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Rock Band 4 announced for PS4 and Xbox One

I'd love to get this, but if they don't have cross-platform DLC support I don't know if I will. Maybe one day when it's cheap I'll pick it up, but I already have to buy new instruments as well if I want it, so unless I can find them cheap too I don't know if I'll buy it :/
 
Hoping for some sort of cross platform dlc support. If we could link our accounts on harmonix site or something.


I don't want to get an xbox just for this but will have to if no DLC imports to ps4.
 
Sethista said:
count me in the "Over 600 songs in xbox 360 but now has only PS4" camp.

If they can find a way to bring the library over cross console, which they didnt say they wont thye just said is not up only to them, remember rockstar did it with GTA 5, then I would be even willing to pay a fee to do it.

I love RB. I kept my 360 just for it.
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It's a pretty different situation with GTA V since the saves in question were svaed on Rockstar servers. Hence why only your GTA Online profile carried over and not your single player file.
 
Ridley327 said:
I imagine that it's not anything amazingly complex that they have to do. They have a ton of songs that they'll need to check through to ensure they don't break anything major (like the save-killing glitch in RB3 for bands with long names early on), and that understandably will take some time. I can't imagine that they'd be doing actual new versions of 2000 tracks.
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No, I don't think they'll make new versions. What I'm saying is your 1000 songs of DLC won't be available on Day One, you'll have to wait for them to get added to the Rock Band 4 store before you can download them. I think people are envisioning booting up the game and having all their songs at once, which I don't think will be the case.
 
Sethista said:
count me in the "Over 600 songs in xbox 360 but now has only PS4" camp.

If they can find a way to bring the library over cross console, which they didnt say they wont thye just said is not up only to them, remember rockstar did it with GTA 5, then I would be even willing to pay a fee to do it.

I love RB. I kept my 360 just for it.
Click to expand...

You're talking content license transfer versus some character data. I don't see it happening for various reasons.
 
I bought the Wii version back in the day. Unlikely I'll be able to use the instruments... obviously the DLC is lost.
 
Yes!! This is great news. I will buy all-new gear for those social party nights. Loved 'em with Rock Band 2 and I am sure they will bring great fun again.

But I will wait to see how Activision counters with Guitar Hero. I'll choose the best option for me, of course. Very excited to see it. Five years is enough of a break.
 
Awesome news about the DLC! Unfortunately I have 800 songs on Xbox 360 so i guess I will have to buy an Xbox One now. My other question is, hopefully there is a way to splice the HDMI audio because my sounds system has some serious lag for drumfills/mic without it on 360.
 
Zeyphersan said:
No, I don't think they'll make NEW versions. What I'm saying is your 1000 songs of DLC won't be available on Day One, you'll have to wait for them to get added to the Rock Band 4 store before you can download them. I think people are envisioning booting up the game and having all their songs at once, which I don't think will be the case.
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I don't have that expectation, but I imagine that there will be a great deal of songs available to begin with and they'll have the rest of them sorted out in short order.
 
This is fantastic!

My only fear is that the MIDI adapter won't work since I play drums with my Roland kit.
 
Years of being the red-headed stepchild on PS3 when it came to DLC have finally paid off! I cannot believe they managed to secure the rights to import everything! I wanted it, but figured it was a pipe dream!

I'M MANIC! I WANT MORE RUSH! I WANT SOME POST-ROCK! I WANT TO SET A PLASTIC GUITAR ON FIRE!!!
 
I just bought a used copy of the first Rock Band for 2 quid just so I could export the songs.
Rock Band 2 and Lego Rock Band need the unique code and new copies are a bit expensive so I'll give them a miss.
Hopefully the digital version of Rockband 3 and Blitz can be exported too.
 
Hopefully they can figure out the whole cross-platform dlc. All my songs are on my 360 and I've moved on to the PS4. I guess if they can't I finally have a reason to purchase a X1. Man I hope they make a X1 Rockband 4 bundle.
 
Dominator said:
I never purchased any Rock Band DLC... Hopefully a shit ton of tracks are on disc.
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Same, in fact the only instrument game I ever bought from that entire era was Guitar Hero Metallica. If the on-disc tracks aren't very substantial I'll pass on this.
 
TheFurizzlyBear said:
I'm pretty sure it showed song you played and it was based off of leaderboards.
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Could be, but what's the difference, really?


Bsigg12 said:
It's not a matter of tracking what you have but rather moving the license for the song that was purchased. This is has to do with record labels as much as it does Microsoft and Sony and the way content licenses work.
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Why "moving" the license? They don't have to remove it from Xbox Live. I addressed this - they would basically be "giving" you the songs that you bought elsewhere. The roadblock is simply getting Sony and the labels on board. Granted, it's probably a very large roadblock. Sony's one thing, but the record labels, of course, have a history of being obtuse (to say the least). I'm sure Harmonix can't convince them on their own. Hence what I said - social media campaign.
 
Add keys. Add all these niche genres. Add pro mode.

Christ, these are the exact reasons the whole genre imploded.

Listen, Harmonix. Keep it simple. Keep it easy to pick up and play. Target the mass market. Keep prices low and accessibility high and you might be successful.

Leondexter said:
Could be, but what's the difference, really?
Click to expand...

Money. Big difference.
 
Damn, some of you really bought tons of songs!

I think I only bought like 3 lol. But the RB thing only lasted two games for me--RB1/2. I was over it by RB3.

I might jump in for 4, but I hope the instruments are better quality.
 
I played some Guitar Hero 2 and DJ Hero 1 and 2 but I never got into them much. Maybe being that I was in a band and played all the pubs and small venues in my City was enough for me. Still good news for fans.
 
jesu said:
I just bought a used copy of the first Rock Band for 2 quid just so I could export the songs.
Rock Band 2 and Lego Rock Band need the unique code and new copies are a bit expensive so I'll give them a miss.
Hopefully the digital version of Rockband 3 and Blitz can be exported too.
Click to expand...

Blitz exported on day 1 to RB3, so there aren't any issues on that front. I think most of the tracklist (maybe all?) was eventually sold as singles, too.
 
They should implement Rocksmith style playing of real insturnments. Sell peripherals for the old way, but let you hook up an actual guitar and the game switches to Rocksmith mode.

I have no desire to play the old colored buttons game in 2015
 
I knew there was a reason I kept my old GH guitar under my bed that was collecting dust.

Also, lol at people wanting 360 dlc to come to their PS4.

I'm pretty sure MS will partner up with Harmonix to make those people come back to Xbox just for their DLC (special XBO console, timed dlc, voucher for free songs). Good thing I always stick with my platform.
 
zychi said:
They should implement Rocksmith style playing of real insturnments. Sell peripherals for the old way, but let you hook up an actual guitar and the game switches to Rocksmith mode.

I have no desire to play the old colored buttons game in 2015
Click to expand...

Didn't they have pro instruments starting RB3?
 
zychi said:
They should implement Rocksmith style playing of real insturnments. Sell peripherals for the old way, but let you hook up an actual guitar and the game switches to Rocksmith mode.

I have no desire to play the old colored buttons game in 2015
Click to expand...

Why wouldn't you just get Rocksmith then?
 
Sethista said:
count me in the "Over 600 songs in xbox 360 but now has only PS4" camp.

If they can find a way to bring the library over cross console, which they didnt say they wont thye just said is not up only to them, remember rockstar did it with GTA 5, then I would be even willing to pay a fee to do it.

I love RB. I kept my 360 just for it.
Click to expand...

Rockstar wasn't licensing digital content from a wide range of providers, they were allowing stats for an online game to be analyzed and reinstated on other platforms.

Licensing for things like music tracks is ineffably complicated. When negotiating for a song, you absolutely need to specify that the content is tied down to one specific platform (or groups of platforms, if the licensee has the foresight to consider cross-gen compatibility) and it's worded in a way that is completely impossible to maneuver around or find a "loophole" to use the content in other forms. It sounds silly to us, but while we're considering the terms for different gaming platforms, the content providers are worried about any place the song can be used-- iTunes, mobile phones, computers, whatever.

It's entirely possible to renegotiate these types of agreements and change terms and even get permission to allow cross-platform compatibility, but that's so complicated that I wouldn't imagine them spending the enourmous amount of money and time it would require, as well as getting Sony and Microsoft to play nice if that were required (that depends on the method in which Harmonix would pursue in "reading" content from separate accounts).

Rockstar was taking what amounted to individual player data and simply reading what stats each player had and merging that into the new versions of the games-- platform really didn't matter. It was their own data, independent on outside rights holders or established terms or anything that stops up something that seems so simple to armchair analysts and people I'd regrettably call entitled. Could Harmonix feasibly pull something similar off? Yes, but implausible.
 
zychi said:
They should implement Rocksmith style playing of real insturnments. Sell peripherals for the old way, but let you hook up an actual guitar and the game switches to Rocksmith mode.

I have no desire to play the old colored buttons game in 2015
Click to expand...

That's why you have Rocksmith. They are catering to people who wanna have fun, and who don't wanna spend years trying to learn how to play a guitar.
 
This is soooooooo awesome .... except ...



I can't get rid of my PS3 unless they add back Pro modes for all the instruments. The lack of them makes this essentially useless to me other than drunken party nights.
 
Leondexter said:
Just thinking out loud here, on the topic of 360-to-PS4 transfer:

Obviously, Microsoft has good reason to not cooperate with such a transfer, because clearly there are far more former 360 owners with PS4s than former PS3 owners with XB1s.

However, once upon a time, I created an account at Rockband.com, and the site showed all the songs I owned, my characters, and my high scores. So there is a mechanism for them to know what DLC you've bought.

At this point, they don't need Microsoft to help in this process.

It's Sony and the song owners that would need to sign off on "giving away" these songs, once they're identified. So it's not impossible - the argument simply needs to be made that it's in their interest. If they see it as I said above, "giving away" a bunch of content, they'll obviously say no. But if it's presented as "do this or people will pass on the game", then maybe it would sway them.

Maybe we need a mechanism to demonstrate the amount of demand for this. I don't do social media, really, but if anyone wants to start a campaign, I'd be happy to make this my 3rd tweet.
Click to expand...

Not quite; the issue is that not only did the record labels sign licensing deals with Harmonix; but also the console manufacturers themselves. So a given song has a license with Harmonix as well as Sony / Microsoft. So "Smooth Criminal" on Xbox is different than "Smooth Criminal" on PS. (The reason why? Because some labels didn't want Sony to have access to their songs since Sony is a music label competitor).

Leondexter said:
Could be, but what's the difference, really?

Why "moving" the license? They don't have to remove it from Xbox Live. I addressed this - they would basically be "giving" you the songs that you bought elsewhere. The roadblock is simply getting Sony and the labels on board. Granted, it's probably a very large roadblock. Sony's one thing, but the record labels, of course, have a history of being obtuse (to say the least). I'm sure Harmonix can't convince them on their own. Hence what I said - social media campaign.
Click to expand...

The license is tied to the console itself; a simple way to test this is if you ever had to switch X360s post RB3 release. There were some songs that you couldn't actually transfer the license to from Xbox to Xbox (Did I mention I despise how Metallica views their rights?) even on the same account. Remember, you Don't Own The Music, Just The License. to play it on a specific machine (thanks DMCA!).

There is a huge difference between having a program that mines / reads your XBL / PSN accounts and/or leaderboards for your play information, versus actually controlling the data.
 
williamracine said:
Why not a pro mode for real experienced guitar player ? Something like rocksmith?
Click to expand...

My guess is because there's already Rocksmith for that, which has many players and a decently large catalog that players have already invested in that platform. I'm sure it would be difficult for them to try to enter and compete in that arena now. Bandfuse got obliterated when they tried to enter that specific market to compete.

I think it's a lot safer for Harmonix to launch a new Rock Band by focusing on the basics and the party aspect, which is more unique to its brand. And they've said there can still be room to expand on features in the future if there's sufficient demand.
 
Ridley327 said:
Why wouldn't you just get Rocksmith then?
Click to expand...

Rocksmith doesn't have drums, and the bass implementation is meh. This is like asking someone who plays sports games to "just go play the sport."

It's not out of this world for them to implement it. RB tends to have a better selection of songs than their competitors too.
 
AgeEighty said:
Fuck. I really don't want to buy an Xbox One. I have no use for it whatsoever beyond this game.

Fuck fuck fuck.
Click to expand...

Same boat. I'm just going to wait and see how this plays out. I'm not sure if I can see myself buying an Xbox One for just one game. My giant collection of 360 songs aren't going anywhere.
 
zychi said:
Rocksmith doesn't have drums, and the bass implementation is meh. This is like asking someone who plays sports games to "just go play the sport."

It's not out of this world for them to implement it. RB tends to have a better selection of songs than their competitors too.
Click to expand...

I think Harmonix is making it clear that they're not in the instructional aspect of the business anymore. They're going to back to making a straight game.
 
Lady Gaia said:
Sigh. I've been looking forward to this and I'm even prepared to get an Xbox One for access to my old DLC, but...

No pro keys? Seriously? That's what finally brought me into the fold with Rock Band 3. It was my primary instrument until I started to spend more time on drums, but if they've dropped pro keys and pro guitar/bass I'd be willing to bet they're dropping MIDI support for pro drums as well. There's no way I'm going back to playing on the official kit after moving to something more playable.
Click to expand...

Well, they claim old devices will work ... so hopefully that includes the MIDI adapter.

But yeah you're right, if I can't even get MIDI drums working ... I'm not sure I can bite on this. I have a serious Roland setup. No way I'm buying a set of drums for this.
 
Gleethor said:
No keys...at all? Like even for songs that already have it charted? Man that's lame. I fucking loved keys in RB3 and its a great way to chart "other" tracks like horns and strings that wouldn't get played otherwise. I understand that without pro keys the keyboard is functionally just a guitar but I'd still like to be able to play the key tracks...
Click to expand...
Ugh this better not be the case
 
Cybit said:
Not quite; the issue is that not only did the record labels sign licensing deals with Harmonix; but also the console manufacturers themselves. So a given song has a license with Harmonix as well as Sony / Microsoft. So "Smooth Criminal" on Xbox is different than "Smooth Criminal" on PS. (The reason why? Because some labels didn't want Sony to have access to their songs since Sony is a music label competitor).



The license is tied to the console itself; a simple way to test this is if you ever had to switch X360s post RB3 release. There were some songs that you couldn't actually transfer the license to from Xbox to Xbox (Did I mention I despise how Metallica views their rights?) even on the same account. Remember, you Don't Own The Music, Just The License. to play it on a specific machine (thanks DMCA!).

There is a huge difference between having a program that mines / reads your XBL / PSN accounts and/or leaderboards for your play information, versus actually controlling the data.
Click to expand...

I know. As I said, I addressed this. The labels would have to agree "give away" the songs for free. It's the only way. To try and legally transfer licenses is clearly not going to happen. It's so complicated that it may as well be considered impossible. To get record labels to agree to "give away" content based on a different license is also very unlikely, but it's not impossible. Companies give away stuff all the time. They only have to believe that doing so will result in enough sales down the line to make it worthwhile.
 
Didn't think this and Guitar Hero would be back so soon. Hopefully both publishers learned not to run them into the ground this time.
 
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