PS2 DLC Disc (with all DLC Songs)

[Ihatecompvir]

Well, I think this would be a wonderful Idea to put all DLC songs release so far on a Disc and release it for PS2.
This would be for those who don't have a 360.
If it ever gets done, do it after Still Alive comes out lol.

[phulcrum]

Get a real console.

I mean really... it will cost HMX more money to render the backgrounds for those songs, stamp them on a disk, put them in packaging and ship them to retailers then it would to not release a PS2 expansion pack and just keep DLC to next gen consoles.

[HaloEleven]

I fully support your efforts! And, if they keep with the current pricing scheme ($5.49 for a 3-song pack), you would be looking at $73.20 for 40 songs plus manufacturing and packaging costs.

[dfjdejulio]

I mean really... it will cost HMX more money to render the backgrounds for those songs, stamp them on a disk, put them in packaging and ship them to retailers then it would to not release a PS2 expansion pack and just keep DLC to next gen consoles.

Well, sure it would cost them more, but that's only a problem if Harmonix were going to give the disks out for free, which I don't think anyone expects...

IMO, it would be a good idea for them to do this. I play on an XB360 myself, but I know several people who play Rock Band on a PS2 and who see no reason to upgrade any time soon. There's no reason to leave that money sitting on the table.

[Bearclaw]

Get a real console.

I mean really... it will cost HMX more money to render the backgrounds for those songs, stamp them on a disk, put them in packaging and ship them to retailers then it would to not release a PS2 expansion pack and just keep DLC to next gen consoles.
I was going to post something along the same lines as this. PS2 is the past, HMX has no reason to support it with it's limited capability.

[PikkuKaiShinto]

Wont be a real smart move to HMX...
Whats stopping one friend giving like 10+ friends free DLCs?
Get a PS3 or 360 or Wii (soon) and play Rock Band.
PS2 is practically dead now...

[phulcrum]

No, it's only a problem if you cheap PS2 owners don't want to pony up the extra cash. 25 songs is $50. Now, add in the cost of manufacturing the disk for the PS2 and you'll probably be more around 15-18 songs. You really want to pay $50 for 15-18 songs? That's about $1 more per song then the next gen users have to pay. I sure as hell wouldn't.

[PikkuKaiShinto]

No, it's only a problem if you cheap PS2 owners don't want to pony up the extra cash. 25 songs is $50. Now, add in the cost of manufacturing the disk for the PS2 and you'll probably be more around 15-18 songs. You really want to pay $50 for 15-18 songs? That's about $1 more per song then the next gen users have to pay. I sure as hell wouldn't.

Well if they want to stay on a dead console... they should pay extra for features that arent able to be used on it.
Thats like asking Nintendo to put a Virtual Console on Gamecube using the Modem/Broadband Adapter because they dont want to get a Wii.

[HeadHunter67]

Not an unexpected position from a member of the Short Attention Span generation. Call ADHD Anonymous if anything that's been around for more than a year or two is "old", mmmkay?

[BigMonkE]

Not an unexpected position from a member of the Short Attention Span generation. Call ADHD Anonymous if anything that's been around for more than a year or two is "old", mmmkay?


The Playstation 2 has been out for over 7 and a half years. I'd call that old.

Seriously, I think it is time to step into the future. (PS3/360/Wii)

[JosephFolkmann]

DLC disc would be stupid. it would be $2 a track to be fair to next gen console owners.

that would mean a DLC disc would be like $100

[MonsterZero]

Rock Band DLC Disc would be a rip-off.

I wouldn't pay sheet to have that DLC on a disc anyways!

Crappy B-sided tunes!!!

More Hits = More Money.........Duh!!

[davis98]

Come on now lets all just settle down. The PS2 is far from dead and until recent months was one of the hottest selling systems even though it is 7+ years old. Sadly I don;t see them releasing a disk with DLC ever. Some people have no reason to get a 360 or PS3 yet and I don't see why anyone would need to. Seriously I would be more then content to kick back and play some old school PS2 games.

[Cephiros]

While I still have my PS2, it has pretty much been moved to an in bed room dvd player and not much else.

I bought an Xbox 360 basically for Rockband, and found some other games I liked. However, I don't know how a DLC disk would turn that much of a profit for Harmonix.

[MartyMcFly77]

Come on now lets all just settle down. The PS2 is far from dead and until recent months was one of the hottest selling systems even though it is 7+ years old. Sadly I don;t see them releasing a disk with DLC ever. Some people have no reason to get a 360 or PS3 yet and I don't see why anyone would need to. Seriously I would be more then content to kick back and play some old school PS2 games.

Translation: Mommy and Daddy wont buy me that shiny new console. :rolleyes:

[davis98]

Translation: Mommy and Daddy wont buy me that shiny new console. :rolleyes:

If your talking about me then your wrong, I own both a PS3 and a 360 that I bought a paid for myself. If your not talking about me then I still find the PS2 a great system because it has the best library of games and it is cheap.

[PikkuKaiShinto]

Come on now lets all just settle down. The PS2 is far from dead and until recent months was one of the hottest selling systems even though it is 7+ years old. Sadly I don;t see them releasing a disk with DLC ever. Some people have no reason to get a 360 or PS3 yet and I don't see why anyone would need to. Seriously I would be more then content to kick back and play some old school PS2 games.

If you have an Xbox of a PS2.... and you get a 360/PS3 you can play the new games and the same oldschool games on the newer systems. Thats enough reason for any "oldschool" gamers.

[HeadHunter67]

The Playstation 2 has been out for over 7 and a half years.
So has Windows XP, and it's still more widely used than any other home operating system. So, what's your point?

I can see why half your life would seem "old" but pardon me if I'm not going to take advice on vintage from a child. :rolleyes:

[Bearclaw]

So has Windows XP, and it's still more widely used than any other home operating system. So, what's your point?

I can see why half your life would seem "old" but pardon me if I'm not going to take advice on vintage from a child. :rolleyes:

The system isn't actually "old," but the way the video game industry is structured, as new systems are released, old ones see a lot less new games and a whole lot less support. The PS2 may be alive now, but it will die soon enough and essentially cut off HMX's investment into a DLC disk when it does.

[shadebug]

the ps2 is perfectly capable of transferring a game engine from one disc to the other, it's what singstar does, put in one disc to start the game and put in a newer disc/older disc to play the songs from that on the interface fromt the first disc

the issue is the price, which would have to be the same as it is online, making it mostly prohibitively expensive

as for whether the ps2 is old. Firstly, in some regions there is no backwards compatibility for ps3, sad but true. According to sony there wasn't a demand for it.

Secondly, 7 years is old but that doesn't necessarily make it useless, the wii has demonstrated that sometimes old things are best with its virtual console. Also, yes XP is old, it was old when it came out, as was vista, that the majority of people use either of them just shows how ******ed the average person is

[Misha67]

Now, now, children. Enough of the "get a new console, Lamer" and "my daddy can beat your daddy, neener" nonsense.

I'm a PS3 owner, among other things, and the question I really want to ask those of my fellow "next gen console owners" who apparently are horrified at the thought of "those people" playing on a PS2 getting a DLC disc to purchase is this one:

Exactly what skin off of your nose would it be if that were to happen?

Would it make you feel less awesome if you didn't have exclusivity in DLC anymore? Did you get a next gen console just to prove that you have a bigger d*ck than "those people?"

Just asking, is all. I'm really intrigued by this whole psychological angle.

[shadebug]

I think the real issue would be at them getting it at a discounted price. It would be a slap in the face of all those that have been downloading and the DLC model itself. We've all been praising HMX for going the DLC route instead of the tony hawk 20,000,003 route, but this would seem a lot like expansion packs.

Unless they bundled all the current DLC into one massive downloadable bundle for a similar price

[Highlandlassie1]

Now, now, children. Enough of the "get a new console, Lamer" and "my daddy can beat your daddy, neener" nonsense.

I'm a PS3 owner, among other things, and the question I really want to ask those of my fellow "next gen console owners" who apparently are horrified at the thought of "those people" playing on a PS2 getting a DLC disc to purchase is this one:

Exactly what skin off of your nose would it be if that were to happen?

Would it make you feel less awesome if you didn't have exclusivity in DLC anymore? Did you get a next gen console just to prove that you have a bigger d*ck than "those people?"

Just asking, is all. I'm really intrigued by this whole psychological angle.

Ps3 is not "next gen" it is current "gen".

Next gen wont be here for a few more years.

FYI, d*ck size has nothing to do with it, maybe it does for you, idk.

Answer to your speel.

Programming and conversion time spent milking a dead horse (ps2) can be put to better use programming songs for more DLC, for people with money to spend, not those who wont even upgrade their console, who it would seem dont have money to spend.

The "Skin" off my nose is the same skin that is torn off by them programming songs that suck, it is valuable time wasted doing things that dont benefit,.... "my nose".

That answer your question doctor?

[Misha67]

I think the real issue would be at them getting it at a discounted price. It would be a slap in the face of all those that have been downloading and the DLC model itself.

Now that's an argument, but who says it would be discounted as opposed to published on multiple discs at an affordable price? Of course, even if it were discounted, one might point out that we next gen users were still getting it a lot earlier than the PS2 users which, depending on the size of the discount, might justify the added price we paid.

But you definitely have a point there.

[Misha67]

Programming time spent milking a dead horse can be put to better use programming songs for more DLC, for people with money to spend, not those who wont even upgrade their console, who it would seem dont have money to spend.

There's a difference between paying, say, $19.95 for a 10-song compilation and forking out $399 for the small 40Gb PS3. Not saying that DLC is all you get for buying a PS3, I personally feel that I got my money's worth with interest for my 80Gb version (especially since Blu-Ray "won" the format war and I would've needed a player at some point anyway), but it's still quite an immediate outlay of cash for most people.

As to the other part of your argument, assuming that the DLC would suffer as a result, you do have a point there. I just don't think that it would. For one thing, they pretty much already have the DLC ready for stamping on a disc and pushing out the door with little additional work required by the people preparing DLC for the rest of us (and I'd guess that the additional coding needed for the PS2 version to work with "expansion discs" and making the PS3 format that they already have compatible with the PS2 would be minor and largely accomplishable by "somebody else", but it is admittedly a guess) and, for another, I highly doubt that HMX/MTV would even want to harm the obvious cash cow that is DLC in any way if the added work was to have those consequences.

[shadebug]

hmm... you might be onto something there, publishing them as albums might work, might even be good as a distribution method for those that can't get DLC online for whatever reason (I, for instance, am behind a proxy that doesn't allow me to play online by the looks of it, though it does allow DLC downloads, people may have more restrictive ones than me)

[HeadHunter67]

I wonder if these same people complain when the console they paid $400 for gets marked down in price.

There are advantages to being an early adopter, but it costs more.

It has nothing to do with whether PS2 owners can afford to upgrade their consoles just to have access to DLC - they paid about the same price for the game as anyone else, so why should they get less of a game for their money?

I've already mentioned how it could be priced to be fair for those who have downloaded the songs - many file services like Fileplanet allow users to burn files to a disc for a fee.

And who knows? Maybe, if these songs were made available to PS2 owners (who constitute a considerably larger portion of the market than the PS3 and 360), perhaps more PS2 owners would buy the game. Not to mention, more people buying the content just might make it less expensive for the others to download, too.

Misha is right - it all comes down to selfishness. I am very sad for those people whose biggest claim to importance in life is their newest console and how much they can afford to spend on a toy.

[madog69]

Come on now lets all just settle down. The PS2 is far from dead and until recent months was one of the hottest selling systems even though it is 7+ years old. Sadly I don;t see them releasing a disk with DLC ever. Some people have no reason to get a 360 or PS3 yet and I don't see why anyone would need to. Seriously I would be more then content to kick back and play some old school PS2 games.

yes your right it's not dead they still sell more ps2's than Xbox 360 and PS3....why do you think they still make games for it...the xbox 360 is a flop guys can even get $200 bux for them when they try and pass the lemon on to somebody else.

[kaiserkreb]

The Playstation 2 has been out for over 7 and a half years. I'd call that old.

Seriously, I think it is time to step into the future. (PS3/360/Wii)

Old, yes, abandoned, no. Only microsoft abandons their installed user base after 5 years.

[Bearclaw]

Misha is right - it all comes down to selfishness. I am very sad for those people whose biggest claim to importance in life is their newest console and how much they can afford to spend on a toy.

I usually don't get hotheaded over things said on the internet, but this one is just too much.

You have the gall to assume I don't support this because I want to brag about my console? Not at all, I simply feel it makes more sense for developers to support consoles with more potential to expand rather than crank out expansions and new games for consoles that have piqued their usefulness. The 360 and PS3 (especially) have a great deal of room to expand, but the PS2 is locked in the past with no internet and lower level hardware. I don't think it is worth the developer's time and resources to try and support a console that will see a decline in sales as the PS3 expands into a great console. The PS2 was the best of it's generation, but it can't be that way forever.

/endrant

[BetterSandw1ch]

The question isn't so much if the PS2 owners deserve access to downloadable content, but whether it's really feasible to make it available to them. DLC is expensive when it gets bundled all together, and most people don't have every song that's come out right now. If DLC was made available via discs to PS2 users, it would take all the choice out of their purchasing decisions - they would have to get all the content they didn't want along with the ones they did. Would PS2 users really shell out upwards of $100 for songs that in many cases aren't exactly widely recognized hits? More importantly, is the small portion of PS2 users that have Rock Band and would be willing to shell out money for DLC really worth going through a lengthy manufacturing process to reach?

PS2 users knew what they were getting themselves into when they purchased Rock Band - a game without some of the benefits of the next generation that allowed them to postpone an expensive 360/PS3 purchase. If there was a profitable way to reach the PS2 userbase with DLC, it would have already been explored, and the fact that it hasn't suggests that Harmonix has chosen to concentrate on systems that have staying power in the new few years.

[Eman311]

1. They wouldn't charge the same price as 360/ps3 owners for dlc.

If they were to do it, you'd get a rock the 80's type deal - 3o songs for 50 bucks.

A lot of people think it won't happen, but IMO HMX will definitely do this at some point. There is a huge market still left on the ps2.

And by the way, I own a 360. So don't start telling me to go "into the future" because I already have.

[HeadHunter67]

More importantly, is the small portion of PS2 users that have Rock Band and would be willing to shell out money for DLC really worth going through a lengthy manufacturing process to reach?
Upon what are you basing your data? It's an established fact that there are more PS2s sold than PS3 or XBox360 (probably combined), why would you think a smaller percentage of PS2 owners would have RB than the other consoles?


If there was a profitable way to reach the PS2 userbase with DLC, it would have already been explored, and the fact that it hasn't suggests that Harmonix has chosen to concentrate on systems that have staying power in the new few years.
So if it hasn't been done yet, they're never going to do it?
Would that also apply to the shoddy workmanship on the peripherals and the lack of a European release? :rolleyes:

[styrofoamhead]

Funny, I found this thread (and forum) while looking for just such a thing...

My girlfriend and I very recently purchased Rockband for the PS2. Neither of us play games on a regular basis, but after playing GH and RB with some friends, decided to get it. Yeah, we knew that we couldn't "play dress up" with polygonal characters or compete on-line, but those options had no bearing on our purchase whatsoever. We were looking for game-play and an inclusive center-piece for group get-togethers: something we've gotten more than our share of.

As non-gamers [people more interested in performing tasks with real-world tangibility than fondling our days away with push-button masturbation], we are unable to justify the purchase of a newer system. Honestly, what sense would it make for us to run out and spend four to five-hundred dollars on a console, nearly two-hundred on a game, an additional fifty to one-hundred on an extra controller, and who-knows how much on subscriptions and downloads just to entertain ourselves and our friends for a few hours a week?

Do I think I'm alone in this argument?
Hardly.

This game, and others like it, have given old consoles a reason to be used and old console owners a reason to use them again. Rockband has given our PS2 more purpose than collecting dust in a hall closet. It has lifted it's electronic guts from the confines of a shelf and returned them to the front-room where they belong...

*cough*

The point is, someone isn't foolish for wanting to get the most bang for their hard-earned buck. In fact, the opposite is true. Very true.

There's a huge market for investing in the still-used older systems. By launching RB on the PS2, HMX proved that. If they didn't see a cash-cow in such a thing, they wouldn't have forked out the money for production and RB for PS2 would have ended in R&D (research and development to you "pwners" out there).

Assuming that sales meet and/or exceed their mark, HMX would be foolish not to offer expansions for their widely popular game on the older platform.

Simple economics... Something government schools no longer teach.

If half of what I've read on this thread were true, that not forking over hundreds for something that you neither want or need mandates stupidity, then consider every sound investment ever made as absurd and add people who have real-world bills to pay, without the assistance of "Mommy and Daddy," to a "List of Morons."

Aside from the techno-elitism I've seen in this thread, my only other disappointment on this subject lies in HMX not having released PS2 expansions yet.

Tsk, tsk...

[Bearclaw]

I was going to write a lengthy counterpost to the one above, but I realised my l33t console was just too awesome for me to give a crap. I'm such an elitist bastard it isn't even funny.

For those witless fools out there, that was sarcasm.

[PikkuKaiShinto]

So has Windows XP, and it's still more widely used than any other home operating system. So, what's your point?

I can see why half your life would seem "old" but pardon me if I'm not going to take advice on vintage from a child. :rolleyes:

Try to remember NES SNES 64 GC and Wii look at the year difference.
Same for Sega and Sony.
Also XP is used more because XP seem more reliable than Vista. (I hate Vista).

[xsoulbrothax]

So has Windows XP, and it's still more widely used than any other home operating system. So, what's your point?

I can see why half your life would seem "old" but pardon me if I'm not going to take advice on vintage from a child. :rolleyes:

If you've been around for a while, then you'd also know that Windows XP is very very much an anomaly in the OS world - the only reason it happened the way it did was the massive delay of Vista. After the various MS-DOS' and early Windows versions, we went from Windows 95 > Windows 98 > Win2K > WinME > WinXP in less time than XP's been around for.

The logistics of pricing something like a possible DLC disc is a pretty nasty question though, and I'm glad that I'm not the one that has to think about it. :) Especially if they do it in multiple cheaper discs, then having to decide how to divide the (fairly unrelated) songs that are out so far. And the disc may as well be an entirely separate game as far as the PS2 is concerned, like the 80's comment earlier.

[snwns26]

Yeah I want Rock Band and it's DLC for my PS1 and N64 too! Don't be unfair HMX!

Seriously, UPGRADE!

[Eman311]

Yeah I want Rock Band and it's DLC for my PS1 and N64 too! Don't be unfair HMX!

Seriously, UPGRADE!
Not everyone is as fortunate as us to be able to upgrade.

[NunHugger]

Just an FYI...I used to play Final Fantasy XI, an mmorpg, and it had a hard drive which was attached to the PS2. The game was played online and downloaded updates. I think that the PS2 is still capable, but I am sure there are rea$on$ why it was not pursued.

...and I bought the 360 so I could get DLC. Had DLC been an option for PS2, it would not have been moved to my daughters roomso she can flex her leet skillz at Barbie Island Princess :D

[HeadHunter67]

If you've been around for a while, then you'd also know that Windows XP is very very much an anomaly in the OS world - the only reason it happened the way it did was the massive delay of Vista.
Actually, I worked for Microsoft at the time. The reason XP happened at all was because the original intent for Windows 2000 was to finally combine the home and business operating systems into one. That's why it wasn't called "NT5". However, integration didn't occur as rapidly as expected and rather than lose the business OS sales, Windows 2000 was released as a business OS. The home OS that followed was the widely reviled Millennium.

So MS tried again a couple years later and succeeded in fulfilling the promise with XP. Its survival and longevity has nothing to do with Vista and everything to do with its suitability for use. It continues to meet the needs of the people who use it - it's not outdated in spite of its lifespan.


The logistics of pricing something like a possible DLC disc is a pretty nasty question though, and I'm glad that I'm not the one that has to think about it. :) Especially if they do it in multiple cheaper discs, then having to decide how to divide the (fairly unrelated) songs that are out so far. And the disc may as well be an entirely separate game as far as the PS2 is concerned, like the 80's comment earlier.
I was pondering that, and I realized that the best way to reduce the cost of production and distribution is to eliminate the retail channel entirely. The discs could be sold directly from the publisher, allowing them to produce the product in smaller runs to meet current anticipated sales.

To avoid a costly disc which would sell less due to the high initial price, it would be more sensible to make the discs like issues of a magazine. A bi-monthly content disc could contain about 24 songs and thus a $50 price tag would be reasonable. There would be plenty of space remaining on the disc to allow whatever code is needed to run the songs off the new disc.

That's the best way I can think of to make this cost-effective for consumers and the publisher. I'm sure the idea of making an extra $300 a year from PS2 RB players is lucrative enough to warrant consideration by EA and Harmonix.

One more point to consider: That money is cash that PS2 users wouldn't need to spend upgrading a console instead of buying DLC. And personally, if I've budgeted $50 every other month for gaming, I'd rather spend it on Rock Band songs instead of the next GH game, wouldn't you? ;)