Best Worst DLC Announcement: The Beatles: Rock Band

In video game development, some companies have a hard choice with downloadable content. How much material do you build for the main retail product, and how much do you save for the online market? One studio made the wrong choice on both counts in 2009, and they didn't even try to be sneaky about it.

Although I'm sure securing the licensing rights to history's most popular band wasn't cheap, Harmonix and MTV Games hurt The Beatles: Rock Band before it even hit shelves by announcing a greedy DLC package that essentially made their game almost worthless.

Since I only have 25 more words for this part of the blog (trust me, there's plenty more after the jump), I'll refer you to the infographic summary below.

Harmonix: What Were They Thinking?

Now, I would've understood if Harmonix and MTV had decided to hold off on the announcement of their DLC for The Beatles: Rock Band until a week after the game launched. Hell, I wouldn't even begrudge them for doing this on September 9, just to build more buzz for their product. But issuing a press release two weeks in advance that you're holding the best of The Beatles' music hostage online?

Again, what the f--k were you guys thinking?

Half the Music! Excuse me for being nitpicky, but The Beatles: Rock Band only included 45 songs. That's almost half as much Rock Band 2's setlist of 84 songs, not to mention all the FREE tracks that came afterward. Again, just for the sake of comparison, that's barely a handful more than Rock Band Unplugged's offering of 41 master track recordings (it's a surprisingly good portable take on the series, by the way). Even if you're a hardcore Beatles fanatic, the raw math indicates one simple truth: $59.99 for half a video game is wrong. Even the Guitar Hero franchise has the good sense to keep adding bigger setlists.

Hey, maybe this is a sign that we're starting to outgrow Rock Band games (my room's cluttered with six guitars and a drum kit). On some level, I guess I can't blame Harmonix/MTV for trying to squeeze a few extra bucks out of Beatles' fans. Of all the music they picked, it had to be the most expensive catalog collection in the entire world, and that's got to be one Hell of a bill. But the facts don't lie. The Beatles: Rock Band took 4 months to sell over 1 million units worldwide, and in video game terms (or just plain business terms), that's pretty bad.

Marketing a video game on the most popular band in history was a good move, but saddling it with ill-timed downloadable content, especially days before release, was just a red flag for many people – fans and gamers alike – that it ultimately wasn't even worth their while to pick up The Beatles: Rock Band. Eventually, developers are going to run out of top-tier music to cram into Guitar Hero and Rock Band sequels, but bonehead moves like this are just laying more dirt on the grave. When you get greedy with DLC, gamers are going to take notice, and in a worst-case scenario, we'll call your bluff and just spend our hard-earned cash elsewhere.

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You're Gonna Carry That Weight.

Tags: DLC, rock band, the beatles: rock band, Guitar Hero, Harmonix, Downloadable Content, Best of 2009, Best Worst of 2009

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Matt Giguere

January 21, 2010

I hear what your saying McKinley, but I think some consideration into the costs it takes to produce a single track for the game should be mentioned. In in article from BBPS, Harmonix PR rep John Drake stated that it costs thousands of dollars to send people over England and use the master recordings for the game. Even still, what about the other extras packed in with the game? Is it fair to discount those from the experience? True, if the music is all you want to consider, I see where you're coming from, but the way I see the game is not just playing the tracks. It's a chance to delve into the history of the band in a creative way.

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McKinley Noble

Matt, I agree with you that The Beatles: Rock Band is equally about the experience and history of the band as much as it about the music, but I'm purely thinking in terms of base value. Putting it simply, Harmonix withheld music from some of the best albums when they could've added it into the game. In my opinion, they would've sold a lot more copies of the game if they had just beefed up the main setlist a little bit. Making gamers pay an extra $34 for two of the Beatles' most popular albums is a foul. That's a hard sell for even the biggest Beatles' fans, and people like me who only kinda like the Beatles basically steered clear of the whole thing.

Alex Gagne

I am being a bit facetious when I say this, but dude... It's the fucking [b]BEATLES[/b]. On that note, if Rock Band Led Zeppelin is released I will pay any amount of money for it, and for the DLC. $150 for the disc and $10 per DLC song? Fair deal man! Here is my credit card number. Go nuts!

Chris Davidson

January 25, 2010

A million copies is still a million copies (According to your link it's almost at 2 million). That game will be a slow burn, but I'm sure it will see a steady stream of sales for awhile. I'm sure they've already made their numbers, and with continued sales it should be a pretty decent success for Harmonix. It will be at 2 million by the end of February, and a price drop will boost it a bit more if that comes (Not sure if that will come though). I just can't see how that's considered a disappointment.