Chance for RB2?

[dethklok]

RB is just going to be amazing... truly.
But with all the DLC possibilities, can we really see a RB2 in the horizon?
All the Characters we built, all the songs we downloaded, all to waste because a newer version came out. What do you guys think? I know most of you guys are going to say "i'm not going to sell RB" But think about it, both versions are going to be different in some way, and the past game just won't seem the same... It happened to me with GH2 :( And sadly, I sold it towards my pre-order for RB... I regret it, but I didn't know what else to do.

[Smokey_Lemon]

I think that happened with GH2 because they were extremely weak on their DLC. That was a big disappointment for me. As far as RB2, I think the main thing will be the songs because I am sure as far as licensing goes, the labels will make alot more money if the song is in the game opposed to just DLC. Also, there has been talks about additional intrustements in the future. Four people is awesome, but can you picture a fifth or sixth person???!!! I think it will most likely be keyboard or adding rythm/lead guitar like in GH.

[DShiz1029]

Probably. You cant really improve upon gameplay with DLC. Plus we could see a new RB, with an even larger set of drums, and a new guitar...and even maybe...a set of turntables (I wish)...

[The_Vampire_Lestat]

I foresee a separate drum game. Would be killer if they made a 7 piece drumset...

[jq71586]

I really hope we don't see another version next year. After dropping about 180 dollars, I don't want to have to spend the same amount next year.

I hope they just constantly send out DLC or even just do another game disc every year. But I am not going to buy peripherals every year. Like if they add a 6th fret or another bass pedal that can't be added on to this years drums.

Just pump out DLC at a good pace and I'll accept a new 60 dollar disc next year. And then the year after if they want to tweak some thing sure, I'll spend some more money on it.

Seeing expansion instruments would good too, I guess.

[magicjames92]

i want them to wait 3 years b4 rock band 2. they should just do dlc. look at gh3. nothing there is big enough to not do dlc.

[HeXcoda]

There will be another retail release. I prognosticate this.

You can't just pump DLC into the channel forever, you need boxes on shelves so the retailers keep boxes on shelves. Otherwise they'll drop support for the game, since it's no longer "hot" and those bulky instruments are eating up shelf space.

Plus, as great as DLC is, only a percentage of the gaming public actually buys and uses it... early adopters, folks friendly with technology, kids with access to credit cards and MS-Points. The better way to get money from the rest of them is with a retail release.

Finally, that way you can do a huge burst of new songs all in one go, add new gameplay features, add disk-hungry content like new create-a-rocker parts and new venues, etc.

There's no reason NOT to do another retail release. It's all upside. Now, the question is, will RB2 be able to use RB1's DLC..? GH3 doesn't. And it's a shame.

[masterx1918]

no. It seems like HMX is going towards trying to find a way to let gamers make their own music.

[Nikali3990]

They said that Rock Band is like a system and a company creates more systems so yea

They also said they should have around 200 to 300 songs when they are done with this game

[seafisch]

Licensing issues aside, I don't see why DLC couldn't work with RB2, unless they do add instruments - and then maybe they just allow you to use RB1 DLC, but not with the new instruments unless you get the RB2 DLC. And HMX could code RB2 so that it imported the rockers and band info from RB1 and then allowed you to change around any new options.

As to adding instruments - the screen is crowded enough with four instruments, I can't imagine six... :eek:

As an alternative to RB2, HMX could release expansion discs (like MMOs). You could still play the game if you don't get the expansion, you just wouldn't be able to access the new content (new songs, new arenas, new rocker maker options, etc). Since RB isn't stored to the HDD, though (like MMOs are), I'm not sure how that would work.

[Ultrace]

Four people is awesome, but can you picture a fifth or sixth person???!!!
This is highly unlikely. While they may make additional combinations (keyboard, 3 guitars, etc, two mics, etc.) possible, adding someone else in play would be extremely difficult with the constraints of a TV screen. An additional player would necessitate a widescreen TV (and lots of people still don't have those) and could be rough even for that display.

[toefer]

There will be another retail release. I prognosticate this.

You can't just pump DLC into the channel forever, you need boxes on shelves so the retailers keep boxes on shelves. Otherwise they'll drop support for the game, since it's no longer "hot" and those bulky instruments are eating up shelf space.


I can see it happening one day, maybe, but not any time soon. If word of a RB2 leaks out onto the internet in a few months, imagine how many people will be kind of ticked off that they spent the money on the first one, and are buying up the DLC, only to find out HMX wants to push out another version.

I think HMX really sees RB as a platform, not the inaugural game in a new series.

The current platform can last a while. Adding new songs, new clothes, new drums/guitars, new arenas, as DLC is a way to keep things fresh for a long time. I'm sure they can even add a few new modes in later patches, in case the current ones get a little stale.

If DLC is profitable, there's no reason for them to worry about a sequel. If people want the game, EB/GameStop will keep carrying it, or they'll find it somewhere.

[BathTub]

I am quite certain we will see more releases in 12-18 months, if RB is sucessful. If not a RB2 (which can use all the DLC from RB). Then Content add ons like for example Led Zepplin, or Grunge, or other Theme especially stuff that might require different licensing.

[TreoRock_]

I see Rock Band more like a gaming platform, which has the option to get DLC to enchance the gaming experience. Therefore, HMX will be releasing tons of DLC so that they keep us interested in the game and more people join the Rock Band community. It will be a while before we see a Rock Band 2 given that HMX needs to create a foundation.

[Patch_]

To be honest with all the DLC HMX said we'd get with Rock band and maybe a patch for online BWT, etc, I don't see a RB2 coming out for 15/18 months.

That's hope though but at the very least I don't want to hear about RB2 for 6-7 months.

[animeaddict42]

with all the dlc im buying (roughly half of the announced dlc is stuff i like) im hoping i dont hear rock band and sequel in the same sentence for several months. or at the very least have all dlc transfer to RB2

[IErrantVentureI]

Why would they make a whole, complete drumset? If they did that, I'd just forget it and go get some real drums.

[LongDarkBlues]

How many successful games have sequels? Almost all of them. As long as Rock Band makes money there will be a sequel. Duh.

[DShiz1029]

Here is my speculation (key word)

Rock Band 2:
*New songs (duh)
*Much more character designs
*Much more clothing options
*More locales to play at (maybe some less popular cities like Orlando...?)
*New controller peripherals (New guitar, maybe drum set with 5 extra pads and an effect switch, New mic with voice changer maybe new mic thats a head piece, some electronic instrument like a 10-button keyboard, 10 button-sampler, turntable, or some guitar effect pedals)
*Create-a-stage
*Create-a-guitar
*Biographies for your band/band members
*Battle mode with special power ups


I would actually like to see some kind of battle of the bands mode where you get to go up against real life bands. I know a lot of people hated the boss battle mode in GH3, but I dunno, it wasnt that bad of a feature. It had its challenges.

I also think a 5th peripheral such as one of those electronic devices would be awesome, but since consoles only allow 4 players Im not too sure how that would work out well. I guess you could sacrifice your drummer for a DJ to play electronic percussion...?

[JackBNimble]

If they make RB2 then they had better make it possible for all the DLC to be playable with it.
Hopefully we will be able to down load new venues,guitars,character models in the future.

[TheREVALOProject]

Here is my speculation (key word)
*Battle mode with special power ups
I would actually like to see some kind of battle of the bands mode where you get to go up against real life bands.
Yes. Just. YEAH.

[toefer]

How many successful games have sequels? Almost all of them. As long as Rock Band makes money there will be a sequel. Duh.

Worst logic ever. How many games are considered "platforms" by the companies that make them? How many companies say that they're not primarily in the video game business? How many game companies can make a profitable business out of DLC?



Here is my speculation (key word)

Rock Band 2:
*New songs (duh)
*Much more character designs
*Much more clothing options
*More locales to play at (maybe some less popular cities like Orlando...?)
*New controller peripherals (New guitar, maybe drum set with 5 extra pads and an effect switch, New mic with voice changer maybe new mic thats a head piece, some electronic instrument like a 10-button keyboard, 10 button-sampler, turntable, or some guitar effect pedals)
*Create-a-stage
*Create-a-guitar
*Biographies for your band/band members
*Battle mode with special power ups



What part of this can't just be released as DLC in the future, for RB1? The instruments could probably be a problem, but I don't see a keyboard peripheral being very fun to play (nobody dreams about being a keyboardist), and there's not much else other than that. The Create-a-stuff would be hard to add, but I'm not sure its significant enough to warrant releasing a new game for.

The only way I can see a RB2 coming out is if they are somehow making a killing on selling these bundles (which I doubt), or if DLC is a failure (which is possible, I guess). Even so, I'd expect RB2, in that case, to be a disc full of new songs, and a tweaked look (venues, clothes, etc).

[Quinarvy]

Here's my speculation on RB2

-Many more songs, reaching maybe the 100 range?
-Bass/keyboard career.
-New venues.
-New create-a-rocker options.
-Create-a-stage option (as DShiz said).
-Custom instrument's ingame.
-Add 2 new instruments: Rhythm Guitar and Keyboard (10 keys)
-Current instrument upgrades (add knobs to a guitar, another pad and pedal to drums, effects to mic, make a new bass controller that makes it a unique instrument).
-Rock Band 1 DLC Connection so that people who bought RB and DLC get the songs from RB1&DLC they had already bought for free. Also, an option for a discount on getting new parts for the songs (very small fee).
-RB1 Screen Options: Makes the drum set "fretboard" a 4 note board instead of 5, makes bass like RB1 thus taking away new features, and/or removes rhythm guitar and keyboard for thos not wanting to buy new controllers.

New Controllers:
1) A ten key-keyboard
2) A diffrent guitar for rhythm, maybe a Telecaster controller.
3) A new bass, gives, option for slap bass, made after a Jazz Bass or Jaguar Bass.

Problems:
-It would need to be released in 3-4 years, so people can still have fun with RB1.
-6 players won't work on 360 (Ps3 supports 7), so maybe a multi-tap device would be needed.
-Disc size for 360 if 100 songs really got put in. Thats 6 parts for each song, so either a multi-disc releae (install disc 2's songs on to HDD) or *shudder* an HD-DVD release.

[jlc510]

Why do some of you people want more intstruments? Is 4 not enough? As far as sequels go, I personaly think there's not much they can do as far as gameplay goes. The only thing I could see doing is give the player's the ability to create their own venues, more create a rocker options and do an upgrade for the single player and co-op career modes. As, far as music goes, well putting new music on a 60 dollar disk probably won't mean as much in a year or so if we're getting weekly DLC. It'll mean something but it won't be the draw that it is now. Most importantly I think the current DLC that's expected to be comming out for this game, should be playable in any future games, otherwise this franchise won't last 10 years before the majority of the people playing get tired of paying for the same songs over and over again to play them on the new games.

[Quinarvy]

Why do some of you people want more intstruments? Is 4 not enough?

Mainly to add new gameplay and if not that the ability to have 6 people having fun instead of 4 (really good for parties, I remember at school we were allowed to bring in GH and DDR, and the 12 of us that played GH could only go 2 at a time)

[toefer]

Mainly to add new gameplay and if not that the ability to have 6 people having fun instead of 4 (really good for parties, I remember at school we were allowed to bring in GH and DDR, and the 12 of us that played GH could only go 2 at a time)

People are already complaining about how BWT requires 2 people locally, so if a majority of people can't even max out the 4 player option, 6 is just overkill.

Also, most people don't even have widescreen TV's and having the 3 parts scrolling down the screen is already pushing the limits on a 4:3 TV. If you add in 2 more, that'd even cramp up the widescreen.

More than 4 just doesn't seem like a good idea in any case. Wouldn't get used much, would be difficult to see well when used, and would add to the price of DLC.

[Quinarvy]

People are already complaining about how BWT requires 2 people locally, so if a majority of people can't even max out the 4 player option, 6 is just overkill.

Also, most people don't even have widescreen TV's and having the 3 parts scrolling down the screen is already pushing the limits on a 4:3 TV. If you add in 2 more, that'd even cramp up the widescreen.

More than 4 just doesn't seem like a good idea in any case. Wouldn't get used much, would be difficult to see well when used, and would add to the price of DLC.

I think Rhythm Guitar + Keyboard parts could be removed for a cheaper DLC.
BWT should still be 1+ in my eyes.
Keyboard notechart could be similar to vocal one, but on bottom of screen.

Don't know how to fit Rhythm Guitar though.

[xfMike]

I would actually like to see some kind of battle of the bands mode where you get to go up against real life bands. I know a lot of people hated the boss battle mode in GH3, but I dunno, it wasnt that bad of a feature. It had its challenges.


I don't mean to knack your opinion with my own, but the boss battles were terrible because of the lame "Battle Mode." Having a seemingly luck based mode placed as a mandatory step in the campaign mode which always seemed to be about skill really took away what Guitar Hero was known for... and that is simply having fun.

I think the Boss Battles would have been much better if they were treated as a "Pro Face-off" mode. Who ever has the higher score wins (obviously).

Battling Lou was a bittersweet experience. The Devil Went Down To Georgia was and is amazing to play, but it sucks that I couldn't enjoy the full song just for the fact that Lou gets the power ups before you do, and therefore FUBARs you when you try to nail the "Battle Streak" to earn your power up.

I felt a great sense of relief when I finally beat Lou (I don't know how I did it), but you shouldn't fail a song just because a boss character hits you up with a broken string/lefty flip "one-two-punch."

Anyway... I'm rambling. A Battle Mode would be decent if it isn't anything like the one featured in Guitar Hero 3.

[dlisapussy]

I'm liking the keyboard idea
I'm thinking more than 10 keys because you have 10 fingers, perhaps 12 to 15.


RBII:
---Lead Guitar, Rhythm Guitar, Drums, Bass, Keyboard, Lead Vocals, Back-Up Vocals (5 tracks plus 2 singing tracks. Don't tell me it's not practical. Have 4 tracks for the guitars, bass, and drums, the keyboard track run horizontal along the bottom as someone else said, and lead and back-up vocals on the same track at the top).
---Solo World Tour just like Band World Tour, except you get to team up with other solo artists or other bands for gigs that get you more money (get licenses from artists to actually have them appear in the game).
---New character designs, clothes, venues, cities, etc.
---Never ending DLC. I hope this game replaces Karaoke machines around the world.

[Reaper0563]

i expect an rb 2 eventually with updated graphics perhaps new modes etc etc, however if it comes out before 2010 then i would be upset, would not buy out of protest, unless they fix it so that you can play rb1 dlc on rb2, then i would think about it

[Reaper0563]

I'm liking the keyboard idea
I'm thinking more than 10 keys because you have 10 fingers, perhaps 12 to 15.


that would take up an ass load of space on the screen

4 people sounds about right, any more and you are compromising screen space

[dlisapussy]

I'm liking the keyboard idea
I'm thinking more than 10 keys because you have 10 fingers, perhaps 12 to 15.


RBII:
---Lead Guitar, Rhythm Guitar, Drums, Bass, Keyboard, Lead Vocals, Back-Up Vocals (5 tracks plus 2 singing tracks. Don't tell me it's not practical. Have 4 tracks for the guitars, bass, and drums, the keyboard track run horizontal along the bottom as someone else said, and lead and back-up vocals on the same track at the top).


Reaper, you obviously didn't read the rest of my post.
I don't give two ****s about space. If you don't want all those things on the screen then you don't have to, but as for those who do, like me and some other people in this thread, we would love this. I don't think having a lot of space even matters. It's colors on a track, it's not complicated at all to see. The tracks can be practically transparent for all I care.

[Reaper0563]

Reaper, you obviously didn't read the rest of my post.
I don't give two ****s about space. If you don't want all those things on the screen then you don't have to, but as for those who do, like me and some other people in this thread, we would love this. I don't think having a lot of space even matters. It's colors on a track, it's not complicated at all to see. The tracks can be practically transparent for all I care.

well then how would you play if everything is super cramped?

[JohnnyFAS]

They said that Rock Band is like a system and a company creates more systems so yea

They also said they should have around 200 to 300 songs when they are done with this game

Platforms also have more than a one year life cycle.

[Jack_Harvard]

My thinking on this is: no matter how amazingly freaking awesome Rock Band is (oh, and it is!), it's still not perfect. I know Harmonix already has an assload of great ideas for new modes of gameplay, new tweaks to the system, that just weren't feasible this time around. Personally, I'd buy a new disc if it had some new venues or an expanded character creator. Especially the latter. Or maybe a music video creator mode, where you play a song, then go through and select a variety of different performances and shots and build your own music video. You don't necessarily need new peripherals to make a hugely improved game, just look at GH1-->GH2.

[sharky10c]

I heard that they plan on releasing between a hundred and a thousand (yes 1 THOUSAND) downloadable songs for rock band. What would be the need for RB2?

[dlisapussy]

well then how would you play if everything is super cramped?

IDK

Look at the screen maybe?

I'm saying if everything is cramped, you can still distinguish the colors flying at you. That's all you need to see.