By now everyone is used to paying more for Rock Band than meets the eye. The game disc is usually packed in several bundles for guitars, drums and, of course, stand alone. With The Beatles: Rock Band, MTV Games plans to release one product SKU, a game only disc. That game only disc, on the Wii is going to cost the same as other consoles: $59.99.

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.

Now we’re going to see if those same people willing to pay $10.00 more than normal in order to play The Beatles songs. The Wii has a large audience of gamers but they’re the style of gamer that wants a good value for their product, after all, the Wii is cheaper than every other console and the games probably should match its differences compared to games for the other consoles.

This is an interesting decision, as the market plunges into despair MTV gouges games for $10.00 more because “The Beatles” happens to be in the title. Are you going to pay more for the Beatles? Not us.

(Thanks, 1up)

Rhythm Gaming is all the rage, or is it? Turns out Guitar Hero: World Tour didn’t meet or exceed the figures they hit with Guitar Hero III. Where GH3 brought in $115 million in the first week, GHWT brought in $67 million in the same time frame.

Why?

There are plenty of factors that could cut down the sales units, considering those that can purchase Guitar Hero World Tour don’t have to purchase additional instruments to play the game like they played GH3.

• Rock Band 2: This game arrived before Guitar Hero 3 and folks went for this game instead because it was first to launch. Some gamers have to make a choice on which to purchase because they can’t buy both.
• Hot Games: Although Rhythm gaming can be fun, a lot of great games are arriving this season so gamers have to make some big decisions.
• Economics: The economy isn’t exactly thriving right now and retail outlets are already predicting less than stellar numbers.
• Saturation: Since the original Guitar Hero game, we’ve had a number of titles from Activision including their Aerosmith edition and Harmonix pulling out Rock Band and Rock Band 2. There is talk of a Hendrix version and a Metallic release – how much is too much?

We know people love charts, so here is another to toss at you via Kotaku:

Guitar Hero World Tour Sales, via Kotaku

The break down from Guitar Hero 3 to World Tour is obvious, also apparent is the shift in console when buying into the rhythm gaming franchises. The Wii has started taking more market share, odd considering the DLC isn’t there, and the PS3 is showing its lackluster sales of the console by growing in proportion but not excelling to grab huge share (PS3 fanboys attack!). Sony kicked ass by taking control of the share using their PlayStation 2 with Guitar Hero 3, but has lost that lead for the World Tour.

Will these lower sales figure change the future roadmap for Activision in their Guitar Hero franchise or are they satisfied taking home $67 million in the first week of the launch. That is still a lot of money and probably doesn’t even consider any money they could (or will) potentially make on the World Tour hardware.

Luckily, the rhythm gaming content doesn’t get old with age, it just gets more classic. No doubt Guitar Hero World Tour will be landing in homes over the holidays and into 2009.

We purchased Rock Band 2 and the Drum Kit on the week of launch, having played on the drums for about a month we’ve already broke them. This time, however, it’s not the foot pedal, but the blue and yellow drum heads, now having smashed little holes in the center.

It’s not abuse when the object of the game is to hit the pads with sticks, right? Hopefully not, as we’re not the first to beat the pads to the breaking point using standard pressure and part-time play. In the full month we’ve had little time to really rock out with Rock Band 2 but we play when we can. It seems a bit early to already have blown out the pads.

The issue is simple: the blue and yellow pads have a dent/hole under the rubber surface, pressing down on the pad allows you to easily feel the plastic “button” which executes the hit. The middle of these two pads can be seen sunk in while the red pads center is popping up as if the rubber has let go from the surface and risen. Needless to say, the “bounce back” on the pads was gone.

Unfortunately, I didn’t take a photo of the busted instruments before returning it to Best Buy. Being the smart gamer that I am, I was sure to purchase a two-year extended warranty right from Best Buy prior to walking out with the initial purchase. Although a nice red paper arrives in the box that says “do not return to retail outlet” if it breaks, my warranty allowed me to do so upon destroying the set.

Of course, Best Buy was out of stock in the “Wireless Drum Kit” version of Rock Band 2, only having the “Special Edition” (translation: comes with everything.) Best Buy refused to swap out the drums from the Special Edition kit and their computers “were down” so they couldn’t find any stock numbers or estimates on new kit arrivals.

Computers are down?

I asked Best Buy to call up local stores in the area to see if they had any on the store floor but Best Buy is completely and utterly useless if their computers are down. They have absolutely no method of calling any other nearby stores unless the computers are up; apparently, they do not keep a store phone record on paper anymore so they couldn’t help me.

Best Buy doesn’t know how to dial a phone directory to find local stores and I sure as hell wasn’t going to oblige them with a Circuit City next door. They returned my busted product for a cash refund (including my two-year warranty) and I walked over to Circuit City and got myself a new one with a warranty.

I commend Best Buy for giving me a full cash refund, especially since I purchased it on a credit card and used my Reward Points card. I commend Circuit City for having them in stock and pray they’re still in business for the life of my warranty.

I am saddened that Best Buy is retarded when it comes to technology and not having a secondary method to help customers when their computers are on the fritz. I am saddened to see Rock Band 2‘s drum kit to fail after a month of gaming.

Although it’s cute to say, the truth of the matter is this: Rock Band 2 for the Wii has DLC. We’re talking full online downloadable content matching the behavior of the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Why is this significant?

The Wii has been the bastard child of rhythm music playing since its inception. If you’ve got the Wii and one of the other consoles (sans PS2) you’re probably more likely to purchase for the 360 or PS3 because you can extend the game with great downloadable songs. Breathing new life into your console one dollar at a time can be a life saver if you don’t typically buy a lot of games; let’s face it, Wii gamers don’t buy a lot of games.

This news also brings on the announcement of real online play like the other consoles. The Wii will have online play matching that of the 360 and PS3; without the ability to talk to your fellow band mates we’re guessing. Is it fun to play in a band with a bunch of mutes? Better than nothing I guess.

This begs the question, how will it store all the DLC? As a Rock Band addict I must admit to having several hundred megabytes of downloadabe songs. Will this be all resident on the SD card? We also wonder, will this allow us to play Rock Band DLC on our DSi sometime in the future?

(Thanks, Kotaku)

If you purchased Rock Band 2 you’ll find you can download 20 free songs if you register at rockband.com. Unfortunately, for now, you can only register to get an e-mail when the offer goes “live.” This is one step more than we could do last week if we purchased Rock Band 2 and went to their website to register.

How do you know if you can register? It’s on the back of the instruction book… what, you didn’t know to look there? Well, it’s okay because you still can’t get your 20 free downloads. In the future, if you register, you’ll get an e-mail (someday) with the codes you’ll need to be able to get 20 free song downloads.

We’re still not finished the song tracks that exist in the game, plus our old DLC and we still haven’t exported (or purchased the “patch) the Rock Band 1 song tracks. So, for a few of us, knowing we’ll get 20 downloadable songs in the future is great news.

For those that didn’t know about this – check the back of the booklet and then go and register your e-mail address!

(Thanks, GameStooge)

This November console gamers will be able to purchase a new Track Pack for Rock Band and Rock Band 2. While Activision’s Guitar Hero: Aerosmith sells over 1-million copies, MTV and Harmonix look to prove they too can push big numbers on exclusive artist packs.

Unlike Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, Rock Band and Rock Band 2 are the core game engine and the track packs extend out the game with a bunch of new songs, in this case, AC/DC. Gamers who opt not to purchase the latest Rock Band 2 game still have access to AC/DC’s new tracks if they go to the store and buy them.

The trick? This is a Wal-Mart (and Sams Club) exclusive deal; you won’t find this track pack at another retailer.

“If you want to be a physical band, you better make an alliance with a strong physical retailer,” Columbia Records chairman Steve Barnett told the Times. “It’s a great way to sell the new album, the catalog, the game, merchandise and DVDs.”(gamespot)

This Track Pack contains 99 minutes of songs, the tracks include:

• “Thunderstruck” “Shoot to Thrill”
• “Back in Black “Hell Ain’t a Band Place to Be.”
• “Heatseeker”
• “Fire Your Guns”
• “Jailbreak”
• “The Jack” “Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap”
• “Moneytalks”
• “Hell’s Bells”
• “Whole Lotta Rosie”
• “You Shook Me All Night Long”
• “T.N.T.”
• “Let There Be Rock”
• “Highway to Hell”
• “For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)”

Will AC/DC do as well as Aerosmith? I’ve never been a big AC/DC fan, but then again, I didn’t buy into the Aerosmith product either, however, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith doesn’t include drumming…

(Thanks, GameSpot)

Many Rock Band fans are considering the new Rock Band 2 drum kit, but are on the fence as to making the buy on the product. Some people want to feel it out first, see if it holds up better than the last one and is worth the buy more than just for the lowered decibel ratings.

As a huge fan of Rock Band and the original drum kit, there is a few key elements that make this a must have product if you’ve got USD $90.00 to throw around. Besides the future extendability with the snares, this kit shows off a lot of “lessons learned” by Harmonix.

Have you played the Rock Band drums on a hardwood floor? A subtle update to this kit adds little rubber feet, which we didn’t find on the original kit, allowing the kit to stay stationary after a long hard beating rather than skipping across the floor with each kick. Much more professional and well thought out update.

Have you busted your kick pedal? They’ve re-enforced the pedals with this release with a plate, screwed down to the pedal and much more polished and professional than the wooden ones people (like us) were buying on eBay.

Less “Thwack.” There is no getting around the fact that a drum kit for under $3,000 is going to be a bit audible when it comes to the beat down. The difference between this kit and the original is noticeable. You’ll get a bit more “bassy” thump and less smacking sounds, which should help you focus on hard Who drum solos.

Wireless! The age of wireless is upon us. Why the original had a long dangling wire without a break-away cable is beyond me. This feature alone is priority one for us and probably anyone else with a drum kit in the middle of the room with toddlers or little kids.

New Look. The look is fresh dope; No, seriously, it’s a bit more black and mimics a few of the color designs of a professional drum kit with less options and less cost.

Will the drum set meet all of your desires? It’s a toy, that is not going to change. This kit is, however, a worthwhile upgrade for those that broke their old one, want something a bit quieter for when the spouse is sleeping or, much like us, love fresh new tech gadgets.

All of our initial complaints from the original drum kit were solved without us vocalizing our desire; someone must have been paying attention to play testers and the forums around the world. If you’re considering the upgrade for any of these reasons it’s definitely something to take a closer look into.

If you’re into Rock Band and love the songs you’ve played, you may want to migrate them into Rock Band 2, correct? For the price of 400 Microsoft points ($4.99) you’re now able to download an export “patch” to allow exporting of 55 Rock Band songs into the next version of Rock Band.

There are a total of 58 songs in Rock Band, you can export 55 of them with the patch, left out (perhaps due to licensing issues) will be: Iron Maiden’s “Run to the Hills”, “Paranoid” by Black Sabbath, and Metallica’s “Enter Sandman.”

For five dollars this isn’t a bad deal, definitely worthwhile if you’re looking to have a huge library of rocking songs for Rock Band 2.

Today, we’ve learned the PlayStation 3 will get the same export feature as DLC, if you’re into the PS3 and plan to get Rock Band 2 you’re in luck. Also included in the PS3 patch, you’ll now have the ability to use your Guitar Hero 3 Les Paul Guitar with Rock Band. Excellent news.

(Thanks, 1up)

2OLD2PLAY from Janks Morton on Vimeo.

For those 25 and older, 2old2play offers lots of great gaming fun and communities for all genres of gaming. They’ve been around since roughly 2005, this video, done by Janks Morton (one of the members) is excellent. This type of footage could easily be something on a cable network, A&E or Travel Channel, very high end editing that can’t be beat for a LAN party.

The Chicago LAN is an annual event for these older gamers. As a fellow community member, I’ve got to tip my hat to the quality content in the coverage. Hopefully, next year, I can go too.

(Thanks, 2old2play.com)

This week we take a walk back in retro gaming history at Super Mario World, covering a bunch of great user questions and chat a bit about our favorite RTS of all time based on a user question. In the news this week:

• Xbox 360 Out Sells PS3 in Japan
• Rock Band 2 Bundle Delay
• Harmonix Says “No” to Exclusive Artist Deals
• Diablo 3, Finite Health and Loving It

We also announce the winner of Galactic Civilizations II: Dread Lords – Collectors Edition! This show was packed with content and material, we had to hold off on the Gaming History for this week, but we’ll hit it next week.

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.

Each company plans to up each other with cooler instruments, tighter controls and new in-game options and multi-player fancies. It’s a business and each competitor tries to gain a lead by whatever means needed to win… or do they?

Harmonix stops short when it comes to purchasing exclusive rights to music artists, for now at least. Harmonix’s Eric Brosious went on blogger record saying, “We prefer not to sign exclusive deals with artists because while it seems like the competitive “business” thing to do, in the long run, it’s really not good for anyone. We think we should be working to get more music out to more people.” (kotaku)

As Marky Mark once said, we need “Music for the people” not for in-game exclusives making us choose between Guitar Hero and Rock Band titles. We’ve seen what EA has done to the football franchise by taking control of the NFL roster, money talks and the best game doesn’t always win.

If Activision decides to buy up a ton of great exclusive content and you’re a rock band gamer, you’ll lose out in a ton of great content. For some gamers, that might mean losing out in some artists you’ve never heard before which also means the artist loses out in new fans. We’ve seen younger gamers fall in love with the sounds of Boston and The Police, bands famous way before the birth of many of the Rock Band fan base.

You can tell Harmonix is a development group with roots in music while Activision is a development group with their roots in business. While exclusive access brings you an advantage, in terms of broadening the culture of music, it does very little. Harmonix may be in the right but will that matter in the end when business deals hit the table?

p.s. sorry about the Marky Mark reference, but it had to be done. Bringing out a bit of my own childhood there…

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!

This goes to show you, not even the best of the best can always expert everything! Rush sits down and plays Rock Band on the “expert” setting on the song Tom Sawyer and manages a less than stellar performance.

It’s now official, written in stone… or, on a the Rock Band forums at least, the full song list for their next title. The track listing looks excellent, a few old hits I’d love to play, a few songs I’d rather not see and a list of excellent memorable tracks that are must have for a sequel!

The full list of Rock Band 2 songs are:

1. AC/DC “Let There Be Rock” 1970s
2. AFI “Girl’s Gone Grey” 2000’s
3. Alanis Morissette “You Oughta Know” 1990’s
4. Alice in Chains “Man in the Box” 1990’s
5. Allman Brothers “Ramblin’ Man” 1970’s
6. Avenged Sevenfold “Almost Easy” 2000’s
7. Bad Company “Shooting Star” 1970’s
8. Beastie Boys “So Whatcha Want” 1990’s
9. Beck “E-Pro” 2000’s
10. Bikini Kill “Rebel Girl” 1990’s
11. Billy Idol “White Wedding Pt. I” 1980’s
12. Blondie “One Way or Another” 1970’s
13. Bob Dylan “Tangled Up in Blue” 1970’s
14. Bon Jovi “Livin’ on a Prayer” 1980’s
15. Cheap Trick “Hello There” 1970’s
16. Devo “Uncontrollable Urge” 1980’s
17. Dinosaur Jr. “Feel the Pain” 1990’s
18. Disturbed “Down with the Sickness” 2000’s
19. Dream Theater “Panic Attack” 2000’s
20. Duran Duran “Hungry Like the Wolf” 1980’s
21. Elvis Costello “Pump It Up” 1970’s
22. Fleetwood Mac “Go Your Own Way” 1970’s
23. Foo Fighters “Everlong” 1990’s
24. Guns N’ Roses “Shackler’s Revenge” 2000’s
25. Interpol “PDA” 2000’s
26. Jane’s Addiction “Mountain Song” 1980’s
27. Jethro Tull “Aqualung” 1970’s
28. Jimmy Eat World “The Middle” 2000’s
29. Joan Jett “Bad Reputation” 1980’s
30. Journey “Anyway You Want It” 1970’s
31. Judas Priest “Painkiller” 1990’s
32. Kansas “Carry On Wayward Son” 1970’s
33. L7 “Pretend We’re Dead” 1990’s
34. Lacuna Coil “Our Truth” 2000’s
35. Linkin Park “One Step Closer” 2000’s
36. Lit “My Own Worst Enemy” 1990’s
37. Lush “De-Luxe” 1990’s
38. Mastodon “Colony of Birchmen” 2000’s
39. Megadeth “Peace Sells” 1980’s
40. Metallica “Battery” 1980’s
41. Mighty Mighty Bosstones “Where’d You Go” 1990’s
42. Modest Mouse “Float On” 2000’s
43. Motorhead “Ace of Spades” 1980’s
44. Nirvana “Drain You” 1990’s
45. Norman Greenbaum “Spirit in the Sky” 1960’s
46. Panic at the Disco “Nine in the Afternoon” 2000’s
47. Paramore “That’s What You Get” 2000’s
48. Pearl Jam “Alive” 1990’s
49. Presidents of the USA “Lump” 1990’s
50. Rage Against the Machine “Testify” 1990’s
51. Ratt “Round & Round” 1980’s
52. Red Hot Chili Peppers “Give it Away” 1990’s
53. Rise Against “Give it All” 2000’s
54. Rush “The Trees” 1970’s
55. Silversun Pickups “Lazy Eye” 2000’s
56. Smashing Pumpkins “Today” 1990’s
57. Social Distortion “I Was Wrong” 1990’s
58. Sonic Youth “Teenage Riot” 1980’s
59. Soundgarden “Spoonman” 1990’s
60. Squeeze “Cool for Cats” 1970’s
61. Steely Dan “Bodhitsattva” 1970’s
62. Steve Miller Band “Rock’n Me” 1970’s
63. Survivor “Eye of the Tiger” 1980’s
64. System of a Down “Chop Suey” 2000’s
65. Talking Heads “Psycho Killer” 1970’s
66. Tenacious D “Master Exploder” 2000’s
67. Testament “Souls of Black” 1990’s
68. The Donnas “New Kid in School” 2000’s
69. The Go-Go’s “We Got the Beat” 1980’s
70. The Grateful Dead “Alabama Getaway” 1980’s
71. The Guess Who “American Woman” 1970’s
72. The Muffs “Kids in America” 1990’s
73. The Offspring “Come Out & Play (Keep ‘em Separated)” 1990’s
74. The Replacements “Alex Chilton” 1980’s
75. The Who “Pinball Wizard” 1960’s

Bonus Artist Bonus Song Title Decade
76. Abnormality “Visions” 2000’s
77. Anarchy Club “Get Clean” 2000’s
78. Bang Camaro “Night Lies” 2000’s
79. Breaking Wheel “Shoulder to the Plow” 2000’s
80. The Libyans “Neighborhood” 2000’s
81. The Main Drag “A Jagged Gorgeous Winter” 2000’s
82. Speck “Conventional Lover” 2000’s
83. The Sterns “Supreme Girl” 2000’s
84. That Handsome Devil “Rob the Prez-O-Dent” 2000’s

Any you’re itching to try out? Don’t forget having backwards compatability with old DLC and such!

Rock Band Platform to Encompass More Than 500 Songs by End of 2008

Los Angeles, Calif. – July 14, 2008 – Harmonix, the world’s premier music video game company, and MTV Games, a division of Viacom’s MTV Networks (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), along with marketing and distribution partner Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS), today revealed at the 2008 E3 Media & Business Summit the song set list for Rock Band™ 2, the next evolution of the groundbreaking Rock Band music platform. The Rock Band 2 soundtrack will feature over 100 songs with over 80 songs on disc plus an additional 20 bonus tracks which will be made available for free download this fall. This builds upon the unparalleled depth and diversity of Rock Band’s original set list and its ever-expanding library of downloadable tracks. Comprised entirely of master recordings from some of rock’s most prolific and untouchable artists, including AC/DC, Guns N’ Roses, Bob Dylan, Metallica, Pearl Jam and more, Rock Band 2 will deliver the most impressive and largest music catalogue of any music-based videogame ever.
• After 14 years since Guns N’ Roses last official music release, Axl Rose selects Rock Band 2 to debut official new track “Shackler’s Revenge” from the highly-anticipated album Chinese Democracy.

• Rock Band 2 is the first and only video game to feature the music of AC/DC. It includes their epic rock anthem, “Let There Be Rock.”

• For the first time ever, music from American music icon, Bob Dylan, is featured in a video game with “Tangled Up In Blue.”

• Rock Band 2 will feature backwards compatibility with all Rock Band downloadable music content released to date.

• Owners of the original Rock Band will have the ability to export most of the Rock Band disc tracks and upgrade them into Rock Band 2 gameplay–the first time ever in videogame history!

• With ongoing weekly DLC releases including individual tracks, track packs and full albums, the Rock Band music library will feature more than 500 songs by year’s end!
“With Rock Band, Harmonix and MTV Games set out to create a powerful music platform for music fans, their friends and families to discover music in a way unlike ever before,” said Paul DeGooyer, SVP Electronic Games and Music, MTV. “We are honored that such legendary artists as AC/DC, Guns N’ Roses, Bob Dylan and more have chosen Rock Band 2 as a new platform for fans to experience their music. As our catalog of disc and downloadable songs continues to grow, we are determined to continue to provide the Rock Band community an unmatched ability to customize their musical experience with the artists and songs they love.”

If you’re a rock band fan, you’ll want to checkout their new hype wagon trailer. Nothing new here, really, looks like they’ve added some “70′s style” effects to the character animations on certain areas. The Rock Band 2 title seems to adopt much from its original game in terms of graphics, rendering and overall design.

Notice the fret board looks the same, they’re sticking with the “square” pattern matching boxes for playing specific notes/beats. Some folks prefer the Guitar Hero “circle” patterns but so be it, they’re sticking with their current design. Hopefully, they’ll glow the hammer-ons or make them a bit more apprant because many Guitar Hero folks have a steep learning curve with the smaller notes for hammer-ons.

Game Informer magazine is showing off a few more songs for Rock Band 2. The song list includes yet more great variety in their set list, it’s also said that you’ll be able to pose your characters and upload them to RockBand.com to show them off. Not sure that’s a killer feature, but additional features are always good for new game releases.

Anyway, latest song information:

• Bon Jovi – “Livin’ on a Prayer”
• Steve Miller Band – “Rock ‘n Me”
• Rage Against the Machine – “Testify”
• Billy Idol – “White Wedding Pt. 1″
• Joan Jett – “Bad Reputation”
• Avenged Sevenfold – “Almost Easy”
• Social Distortion – “I Was Wrong”

It wouldn’t be Rock Band without Bon Jovi, apparently, and the inclusion of Testify would make it a rocking good time. We get to flashback to White Wedding as well and you have to respect a game that includes Steve Miller Band!

Recently we received a few tidbits of their song list, now this! Soon we’ll have the entire confirmed list of songs (barring the rumors which have been very accurate so far). What songs would you love to see in a Rock Band game?

(Thanks, Shacknews)

Apparently Konami just realized Harmonix, MTV Networks and Viacom have made some game called Rock Band and want to take legal action. Konami has created some Japanese games involving karaoke called Karaoke Revolution. Why take legal action now?

Probably because Konami is working towards Rock Revolution, a title which puts together drums, vocals and guitar. How odd, don’t we have a game called Rock Band which has done that for awhile now? It’s much easier to be competitive in the market if you can squeeze your opponent out of the market by telling them you hold a patent on the entire concept…which you let slide for a year.

It seems a bit convenient to force a lawsuit, now, after Rock Band is proven successful and before you launch your own “clone.”

Its suit claims that Rock Band violates a series of US Patents registered in 2002 and 2003 relating to “simulated musical instruments” and “musical rhythm-matching game.” (gamespot)

Although the developers of Rock Band should have gone through some patents on the topic prior to make it (or maybe they did?), it seems a bit out of place to patent such a generic concept. As far as I know, Musical Chairs is also a musical rhythm-matching game but nobody put up any stink when Konami filed a patent for the same concept…

The latest news on the Rock Band 2 front covers the instruments and a few confirmed song tracks. There have been rumors flying around the Internet about the “leaked song tracks” for the next release with absolutely no confirmation. Now, however, we have solid proof on some tracks and some equipment changes.

First, all instruments are backwards compatible. That’s key to the success of Rock Band because fans of the original ponied up a lot of bones to grab themselves the original Rock Band kit. However, there is an incentive to upgrade your equipment in some regards.

If you like the original Rock Band guitar you’re going to love the new one if only for the color updates, wood grain and actual look and feel of a real guitar not a “toy.” As you’d expect (or hope) the new guitar will be wireless, finally, and will have a sturdy strum bar with even quieter buttons. Wireless alone is a great selling point but quiet buttons is important for folks like me who play the guitar like it was a jackhammer and can easily interrupt the drummers concentration during a difficult set.

The drum kit has been improved as well, with a re-enforced foot pedal to avoid the ease of breaking the plastic “toy” version of Rock Band original. As a person who’s busted up their drum petal and forked out cash on eBay for a wood solution, this is more great news. The drum kit will also be wireless which is great for those of you, like myself, who have kids that run through your line of site or dance while you’re playing. Nobody likes their Xbox 360 being flung off the shelve due to tripped cords.

The drum kit will have quieter pads and a velocity sensor; again, your old kit is still usable without these enhancements but the desire to upgrade if you’re a dedicated fan will be high.

The song tracks currently confirmed:

• “Panic Attack” — Dream Theater
• “Chop Suey” — System of a Down
• “Everlong” — Foo Fighters
• “Kids in America” — The Muffs
• “Give it Away” — Red Hot Chili Peppers
• “Ace of Spades” — Motörhead
• “Hello There” — Cheap Trick
• “Pump it Up” — Elvis Costello
• “Anyway You Want It” — Journey
• “Pinball Wizard” — The Who

This is a great indication to where Rock Band 2 is going, mixing up a great selection of artists with classic hits like Anyway You Want It and Pinball Wizard to newer late generation X music like Give it Away and Chop Suey. Talented artists like Dream Theater are sure to keep Rock Band 2 a challenge to all gamers.

Other great improvements being a World Tour mode now accessible online and the removal of the “Band Leader” concept which always locked you into an instrument once you created a band.

NOTE: Xbox 360 will have a timed exclusive on Rock Band 2, arriving later in the year for the Nintendo Wii and PlayStation 3.

Checkout the full feature set so far explained at Kotaku.

Rhythm Games such as Rock Band and Guitar Hero will go without original masters of Led Zeppelin because the remaining band members don’t want to see their most valuable possessions in the wrong hands.

For Activision and MTV, original master tracks are the most valuable asset they can get their hands on. Cover bands work well and many do great justice (sometimes better) to the original artist but masters are where it’s at! What if those tracks are ever “lost” while mastering them for a video game?

Page and the crew aren’t looking to take that risk, no matter what Activision and/or MTV is ready to pay for those original tracks. Led Zeppelin is a classic rock band, perhaps stuck in old ways, but they’re lively hood is in those master tracks; it’s the heart of the Led Zeppelin sound.

To Led Zeppelin it’s not worth the risk in losing those masters just go get their songs in a video game.

The band isn’t comfortable with the prospect of granting outsiders access to its master tapes, a necessary step in creating the games. “It ain’t about the money,” Mr. Mensch says. (WSJ)

Can you fault them for the mistrust? Risking everything you’ve worked on since 1968 just to get your product in a video game isn’t an easy decision. Many folks, Aerosmith included, probably see this as a great opportunity to get their songs into the youth, market themselves on a new medium and make a few bucks while doing it. There is definitely going to be some ego involved with being able to see your songs grow on a brand new rock medium, but not everyone thinks the same.

To some artists, music isn’t all about marketing and popularity. To each his own, but it’s upsetting to know we won’t be rocking out to any classic Led Zeppelin with a wailing Robert Plant and beating the drums like one of the most respected drummers in the industry: John Bonham.