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Rock Band Unplugged has no more 'planned' weekly DLC

Harmonix has confirmed to Joystiq that Rock Band Unplugged has "run through [its] planned slate" of DLC. Following two weeks of Rock Band Unplugged DLC being absent from our Rock Band Weekly feature, we decided to check in with the developer to see if this was the end of the road for the portable rhythm game's downloadable track support.

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.

Rock Band Weekly: Tom Petty, Go-Go's, Kelly Clarkson, Pink

A live version of Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers' "Mary Jane's Last Dance" is available next week within the band's Rock Band DLC six-pack. The song may not be everyone's cup of formaldehyde, but it's certainly memorable for conjuring up one of the creepiest music videos of all time. We have no idea what the song is actually about, but it will always be the story of Tom Petty stealing Kim Basinger's corpse from the morgue, dressing her up, and then at the end .... AHHhhHhHHHH!

Check out the full update after the break, no new Rock Band Unplugged DLC next week.

Update: PSN will updated on Tuesday.


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Rock Band Weekly: The White Stripes, The Damned, Kasabian

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Forget that Jack White finds it "depressing" that kids are learning about music through rhythm games -- there's gold in them thar virtual hills! Next week's Rock Band DLC adds a pack of songs from The White Stripes, with tracks off of three different albums.

We've also added this little guy to Rock Band Weekly: . He indicates tracks that are considered "family-friendly" enough for Lego Rock Band. Such marked songs will be available in LRB's music store, as well as appearing in the regular Rock Band music store. [Thanks to our friend Dustin Burg for the Lego head!]

Check out the update after the break, along with what Rock Band Unplugged players can expect for DLC next week.


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Rock Band Weekly: Tenacious D, Anvil, Dinosaur Jr., The Guess Who


Rock Band Weekly heads up to Canadia next week for a three pack from heavy metal band Anvil. There are also tracks from Brütal Legend "star" Jack Black's band Tenacious D. It'll actually be pretty quiet week, as the Wii doesn't add its usual mega-list of back catalog tracks and is in sync with the Xbox and PS3 versions. Check it all out after the break.

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Rock Band Weekly: Freezepop, PAX artists, Jackson 5 and more


Rock Band Weekly celebrates PAX next week with tracks from artists performing at the big games convention in Seattle this weekend. The PAX trax come from nerdcore bands and artists like Freezepop, Jonathan Coulton, MC Frontalot and Paul & Storm; with each song at a wallet-friendly price of $1. Those looking for mainstream musica can consume tracks from 3 Doors Down and The Jackson 5. Check out all the stuff coming to the various versions of Rock Band next week after the break.

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Rock Band Weekly: Talking Heads, The Jam, Oasis, Rage

Why, hello! Next week's Rock Band Weekly brings a heaping serving of Talking Heads. No, no, not television talk show guests and nightly news anchors ... the band, you know? You ... you don't know? This is awkward. Best educate yourself before we have to silently crack some skulls. The Wii will get another massive injection of tracks from the back catalog, including a whole slew of Judas Priest. Hold up, you don't know who Judas Priest is? Seriously, why are you even reading this? Go check out all the track coming to the various forms of Rock Band after the break.

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PSP Go's Rock Band Unplugged demo plays DLC

We were disappointed a few weeks ago when we learned that the PSP Go wouldn't come bundled with Rock Band Unplugged as we'd heard, but rather a "voucher" for an exclusive demo of the title. We then wondered why you would need a voucher for a demo.

PlayStation.Blog has answered our questions, revealing one very important, kind of awesome detail about the PSP Go Rock Band Unplugged Lite: not only will it come loaded with five songs, it will accept downloads from the Rock Band Unplugged store, effectively allowing players to build a track list a la carte. It's a nice bonus that extends the allure of the demo (good for PSP Go buyers) and encourages DLC purchases (good for MTV, Harmonix, EA, etc.)

Rock Band Weekly: Foo Fighters, Blur, Dropkick Murphys, Blind Melon

So, are we all getting used to Rock Band Weekly across the various platforms being combined in one serving every Friday? No ... um, tough noogies. This is the way it's going to be for the time being. Next week brings a new Foo Fighters pack to the PS3 and Xbox 360, while the Wii gets a whole mess of Red Hot Chili Peppers songs. Meanwhile, Ms. Benatar and Coheed and Cambria make their way to Unplugged. Check it all out after the break..

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Rock Band Weekly: Gorillaz, Janis Joplin, Jefferson Airplane, The Who


Oh my, too many good tracks in next week's Rock Band Weekly to play off of for the basis of this post. Do we ask about breaking off a piece of our heart because of the Janis Joplin track, or do we go ask Alice when she's 10 feet tall? Ask her what? Exactly! A perfect psychedelic question. Now, feed your head by checking out the full list of tracks for all of the various Rock Band games after the break -- oh yeah, there's also the Gorillaz next week.

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PSP Go to include voucher for Rock Band Unplugged demo [Update]


Do you like Rock Band Unplugged? Do you like ... buying a new PSP? If so, you'll be pleased to hear this. According to Destructoid, Best Buy's PSP Go listing mentioned a free voucher for a download of Rock Band Unplugged. If it was in the listing, it has since been removed. We've contacted Sony to determine the truth of this rumor.

If this turns out to be true, then the PSP Go won't cost $80 more than a PSP -- it'll just cost $50 more than a PSP Rock Band Unplugged Entertainment Pack, which sounds better. The existence of a current PSP/Rock Band bundle makes this more plausible, as well.

Update: Looks like the PSP Go will only be bundled with a Rock Band Unplugged demo -- not the full game, as seen by this image from thatgamecompany's forums. [Thanks, Aaron G.]

Rock Band Weekly: Spinal Tap, Black Sabbath, Foo Fighters


It appears that Rock Band Weekly and Rock Band Wiikly will be combined into one post every Friday, along with Rock Band Unplugged's DLC, for the foreseeable future. We certainly appreciate being aware of future DLC in one concentrated dose that -- if injectable or smokeable -- would have us waking up on the bathroom floor of our hotel room in a puddle of our own sick. Rock on! Check out the full details after the break.

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Rock Band Unplugged gets new DLC, including 'Still Alive'


It's so nice when things work out the way you hoped. There's a handful of new songs available for download in Rock Band Unplugged and the one song we actually want ("Still Alive" by GLaDOS and Jonathan Coulton) is free, totally free. The rest, if you're curious, will run you $1.99 per song:
  • Dixie Chicks "Sin Wagon"
  • GLaDOS and Jonathan Coulton "Still Alive" *
  • The Pixies "Here Comes Your Man"
  • R.E.M. "Losing My Religion"
  • Stevie Ray Vaughan "Pride and Joy"
Oh crap, we didn't see "Sin Wagon"! Please, disregard everything we said above.

New Rock Band Unplugged footage is chopping suey


We've already seen a trailer for Harmonix's portable rock star simulator Rock Band Unplugged, but if you want to see gameplay footage of a full playthrough of one of the title's tracks, consider your desire fulfilled. YouTuber Shadowneji02 somehow managed to get his hands on the game, and uploaded his performance of System of a Down's "Chop Suey." We've got said performance posted after the jump -- it might be a tad NSFW, as the player's band is puzzlingly composed of skimpily dressed femme-rockers. Creepy.

The video further enforces the feeling that Harmonix's debut title Frequency should feel very, very flattered by the upcoming PSP Rock Band adaptation. It also makes it that much more difficult for us to wait for this bad boy to hit store shelves June 9.

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Rock Band Unplugged: Full track list & DLC revealed

Joystiq is pleased to unravel one of the great mysteries of our time ... Rock Band Unplugged's track list! Don't all faint at once now. *Phew*. We've got the complete set of band names and numbers (of the musical variety) featured on the PSP-exclusive's disc, plus the first ten DLC tracks to be available directly through the in-game music store beginning on release day, June 9, 2009. So, without further ado ...

[Here's the part where you press the big blue button. Yeah, that one.]

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Joystiq hands-on: Rock Band Unplugged


It looks like Rock Band. It sounds like Rock Band. But, it certainly doesn't play like Rock Band. As many have theorized, Harmonix's PSP-exclusive Rock Band Unplugged really is Frequency in disguise. The genre has come a long way since Harmonix's PS2 launch game, but the formula holds up surprisingly well. While some may lament the loss of Frequency's techno vibe, the fully-featured Tour mode and excellent sound mixing make Unplugged a unique and worthwhile handheld experience.

Those who have played Harmonix's earlier efforts will be immediately familiar with Unplugged, while others will have to come to grips with the multi-track concept. The handheld Rock Band features all four instruments from the console games, but the lone player must tackle them all. Each track features its own note layout, and players will be switching from one instrument to another to get a high score.

There are no peripherals to use in this portable iteration. Instead, players will use the directional pad and face buttons to hit the colored notes that stream down. Red, Yellow, Green and Blue are represented by Left, Up, Triangle and Circle respectively. (There is no fifth button in this game.) It may not be instantly intuitive, but it only takes a song or two to get accustomed to the controls. DJ Max Fever shouldn't have much trouble here.

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