I saw this editorial on digg, and I mostly agree. It's crazy to only sell the $170 version of Rock Band only. Nobody except the most hardcore want to spend that kind of money on an unproven game.

http://www.mashedbuttons.com/?view=main&article=121

Why Rock Band may lose to Guitar Hero

Wow, I was really looking forward to Rock Band. It seemed like such an awesome idea, construct a whole band. I also have a roommate, so the prospect of buying the instruments seemed surmountable. However, I never planned on buying it all at once. I figured we'd pick it up with just the guitar to start. Eventually I'd likely pick up the drums as well. Never had much interested in the microphone. So, that was the plan, spread out the cost over time and ignore the mic. Well, Harmonix has decided that that's not in their gameplan. I've decided that I'll likely be buying Guitar Hero III. This may be another bit of bad news for Rock Band. I see Guitar Hero selling many more units this Christmas for a number of reasons.

First off, Guitar Hero is a name that people know, not Harmonix. Yes, those of us that follow every tidbit of gaming news known to man know that the original Guitar Hero developers are behind Rock Band. But what about those people that have a PS2 for no reason other than to play Guitar Hero? They will walk into the store and see what would appear to be a Guitar Hero knock-off. They will likely want to stick to the brand name that they know and love.

Secondly, Rock Band is going to be fucking expensive. Until February you will only be able to buy the $160 - $170 bundle for Rock Band. Now, if someone is in the store and I can get Rock Band for $160 on PS2 and Guitar Hero III for $90 on PS2, their decision may be made. I mean, for the price of Rock Band you could get GH3 and two guitars.

Celebrity support is for Guitar Hero III. The game is going to feature Slash and Bret Michaels. This is like when sports starts promote EA Sports games. It just lends it some credence.

Finally, Guitar Hero III is going bigger than ever before. As of now there are 36 songs announced for Rock Band. There are 61 songs confirmed for Guitar HeroIII. This may be the biggest point of all. Out of the box you are getting a shit load of music. Really, you're getting close to twice the number of songs. While Rock Band can say that they really have 3 times as many, since they can all be played with any of the instruments, that is bullshit. I know it's harder to develop the songs for 3 instruments, but when people go to the store they will see Guitar Hero 3's track list making that of Rock Band look puny.

So, I'm going to make a bold prediction. I think that Guitar Hero III will kick Rock Band's ass this Christmas. I don't think we'll really start seeing Rock Band sell until next year when customers aren't being forced into paying $160 - $170 for the thing.

Agree? Disagree? Leave a comment.

that's not a bold prediction, that's pretty obviously gonna happen.

I was a big supporter of Rock Band when it was first announced, since Harmonix were the developers, and when Neversoft was given GH3, I was really disappointed. However, all that changed when they started announcing the songs for each game. GH3 has a lot more metal tracks than RB, which was expected since it caters towards the guitar rather than the band as a whole.

For example, RB has Metallica's Enter Sandman, whereas GH3 has Metallica's One. One is from 'Tallica's thrash days, and from their most technical album, ...And Justice for All. That is just one example of the clear difference between the two lists, so I ultimately decided I will get GH3 over RB when they come out.

Or course, classic rock played a small role as well. On the whole, both games could use a hell of a lot more metal.

Songs I want to play from GH3:

Iron Maiden - Number of the Beast
Metallica - One
Black Sabbath - Paranoid
DragonForce - Through the Fire and Flames
Take This Life - In Flames (though there were much better songs they could've chosen)
Rock You Like A Hurricane - Scorpions
Raining Blood - Slayer
Welcome to the Jungle - Guns N' Roses
And a few more

Songs I want from Rock Band:

Metallica - Enter Sandman
Black Sabbath - Paranoid
(Don't Fear) The Reaper - Blue Oyster Cult
Bon Jovi - Wanted Dead or Alive (that's like my theme song, lol. With a six-string by my side...)
...and that's about it.

See the difference?

I don't think that prediction is so bold, I think it's very likely.  I can't believe what a stupid move they're making by not offering separate SKUs until February (has this really been confirmed?).  On the one hand, I think it was designed to rip people off by getting parents to buy the $170 bundle for Xmas instead of being able to choose a cheaper variant -- on the other hand, with GH3 out for $90, parents already have that choice, so it's just dumb.

As far as song selection is concerned, more songs = better, and not just because it "looks" better to have more songs, but because you have more musical variety.  Yeah, you can go back and play the same songs with the other instruments, and of course that will be fun and add to RB's replay value, but it's not the same as just having a lot more to learn, play, and listen to, and almost all of the announced tracks for GH3 are GOOD tracks.  Rock Band may have downloadable content, but I'm sure you'll have to pay for it ON TOP of the $170 you spent on the initial package.

I just don't understand why Harmonix felt the need to break away from Activision and Red Octane when GH1&2 were such a massive success.  If they wanted to go the Rock Band route, they could have done that as one team and avoided shooting themselves in the foot.  Guitar Hero, not Rock Band, and not Harmonix, is the name that people recognize.  Why ruin a good thing?

@Entroper:

Was it really their choice to leave? They were purchased by MTV games; they had no contractual attachment to either Activision or Red Octane, did they?

I like makingmusic476 am looking forward to the track list on GHIII much more than RB. I think Rock Band will be very fun for casual players becuase most of the music they have choosen is very mainstream. There is not going to be a lot of challanging parts in most of those songs (on drums or guitar) for anyone that has aquired a bit of skill playing GH & GHII. I mean Blitzkreg Bop, Celebrity Skin, Enter Sandman, Should I Stay or Should I Go, Suffragette City and many others (while many being great songs) just arnt that complicated for advanced players. Not to mention that they cannot choose any instrumental songs because of having the vocalist. Some of the Instumental songs were the funnest to play in GH & GHII.

I dont think many Casual Players are going to want to dish out $170 either. Especially when they can grab guitar hero 2 & 3 for the same price and have 2 guitars and over 140 songs to choose from (for ps2 and 360 owners anyway).

 I'm the opposite of this. I'd prefer more classic rock than metal.  Or a more varied song list in general since I like a ton of stuff.  Also I'm a drummer so obviously Rock Band is going to appeal more. But I found myself when playing guitar hero 2 and Rocks the 80s not actually liking the songs. The difficulty was pumped up a notch which was great, but I just don't care for some of the tracks. Especially the harder ones. I find myself playing the first game a lot more these days. The soundtrack and quality of the covers were nearly flawless.

@Punch Rockgroin:

I agree that the tracklist was superior in the first game. Unfortunately, it's almost painful to go back and play it after the gameplay improvements made in the sequel. For me, anyway.

I know exactly what you mean. The pull offs and hammer ons are way too hard in the first. I also use the widescreen configuration and it's hard to go back to the first and its huge fret board on my tv.

I was thinking about getting GH2 for the 360 so that I could download the songs 1st songs, but the guitar controller is crap and it's ridiculous expensive. Also I haven't been able to hook my 360 online since I moved a few months ago.

I think i'm one of the only people who liked the track listing better in GHII. I'm probably still just pissed that they used and Ozzy track for the final song in GHI though. I'm just holding a grudge.