Am I the only one who still thinks HMX screwed up with Abbey Road?

[Rockbandfan23467]

Well, am I?

[mva5580]

1) I hate when people ask these "Am I the only one" type questions on the internet. The internet is HUGE. You could say "Am I the only one who likes to eat dog biscuits with relish on top standing on my head?" and someone out there would agree with it.

2) Yes, they did screw up. It doesn't make any sense that you can download the individual tracks on the Wii, but not on the 360/PS3. It was a money grab and little else; that much is obvious. ESPECIALLY when you consider the fact that when you download the entire album, not only do you get the 16 minute medley, you also get all of the medley tracks individually. It doesn't make them look very good.

[Snakes21]

1) I hate when people ask these "Am I the only one" type questions on the internet. The internet is HUGE. You could say "Am I the only one who likes to eat dog biscuits with relish on top standing on my head?" and someone out there would agree with it.

2) Yes, they did screw up. It doesn't make any sense that you can download the individual tracks on the Wii, but not on the 360/PS3. It was a money grab and little else; that much is obvious. ESPECIALLY when you consider the fact that when you download the entire album, not only do you get the 16 minute medley, you also get all of the medley tracks individually. It doesn't make them look very good.

You can download the indivudual tracks for PS3 , go to the PS store and there you'll find the album and the individual tracks...

[hmxhenry]

Well, am I?

It might help if you provided any info as to why you think this way. I can't walk into Alex Rigopulos's office and say "Hey boss, Rockbandfan23467 thinks we screwed up with Abbey Road. Lets fix it!" But if you share any particular comments we can always collect those and pass them along in a thoughtful report on how the forums feel about what's going on.

[Arch27]

Well, am I?

Yes. Yes, you are.

I think some things could have been better - like having each song its own track instead of combining a few from the 2nd side (hell if Her Majesty is a standalone track, then why not Mean Mr Mustard?) but otherwise I'm just happy to be able to play through the whole album.

If you don't like it, don't buy it.

[PCTraitor]

It might help if you provided any info as to why you think this way. I can't walk into Alex Rigopulos's office and say "Hey boss, Rockbandfan23467 thinks we screwed up with Abbey Road. Lets fix it!" But if you share any particular comments we can always collect those and pass them along in a thoughtful report on how the forums feel about what's going on.

The issue is that on the xbox 360 you can't buy individual tracks so if you requested codes for individual tracks from Abbey Road as your free dlc choices for the Gamestop preorder you were either unable to buy the rest of the record or you were unable to benefit from the free tracks.

[Teh_Jakester]

Harmonix did Abbey Road right, I'd say (EDIT: minus what's above me, but we can't change that now, either). I'd hate to go online and play with someone who only had one song from the medley, and really wanted to play it. Granted, we have The End like that, but there's nothing we can do about that now.

[Opus Penguin]

Personally I think it is a minority who may not be happy with it (most of them being the Wii customers who can't get the medley, which I would be mad if I was a Wii user). However, I don't see any issues with it myself, and plan on buying Sgt. Pepper and Rubber Soul when they are released.

[adoraz]

The main problem in my opinion with Abbey Road is how bare minimum the "complete the album" pack is.

there is nothing to do except play the songs in quick play. Achievements or an added chapter to story mode would have added a huge amount.

The songs themselves are awesome, though.

[TheObscure]

The main problem in my opinion with Abbey Road is how bare minimum the "complete the album" pack is.

there is nothing to do except play the songs in quick play. Achievements or an added chapter to story mode would have added a huge amount.

The songs themselves are awesome, though.

I would have liked to see something like this, even just one impossible looking achievement would have increased the replay factor of the DLC.

[Northern_Blitz]

The issue is that on the xbox 360 you can't buy individual tracks so if you requested codes for individual tracks from Abbey Road as your free dlc choices for the Gamestop preorder you were either unable to buy the rest of the record or you were unable to benefit from the free tracks.

I don't think the issue is how the tracks were packaged. The issue was that how the songs were going to be packaged wasn't announced. That should have been communicated to Gamestop, and to the general public to avoid the the confusion you talked about.

From the comments I've read here, the whole GS promo seemed to be a bit of a mess from the get go. Some will say that's a GS issue and has nothing to do with HMX. But it's also about how HMX communicates with it's distributors. Although I love the HMX business model, perhaps they don't care enough about this relationship because they are so DLC based.

For those upset that they couldn't buy each track seperately, I think that we are lucky to buy individual tracks at all. I always thought that was the reason that the Beatles didn't want to be in iTunes (they wanted to sell albums not individual songs).

EDIT: I also think that all songs should go into the Story mode (I also think that extra DLC challenges should become setlists in the RB2 story mode). I prefer playing in Story mode vs. Quickplay, so anything that can't be played there is a slight negative for me.

[chumsicles]

I still think they should have put Sun King through She Came In Through the Bathroom Window on one track. The Sun King/Mean Mr. Mustard track is kinda useless by itself and it really kills the momentum when Mean Mr. Mustard just ends (especially with the obnoxiously long loading times on the Wii)

Her Majesty also should have just been put at the end on the Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight/The End track

[cutmaclass]

I think the only thing that was "screwed up" was that people felt as if the "free tracks" they got they somehow paid for.

They feel entitled because they got free tracks from a retailer that they would have paid for anyway? That makes no sense.

Oh, and for the record, I pre-ordered from GameStop and *GASP* didn't get the free tracks. They were never even mentioned. I didn't care because I knew it would just be simpler to buy the whole album anyway.

[oRabbit]

I think the only thing that was "screwed up" was that people felt as if the "free tracks" they got they somehow paid for.

They feel entitled because they got free tracks from a retailer that they would have paid for anyway? That makes no sense.

Oh, and for the record, I pre-ordered from GameStop and *GASP* didn't get the free tracks. They were never even mentioned. I didn't care because I knew it would just be simpler to buy the whole album anyway.

Exactly...in no way did HMX screw up on Abbey Road because some people can't get their 'free' downloads. It's not that much money and the quality of the awesomeness that is the Abbey Road Medley is worth every non-free penny. Quit complaining. I pre-ordered from Blockbuster under the falsehood that they would be giving me a Beatles hat...no hat, not a big deal. Liars.


*reminiscing of when people threw tantrums when they were no longer auto-winning free songs from Pepsi promotion*

[instantdeath999]

Yep. The only thing they "screwed up" with, in my opinion, is what chumsicles said, but if you're not on the wii it's not a problem.

[Dr.Smoot]

Relish covered dog biscuits while standing on my head, mmmm...

[elitemastersam]

The only thing that slightly upsets me is that I Want You (She's So Heavy) isn't played in the studio as the other Abbey Road songs are. It makes it a little awkward when playing the album all the way through.

[kkawachi]

Good god guys, just over a year ago I was hoping and praying that somehow some Beatles tracks would make it to Rock Band.

Now here we are, we have a whole game with a GREAT setlist (missing some big hits sure, but all the better to introduce some deeper cuts to the average music gamer) and DLC and the first album happens to be one of my favorites!

So basically, while everyone has some little complaints, if the alternative is getting none of this great stuff I would not say a word.

Here's to Sgt. Pepper and Rubber Soul (and hopefully much more!)

[BLARGCOW]

i bought the whole thing so i couldnt care less

[Walterrrr]

I think it's possible for songs to play back to back gapless, it's just pretty difficult. I think it'd be great if it could happen eventually, whether in this game or a future Rock Band title.

[CCDaDon]

I think they did a wonderful job with the album DLC, and if you think otherwise you're just nitpicking. There's nothing to really complain about.

[Dr.Smoot]

I think they did a wonderful job with the album DLC, and if you think otherwise you're just nitpicking. There's nothing to really complain about.

I think there is certainly something to complain about if you are a Wii owner. Possibly it couldn't be helped, but that is small comfort.

[CCDaDon]

I think there is certainly something to complain about if you are a Wii owner. Possibly it couldn't be helped, but that is small comfort.

If I were a wii owner I wouldn't complain, because I'd know when buying a wii that in comparison there would be many shortcomings coming my way.

Plus it's not like you can't play ANY of the medley songs, you can! Just with loading screens, which is good for the long run because breaks are never a bad thing.

[KongWen]

I don't want any more super hard achievements. I'm very happy to just get new music to play. I don't even care about getting more stuff added to story mode. You don't get new story chapters in any other game simply for getting some DLC tracks. As it is, we get new dreamscapes, which is more than most other DLC offers.

I guess what I'm trying to say is I'm very happy with Abbey Road. It would have been cool if they had released each song on its own in addition to the big main medley (instead of the mini-medleys we got), but that's my only gripe. All in all, I love being able to get new Beatles tunes every once in a while. I hope these album packs keep coming after Rubber Soul. We need some more old Beatles (the early albums and singles), Help!, more stuff from the White Album, more late singles (Hey Jude), etc. Heck, we need everything!

[BubbleBobble]

I still think they should have put Sun King through She Came In Through the Bathroom Window on one track. The Sun King/Mean Mr. Mustard track is kinda useless by itself and it really kills the momentum when Mean Mr. Mustard just ends (especially with the obnoxiously long loading times on the Wii)

Her Majesty also should have just been put at the end on the Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight/The End track


requoted for epic truth

[noobert]

i enjoy the album and thought everything was done well including the transitions between songs

[chumsicles]

If I were a wii owner I wouldn't complain, because I'd know when buying a wii that in comparison there would be many shortcomings coming my way.

Yeah, but aside from graphical limitations and processing power and stuff, no Wii owner should expect things like the full medley being completely unavailable to them and then not complain, unless it's announced in advance, which it was not.


Plus it's not like you can't play ANY of the medley songs, you can! Just with loading screens, which is good for the long run because breaks are never a bad thing.

Oh yes they are. They are a very very bad thing, especially when it takes like almost a minute to load Polythene Pam/She Came In Through The Bathroom Window and Her Majesty after their respective songs. Imagine listening to the medley with minute long breaks of silence like that. It almost ruins it.

Even with the lack of processing power to play a 16 minute song, they could have done a much better job sequencing the medley songs. I most definitely do not feel like taking a break after playing Sun King and Mean Mr. Mustard. They could have easily made Sun King through She Came In Through the Bathroom Window one track. It would have been 6 minutes, would have preserved the momentum of the medley, and would have saved us a boring fragment in Sun King/Mean Mr. Mustard

[HyeJinx1984]

It might help if you provided any info as to why you think this way. I can't walk into Alex Rigopulos's office and say "Hey boss, Rockbandfan23467 thinks we screwed up with Abbey Road. Lets fix it!" But if you share any particular comments we can always collect those and pass them along in a thoughtful report on how the forums feel about what's going on.

However, you can walk into Alex's office and hold up a print out of this. (http://www.stopgeek.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/07/sense.jpg)

[Grannd]

The only thing that was screwed up about Abbey Road (for me) was the lack of info on the PAL PS3 release date.
It was announced here on the forums and on all european news sites it'd be the 20th for the 360 and the 22nd for PS3, but when the 22nd came it wasn't there and there was no official info on when it was going to be released.

Maybe that wasn't Harmonix's screw-up, but I doubt they didn't know it was going to be delayed a week and the big screw-up was the fact that there hasn't been any official statements on why there was a delay or why there was no announcement on the delay.
The delay I can really live with, but it's the lack of info that really hurts because you're all psyched up and then it's not there and there is no official info why and when it is going to be there.

The 'we try to have all games/DLC equal for all platforms and regions' comments aren't helpful either, because history proves otherwise for Europeans/PS3's.
Europe and especially European PS3 players always get disadvantages over the US and/or Xbox 360, hearing 'we try to be equal' over and over again just makes it even sillyer because you're obviously not trying really hard.

[oligopolis]

It might help if you provided any info as to why you think this way. I can't walk into Alex Rigopulos's office and say "Hey boss, Rockbandfan23467 thinks we screwed up with Abbey Road. Lets fix it!" But if you share any particular comments we can always collect those and pass them along in a thoughtful report on how the forums feel about what's going on.

Hey, brave face, you've always got excuses for everything you're critized for, so please won't you tell us what your excuse is for the one week - so far - crash of the servers (PS3 - PAL)?

(Please, baby, don't run away and hide this time).

[NoThru22]

I'm still not happy about the bait and switch press release and I still haven't purchased Abbey Road, despite the fact that I have over 600 songs in the main Rock Band platform.

[Llamaaction]

I was unhappy pre-release, but after release and a whole lot of playing I got very happy with it.

[ArchangelZero]

Hey, brave face, you've always got excuses for everything you're critized for, so please won't you tell us what your excuse is for the one week - so far - crash of the servers (PS3 - PAL)?

(Please, baby, don't run away and hide this time).

Isn't that a Sony Online issue?

[BT67]

Personally I think it is a minority who may not be happy with it (most of them being the Wii customers who can't get the medley, which I would be mad if I was a Wii user). However, I don't see any issues with it myself, and plan on buying Sgt. Pepper and Rubber Soul when they are released.

Wasn't it announced the file size was bigger then what Nintendo allowed thus the reason it was broken up and not the full medley. I beleive it was HMXThrasher that posted that..... Can't wait for Sgt Pepper this month !!!!

[oligopolis]

Isn't that a Sony Online issue?

Is it? Who knows?

henry? are you there?

[Blasteroids]

IBut if you share any particular comments we can always collect those and pass them along in a thoughtful report on how the forums feel about what's going on.

1. Information to say when UK PS3 DLC was going to be released. Having everyone talk about it, seeing the press release and then actually releasing it a week later does nothing but give bad word-of-mouth press.

2. Information to say that PS3 PAL servers have been noticed as messed-up and are being investigated would also have done wonders. The impression given is "We are ignoring you" when there is no official feedback on any of the numerous posts mentioning this.

Overall I like the products made by HMX but it is the customer service that scares me the most for the future brand awareness in PAL regions and how this will affect the long-term investment I have made into these products.

[hmxhenry]

The issue is that on the xbox 360 you can't buy individual tracks so if you requested codes for individual tracks from Abbey Road as your free dlc choices for the Gamestop preorder you were either unable to buy the rest of the record or you were unable to benefit from the free tracks.

Unfortunately we weren't directly involved with GameStop's pre order promotion, though her have collected a ton of feedback from the forums regarding this promotion, and we've passed it up the chain to the necessary folks in the hopes of improving things like this in the future. We want to make sure your voices are heard so everyone knows what to improve in the future, so thanks for passing this info along.


Hey, brave face, you've always got excuses for everything you're critized for, so please won't you tell us what your excuse is for the one week - so far - crash of the servers (PS3 - PAL)?

(Please, baby, don't run away and hide this time).

You can find responses from myself and HMXthrasher in an existing thread about this issue. We're working with our Audio and QA teams and SCEE to fix things as quickly as possible. Please try to keep all future posts in this thread on topic. And if this is how you're going address me on the forums, then you're not going to be posting here for long. I'm more than happy to answer questions and address concerns, provided that posters are able to act like adults without resorting to name calling and insults. If you're not capable of handling that responsibility then please stop posting now.

[Gigli78]

#1 - I love Abbey Road
#2 - I love every other Beatles album
#3 - Harmonix did NOT screw the release up

'nuff said.

[Grannd]

Too bad there's no reaction from HMXHenry on the lack of info on the Abbey Road for PAL PS3's delay, which was an ontopic reaction...

[blkninja1961]

Unfortunately, you are not the only one. As a life long Beatles fan, I was hyped when I heard that it was coming, a pain on release day (ask my wife) and I can't get enough. I think that everything was done extremely well. I have absolutely no REAL complaints (yes, the stores could have had stock - as it was, I didn't get it until the 12th and was first in line on the 9th. And yes, PS3 owners could have gotten the dlc on the Tuesday - these are what affected me).

Overall, Harmonix has done an amazing job of bringing The Beatles music to life through this game. Everyone has their opinion and has the right to express it.

The Abbey Road dlc is just right IMHO

[hmxhenry]

Too bad there's no reaction from HMXHenry on the lack of info on the Abbey Road for PAL PS3's delay, which was an ontopic reaction...

Sorry, responding to multiple threads at once and this slipped past me.

We touched on the PS3 PAL release date of Abbey Road a bit when it came out. This was not a planned delay, and it wasn't something that we were informed about early enough to pass that info along to you in the community. DLC submissions work differently for Nintendo, Microsoft, Sony America and Sony Europe and unfortunately the Sony Europe certification wasn't able to sync up with the planned release date.

We've passed feedback along regarding this issue as well, and we'll pass along information beforehand whenever we're able to. Schedules are sometimes very tight and depending on where in the chain the slip occurs we sometimes don't find out until the same time as you in the community. We're working to further improve the DLC release process for the future, and will continue to pass along whatever information we have.

[Grannd]

It's good to see an honest response, you must know that even though it's not good news (like a delay), no news is worse than bad news.
Especially when the bad has already happenend and, it's better there's a (official) response on the matter than leaving people in the dark about matters, that leads to spectulating and simply it looks like you simply don't care.

Also, except for the unexpected delay I don't care about the fact the album you can only buy three singles or the full album, with 9 pounds it's a freaking steal to complete the album, every TB:RB player owes it to themselves to complete the album.

[oligopolis]

Sorry i hurt your feelings, Henry. I thought you liked me (sigh).

And thanks for your posts, boss. They are lovely, honest.

[HerrSchwarz]

I still think that not having the individual tracks offered on the Xbox/PS3 like they are on the Wii is screwed up. Not everyone likes the album enough to pick the whole thing up. There are only 4 tracks off Abby Road that I wanted; two were singles and two were off the medley. I was not willing to spend the whole $17 for that so HMX lost out on the money from the 2 songs I couldn't download. I may be in the minority on this, but I think that HMX is losing potential revenue by making this an all or nothing package.

[youknowmynamelookupthenumber]

I almost feel bad for Harmonix for taking on The Beatles. LOL Almost! ;-) So many issues besides about what's in Harmonix's control.

I haven't opened my Limited Edition bundle yet for the Wii as I was going back and forth as to which game system to buy to play it on. I have a PS2 and so I could have chosen any system. After all the research (reading on-line; going to stores and pressing people there for answers; calling Harmonix, Nintendo and SONY) I decided on the Wii because ultimately Rock Band Beatles isn't the only fun game I'd like to play. I like the interactivity of the Wii and although I get no medley (yet) I may in the future as Nintendo will have to build a new game system which they will surely add more system memory and a HD and Blu-Ray. When that happens, they are rather good at keeping the old games compatible with new systems. I would expect a new version of Beatles Rock Band for such a new system when it arrives.

In the meantime, I'll deal with the badly placed song breaks. Although I have called Harmonix and asked why they were made where they were? No answer of course as they didn't know. I think Sun King could have been all by itself and let Mean Mr. Mustard / Polythene Pam / She Came in Through the Bathroom Window would have gone nicely together. Then I would have no issues with the medley for the Wii which so far is the only sticking point to buying the system.

But I do want Harmonix to know I am sorry they took on the Beatles due to the fact Beatles fans have not had a lot of new songs to listen to since 1970. So, we tend to know a lot more about the daily actvities of the band from the 8 years they toured, made movies and recorded music. Since we are all affected in different ways by the music, we'll all have a different opinion on matters of dreamscapes, studio bits and which venues they should perform in? I would like some bits that reflect the movies they were in while some songs play. Some nonsensical Beatles play would be fun as background too although I'll be busy staring at the notes as they fly by. LOL

I got to play the game and that's what made me decide I needed to buy it right away and figure out which system is best for me. I know I'd like a PS3 to play it on but the Wii offers someone who doesn't spend very much time "gaming" these days just as much fun overall. I also know the medley issue won't come up again for the Beatles so with the exception of fading early on Hey Jude I can't see how any other DLC for the Wii won't be great fun. But when we get to Supper's ready on Genesis Progressive Rock Band, now maybe I need to buy a whole new system?!?!?! ROFL

[MostSpartan14]

In the meantime, I'll deal with the badly placed song breaks. Although I have called Harmonix and asked why they were made where they were? No answer of course as they didn't know.


There is an answer. They are put together based on how they were recorded. Sun King and Mean Mr. Mustard were recorded together. Polythene Pam and She Came in Through the Bathroom Window were recorded together. Golden Slumbers and Carry That Weight were recorded together. That's why they are split the way they are.

[youknowmynamelookupthenumber]

That's not an answer. All these tracks were recorded to be put together via a medley. A medley is a flowing organic expression. Since we can't have that expression then give us a sonically coherent expression that makes sense without abrupt endings and middles leaving us feel jolted. Instead they should have grouped the songs to have that coherent expression instead of making up a reason. I have read plenty of books on the Beatles and once they decided they didn't want to take the time to write more long enough songs (as they were breaking up they all held onto their good songs for solo albums) it was decided to compromise and make a medley out of these little ditties and make a long side 2 out of them.

Most importantly to me is the fact that the run of the medley had changed indicates the Beatles were not concerned over which song was recorded when but which songs sounded good one after another. And that is what I am talking about. Since I will eventually have the Wii version and be stuck with the compromises the Wii inflicted upon Harmonix, I would have liked it if there was some more discussion about how the tracks should be grouped for play on the game. And I don't mean to bring me in on the discussion, although I'd be happy to have been included, LOL, I mean somebody surely tried the track configuration I suggested and either it was vetoed or altered or NOBODY had their head on straight and they just went two by two until they were finished. That's what I would believe happened by game making people. They just broke it into twos for selling purposes. Hey, I want Abbey Road and to do that I'll need to buy all the tracks regardless of how they are broken up. So I am not looking for value per track. I am looking for the best possible playback experience. Think about it, the most expensive track is Her Majesty. Coming in at under 30 seconds it's the shortest song in their catalogue and thus you over pay for it at any price! LOL

Regardless of the reason why the tracks are broken into the format they are, they run badly that way and should have been grouped better. That's my point. Now I shall continue my quest to find a brand new Wii at the best possible price! ;-) So far it's Dell.com at $185.00 with free shipping.

[chumsicles]

so with the exception of fading early on Hey Jude I can't see how any other DLC for the Wii won't be great fun.

That should not happen at all, as the Wii is perfectly capable of handling a 7 minute track

[chalmers786]

I think they did pretty well actually :D
I mean, nothing perfect.
Am I the only one who has the fault on Polythene Pam though?
The one where you can't hear the guitar solo even if you play it?

[chalmers786]

That's not an answer. All these tracks were recorded to be put together via a medley. A medley is a flowing organic expression. Since we can't have that expression then give us a sonically coherent expression that makes sense without abrupt endings and middles leaving us feel jolted. Instead they should have grouped the songs to have that coherent expression instead of making up a reason. I have read plenty of books on the Beatles and once they decided they didn't want to take the time to write more long enough songs (as they were breaking up they all held onto their good songs for solo albums) it was decided to compromise and make a medley out of these little ditties and make a long side 2 out of them.

Most importantly to me is the fact that the run of the medley had changed indicates the Beatles were not concerned over which song was recorded when but which songs sounded good one after another. And that is what I am talking about. Since I will eventually have the Wii version and be stuck with the compromises the Wii inflicted upon Harmonix, I would have liked it if there was some more discussion about how the tracks should be grouped for play on the game. And I don't mean to bring me in on the discussion, although I'd be happy to have been included, LOL, I mean somebody surely tried the track configuration I suggested and either it was vetoed or altered or NOBODY had their head on straight and they just went two by two until they were finished. That's what I would believe happened by game making people. They just broke it into twos for selling purposes. Hey, I want Abbey Road and to do that I'll need to buy all the tracks regardless of how they are broken up. So I am not looking for value per track. I am looking for the best possible playback experience. Think about it, the most expensive track is Her Majesty. Coming in at under 30 seconds it's the shortest song in their catalogue and thus you over pay for it at any price! LOL

Regardless of the reason why the tracks are broken into the format they are, they run badly that way and should have been grouped better. That's my point. Now I shall continue my quest to find a brand new Wii at the best possible price! ;-) So far it's Dell.com at $185.00 with free shipping.

Bloody hell, its a game. No need to lose sleep over it!
Just look at the positives of the DLC rather than the negatives.
I mean, hey, they didn't HAVE to release any DLC did they?

[IColinoI]

Bloody hell, its a game. No need to lose sleep over it!
Just look at the positives of the DLC rather than the negatives.
I mean, hey, they didn't HAVE to release any DLC did they?

The guy doesn't even have a console, let alone the game, and he's here trolling about.

Surely he must have something better to do with his time...

[chalmers786]

Mmm.
There is nothing more I hate than pessimists.
Anyway, Im going to get a drink and go to bed :)
Night guys!

[Daytripped]

I'm disapointed with the false advertising.

"The 16-minute medley can be played with all consoles along with the rest of the Abbey Road CD on October 20."

1. Ask the Wii users if they can play the Medley.
2. Ask PS3 users if they bought the DLC on the 20th.

[MonkeyGoneToHeaven]

Yeah, probably.

[vcalzone]

I can understand the technical limitations of the Wii causing problems with the medley, but the disappointment of how it happened hasn't really left. I'll be downloading the other Beatles DLC on day one, but Rock Band in general will have to collect dust until I get a PS3 or XBOX and instruments.

[azcoyotedog]

I still think they should have put Sun King through She Came In Through the Bathroom Window on one track. The Sun King/Mean Mr. Mustard track is kinda useless by itself and it really kills the momentum when Mean Mr. Mustard just ends (especially with the obnoxiously long loading times on the Wii)

Her Majesty also should have just been put at the end on the Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight/The End track

I totally agree with both comments above, it just makes more sense!


Good god guys, just over a year ago I was hoping and praying that somehow some Beatles tracks would make it to Rock Band. Now here we are, we have a whole game with a GREAT setlist, while everyone has some complaints, if the alternative is getting none of this great stuff I would not say a word.

Well said, and the good thing is there will be more great songs to come!!!


I think it's possible for songs to play back to back gapless, it's just pretty difficult. I think it'd be great if it could happen eventually, whether in this game or a future Rock Band title.

If I remember what I read somewhere on this website, it may have something to do with system memory... some systems can handle playing a longer song or in this case, the 16 min medley.

[juan29zapata]

My only complain is the lack of replayability, things like Achievements/Trophies or the songs put on Story Mode would have made the Game great, and make people buy DLC to play a longer Story Mode or at least just get the extra trophies.

[youknowmynamelookupthenumber]

Bloody hell, its a game. No need to lose sleep over it!
Just look at the positives of the DLC rather than the negatives.
I mean, hey, they didn't HAVE to release any DLC did they?

Well no they didn't have to release the game either. Or the instruments that look like Beatles instruments. Or a game that imitates playing a real guitar and drums. They didn't have to do any of it and I'd not lose sleep nor my ability to play the songs on a real guitar.

But they did make the game, and they did make the instruments and they did release DLC and therefore they are subjecting themselves to criticism. I "LOL'ed and ROFL'ed" several of my comments because I know there is only so much they can do as game makers to please as many people as possible. I "get it". My comments were only about the fact that they not only had gamers reviewing their work but also life-long Beatles fans that will not only find a few things that are off for them personally, but some things they'd have done differently if they had the talent of designing a game, which I DO NOT. LOL

So my comments are totally in the dark about what could or could not be accomplished on a Wii game system. My comments are made totally as a Beatles fan and actually of this game although I have yet to buy the game system, I have played the game for about an hour or so at Best Buy on release day. And in that short period of time of just messing around with the game and watching other play made the game a must have for me.

Also I stated amongst my rant of no medley that there won't be another issue for the Wii system with more Beatles songs as they don't have any more epic medleys. I can't spend all my time playing Beatles Rock Band as much fun as it is and I really am not a true gamer so I don't need the power of a PS3 or Xbox360. I enjoy the fun of a Wii but until this game, I didn't NEED to have a new game system. This game has now made it a necessity for me.

I just wanted to be clear about where I am coming from. In the big scheme of things the medley breaks won't kill me nor take away any bit of enjoyment from playing the game for me. I would like them to fix the issue if possible or maybe update the game down the line if a Wii-2 comes out, but in the end, it's not going to be a deal breaker for fun and enjoyment as I could equally enjoy playing the Please Please Me Album over and over again and be very happy. Of course that might take a whole half hour to play through as those songs barely break the 2 minute mark! LOL

"Their first album was completed in a lunchtime. Their second took even longer." - Eric Idle, The Rutles in All You Need is Cash

Which reminds me, my next band to ask for after the Beatles solo careers, would be The Rutles! How hilarious would a Monty Python-esque Rock Band game be?

[youknowmynamelookupthenumber]

My only complain is the lack of replayability, things like Achievements/Trophies or the songs put on Story Mode would have made the Game great, and make people buy DLC to play a longer Story Mode or at least just get the extra trophies.

I am sure I'd miss a bit of that but overall I am buying the game to play their music vicariously and with family and friends. So the achievements would be a nice touch, it's not something I'd feel necessary personally.

By the time I buy my Wii I should be able to download both Sgt. Pepper AND Abbey Road so I'll be a happy pig in the mud. Of course give it a week or two and I'll be crying about how I can't wait for Rubber Soul and hopefully much more from their catalogue. ROFL

[Zerobox94]

They only thing they messed up was the Gamestop promotion but even that's not really their fault.

[MonkeyGoneToHeaven]

my only complaint about this game is that It's Just Too Damn Fun™

[Nowhere_Man]

my only complaint about this game is that It's Just Too Damn Fun™

I agree with the Monkey.:)

[frostyMcNuggets]

The album is great, we're just spoiled and nit-picky.
"The songs should add to our career score" they say.
"The songs should have extra achievements" they say.
"The songs should be playable in story mode" they say.
I agree, all those things would be nice and add replay value and what not, but no one can deny that we got one of the greatest albums of all time in an interactive format, in addition to the awesome content from HMX we get EVERY SINGLE WEEK!

[Rod_Stixx]

The free track issue could have been done better, but I anticipated the free tracks would have/cause issues that wouldn't be worth dealing with for me. I didn't bother pre-ordering the game at Game Stop to get the free tracks, since it seemed pretty obvious that I wouldn't use them with these initial releases (full albums for me, no need for individual tracks), and I expected that there would be some sort of "medley playable as one track only with the full album" kind of consideration).

For a savings of maybe $6 or less, it seemed worth it to just skip dealing with the limitations/rules of the free tracks, and just buy what I wanted.

HMX could have probably handled the Abbey Road DLC a bit better, but I wouldn't call it a "screw-up" either. The gang at HMX does a great job with taking care of the community and customers, and they are more than willing to learn and change how they do things based on feedback (but won't just jump at every little "I demand!" complaint).

[Beatlejuice]

I think it would have been reasonable to lower the cost. I mean, we practically had the entire first half of the album with the game. I also do like the medley how the complete song plays to fade out unlike the quickplay which hacks the end of the song off. It just sounds horrible.

And there is my question, why does Rock Band hack the end of the songs up? I understand that as the song fades it becomes hard to continue playing but the few songs left untouched and play stops after it gets too quiet works great. I mean, this is the Beatles and most of the altered songs are painful such as Hey Bulldog.

[Dadasaurus Rex]

I initially thought that I would be let down....Much to my delight despite 45 + years of listenting to The Beatles, and the fact I have a Wii I am not in any way disappointed with Abbey Road DLC.
In fact I am totally stoked out of my gourd! Bring on Sgt. Pepper!

[Blasteroids]

my only complaint about this game is that It's Just Too Damn Fun™

Well you certainly do not own a PS3 and live in a SCEE controlled region then. I used to have fun, till the online functions broke.

[Cliphead]

It could have been better, but I can understand why they did it the way they did. If you want the medley it's either all or nothing, and if you're getting that, you're probably a Beatles fan who was planning on getting the whole album anyway. At least that's what Harmonix likely assumed, and had they offered the parts separately, they would have gotten complaints from people who bought the parts of the medley but can't play the whole thing. Damned if you do, damned if you don't. But it's not what they did here is going to set the stage for future albums. The medley makes Abbey Road a unique case, and there's no reason the other albums won't follow the standard Rock Band model.

Why were so many people expecting new Achievements? Rock Band 1 didn't get any new Achievements with Screaming for Vengeance or the Who pack. Rock Band 2 didn't get any new Achievements for the Queen pack, Moving Pictures, or the 25th Foo Fighters song.

[tenchibr]

The album DLC is perfect. No question about it...

My only complain with Abbey Road is something that I had from the moment I found out about it, which was from release: that I Want You (She's So Heavy) was placed in the rooftop. For the sake of historical accuracy that this game represents, that is a huge intentional mistake in my personal opinion. Not stating a fact, just an opinion.

On one hand, I understand why they would do that: not a lot of Let It Be tracks (although One After 909 would've worked out in its place), and I Want You sounds very "live"-like. On the other hand, if they knew that Abbey Road was already on its way (which they did), I wonder why that wasn't seen as an issue. I am being very picky, I know. I just picture a giant corporate table meeting where they decided to do it on the rooftop but I don't think the whole staff agreed. No way.

I really wish HMX would've done either one of the following 2:

1 - Never had I Want You released for retail, and instead released on DLC with its own Dreamscape instead, with another track in place of it (like I mentioned earlier, One After 909 would've been nice);

OR

2 - Allow the game to recognize that if the track is on the album playlist, as in, to be played as a whole, back to back, to have its own Dreamscape only when played in that circumstance (it could be the easiest Dreamscape in the world, heck it could've been none at all, just watch them play in the boring studio; if a patch could be released to fix that, oh man that'd make my day).

As someone who purchased the whole album and loved it, this is more of a suggestion than a demand. I like playing the album playlist more than tracks separately, and having that I Want You fix would be the icing on the cake for me. If it isn't possible, I can cope with it.