PM
I'm still waiting on the actual game....no way I'm gonna buy DLC for the "lite version" just to end up spending console price for a healthy amount of tracks.
dark_inchworm (stronger than never, ever before) @ Dec 1st 2009 2:44PM
I quickly overcame my qualms with buying DLC for the console version, but for some reason, spending $2 on a song again just to play it on a PSP doesn't settle well with me.
PN04 @ Dec 1st 2009 3:24PM
I have problems with it too, I've bought a bought 4 songs because I really liked them but the big issue for me is that there's no where near the same amount of work being put into the PSP version as the console version. There's no lipsyncing or guitar animation to deal with since all the characters just spit out canned moves that dont match the music aside from the tempo. It's just a 4 instrument note chart Which wouldnt take the same work to produce so why should it cost the same amount? Knock 50 or 75 cent off and maybe it would feel worth while. Also since you can burn through every purchasable item in the game in a single playthrough there's not much incentive to buy more songs to play. I wouldnt mind the option of a couple of new songs a month though.
Frankly I think it's time they started thinking about RBU2 and improving the graphics before getting any deeper into DLC.
Martin @ Dec 1st 2009 2:44PM
I thought it was kind of a slap in the face to Unplugged owners when the iPhone version was released. Nearly the same amount of track work, yet 2 for $1 instead of 1 for $2.
Andrew Yoon @ Dec 1st 2009 2:47PM
Trust me, the iPhone tracks are nowhere near the complexity of Unplugged's.
coyurtney @ Dec 1st 2009 3:00PM
Dude, have you played the Iphone one, it is pretty conplex and it looks better then the PSP one.
Martin @ Dec 1st 2009 3:07PM
I thought that the hard tracks in the iPhone version were comparable to the hard tracks in Unplugged. Who knows what expert would have looked like?
The point is still perception. 2@1 > 1@2
senaiboy @ Dec 2nd 2009 8:01AM
I have both the PSP and iPhone versions.
The PSP RBU is way superior for me, but that's because I'm saying from a one-player point of view. The switching between different instruments kept it interesting as well (with the option to play one single instrument available). The lack of multiplayer on the PSP is disappointing, but none of my friends have a PSP anyway.
The iPhone RBU just played like a very much improved TapTap (the music was spot-on, unlike TapTap where I don't even know what I'm tapping to half the time). However, the screen is a little too tight making me miss/mispressed buttons all the time. The multiplayer was a great idea, but because no one else with an iPhone bought RBU, I'm missing it out. I doubt I want to play with my phone when I'm with my friends anyway (Don't we have better things to do?).
Let's not even talk about the graphics (for the record, iPhone will never surpass the PSP). And gaming isn't gaming without buttons.
linebeginstoblur @ Dec 1st 2009 3:02PM
As much as this saddens me, when I see "unannounced future projects," I just can't be mad. Keep up the awesome work, Harmonix.
Martin @ Dec 1st 2009 3:13PM
Unannounced future projects means nothing. Just marketing speech.
Though I hope it's not only that ...
SuiXide @ Dec 1st 2009 3:22PM
Unannounced future projects means Rock Band 3.
linebeginstoblur @ Dec 1st 2009 3:56PM
Yeah, it means Rock Band 3. And it's rumored that Queen and The Who are getting their own Rock Band games (even though they both have track packs on the Store... So I think it might just be more like the AC/DC Live track pack).
Toop @ Dec 1st 2009 3:08PM
I think the smaller storage space on the PSPs is probably one factor. I'd be much less liberal with my RB DLC purchases if I didn't have a large hard drive to depend upon. Easing up on the DLC for the PSP is probably a good idea for now, but I wouldn't be surprised if a month or two from now they analyze which DLC is the most popular and move a bunch to the portable system.
Kodros @ Dec 1st 2009 3:15PM
Storage is not a factor because memory is very, very cheap. The only factor is that it wasn't making them money. If you're business is making money on something, you don't just stop.
PN04 @ Dec 1st 2009 3:27PM
It's making them money they said as much already, but in comparison to the console versions combined, of course it's not going to be nearly as much. Considering how little work goes into the portable version any money they make is a profit.
Kodros @ Dec 1st 2009 3:57PM
Where does it say that they were making money off of it? From what I read, only 120k copies of the game was sold. Combine that with the money it takes for developers to "code" the tracks and licensing fees, I don't see how they could possibly be making any money. Like I said, if it was making them money, they wouldn't have cut it.
Toop @ Dec 1st 2009 4:06PM
I think my point was missed. I meant that because more storage space is required if a player is going to continue to download content, players are less likely to continue to download RB content as their PSPs fill up. People already complain about the price of the songs, you can't assume they are willing to purchase more storage space on top of that.
If they continue to pump out DLC, eventually people are going to stop buying it because they don't have the space and probably don't want to buy more just to play RB songs. This is true of both the consoles and the portables, but the time will arrive a lot sooner on the portables. They already release less DLC on the portable version and I would think that storage is one of the reasons for that.
If they are making money on the portable DLC, I imagine they are just cutting back for the time being so that they can assess each songs popularity over a longer period of time. This way the DLC can be profitable over a longer period of time.
Lets face it though, we are all just hypothesizing.
hdcase @ Dec 1st 2009 3:27PM
Harmonix, it is now time to turn your sights on Frequency 3, or Amplitude 2, take a pick. Hell call it Wavelength for all I care, as long as you make it.
Roto13 @ Dec 1st 2009 4:50PM
Unplugged is a terrible game.
/transmission
johnnynumber5 @ Dec 1st 2009 5:10PM
I don't know if you're kidding or whatever but I really like unplugged. I prefer it to the GH DS games. But, in terms of DLCI haven't messed with it because it's not transferable to and from RB 1 & 2 on PS3.
Roto13 @ Dec 1st 2009 5:21PM
I´m not kidding. It´s awful. It´s like Amplitude only shitty.
Aaron @ Dec 2nd 2009 4:17PM
I honestly am very disappointed. Rock Band: Unplugged was my favorite PSP game, simply because it killed time while waiting for a bus, slow day at work, etc (portable gaming is supposed to do that). I've bought all the DLC for it, and am saddened that they are stopping.
I guess I can go back to buying regular Rock Band DLC, which is good.
NevilleThegame @ Dec 1st 2009 7:16PM
i only paid $7 for Rock Band Unplugged during Black Friday at Target. had the demo since June. this game can be difficult especially the solos.
Setai @ Dec 5th 2009 3:14AM
Same here. That $7 sale was just too good to pass up (and I don't even own a PSP...yet).
Nda @ Dec 2nd 2009 2:34AM
That's a shame :( I just got it on my pspgo and downloaded like 10 songs hoping for more DLC.
Brian @ Dec 2nd 2009 2:57AM
Joystiq, Can You PLEASE Ask HMX About Releasing the FULL Game To PSN? OR If They're Gonna Allow UMD Songs Export to the PSP Go? PLZZ