Rock Band 4 is official

shutyertrap

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Mar 14, 2012
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So prior to The Pinball Arcade completely dominating my gaming life, there was another. Yep, I was one of those that had every edition of Rock Band and Guitar Hero...even DJ Hero. I was not however one of those that bought all the DLC. I mean c'mon, that's just crazy!

Anyway, Harmonix has made it official that Rock Band 4 is coming to PS4 and Xbox One. No word if it'll drop on the PS3 and 360, but I've got my fingers crossed.

The important thing to note is that if you did own DLC on the previous generation, Harmonix has said it will transfer to the PS4 and Xbox One. Free.

Let that sink in a moment.

They stated it is there opinion that Rock Band is a platform, not just a series of games. They did have to have the help of Sony and Microsoft to make that happen, but still. For all the talk we have around here of should what we purchase in TPA carry over to other systems, I think this is an interesting stance. I realize there are differences, but there are similarities too. Mainly that, at a certain point the money you have spent on DLC becomes rather large, and the thought of replacing it on a new system actually becomes a breaking point.

Harmonix clearly was in a corner, as the people that most wanted a new game are also the people that most likely owned a ton of DLC. These same people made it abundantly clear that under no circumstances were they going to repurchase it all again. So if RB4 is to be successful, the core fans needed to be appeased first. Kudos to Harmonix for doing this.

In addition, Harmonix is trying to make sure old instruments will still work with the new game. That is also huge. While I do own 2 guitars, 2 drum kits, 2 mics, the keyboard, and some wired guitars, I never went whole hog and bought the professional grade stuff. It would suck if I had to toss all my old fake plastic instruments, but it would really blow had I bought a real drum kit or one of those Squire guitars that cost hundreds of dollars.

So I'm very pleased with the current announcement. It amazes me when game companies like this, even Zen, recognize what needs to be done to do right by their consumers. Your move, FarSight.
 

Indy99

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May 24, 2013
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I followed a similar path as well. I was really into GH, then Rockband. Waited in line for a midnight launch of RB (the only time I ever waited for a launch of ANYTHING). I actually played RB3 a few weeks ago, which was the first time I played in ages. I too am very excited for this announcement of RB4. Though, I do fear there could be a lot that can be messed up. From what I've read, there are currently no plans to deal with the songs on the RB3 disc. I am also concerned about other DLC not making the cut. I have to confess, I was someone who bought a LOT of DLC. I probably own over 80% of the non RBN songs. I will be pretty disapointed if some of my favorites don't make the cut.

I am defiantely looking forward to heaing more details on this at E3, including what new enhancements they've made to the gameplay.
 

Robert Misner

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Oct 4, 2014
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Honestly once you play Rocksmith 2014, there's no going back to the older guitar rhythm games.
its got all the fun of guitar hero and rock band but lets you learn a real guitar..
 

Indy99

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May 24, 2013
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As much as I would like to play a real guitar, I have no real musical skills. Zero. I did get the real guitar for RB3 pro mode and was just horrible. Was no fun for me. That is why I never tried Rocksmith.
 

Biff

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Sep 18, 2012
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Honestly once you play Rocksmith 2014, there's no going back to the older guitar rhythm games.
its got all the fun of guitar hero and rock band but lets you learn a real guitar..

That was my first thought.
SYT used to play Rocksmith and real guitar. Why does he talk about Rock Band now? :)
 

shutyertrap

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Mar 14, 2012
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Honestly once you play Rocksmith 2014, there's no going back to the older guitar rhythm games.
its got all the fun of guitar hero and rock band but lets you learn a real guitar..

Can't agree with that. I have Rocksmith 2014 (and original), while yes it is great to learn how to play a real guitar, the truth of the matter is it is a steep learning curve. I have to pick the slowest, easiest sounding song just to even come close to picking out 50% of the notes, and even those are dumbed down. With RB and GH, even after having not played in a long time, I can pick any song and rock out on Medium while hitting around 97%, and if I feel up to the challenge I can do hard. It's an instant satisfaction. You have to work at getting remotely decent at guitar, where you can just have fun with RB.

It's actually why I don't play on expert much, because the fun level greatly decreased for me. I'll also point out that RB allows for online play, as well as drums and vocals. RS and RB might both be music games, but they are miles apart from each other. Gran Tourismo and Burnout are both racing games, but are wildly different, and neither compares to real driving...which if I was behind the wheel of an 800 hp beast there is no way I'd take it 200 mph screaming around turns on my first go.
 

jrolson

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Feb 28, 2012
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Yeah I switched to Rocksmith and probably wont be going back to RB unless we can use a real guitar...
 
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karl

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May 10, 2012
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I was a huge fan of Guitar hero/rock band. It was the only console games I played for a long time, but it has been a few years since I rocked out on plastic instruments now so this could be fun.

Never tried Rock smith it sounded like to much work vs fun. I also downloaded a huge bunch of songs back then but that was for 360. I doubt those will work on my ps4? ps 3 to Ps 4 is one thing but If they figure out a way to make it work between Microsoft and Sony I will be really impressed.

My only problem with Harmonix instruments is that I am left handed and many of their guitars was really uncomfortable to play on, turned around. I found that The one made for Guitar hero 2 (or was it 3??)worked the best, even on later games.

Maybe it is time for a nostalgia trip and dig out my old 360 for a trip down memory lane. I have most of the titles, even Beatles, Metallica, Ac/Dc, Aerosmith etc. lying around somewhere. Fun times!
 

Tabe

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Apr 12, 2012
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Although it hasn't been mentioned, I'd be surprised if they didn't include a pro mode in 4 like they had in 3.
 

RushDude2112

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Jan 5, 2015
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I am a huge fan of Rock Band and was really happy to see a new Rock Band coming to next-gen consoles. I still play Rock Band everyday and I add custom songs to keep the game fresh.
 

Biff

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Sep 18, 2012
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I have a real guitar but I'm not a good guitar player. Still, I only want to play real instruments.
 
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shutyertrap

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Mar 14, 2012
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So, lost in the current discussion is what I kinda raised the whole thread up about...Rock Band being a 'platform' and having DLC follow it. Could TPA be considered a platform?
 

Jeff Strong

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Feb 19, 2012
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So, lost in the current discussion is what I kinda raised the whole thread up about...Rock Band being a 'platform' and having DLC follow it. Could TPA be considered a platform?

You still have to dish out $60 for the game itself, right? Farsight doesnt have that luxury with TPA since all you have to pay for is the DLC...so if all that carried over for free then there would be no extra revenue for Farsight to cover the next-gen development costs.
 
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Nightwing

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Aug 1, 2012
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So, lost in the current discussion is what I kinda raised the whole thread up about...Rock Band being a 'platform' and having DLC follow it. Could TPA be considered a platform?

IMO,it should be. I can see not transferring across different platforms,ala Xbox 360 to PS4. But within company platforms (Xbox 360 to Xbox One, PS3 to PS4) it can be done. And Farsight should do it.

Getting back on topic - my family & I have been huge fans of Rock Band ever since its release. I've met people who work for Harmonix, who are very passionate about RB & music in general. And the only game I've talked about more than TPA on my cable show over the past five years has been Rock Band.

So,it goes without saying that today I am a very happy camper. With about 850 songs on my RB playlist,my family will be happily playing for some time to come.

Now about that podcast... :p
 

Nightwing

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Aug 1, 2012
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You still have to dish out $60 for the game itself, right? Farsight doesnt have that luxury with TPA since all you have to pay for is the DLC...so if all that carried over for free then there would be no extra revenue for Farsight to cover the next-gen development costs.

Isn't it only free on the mobile platforms?
 

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