Suck. Really, that’s all you can say, the instruments for Rock Band 2 will not be out on launch time bundled with the Rock Band 2 title. You can buy the game separately and then pickup the instruments you need but it’s going to end up costing you in the end, you’ll save $50.00 buying them bundled together when it does ship.
For us Rock Band owners, this news isn’t that bad because we’ve got some starter instruments from Rock Band (and presumably Guitar Hero) so we’re all set on plastic hardware. For new gamers coming into this genre, you’re best off to wait until Mid October to buy the bundle and save yourself a bit of cash.
Those eager beavers can get the title on September 14th. Bundle buyers will have to wait a bit longer, just about the time the “timed exclusive” expires and you can purchase it on all platforms (PS3 and Wii included).
We’re guessing it’s just logistics speaking, it takes a lot of work to ship a game, let alone instruments let alone instruments and bundles. Last time we could only buy bundles, now we’ve got the opposite problem. Which is worse? Depends on if you own the first game or not!
You remember when Wii games were $49.99 and everyone made titles that hit this price point or lower? MTV isn’t going to stick to this standard, regardless of “last gen graphics” because you’ll buy it anyway, right? Rock Band is one of those games that has hit huge strides in the market over the last few years as people buy big plastic instruments to rock their house.
Rhythm games are the new FPS for a lot of gamers, a broader audience of gamers, and the market is thriving and demanding new titles. Harmonix and Activision are at the front of the battle with Konami following a bit behind but still contending (we think) very soon.
I wasn’t going to buy a Rock Band 2 bundle. Already paid a ton of the first bundle. Just the game, thanks.