Rock Band DLC goes Multi-Platinum

[PRaDiUS xRG]

from ign.com
Rock Band DLC goes Multi-Platinum
More than 200 songs in the pipeline for 2008.
by Hilary Goldstein

January 17, 2008 - Rock Band's downloadable content has gone double platinum. Since its release two months ago, more than two and a half million songs have been downloaded across Xbox Live Marketplace and the PlayStation Network. And it sounds like the incredible success of Rock Band's weekly content will continue throughout the year.

Paul DeGooyer, Senior Vice President of MTV Games, called the brisk DLC sales "tremendously meaningful." Harmonix and MTV Games took a risk in offering weekly content, but it's one that has clearly paid off. And while MTV Games thought it would see success, it didn't imagine it would come so quickly. "We're well ahead of where we thought we'd be," DeGooyer said regarding Rock Band's DLC milestone.

So where does Rock Band DLC go from here? There are already a couple hundred songs in the pipeline for 2008, meaning that there will be no shortage of content for gamers. In the next few months, you'll see more focus come to the weekly downloads. "The thinking at the initial launch was to supply a deeper dive into three key artists already on the disc -- Queens of the Stone Age, The Police, and Metallica," DeGooyer explained. "But then also supply songs that provide tremendous gameplay experience that we couldn't quite get on the disc. That's kind of what we're clearing out now. I think you'll see, if not concentrations of genres, perhaps expansion into other sub-genres of rock. And perhaps a bit more of an apparent organizing principle to what is being released."

Looking at the current set of DLC releases, there appears to be a conscious decision to offer the most well-known and broadly-accepted songs from bands. The Clash is a perfect example. The game disc features what is perhaps the Clash's most mainstream song, "Should I Stay or Should I Go." The first Clash DLC? The equally mainstream "I Fought the Law". Will MTV release songs outside the mainstream? "That is absolutely the plan," DeGooyer told IGN. "One of the great things about experiencing this early success, is that it gives us a great deal of confidence to move forward and get some of those songs that will really satisfy super fans. The whole goal is to get the music that resonates with people. A song like [The Clash's] 'Lost in the Supermarket' in my mind doesn't get enough credit. First of all, as a game, the guitar part is pretty much a workout. You pretty much have to keep that up -- I think it's like a five minute song. That's exactly what we're trying to do... We want [Rock Band] to be a platform where all levels and types of music can hang off of it."

That also means we can expect to see weeks with heftier content drops in the future. Currently, the trend is to offer a trio of songs each Tuesday. However, we will see weeks where they are far more songs available for download. As MTV and Harmonix delve into rock sub-genres and lesser known bands and songs, they will continue to offer "core rock songs" to please the masses.

Along the way, we will also see several full albums released. "It's purely a technical thing," DeGooyer said of the delay in making full albums available for download. "When we announced [full albums], we made darn sure our deal was done and dusted and announced it with the enthusiastic support of our partners. It is a technical delivery issue. Imagine, you can get three songs from an artist and the likelihood that in creating the stems something goes wrong, is a quarter of what it is if you are trying to get twelve songs at once. You can't launch it until you have everything in hand. That's what we're dealing with. With older recordings, it's difficult in some cases to find the right takes, the right stems, make sure things are right on. That said, I hope to be talking to you shortly about some additional albums that will be coming [with release] dates on them."

The support from artists has been strong and continues to grow. "Metallica in particular really grasped the opportunity," DeGooyer said. "I can't say enough about how forward-thinking they have been. Many of the ideas around releasing their own stuff and their own ideas of presenting music, we've taken on. They've been great." MTV offers bands the chance to provide input to ensure that downloadable songs appear to their liking. And some bands with songs already set for release have come back offering even more content.

While our wives can be giddy over the announcement of an Oasis pack, most rock fans want to know about the possibilities of the holy trinity -- Led Zeppelin, The Beatles and Pink Floyd -- signing on for DLC. "Wish I could go into detail," DeGooyer said. "Suffice it to say, we're talking to everybody." Two other IGN favorites may one day make their way onto Rock Band. DeGooyer agreed that both Tool and Journey would be excellent additions to the library and that "we're working on them."

Rock Band's competing product, Guitar Hero III, has done a horrible job of offering regular downloadable content. However, DeGooyer said he thought the free release of the Halo theme for GHIII was a great idea. And, in fact, he confirmed that Rock Band will expand to offer music content directly related to gaming.

The future looks bright for Rock Band DLC. And things could get even more interesting before the end of the year. DeGooyer said the goal with Rock Band is to bring music and gaming closer together, to create an intimate experience for fans. True synergy would mean that when you download a song for Rock Band, you also get the track for download to your MP3 player. That won't be happening anytime soon, but it's on MTV's agenda. "We'd like nothing better than to figure that out," DeGooyer said. "[Then] you can bundle game levels by your favorite artists but also get your favorite song. It's definitely something that we're exploring. There's not an easy, elegant way to do it right now."

By year's end, there will be hundreds of songs available for download. Every song is integrated into Rock Band, so that DLC is equal in all respects to the songs that come on the original disc. With so many songs available, it puts into question the validity of even releasing a sequel. DeGooyer acknowledged the dilemma, stating that the proliferation of downloadable content "changes the approach [for a sequel] from one that's purely about new music to one that's about new features." That suggests that if/when there is a sequel to Rock Band, previously downloaded content may carry over.

Of course, we're a long way from an official announcement for Rock Band 2. In the meantime, there are plenty of new songs to play every week.

[w00ties]

Im glad to hear RB is sticking with the DLC, unlike GH...hundreds of tracks by the years end sounds fantastic.

[super_hoops1967]

now all they need to do is..SET A FUCKIN DATE FOR THE U.K RELEASE!!!