Where is the Outrage? Canadian DLC

[WiredRacing]

I'm really not one to whine on a forum, especially about something as trivial as a video game and god knows there's more than enough of it here with all the bellyaching about the CDN delay, DLC pricing in general, difficulty of the guitar charts, how DLC on day one should be on the disc, etc..etc.. But those are all things I can see a business case for.

What I can't accept, is the fact the DLC isn't curretly available in Canada. This is complete, and utter BS. The majority of Canada's population lives within 150km of the border (about 95miles), it's inevitable that people are going to import the game, or even just buy it south due to the dollar.

The only justification for this is licensing issues, HOWEVER Canadian's have been announcing they will be ordering from the US since even before the annoucement of the delay. If HMX knew of licensing issues, WHY THE #@%! did no one speak up.

All due respect to HMXSean and the others who have to put up with the trivial complaints and may not even have known about this issue or others... but as their job on the forum IS P.R.... this is a serious issue that's really tarnishing the reputation of why I believe(d) to be a respectable company. So while I don't blame you guys personally, you do appear to be the go-to people here.

Obviously the forum is for the fanaticals... and they're the most vocal base for the game. They're the ones that'll run in the streets recommending the game.

Please.. tell me, how can obmitting Canada from the DLC can be justified (release date should have squat to do with it... If it IS licensing... what the hell does this mean for us in Canada, and the folks in Europe when it comes to DLC in the future.

FYI, I know specialized track lists and such were "announced" for localization of the game, but I don't want CanCon... you won't be doing us a favor with CanCon. I swear, if I see Tragically Hip as DLC, I'll YouTube burning my drumkit on Christmas and make baby Jesus cry.

What's the gods honest scoop here?

[metalkorn]

Chill.
I am in canada, but no bundle as I am one of those that is not that close to the border (in NS)

If you have the PS3 version you can get that DLC from PSN right now, i saw it in the PSN store last night. 360 is obviously a different story as the Live service is specific to Canada

I don't think it has anything to do with licensing, more to do with the fact that it is not officially available in Canada yet.

Be happy you own the game, I too am annoyed that the game is not available in canada yet, but PSN is laughing in the face of canadians currently by having the content available. At least Xbox Live isn't rubbing it in the face of the majority of canadians.

If you want the content before December 17/18/19/20 whatever the date is, go and buy a PS3 copy from over the border.

[WiredRacing]

It's not an issue of "chill", I'm actually having a lot of fun playing the songs that are already there, but this is reeking of a trend relating to HMX games and Canada. Even before Guitar Hero 1's delay, they had delays with the Karaoke Revolution's. Meanwhile GH3 released internationally on all platforms on the same day.

But yeah I guess if it's available on PSN then the only suitable excuse is gone. Now there is no excuse I can think of. Release date is not an excuse. Pre-release games have all kinds of DLC. This just seems like another thumb in the eye. It's not like digital bits are in short supply and they can't afford the one flag to make the tracks available to Canadians who, again, as I say, publically announced in front of the HMX forum PR folks they were getting units from the US.

This whole situation does appear to be unprecedented for XBL.

[WiredRacing]

Yeah yeah, I know they haven't, but they are the only common link amongst KR (Konami), GH (umm.. RedOctane?), and RB (EA).. but yet they've all have notable Canadian delays.

Is this just bad luck?

[Mimglow]

I am absolutely FURIOUS :mad: with whoever is responsible for witholding DLC for Canada. I say "whoever " because although I imagine it's Microsoft's policy not to sell DLC where games have not yet been released, I can't be certain.

Love how I can buy your dinky gamer pics for Rock Band, but I should be expected to wait for anything of substance.

Shame on the decision maker.

Just so you know that I'm not a raving lunatic whose experience has been ruined by this lack of DLC for Canada: the game is AMAZING. We had a blast playing it yesterday, so thanks for that (even though we had to cross the border to get it).

P.S. I DO want Tragically Hip, and Moist, and the Guess Who, and Blue Rodeo. CANCON rocks, IMO.

[sa_nick]

Man, how u think EU, Australia, NZ and asia feel?

I'm and aussie, importing the game (expecting it sometime next week?) and I'm not gonna be able to access this DLC for like 4 months. I have a US account on my ps3, im tempted to try out my credit card on it and see if it works.

[Bakkster]

But yeah I guess if it's available on PSN then the only suitable excuse is gone. Now there is no excuse I can think of. Release date is not an excuse. Pre-release games have all kinds of DLC. This just seems like another thumb in the eye. It's not like digital bits are in short supply and they can't afford the one flag to make the tracks available to Canadians who, again, as I say, publically announced in front of the HMX forum PR folks they were getting units from the US.

This whole situation does appear to be unprecedented for XBL.

Yes, there is usually pre-release DLC, but not for in-game content. Have you ever seen a map pack go up before the game was released? Do you guys have the picture and theme packs available? If so, you are in the same boat as Americans were before the game was released here. If DLC doesn't get released on your launch day, flame away, but you're not entitled to DLC until the game is released where you live.

[vtjustinb]

Frankly I can't comprehend why people who imported the game nearly a month before their official release are complaining about broken functionality for their region. Absolutely boggling.

Fact is, even though you technically shouldn't have the game yet Johnlok said they're looking into this for you--so take the edge off the tone and quit making demands.

[WiredRacing]

Demands? I didn't make any demands.

As for the localization. WTF? This is Canada and the US. This isn't Canada and Mexico, or the US and Japan, there's no ocean or language separating us (the majority of us anyhow), we have free trade, the longest border, etc..etc.. I wouldn't expect a map pack to be available for a game before it's released anywhere.

Besides, as already stated, it's available on PSN (which I didn't know when I first posted) for Canadian customers, so why not here?

Demo's aren't released in the US first and then Canada later. I mean, I know what you're saying, but based on your logic, it holds about as much water as my complaint. There's no logical, logistical reason not to have it available. That's my point. There's a reason or a business case for all the other things people whine about, but there just isn't one for this. At least nothing obvious. This is digital distribution folks. They don't need french lyrics for a downloadable song sung in english. Like I say in the subject, why no outrage on this, but we can have 50 threads about online BWT, or DLC pricing or any of the other silly non-issues.

Anyhow if there's a post from someone semi-official saying they're looking into it.. awesome. An oversight is (much more) acceptable. I agree, conventional thinking would imply it doesn't *need* to be available in a region the product isn't yet available in.. but we run the same regioned XBOXes.. there's no law against export or import of the product and if there's no licensing issues, again, there's no reason for it not to be available.

Anyhow, here's hoping it gets sorted out in the short term.

[Spear_of_Destiny]

its obvious that microsoft has at least some principles it is willing to stand by. (ie, you shouldnt be able to buy dlc in a country/region where the game isnt out yet.)

whereas sony is a dirty wh0re that will lift up its skirt for any sum of money.

i am not arguing about the "rightness" of canada being left out in the "cold" (haha see what i did there?) i think you guys should be a part of any release we are.

but youre not, you got the game ahead of the release in your country and microsoft says, fine, you can do that, but youre not getting dlc til the release. be happy they dont try to put in a code that bricks your 360 if you try to play a game before its release. sounds like something apple would do... or sony with their psp.... they just brick your product if you dont do what they want.

oh yeah, but i didnt realize that the 45 songs was actually a lot. not being a drummer, i started yesterday for the first time in my life. on easy. its not easy. so ill be playing thru all difficulty levels on that and for vocals, though ive sung many times in operas and plays. learning the lyrics of the modern crap music (2000s) and how the vocal system works is going to be daunting too. so 4 different plays thru on difficulty levels on that.

all that should take about a month. or so. theres plenty to do whilst you wait for dlc to come. one month is not going to kill you. man up, my frozen friend from the north. as bruce dickinson used to sing "Your time will come".

[admanimal]

It's not an issue of "chill", I'm actually having a lot of fun playing the songs that are already there, but this is reeking of a trend relating to HMX games and Canada. Even before Guitar Hero 1's delay, they had delays with the Karaoke Revolution's. Meanwhile GH3 released internationally on all platforms on the same day.



You realize that Harmonix has not been the distributor of any of these games and therefore has little if anything to do with when it gets released where, right?

[Spear_of_Destiny]

what the hell is going on with these posts? it looks like theyre showing them all in jumbled order, and sometimes multiples too.

[Spear_of_Destiny]

a little less diplomatic than what i was saying, but yeah youve got the gist of it...

[WiredRacing]

I think there should be some perspective on why there's such a thing as a "country's release". There's a reason why Mountain Dew tastes different in this country than in the US. There's a reason why BGH is legal for use there and not here. These are all issues that stem from the law. This is why there's different packaging for Canada, why to sell certain products in Canada you have to pass Safety standards (same if there's a Canadian product to sell in the US), or you have to pass certain laws, like the CRTC and Canadian Content... this is why we don't have HBO in Canada. I accept it.. for a weak of a reason as it is, at least it has honorable intentions, it's arguable.

But I really don't see aquiring the game "ahead of the release in my country" as some kind of circumnavigation (worst case I'm circumnavigating my own country's laws and not something that impacts the product creators/distributors). I agree if it was licensing, that's a legal issue and EA/HMX/MTV have to protect themselves, their product, etc. That's a reason not to make something available outside of the details of a binding contract.

Hell even look at the US, California has emissions laws, you can't sell a motor vehichle in California (or probably even register it.. I dunno) if it doesn't meet these laws... so you can conceivably have an issue where you can't get a particular car you can buy anywhere else in the US, in California. These are all the reasons why we have things the US doesn't have and the US has things we don't have...

But none of those reasons appear to apply here.

But yeah, maybe this is microsofts policy and maybe it's just over generalized?! But I'm guessing not, they don't own the content or have the contracts between the copyright holder and the developer and the developer and the distributor. You know what I'm saying?

It took Tivo like 4 years to finally allow Canadian's to register for lifetime or monthly service. They realized there was no legal limitation for them. Sure they didn't sell the product in Canada because they didn't want to go through the expense of doing so. The market, they felt/feel, isn't large enough. But there was no legal reason why they couldn't do it. They just figured.. "well we can't sell it in canada since it's not CSA approved and we can't provide them TV guide listings, so they shouldn't have it". Course canadians can legally subscribe to and purchase US satellite products and services.. anyhow they finally did it, but again, thickheadedness was the only thing in the way.

[WiredRacing]

Yeah yeah, I know they haven't and they're probably not really to blame (and I'm not sure that I am blaming.. it's just.. I mean if I was running this company and this crap kept happening.. I dunno, I'd beef up my PR or fix the bloody problem...

In the end they are the common link amongst KR (Konami), GH (umm.. RedOctane?), and RB (EA).. (all awesome games, I must say) but yet they've all have notable Canadian delays where the rest of the industry doesn't seem to have this problem...

Is this just bad luck?

[Mimglow]

Put simply, the game wasn't set to be released in Canada, so neither is the DLC. Just because you managed to circumvent the release date doesn't mean they should accommodate you with the DLC as well. What kind of message would that send? Then we'd have someone else up here saying, "They even released the DLC in Canada. It's total bull that the game isn't coming out here until 12/20! Way to tease your loyal fans, Harmonix!"

That's fine, but if I can't download DLC, then why was I able to get the update patch last night?

It was the same way for the Blue Dragon difficulty settings. Had to create an account in Hong Kong to get the FREE DLC. Now it's a little more complicated, though, with having to provide a separate credit card billed to the US. Not worth the risk IMO.

Please try to understand that all we want is to be able to rock out just like our neigbours to the south are doing.

[Spear_of_Destiny]

its obvious that microsoft has at least some principles it is willing to stand by. (ie, you shouldnt be able to buy dlc in a country/region where the game isnt out yet.)

whereas sony is a dirty wh0re that will lift up its skirt for any sum of money.

i am not arguing about the "rightness" of canada being left out in the "cold" (haha see what i did there?) i think you guys should be a part of any release we are.

but youre not, you got the game ahead of the release in your country and microsoft says, fine, you can do that, but youre not getting dlc til the release. be happy they dont try to put in a code that bricks your 360 if you try to play a game before its release. sounds like something apple would do... or sony with their psp.... they just brick your product if you dont do what they want.

oh yeah, but i didnt realize that the 45 songs was actually a lot. not being a drummer, i started yesterday for the first time in my life. on easy. its not easy. so ill be playing thru all difficulty levels on that and for vocals, though ive sung many times in operas and plays. learning the lyrics of the modern crap music (2000s) and how the vocal system works is going to be daunting too. so 4 different plays thru on difficulty levels on that.

all that should take about a month. or so. theres plenty to do whilst you wait for dlc to come. one month is not going to kill you. man up, my frozen friend from the north. as bruce dickinson used to sing "Your time will come".

[Ultrace]

Put simply, the game wasn't set to be released in Canada, so neither is the DLC. Just because you managed to circumvent the release date doesn't mean they should accommodate you with the DLC as well. What kind of message would that send? Then we'd have someone else up here saying, "They even released the DLC in Canada. It's total bull that the game isn't coming out here until 12/20! Way to tease your loyal fans, Harmonix!"

[ShadowOfEden]

I'm in Canada and ordered the game monday, so I don't have it yet, but I think that the issue is also due to Microsoft. The DLC is available in Canada on the PS3.

MS is the one who overlooks canadians. They decided to make the US and Canada marketplace different, while they are both part of the same region, as far as video game regions go : North America.

The game is supposed to come out about half december. You can't blame Harmonix if there is no DLC content in a country where the game is not released yet.

[ShadowOfEden]

whereas sony is a dirty wh0re that will lift up its skirt for any sum of money.


That wasn't needed, especially considering that online is free on PS3, that PSN content is much more open to devs and that the console's price actually follow the Canadian dollar. (it's now identical to the american price, while the X360 is still more expensive in Canada). Also, MS's greediness is the reason the guitar is not wireless on the X360. They have to use MS's closed standards and pay to do so, while the PS3 supports any third party devices.

DLC is available on the PSN in Canada simply because Canada is part of North America as much as the US. It's not their fault that THIS game is getting released a month later while all other games are being released on the same day.

[Endofshift]

It's simple HMX has to convert all the lyrics so they are Bi-lingual... just like the game was delayed because of the non-french manual

As we speak Metallica are in the studio recording french vocal tracks to their songs.

[ShadowOfEden]

It's simple HMX has to convert all the lyrics so they are Bi-lingual... just like the game was delayed because of the non-french manual

As we speak Metallica are in the studio recording french vocal tracks to their songs.

Wtf? I'm french canadian, but I found that translating song is the worse idea EVER. Songs weren't made to be translated. My friend has guitar hero 3, the manual is in french, but all songs are in their original languages. I'm glad I imported the game off the US, so I won't have to change my PS3 to english just to have decent songs.

[mick123]

The frustrating aspect of the situation is we don't know because EA/Harmonix have said nothing about the situation. Is this a licensing issue? A simple oversight? A cost issue? Is it Microsoft's decision, or that of one of EA/MTV/Harmonix? It's entirely possible that the DLC could be made available to Canadians if someone from EA just called up MS and said, `hey, you know that content we put up this week? Yeah, make that available in Canada too please.' Or maybe not, we just don't know.

It seems particularly strange that the content is available on PSN but not Live, which, as others have noted, suggests that the reason isn't something intractable such as licensing issues.

Please, Harmonix PR guys, look into this and, on behalf of your Canadian customers, make the DLC available immediately on Live if it's at all feasible. If it isn't, a clear and plausible explanation why would be appreciated and, from your perspective, prevent several dozen more threads on this topic from appearing during the next month.

[nicko68]

It's simple HMX has to convert all the lyrics so they are Bi-lingual... just like the game was delayed because of the non-french manual

As we speak Metallica are in the studio recording french vocal tracks to their songs.

They also need to swap out some songs for good ol' Canadian content.

Bring on the Bryan Adams! :)

[nicko68]

I don't get it... people lived without DLC on GH1 (which only had 47 tracks), GHII (64) and GH80s (30... yes people complained about this one). You can't live without DLC on RB for ONE MONTH?

People are SO impatient.

Just play the 45 (?) songs you have now, it's more than some of us can play as it is.

[WiredRacing]

After this last defense of the point of the post, I won't say anything about it anymore (this could go on for pages and waste a lot of peoples time).

The concern is two fold, why aren't more people complaining about this issue which as myself and mick123 indicate should be as simple as "flipping a switch". This doesn't cost HMX money, require more programming, or QA or whatever to supply to us. But yet they can whine about lack of online BWT before even playing the game. Complain about the guitar cause they don't like it, or that the charts are too easy.

And the other side is that in light of the various other issues and lack of clarification, the delay here, etc..etc... could this possibly mean that release list doesn't even apply to Canada? Could it be possible we won't even get half those songs, or any of them. With the grand plans of a thousand songs over the coming years with this as a platform... is every release list going to be an issue of what Canadian rights were paid for and what wern't? (For all we know, PSN made a mistake making it available to Canada and it IS a licensing issue?!) I just don't think we can assume anything anymore until we hear it straight from the horses mouth.. futher showing what a bit of a PR disaster the press releases and Canadian delay have been. It's made a lot of people skeptical and seeing something this easy to address, be held back without explanation... just seems like more of the same.

On a side note, but a response to an ealier poster here..

Regarding the complaint about MS and splitting US and Canada marketplace... that makes COMPLETE sense to me, I see no issue with that. They are two different markets and in fact Canadians, in general, would likely be offended if they're automatically treated as the 51st state. Again there are legal issues that stem from the abilty to just blanket everything online and Canadian with the US marketplace. So they've done the right thing. It's just at the end of the day, the assumption here is we're supposed to get this content, there's no known logical reason to hold it from the Canadian XBL subscibers just because the exact same game that came out in the US is a month away from Canada. Be the excuse, packaging or meeting a supply demand for a successful rollout in each country.

I'm done now. Glad at least some people are thinking along the same line as I though...

[Ultrace]

Please, Harmonix PR guys, look into this and, on behalf of your Canadian customers, make the DLC available immediately on Live if it's at all feasible. If it isn't, a clear and plausible explanation why would be appreciated and, from your perspective, prevent several dozen more threads on this topic from appearing during the next month.
Do't hold your breath on that. There are more important issues that the HMX team is working on (non-functioning guitars and all that), not to mention that whenever an actual reason is listed for something to do with Canada (such as the release delay being due to printing in multiple languages), they just get attacked for it (and in some cases, threatened) anyway. I respect the tone of your post... If only so many of your fellow countrymen followed suit.

[ShadowOfEden]

Regarding the complaint about MS and splitting US and Canada marketplace... that makes COMPLETE sense to me, I see no issue with that. They are two different markets and in fact Canadians, in general, would likely be offended if they're automatically treated as the 51st state. Again there are legal issues that stem from the abilty to just blanket everything online and Canadian with the US marketplace. So they've done the right thing. It's just at the end of the day, the assumption here is we're supposed to get this content, there's no known logical reason to hold it from the Canadian XBL subscibers just because the exact same game that came out in the US is a month away from Canada. Be the excuse, packaging or meeting a supply demand for a successful rollout in each country.


Actually, Canadians are more offended when Americans say "America" and totally forget that America also includes Canada. Both countries are part of North America. When I log to the PS Store, I log to the North American store, NOT the US store. Thus I see no offense. Japaneses seem to know better that North America is not only the US, better than those living there.

[metalkorn]

Wtf? I'm french canadian, but I found that translating song is the worse idea EVER. Songs weren't made to be translated. My friend has guitar hero 3, the manual is in french, but all songs are in their original languages. I'm glad I imported the game off the US, so I won't have to change my PS3 to english just to have decent songs.

I think he was kidding

[Rock_Starman]

Yes, there is usually pre-release DLC, but not for in-game content. Have you ever seen a map pack go up before the game was released?

Samurai Warriors 2.

[BathTub]

Hey maybe they will make the price fairer by the time they put it up.

[Bakkster]

Samurai Warriors 2.

I stand corrected, but I still believe they have no incentive to push in-game DLC before release, no matter how simple.

[sushi111]

I do think its an outrage.

If I dont get to play My Iron Lung day 1 im going to kill babies.

[J-Rock]

What I think is more of an outrage is actually the prices. Why should canadians pay 65% more than u.s. residents? That's totally ridiculous. I was so looking forward to Rock Band but I haven't a single positive thing to say about it since it's not out yet in Canada. The only thing I'm left with is knowing that the GHIII guitar will not work with RB and if I want DLC I'll have to pay outrageous prices compared to U.S. residents.

[Ultrace]

What I think is more of an outrage is actually the prices. Why should canadians pay 65% more than u.s. residents? That's totally ridiculous. I was so looking forward to Rock Band but I haven't a single positive thing to say about it since it's not out yet in Canada. The only thing I'm left with is knowing that the GHIII guitar will not work with RB and if I want DLC I'll have to pay outrageous prices compared to U.S. residents.
Yeah, but, and not to get too political, we have to deal with our government and worldwide reputation. I think it more than evens out in the end.

[J-Rock]

I don't think your worldwide reputation has anything to do with how canadians are getting screwed on DLC prices.

The worst will come when Harmonix puts out some songs at 0,99$. This means they will be sold at 1,99$ in Canada. That's double the price (120% increase if considering the actual strength of the canadian dollar). Seriously, why should canadians pay double for the same thing as U.S. residents?

[JustinCredible]

Canada's population ---

If HMX knew ---, WHY THE #@%! did no one speak up.

All due respect to HMXSean and the others who have to put up with the trivial complaints and may not even have known about this issue or others... but as their job on the forum IS P.R.... this is a serious issue that's really tarnishing the reputation of why I believe(d) to be a respectable company. So while I don't blame you guys personally, you do appear to be the go-to people here.

Obviously the forum is for the fanaticals... and they're the most vocal base for the game. They're the ones that'll run in the streets recommending the game.

Please.. tell me, how can obmitting Canada --- can be justified... If it IS ---... what the hell does this mean for us in Canada, and the folks in Europe when it comes to --- in the future.

What's the gods honest scoop here?

Fill in "---" with whatever.

No point in making these threads until Harmoix's/EA/MTV Games PR personnel find the time to focus on Canada... and all answers seem to point to next month... maybe. Check your retailer for more information.

[ShadowOfEden]

I don't think your worldwide reputation has anything to do with how canadians are getting screwed on DLC prices.

The worst will come when Harmonix puts out some songs at 0,99$. This means they will be sold at 1,99$ in Canada. That's double the price (120% increase if considering the actual strength of the canadian dollar). Seriously, why should canadians pay double for the same thing as U.S. residents?

On the PS Store, songs that are 2$ for the US are 3$ in Canada. That's BS! (And don't blame Sony, they don't make up the prices. They'll be the same price on XBL) I'm wondering if my PS Store account has to match my credit card address, does anyone know? If not, I'll just create an american account and will pay the US value with the exchange rate. Everyone should do this, that way they would get even less money than if they would match US prices, like most companies do now. That will teach them!

[nicko68]

Seriously, why should canadians pay double for the same thing as U.S. residents?

They used to blame the value of the Canadian dollar vs. the US, but that excuse is out the window now.

[MF-PO'd]

On the PS Store, songs that are 2$ for the US are 3$ in Canada. That's BS! (And don't blame Sony, they don't make up the prices. They'll be the same price on XBL) I'm wondering if my PS Store account has to match my credit card address, does anyone know? If not, I'll just create an american account and will pay the US value with the exchange rate. Everyone should do this, that way they would get even less money than if they would match US prices, like most companies do now. That will teach them!

Actually, I think it is Sony (or MS) that set the currency differences for their various stores. Harmonix only announced prices of $1.99 and $5.49. I think Sony takes that and coverts it into however many stores are selling in different currencies. Clearly they wish to continue to gouge us though. Even when the Canadian dollar was at its worst, a $2 -- $3 conversion was NEVER acceptable. I will not let them take advantage of me like that.

I have a U.S. account and tried to purchase from there, but unfortunately it fails. I suspect it's either doing a check of my CC billing address vs. PSN address or it just knows that my card is Canadian and won't accept it. I've heard someone say you can use a U.S. credit card, but I don't have one to confirm.

[angry-boss]

Canadians we need to show dicipline here and teach them a lesson! Refuse to purchase any DLC until the price at LEAST is equal with the US price. I love how the US is almost making it seem like it's a priviledge or favour when something is even priced or slightly more expensive then the US price, hello our dollar is MORE powerful if anything WE should be getting the price discount! Don't kid yourself, any smart Canadian will not purchase any DLC whatsoever. And for those that do, keep getting $hit on, they'll only keep doing it since they know impatient no self control people like you will buy it no matter what unjustified price they set!

[WiredRacing]

I just want to say, for the record, I have no complaints about the price... yet. :)

[Mimglow]

I just want to say, for the record, I have no complaints about the price... yet. :)


Neither do I. Things are priced differently for different regions all the time, in all businesses. That's capitalism, and we have to accept the bad with the good.

In this case, the prices seem reasonable to me.

[NattyLight]

Please.. tell me, how can obmitting Canada from the DLC can be justified (release date should have squat to do with it.


Did you just invent a word?

[WiredRacing]

Did you just invent a word?

-b, Jesus, is that what this has come to? Posting about spelling mistakes? Here I'll invent another one... ricockulous. As in, your post is so ridiculous, it's ricockulous.

[NattyLight]

-b, Jesus, is that what this has come to? Posting about spelling mistakes? Here I'll invent another one... ricockulous. As in, your post is so ridiculous, it's ricockulous.

It's not a spelling mistake if you actually thought it was a word. Are your fingers actually so large that they covered three keys while you were trying to press "M"?


To your topic. The game hasn't been released in Canada yet so you aren't entitled to ANY extras until it is released in your area.

[WiredRacing]

Well last I knew, omit would be in context and omitting a letter in the word or switching the location of letters or adding a letter would all be considered a SPELLING MISTAKE. Gooder is inventing a word, Halapeno is a spelling mistake... make sense now?

As to why I misspelled it, I personally have a series of words I frequently misspell. Seeing as how I type at about an 80wpm rate, a lot of my words get misspelled. Seeing as how the Rock Band forums aren't my resume, or thesis, or an inter-office memorandum...balls to you I say.

Another mistake I often make is actually responding to this kind of ****. That's something I'll never learn to do properly either.

[MF-PO'd]

It's not a spelling mistake if you actually thought it was a word. Are your fingers actually so large that they covered three keys while you were trying to press "M"?


To your topic. The game hasn't been released in Canada yet so you aren't entitled to ANY extras until it is released in your area.

To his defense, the extras ARE available on the Canadian PlayStation Store. It's hard to say someone isn't entitled to something when one company is clearly offering them for sale even before the game is out.

[J-Rock]

To your topic. The game hasn't been released in Canada yet so you aren't entitled to ANY extras until it is released in your area.

Yeah, we're not even entitled to the game yet because Harmonix didnt not want U.S. residents to run out of games so they pushed back the release date north of the border. We can't even ask for the game on time so why should we complain about the outrageous prices now? Let's wait for the game to be released first!

[Maherj]

I'm totally missing something in these posts, but where is it stated that the MS Points per song are different in Canada? Can someone point me to a post?

If the points are the same in US and Canada, then why is this Harmonix' fault? Microsoft charges money per points...

How is this any different then GH2?

[ShadowOfEden]

Canadians we need to show dicipline here and teach them a lesson! Refuse to purchase any DLC until the price at LEAST is equal with the US price. I love how the US is almost making it seem like it's a priviledge or favour when something is even priced or slightly more expensive then the US price, hello our dollar is MORE powerful if anything WE should be getting the price discount! Don't kid yourself, any smart Canadian will not purchase any DLC whatsoever. And for those that do, keep getting $hit on, they'll only keep doing it since they know impatient no self control people like you will buy it no matter what unjustified price they set!

Sony matched the price of the PS3 all over Canada, I'm wondering why they would forget about their network, but seeing how everything is more advanced in the canadian PS Store, Sony probably has something to do with it. Stores like Best Buy match american prices, so I buy my games there now and save 10$, but we don't have the freedom to buy where we want on networks...

[WiredRacing]

I agree as it relates to the 360 and MS Points (which is why I'm not actually complaining about the price as well). But it does appear there is a serious pricing issue on the PS3 via PSN. I'm not sure how it can *not* be linked to sony as it seems just about everything on the PS3 (from what I've read) is $1 more in Canada. So it almost seems like a rule of thumb and therefore that would have to be an issue from sony. That said.. I thought you could decide waht currency to purchase in on the PSN? I'm guessing that's not the case, but I thought I had read that somewhere.. perhaps out of context?

[espher]

Even when the Canadian dollar was at its worst, a $2 -- $3 conversion was NEVER acceptable. I will not let them take advantage of me like that.

Just to nitpick, when the Canadian dollar was at its worst, that conversion was acceptable. The USD was hovering at about USD$1.00 to CAD$1.51.

That being said, that was a short period a while back. :)

[Mimglow]

My buddy just thought of something.

Could you not create a new live account with a US address with 1 month free gold xbox live, then purchase MS points cards to get the DLC?

EDIT: I honestly can't find the fault in this plan, unless the code used to activate the points is Canada specific, and somehow blocks the DLC purchase? I should have bought some cards when I bought RB in Watertown!!

[MF-PO'd]

Just to nitpick, when the Canadian dollar was at its worst, that conversion was acceptable. The USD was hovering at about USD$1.00 to CAD$1.51.

That being said, that was a short period a while back. :)

Fair enough. :) Those were some brutal times for our dollar.

[ShadowOfEden]

I agree as it relates to the 360 and MS Points (which is why I'm not actually complaining about the price as well). But it does appear there is a serious pricing issue on the PS3 via PSN. I'm not sure how it can *not* be linked to sony as it seems just about everything on the PS3 (from what I've read) is $1 more in Canada. So it almost seems like a rule of thumb and therefore that would have to be an issue from sony. That said.. I thought you could decide waht currency to purchase in on the PSN? I'm guessing that's not the case, but I thought I had read that somewhere.. perhaps out of context?

I don't think you can select the currency yourself, it is selected automatically based on the country you entered when creating your account. So you get canadian prices for saying you were in Canada. But I'm wondering if the credit card address as to match the account address, if not my credit card could purchase things off a US account. It is the same network and the same items, but they are priced higher for entering Canada in your profile. That's BS.

[J-Rock]

Ebay.ca manages to adjust the prices with the actual worth of the canadian dollar. Why can't the PSN? A 65% increase instead of paying the same price they're paying south of the border, no one can see this as fair.

[Mimglow]

My buddy just thought of something.

Could you not create a new live account with a US address with 1 month free gold xbox live, then purchase MS points cards to get the DLC?

EDIT: I honestly can't find the fault in this plan, unless the code used to activate the points is Canada specific, and somehow blocks the DLC purchase? I should have bought some cards when I bought RB in Watertown!!

No one knows whether or not this will work? Or is everyone too scared to find a way to dupe The Man?

Come on, where is that rebellious rock n roll spirit? :D

[Lazerus101]

Sorry but think yourselves DAMN lucky you can even play the GAME right now. You will get the DLC when the game officially ships in your region.
Those of us in Europe are stuffed because we dont know when it WILL be released and on top of that we cant import it due to region locks unless we are willing to buy an import console on TOP of the game.

AND we get a MUCH worse deal on DLC pricing.

[Mimglow]

Sorry but think yourselves DAMN lucky you can even play the GAME right now. You will get the DLC when the game officially ships in your region.
Those of us in Europe are stuffed because we dont know when it WILL be released and on top of that we cant import it due to region locks unless we are willing to buy an import console on TOP of the game.

AND we get a MUCH worse deal on DLC pricing.

So let me see if I understand: Because your misery is greater than ours, we should just sit on our hands and accept our lot it life? This is what you're saying, right?

I think it's terrible you guys and girls in Europe/Aussie have to wait longer. But to suggest that we should just be happy and to shut it is a little much.

Not trying to start a flame war, but I thought your intervention was ridiculous. I do hope you get the game soon so we can rock out together.

[WiredRacing]

Us having it doesn't invalidate the issue(s). If you want to start the locality complain game, I'll take your cheap $100 flights or cheap overnight TGV trains to places like Amsterdam or Paris or the south of France, or Italy or Germany.. I drive 5 hours and the best I can do is Ottawa, Detroit or Buffalo. Oh and then there's your Civic Type-R's. Sweet hot hatches, Etc...etc... over Rock Band 3-4 months earlier or a couple extra bucks for DLC. Nothing says you can't import the game, just like I did (and a machine... but at least you don't need NSTC anymore). People do it here all the time for Japanese releases.. be happy the game's in English. :)

Sorry you've got to wait but leave us to lick our wounds... this is nothing new for anyone overseas... getting the shaft on a video game is pretty rare here for us.

[whofan]

Lazerous has a darn good point. Be happy you can play the game at all right now. Europe/Australia don't get to play it at all for another couple months and the other 99% of Canada won't get to play it until December.

Let's face it, the game hasn't even been officially shipped up here and thus Canadian DLC for that 1% just doesn't make much sense. Microsoft probably charges some kind of fee on DLC (after all, it is housed on their servers) and thus Canadian DLC (which is separate from the American ones) just doesn't make sense here.

Besides, isn't this very akin to someone who got the game before the official US street date complaining about a lack of DLC? You've essentially broken the street date, because it hasn't been officially shipped to Canada, for Canada by importing your copy.

Besides, there's 45+ Songs on the disc, I'm sure everybody can find something to entertain them until the DLC does get released up here.

Whining about this just makes you look petty and makes it seem that you don't appreciate having the game at all when most of us up here in Canada are still waiting for it.

[Mimglow]

Lazerous has a darn good point. Be happy you can play the game at all right now. Europe/Australia don't get to play it at all for another couple months and the other 99% of Canada won't get to play it until December.

Let's face it, the game hasn't even been officially shipped up here and thus Canadian DLC for that 1% just doesn't make much sense. Microsoft probably charges some kind of fee on DLC (after all, it is housed on their servers) and thus Canadian DLC (which is separate from the American ones) just doesn't make sense here.

Besides, isn't this very akin to someone who got the game before the official US street date complaining about a lack of DLC? You've essentially broken the street date, because it hasn't been officially shipped to Canada, for Canada by importing your copy.

Besides, there's 45+ Songs on the disc, I'm sure everybody can find something to entertain them until the DLC does get released up here.

Whining about this just makes you look petty and makes it seem that you don't appreciate having the game at all when most of us up here in Canada are still waiting for it.

I guess we should all just stop complaining about ANYTHING because there is a little kid in central Africa who cannot even dream of getting Rock Band - ever. This is the logical conclusion of your reasoning.

I was told I would not be able to get the game until December 20th, two weeks before I was set to get the game on November 20th. If I had employed your attitude and decided to just accept it, I would not have the game right now. But no, I got off my *ss and did something about it. Granted, not everyone has the means to do what I did. Fine. I'm sorry if my ressourcefulness offends you.

Am I happy I have the game? HELL YEAH! I love the game. I love it so much I want more of it. What's so wrong with that?

Instead I'm essentially being told "You bad little Canadian, did you not know that the copy of Rock Band you purchased was meant to go to an American, and boost our numbers for Black Friday". I have suggestions on what you can do with that line of reasoning.

[mick123]

Pointing out that some people don't have the game is completely irrelevant.

Pointing out that the game isn't widely available in Canada is completely irrelevant.

We don't know whether or not it costs anything to simply make content available on Live, nor whether making something available in Canada presents an additional cost over making it available in the U.S. It probably does not: MS charges a proportion of the revenues made on Live, not a flat fee unrelated to downloads. But if they do charge a large fee unrelated to number of downloads such that it is reasonable to currently withhold content, it would be nice to be told that.

Pointing out there are also games to play on the disc is completely irrelevant.

Yet again, there are thousands of Canadians who own the game and would like to purchase downloadable content. It is reasonable to wonder why do not have access to that content and reasonable to pose that question here. We await an answer. If the question doesn't interest you, it serves no purpose to post here: you just annoy people for no reason.

Why don't you guys wonder off to the very popular guitar compatibility threads and fill them with remarks like, "What are you *****ing about? I don't even have the game! You should feel lucky you can play at all!" I'm sure the people affected by that issue will be every bit as happy with your presence as we are.

[whofan]

Absolutely nothing. You got it, great! You found a way around your initial issue, Amazing! I applaud you (I'm being very serious here, I'm not being sarcastic at all).

However, I don't believe that you should be complaining about the lack of DLC just yet because the game has not be released in the region you live in. If you were complaining after December, I would fully support you. Unfortunately I can not.

Mick, I HIGHLY doubt that the number of people in Canada who currently own Rock Band is in the thousands. Hundreds, maybe, but not the thousands

[Mimglow]

Absolutely nothing. You got it, great! You found a way around your initial issue, Amazing! I applaud you (I'm being very serious here, I'm not being sarcastic at all).

However, I don't believe that you should be complaining about the lack of DLC just yet because the game has not be released in the region you live in. If you were complaining after December, I would fully support you. Unfortunately I can not.

Fair enough. I will continue to look for solutions, though. Do you know if the process I brought up earlier in this thread would work?

[whofan]

Unfortunately I do not know that information, as I've never tried it myself. It could be worth a try though. Remember, it could possibly lead to you being banned from Xbox Live for a period of time depending on how Microsoft wants to view it.

Keep looking for solutions, by all means, and if you find one I will applaud your ingenuity, creativity and inventiveness.

Again, just to be clear, I'm not being sarcastic. If you're doing more than just complaining then I have no beef.

[Lazerus101]

So let me see if I understand: Because your misery is greater than ours, we should just sit on our hands and accept our lot it life? This is what you're saying, right?

I think it's terrible you guys and girls in Europe/Aussie have to wait longer. But to suggest that we should just be happy and to shut it is a little much.

Not trying to start a flame war, but I thought your intervention was ridiculous. I do hope you get the game soon so we can rock out together.


Okay its OBVIOUS you didnt understand the point of my argument.

We dont have DLC here in Europe. Following me so far?
The reason for that is because we dont have the game in our region yet. Still with me?
You dont have DLC in Canada yet. Because you ARENT SUPPOSED TO HAVE THE GAME YET.

The fact that you skipped happily across the border to pick it up is why you dont have the DLC. The game isnt SUPPOSED to be out there yet. So the DLC isnt out there yet.
Learn a little patience and be happy with the songs you HAVE. The DLC will be out when the game comes out there.

[Mimglow]

Okay its OBVIOUS you didnt understand the point of my argument.

We dont have DLC here in Europe. Following me so far?
The reason for that is because we dont have the game in our region yet. Still with me?
You dont have DLC in Canada yet. Because you ARENT SUPPOSED TO HAVE THE GAME YET.

The fact that you skipped happily across the border to pick it up is why you dont have the DLC. The game isnt SUPPOSED to be out there yet. So the DLC isnt out there yet.
Learn a little patience and be happy with the songs you HAVE. The DLC will be out when the game comes out there.

Thank you for your patronizing post. I finally understand you now. Us colonists aren't too quick on the uptake, huh? Please send food.

[J-Rock]

Lazerous has a darn good point. Be happy you can play the game at all right now. Europe/Australia don't get to play it at all for another couple months and the other 99% of Canada won't get to play it until December.

So this basically say "don't complain because you get shafted on DLC (availibility/360, prices/PS3) you haven't got the game up there yet. Remember you got shafted on the release date too! They pushed it back one month for you all lucky canadians, you have no reason to complain at all".

[mick123]

Absolutely nothing. You got it, great! You found a way around your initial issue, Amazing! I applaud you (I'm being very serious here, I'm not being sarcastic at all).


I have no idea at all what you're talking about.



However, I don't believe that you should be complaining about the lack of DLC just yet because the game has not be released in the region you live in.


Fine. That's your (incoherent and nonsensical) opinion. You and other people have now repeated it many, many times. Is there some reason you're still here? Just so I know, how many more times do you plan to repeat this argument?




Mick, I HIGHLY doubt that the number of people in Canada who currently own Rock Band is in the thousands. Hundreds, maybe, but not the thousands

There are thousands available on Ebay, plus numerous internet vendors, plus all the people who simply drove to the States and brought one back. Ballpark numbers: suppose the initial shipment was 200,000 units (a conservative estimate since MTV has stated they expect to sell at least 900,000 units by the end of the year, and retailers report they do not expect much resupply by that time). We would expect that, had Canada received a share proportional to its share of population, we would have received about 20,000 of those. If merely 5% of the people who would have bought the game had it been in stores did buy it through Ebay or any other channel, then at least 1,000 Canadians own the game. And I would guess that 5% is much too low a proportion. If I had to guess, I'd say on the order of 5,000 Canadian households currently own the game. Notice I can be off by a lot on any of these guesses and we're still going to be in the thousands range for Canadian ownership.

Suggesting it's plausible that not even 100 Canadians own the game is just plain silly.

[Zakuen]

I think more aren't complaining simply because they can't get a hold of the game. So as stated, who are we to complain when we don't even have the game yet. (Granted, part of me still wants to complain cause I don't think its right). Considering the shortage of availability and the fact that there's a delay here, not enough Canadians will have the game yet. Believe me, if it were the same release day and the same thing happened I'm sure there'd be a lot more vocal people over the DLC. However, as I can't get the game for another month (If we're lucky... in the back of my head I still belive it'll be delayed til 2008 but no one will say so), complaining at this point seems pointless. Also, complaints and whining tend to get locked away.

Though I really do feel for you that have the game, and I don't see the reason for holding back DLC either. It's not like there's going to be a shortage for DLC or anything, so to hold it back seems pointless to me. Given how Canada seems to be treated when it comes to Rock Band I have to wonder if someone higher up really hates Canadians or something, maybe some Canadian girl dumped him way back.

Yeah, some clarification would be really nice, but not many game companies are known for that, and if you're a Dev, you've got to be very careful with what you say as it could get you in trouble with the Publishers or higher ups. So most of them just keep quiet. Even the PR on here I'm sure has to talk to 10-20 different people before they're allowed to say something to the rest of us, so it takes time. If I'm wrong.. well then I really do wish they'd speak up more and let us know whats going on. I was the biggest Rock Band fan before all this, and the issues with Canadians has really left me a little bitter about it all.

[ShadowOfEden]

Sorry but think yourselves DAMN lucky you can even play the GAME right now. You will get the DLC when the game officially ships in your region.
Those of us in Europe are stuffed because we dont know when it WILL be released and on top of that we cant import it due to region locks unless we are willing to buy an import console on TOP of the game.

AND we get a MUCH worse deal on DLC pricing.

But the fact is that Canada and the US are part of the same gaming/electronics go. iPhone I can understand the delay, because Canadian networks weren't ready for it yet, but there isn't such an issue for Rock Band. Every other games have a NA release date, not a separate US and Canadian launch, while games, especially not region free games (every consoles except PS3) must be adapted for Europe, so European delays are nothing new. Come back when it hits certain countries of the PAL aera but not yours.

[J-Rock]

But the fact is that Canada and the US are part of the same gaming/electronics go. iPhone I can understand the delay, because Canadian networks weren't ready for it yet, but there isn't such an issue for Rock Band. Every other games have a NA release date, not a separate US and Canadian launch, while games, especially not region free games (every consoles except PS3) must be adapted for Europe, so European delays are nothing new. Come back when it hits certain countries of the PAL aera but not yours.

Is that a first? For a game to receive two different release dates in America?

I feel for the European/Australian DLC prices. It's seems the rest of the world just cant get a fair deal. Even when their money are worth more than the U.S. dollar.

[whofan]

Mick,
I feel you're taking this way too personally and the personal attacks against me are completely unwarranted here.

I still believe that the actual number of Canadians who own this game are in the hundreds somewhere, maybe the high hundreds, but still in the hundreds.

You also have to consider things from a business perspective. We don't know how the Live service is run, nor how everything works and thus we can't assume that they're just trying to screw Canada over.

Again, I stand by my assertation that they obviously feel that it's not in their best interests (one way or another) to release DLC in a region where the game still has not been officially released.

[WiredRacing]

Sounds like a lot of sour grapes to me.

Plain and simple... We have it, told HMX we would go south for it (instead of whining about the date) and no one said boo. It's on PSN right now, but not XBL. This is an easy fix, the release date is ultimately irrelevant so long as we're supposed to get the content on the 20th anyhow. There's no additional costs associated with it now that wouldn't be there on the 20th. This is digital distribution, it's a flag in a database, there's no play testing needed, the disc will be exactly the same as what the US got. Where's the DLC? Are we still getting the same DLC as the US? When will it be available. I'd like to see an OFFICIAL (in the know) statement with assurances.. not a "it *should* be available x" or the complete silence we have now. We're customers, just like the yanks. Paid the same amount of money.. in fact paid it into the US economy.. I just want to know what the deal is.

The release date thing is BS because it's on PSN. So enough with that made-up guesswork of an explanation, join the mob or watch from the sidelines... You're not HMX/MTV/EA or MS and you're not Canadian.. this is a two way conversation (well one way right now) you can ABC your way out of it. Go start your own thread with the subject "Boohooo it'll be months before we get this game, just like EVERY OTHER american produced game every released in the history of time". Or the "I live in B-F nowwhere, Canada and I don't want to drive or shell out an ebay premium for the game so I'm going to continue to complain about the release delay" (which of course nothing can be done about now.. can it?).

BTW.. look into the company "U.S. Address". Great way to get "shipped within the United States only" stuff.

This is a fixable issue. The easiest in the history of current gen video gaming I'd bet.

[ShadowOfEden]

Is that a first? For a game to receive two different release dates in America?

I feel for the European/Australian DLC prices. It's seems the rest of the world just cant get a fair deal. Even when their money are worth more than the U.S. dollar.

I don't know if it's a first, but it's the first time it happened to a game I care about.

[whofan]

I have never complained about the Canadian delay, nor have I complained about the DLC delay either.

What I have tried to do, and obviously failed to get through some of the thick skulls here, is provide an explanation as to why it MAY not have been posted on the Canadian Live yet. I still find it rediculous that those who went to the extra trouble of getting the game now feel like something is owed to them, like so many here seem to.

Anyways, I'm done with this whole issue as it doesn't seem to sink in with some people that you guys are owed absolutely nothing by the company and they have their release schedule in mind and will release it when they feel like it. Plain and simple, no point in complaining about it.

Again, this is not aimed at those who are attempting to fix the issue on their own or use alternate means of attempting to obtain the DLC (petition might a good place to start) rather than all these angry threads threatening harm to HMX employees if you don't get what you want. Yes, make your voice be heard, but do it constructively!

Signing Out...

[WiredRacing]

Threatening to harm HMX employees? Not in my thread.

The issue is kind of the "when they feel like it" and 'release schedule in mind". We're all under the impression we will get the same DLC, but I think a number of us expected it to be available day 1 (even on the US release). The fact it's not there, coupled with the last minute delay announcement and silence on issues that would befall early Canadian adopters is troublesome and I know personally, I'd like some answers seeing as how I've invested my money into the game with a number of assumptions and no indication to thing otherwise. Hell I'd be happy right now just knowing all the same songs will be available on Dec 17-20th, but we don't even know that now.

BTW, I do not believe the US XBL account thing will work as DLC is regionally coded and unless your home region (the one your machine is locked to.. I believe via the first Credit Card/ADdress you used) it won't sell it, and you would need US MS points. It may even just trace back your IP for geographic location....

That said, I do have US MS Points (I didn't know there was a difference until the other day) but I gues I'll have to use it all for Video Marketplace (which was supposed to launch here this month) and Arcade titles.

[WiredRacing]

BTW, I would like to point out the obvious but perhaps overlooked issue here. The longer there's silence on various issues the more misinformation that will get spread which will negatively affect general public opinion on the game. At this stage, and it's not a threat, but I'd have to tell anyone looking to buy the game to consider waiting (if there isn't a shortage issue) to see what the DLC situation is going to be. Again, for all we know, PSN made a mistake and there are licensing issues with those songs and Canada shouldn't have access to them period, let alone a couple days ago.

Again, the PR effort is really half assed (and again, I'm not speaking about anyone personally, I'm sure they're doing all they can but are constrained without lack of information of ability to speak forthright about things... so it's more a general policy issue).

I have to expect HMX expected this to be the biggest game of the year. EA have to have expected this too (though maybe they only care about sales #'s)? And all these little things have made a really rough launch, and during the holidays too...

But yeah at the end of the day, I'd rather HMX spend time fixing strumming issues or the little bug on Mystery Setlists if you didn't play solo or whatever.. but I just know the fix here is SPECIFIC to XBL at this point and just seems more like an oversight and has nothing to do with a release date.

[ShadowOfEden]

Again, for all we know, PSN made a mistake and there are licensing issues with those songs and Canada shouldn't have access to them period, let alone a couple days ago.

I think Sony and MS are both in their rights.

MS has a Marketplace for Canada and US. The game isn't out in out in Canada, so it is perfectly fair that they give DLC of an unreleased game. That the game should be released in Canada or not is not MS's problem.

Sony has a single store for North America. Canada and US are both part of that region, so when something is added for the US, it must be added on the NA store, making it available in Canada as well. Harmonix couldn't have made something available in the US only.

So both companies are in their rights.

[mick123]

Mick,
I feel you're taking this way too personally and the personal attacks against me are completely unwarranted here.


I didn't make any personal attacks against you or anyone else. Here's an example of a personal attack: "What I have tried to do, and obviously failed to get through some of the thick skulls around here." See, saying an argument is "ridiculous" is an attack on the argument, not the arguer. Saying someone has a "thick skull" is an attack on a person. Get it?




I still believe that the actual number of Canadians who own this game are in the hundreds somewhere, maybe the high hundreds, but still in the hundreds.


How can anyone argue against such an elaborate and compelling quantitative argument?

Anecdote: walked into EB today to pick up Crysis. Cancelled my Rock Band preorder while doing so. Kid: "Did you buy one from the States?" Me: "Yup." Kid: "Yeah, we're getting a lot of that."




You also have to consider things from a business perspective. We don't know how the Live service is run, nor how everything works and thus we can't assume that they're just trying to screw Canada over.


For the n-th time, there is a difference between "trying to screw Canada over" and indifference or simple oversight. But I and others have said this before.




Again, I stand by my assertation that they obviously feel that it's not in their best interests (one way or another) to release DLC in a region where the game still has not been officially released.

That's very nice: you have an unsubstantiated guess as to why the DLC isn't available in Canada. You and others have made it many, many times. Neither this post nor anything else you've said in this or related threads serves any purpose other than annoying other community members. Why are you still posting?

[Zakuen]

BTW, I would like to point out the obvious but perhaps overlooked issue here. The longer there's silence on various issues the more misinformation that will get spread which will negatively affect general public opinion on the game. At this stage, and it's not a threat, but I'd have to tell anyone looking to buy the game to consider waiting (if there isn't a shortage issue) to see what the DLC situation is going to be. Again, for all we know, PSN made a mistake and there are licensing issues with those songs and Canada shouldn't have access to them period, let alone a couple days ago.


I'd be lying here if there wasn't some truth to the silence issue. I'll be honest... a friend was considering getting Guitar Hero 3 for her boyfriend for Christmas, and part of me was all ready to say 'No!! Don't, wait for Rock Band!'. I'm pretty disappointed with GH3s song selection, and was really looking forward to RBs. I have another friend who's been waiting anxiously for the game as well, and they don't check out these sites at all, so he has no clues about the delays or why its happening other than what EB says, (or the fact I told him when I found out only a week or so ago).

So I thought about the delay, problems with DLC (Not having any right now and/or Pricing), the people talking about Guitar Strum Bar issues, all this going on right now, and the fact no one says anything to us. And while I mentioned I was still looking forward to Rock Band, I told her if it's for Christmas she's probably better off getting GH3, simply because I doubt she'd be able to get a copy before 2008. If someone had taken the time to assure us on release dates or what was going on I might have spoken differently.

[Lazerus101]

Actually you could be wrong on that one... Dont Canadian games have some requirement to have a French language option?

I know I once imported a game from over there and the two language options were English and French.
The delay could very well be translation and UI optimisation to deal WITH the translation.

Thats the usual excuse for European releases anyway.
Yes maybe you think the DLC should be available to you. But as far as the distributors care. Canadians dont HAVE Rock Band yet so dont need the DLC. The fact that some of you DO is beside the point.

[Rock_Starman]

"It may even just trace back your IP for geographic location...."

It does. Just try to DL a movie trailer.
Also to answer someone else's question,yes this has happend before with GH 1 and Vagrant Story.

[WiredRacing]

There is no requirement for French to exist IN the game. The packaging just has to, so the francophones know what it is. Therefore that particular issue does not relate in any way to DLC.

[J-Rock]

Actually you could be wrong on that one... Dont Canadian games have some requirement to have a French language option?

Nope, only the packaging needs to have a french translation (and the original english text).
Ubisoft, since they're based in Montreal tend to have a french language option in their games and more more studios seem to follow trend but it isnt a requirement.

[Rock_Starman]

So how'd they get away with selling Mass Effect? Intrestingly enough Future Shop has been the only place that's had it.

[metalkorn]

I tend to think they only enforce this on non-canadian games.

i.e. Bioware makes Mass Effect and they are a canadian company.
I also don't think i have ever seen an EA Canada game with multi language packaging. I mean is NHL 08 actually called LHN 08 or whatever the abreviation is in Canada on french packaging.... i think not.

Also NHL 08 is not translated in French in game btw

[ShadowOfEden]

"It may even just trace back your IP for geographic location...."

It does. Just try to DL a movie trailer.
Also to answer someone else's question,yes this has happend before with GH 1 and Vagrant Story.

I can assure you that Vagrant Story didn't. It's my second favorite game ever and I was looking foward to it months before it was released in the states. I was checking Gamespot at the time and I rushed to Walmart as soon as the review was out (it got like 9.6). It was, at most, a day or two later the US release.


Actually you could be wrong on that one... Dont Canadian games have some requirement to have a French language option?

I know I once imported a game from over there and the two language options were English and French.
The delay could very well be translation and UI optimisation to deal WITH the translation.

Thats the usual excuse for European releases anyway.
Yes maybe you think the DLC should be available to you. But as far as the distributors care. Canadians dont HAVE Rock Band yet so dont need the DLC. The fact that some of you DO is beside the point.

Nope, it's not a must. Most games do not have french in the game at all, only in the manual and on the cover. Most PS3 games have language options, but that's not country based, it's based on your console's setting. Put your console in German and you'll get German voice overs, no matter where you live.




Unless anyone here happens to be a PS3 developer, then I would stress that they have no idea how complex or not fixing this issue is, or whether there is a legitimate problem with the way RO developed the LP. If you are in fact a PS3 developer, feel free to pop up and tell us all how you easily fix the problem.

Well, I am not a PS3 dev, but I am a programmer. I don't work in the game industry, but I like to code games in my free times. While handling the CPU changes, there's alot of things that remains the same no matter if you are coding for Windows, PS3 or X360. It is true that some controllers send different signals, especially on PC where there's so many different controllers. I have a PC controller, looking a lot like a Dualshock and I sometimes use my PS3 controller on my PC. They both send different signal when I press the same buttons. To support both controllers in my games, I created an object associated to each controllers where in one I can associate button 13 to the jump button variable, and for the other controller, button 8 will be put in the jump button variable, since they are at the same position on the controller.

I can ask DirectX information about the controller, and do a if-else if on the information I get from the controller. Okay, the PS3 doesn't use DirectX, so MAYBE it cannot get enough info from a controller to make the difference between two different guitars. But, the game could have an option where the user manually says that he is using LP. That would be even easier to do.

I don't think the LP has a firmware (can anyone confirm?), like the Sixaxis controller, so I don't think you could just update the guitar and GH3 for it to work on Rockband. They could update their guitar, make a patch in the game if you have the old or new model, but people who already own one would be screwed.

[J-Rock]

With regards with the overpricing of DLC in Canada, I think what I'll do is try to contact the ECA. This has got to stop. Everyone needs to be treated fairly and equally in regards to DLC (I know release dates are another matter but there's no excuse on DLC).

[Rock_Starman]

I checked on Vagrant Story after that post. The reviews were out in febuary but apprently the release date was may? I know we didn't get it untill may here and was told that was why but if the US date was may too then I guess that wasn't it.

[mick123]

Another week, another batch of DLC, another failure to make same available in Canada. The game's now available at Amazon Canada (http://www.amazon.ca/Rock-Band/dp/B000TT2D0M/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1196186991&sr=8-1), and many Canadians have imported it.

How about giving us a chance to give you more money, Harmonix?

[Bakkster]

Another week, another batch of DLC, another failure to make same available in Canada. The game's now available at Amazon Canada (http://www.amazon.ca/Rock-Band/dp/B000TT2D0M/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1196186991&sr=8-1), and many Canadians have imported it.

How about giving us a chance to give you more money, Harmonix?

Oh, you did NOT just resurrect a thread just because it's a Tuesday, did you? Seriously?

This makes me a sad panda :(

[CableCarrier]

I'm puzzled at the outrage here. You're mad because you can't buy the DLC for a game that isn't even officially released in your country yet? I sympathize with the plight of the Canadian people, but come on.

[mick123]

Bakkster: shoo, kid.

Cable: the point is there are people in Canada who want to buy the DLC, and people who want to make money selling the game. It's mutually advantageous to make the DLC available here. Is it really very, very difficult to understand that there are Canadians who'd like to purchase the DLC and are asking here that it be made available for purchase?

[Ultrace]

Is it really very, very difficult to understand that there are Canadians who'd like to purchase the DLC and are asking here that it be made available for purchase?
No more difficult to understand than the fact that the DLC should be available at the time of the game's official launch in Canada. But apparently some people can't quite fathom it... Perhaps you can explain it to them since you're good with these logical leaps.

[Bakkster]

Bakkster: shoo, kid.

Cable: the point is there are people in Canada who want to buy the DLC, and people who want to make money selling the game. It's mutually advantageous to make the DLC available here. Is it really very, very difficult to understand that there are Canadians who'd like to purchase the DLC and are asking here that it be made available for purchase?

1) ROFL

2) The point is that people imported the game from another country which does NOT share a common XBL or PSN marketplace. Name ONE other game that made DLC available to importers.

[WiredRacing]

Mick: Yeah they just don't get it. I'm not going to repeat myself here (as you shouldn't either).

Anyhow, if Amazon Canada seriously DOES have stock like it indicates, now even that "excuse" that it's not available "in our country" doesn't hold. Remember, the Canadian delay was really a rather arbitrary date.. it read more like a "as soon as possible" rather than Dec 17th.

[CableCarrier]

Mick: Yeah they just don't get it. I'm not going to repeat myself here (as you shouldn't either).

Anyhow, if Amazon Canada seriously DOES have stock like it indicates, now even that "excuse" that it's not available "in our country" doesn't hold. Remember, the Canadian delay was really a rather arbitrary date.. it read more like a "as soon as possible" rather than Dec 17th.

They wouldn't have specifically said Dec. 17 if they didn't mean it.

[WiredRacing]

What IS the official release date? Show me a press release with an official Canadian release date.

[WiredRacing]

They wouldn't have specifically said Dec. 17 if they didn't mean it.
You mean like Nov 20th and not meaning it? It's just as easy to say (hey we're done early, you'll get it as soon as shipments hit stores) as it was to say (oh crap, it's gonna be a little while longer in Canada due to packaging restrictions *cough*).

[CableCarrier]

What IS the official release date? Show me a press release with an official Canadian release date.

Here's an article saying Dec. 17 (http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/49887). You also just said it was the 17th yourself.

[mick123]

\
2) The point is that people imported the game from another country which does NOT share a common XBL or PSN marketplace. Name ONE other game that made DLC available to importers.

Um, Rock Band, which does, in fact, share a common PSN marketplace? Since Rock Band is also the ONLY game ever released for the 360 in the U.S. but not simultaneously in Canada, there do not exist any other cases in which it could or couldn't be true that there is DLC available when the game is available in the U.S. but not Canada. Now, besides antagonizing people who have an issue which you don't share, is there some reason why you keep entering every thread about Canada and posting obnoxious, ignorant, inflammatory drivel? Go away.

Cable, a third-party website reporting hearsay from an anonymous source does not constitute an official release date. The only official release date which has ever been issued for Canada is November 20. As Wired correctly says, "as soon as possible" captures subsequent statements more accurately than "the date is Dec 17." Not to imply, of course, that it's necessary to wait until the "official release date" to make DLC available, particularly given Amazon is now selling it here.

[mick123]

No more difficult to understand than the fact that the DLC should be available at the time of the game's official launch in Canada. But apparently some people can't quite fathom it... Perhaps you can explain it to them since you're good with these logical leaps.

No, I can't fathom it all. Why don't you clearly explain for us why DLC "should" only be available at the time of official launch in Canada? In order to do so, notice you'll need to explain why Canadians who currently own the game, having either imported it or purchased it from Amazon or other retailers who have obtained stock, should not be able to purchase DLC. Ready, go:

[WiredRacing]

Yeah that's the only source of Dec 17th. Even Harmonix has never said the 17th. HMXSean even after that post was up made comments that reflected the "as soon as possible" direction. MS XBOX site still says Nov 20th. None of the Canadian retailers, I know of, list the 17th at all. there's the 19th, the 20th, someone posted EB told him Dec 8th. And now we have Amazon.ca saying they have the game in-stock (4 weeks before this 17th release after a delay based on packaging?)

So again.. what is the official release (I don't think there is one). If amazon canada actually has stock...etc...etc...etc...

[Mimglow]

The XBOX Canada website has Rockband as coming out November 20th and even advertises the DLC with the schedule as it was supposed to be.

Good job keeping up to date, guys. (and by guys I mean Xbox, not Harmonix, before people jump down my throat).

[Bakkster]

Um, Rock Band, which does, in fact, share a common PSN marketplace? Since Rock Band is also the ONLY game ever released for the 360 in the U.S. but not simultaneously in Canada, there do not exist any other cases in which it could or couldn't be true that there is DLC available when the game is available in the U.S. but not Canada.

My apologies about the PSN store. Is it not available there either?

I wasn't talking US/Canada specifically. For example, if I import a JRPG, I wouldn't expect to get any DLC for it. It's the same for you.


Now, besides antagonizing people who have an issue which you don't share, is there some reason why you keep entering every thread about Canada and posting obnoxious, ignorant, inflammatory drivel? Go away.

I wouldn't say it's "obnoxious, ignorant ... drivel". Inflammatory, possibly, but only because everyone has very strong opinions about the non-domestic release dates. I'm just trying to point out that I am unaware of any other case of importers receiving the same support as domestic customers.

In any case, leaving sounds good to me. Bye.

[whofan]

Congratulations Mick,

You win the prize for not being able to let go of something.

I understand you are frustrated by all this, blah blah blah.

But haven't you figured out yet? All the complaining in the world by you and the few other Canadians on here who have imported it (and are impatient) is not going to make things come out sooner up here. There is a schedule in place and it'll be adhered to by Harmonix. We WILL be getting the same DLC as the Americans, just when and how quickly still has to be seen.

I'll repeat it again, nice and clear, be patient, it WILL come out.

I'm not coming back into this thread again, and to see it on the front page once again makes me very sad. Hopefully you will realize that your constant *****ing is going nowhere and undoubtedly making the rest of us Canadians look bad in the eyes of HMX.

Good day sir

[Ultrace]

No, I can't fathom it all. Why don't you clearly explain for us why DLC "should" only be available at the time of official launch in Canada? In order to do so, notice you'll need to explain why Canadians who currently own the game, having either imported it or purchased it from Amazon or other retailers who have obtained stock, should not be able to purchase DLC. Ready, go:
Very simple:

- Don't expect support for a game in your region until that game has been officially released in that region. One of the many reasons a game may not be officially released until a certain date is to set up a support structure. DLC is only the first step. The moment HMX acknowledges the game as official in Canada with DLC, the floodgates open and people want product replacements and everything else that currently goes along with the game in the U.S. You got the short end of the stick and it sucks. Now wait your turn.

There. Hopefully that clears it up for you. Look forward to hearing your take on DLC come December 17th or so.

[WiredRacing]

*sob* the DLC is on the PSN for Canadians to buy, it's not on on XBL. Everything you guys, who this doesn't bother, who post in here are GUESSING as to why it's not available.

"We WILL be getting the same DLC as the Americans, just when and how quickly still has to be seen." <- while I think you're right, there is zero proof of that. The closest proof is it's on PSN for Canadians to purchase.

Since it's all been said in here, I really only want to see it on the front page when someone says it's available on the Canadian Marketplace. That said, Micks post is relevant, if Rock Band IS indeed available in Canada for immediate delivery (Amazon Canada only ships to Canada) then the DLC should be available. I'm guessing the Amazon.ca site is wrong though... Though they do list availabilty for the PS3 version too.. game only but my guess is they don't wanna ship 20lb 2x3 foot boxes around.

[padreswin]

I can confirm Rock Band IS available from Amazon.ca. My buddy purchased the game only version from Amazon.ca. He received it Friday. I picked up a game only copy at a store in Toronto here that managed to get a copy from the US.

But yeah, Amazon.ca is the only Canadian e-retailer where I've seen it available before mid-December.

I'm also itching to get the DLC. MTV & EA are missing out on some additional instant revenues.

[mick123]

Congratulations Mick,
You win the prize for not being able to let go of something.


Says the guy who continually posts for no other reason than to irritate people. Is this, incidentally, the last time you'll announce you'll never post again in this thread, or do you plan to just make that announcement each additional time you post here? Maybe you should call every thick-skulled again, then proceed to complain again about lack of courtesy again; I think that was pretty successful the first time.

Keeping this issue near the front page is reasonable, say, posting once a week to keep it near the front page. Why don't you "let go" of posting inflammatory, irrelevant, and ignorant responses every time it comes up?




But haven't you figured out yet? All the complaining in the world by you and the few other Canadians on here who have imported it (and are impatient) is not going to make things come out sooner up here.


I like it imagine that Harmonix is a well-run company. Well-run companies do things such as paying attention to customer feedback. It is entirely possible that threads such as this one, which indicate Canadian demand for DLC, may hasten release. Of course, I was not aware that we had someone here who is intimately familiar with Harmonix's day to day business decisions. Could you tell us more about how you know that feedback of this type has no impact whatsoever? Has it occurred to you that another reason to keep the issue alive is to warn Canadians who have not purchased the game that DLC is not available, and that warning also provides incentive for Harmonix to do something about the situation?




There is a schedule in place and it'll be adhered to by Harmonix. We WILL be getting the same DLC as the Americans, just when and how quickly still has to be seen.


Has it occurred to you that yet another reason to keep the issue alive is to induce Harmonix to divulge something about this alleged schedule? Have you seen this schedule? Is it the same schedule referenced in the press release announcing the Canadian release date is Nov 20?

How do you know we WILL be getting the same DLC as in the U.S.? Is this another of those secret Harmonix business strategies to which only you are privy?



I'll repeat it again, nice and clear, be patient, it WILL come out.


I'll repeat it again, very slowly: if you have nothing to add to a thread about an issue which doesn't affect you except inflammatory ignorance, don't post. Please, please, actually follow through with your promise not to post here again this time.

Ultrace, ffs, downloadable content is not "support." Further, the game IS available here, and on the irrelevant matter of support, they SHOULD be supporting Canadian customers with broken product regardless of whether or not the game is widely available here.

[WiredRacing]

Seriously? So he got the game from Amazon.ca to a Canadian address? Did it have the french packaging/manual provided.. I'm just trying to determine if maybe Amazon is doing their own little inter-company importing and selling US games to Canadians (which is likely the case if the french packaging wasn't provided).

Even if that's the case, I'd like to reiterate... why can't we download the DLC on XBL? We're talking one of, if not the, biggest Canadian e-tailer here...

[Ultrace]

Ultrace, ffs, downloadable content is not "support." Further, the game IS available here, and on the irrelevant matter of support, they SHOULD be supporting Canadian customers with broken product regardless of whether or not the game is widely available here.
If there's an official release date set, it doesn't matter if you "can" get the game sooner, just like people who wanted DLC and patches to the game when they got it before the street date here in the U.S. I don't know why it's available on Amazon or anywhere else, but if the game is considered broken before the release date, I would not expect any sort of effort to fix it until that release date.

And while it's great that you acknowledge DLC as a lack of support, sadly, many others would not. "They even released DLC for Canada! Harmonix, isn't it time you started doing xxx for us!" where xxx equals anything from replacing parts to who knows what else. Take a look at the threads we see on this board and let me know if you honestly think that would not happen...

[ItZaPiRaTe]

The DLC most likely wont be released in Canada until Rock Band is. For those Canadians who do go down to the States and buy it, they will have the game but not the DLC because it has not yet been released here yet. It's just an assumption, but God knows what Harminox will hit us with, following the delay of Rock Band until December 19th.

[WiredRacing]

The DLC most likely wont be released in Canada until Rock Band is. For those Canadians who do go down to the States and buy it, they will have the game but not the DLC because it has not yet been released here yet. It's just an assumption, but God knows what Harminox will hit us with, following the delay of Rock Band until December 19th.

Are you even reading? The guy about 10 posts up said it's available on Amazon Canada (different from Amazon.com) to order and the guy 2 posts up said a friend of his ordered AND received it. This implies the game is actually available (released?). Considering there's no other official date than Nov 20th and simply acknowledgment of a delay by HMX employees.. I'd wager at this stage that the games release date was Nov 20th (as per the original press release for north america) yet stock isn't set to arrive until it can arrive based on whenever the new packaging was completed and the bundles created from that new packaging and shipped (via ground). And again... the DLC is available on the PLAYSTATION NETWORK. Jesus why is this so difficult to get through to people complaining about our complaints about a completely valid issue.

[ItZaPiRaTe]

Are you even reading? The guy about 10 posts up said it's available on Amazon Canada (different from Amazon.com) to order and the guy 2 posts up said a friend of his ordered AND received it. This implies the game is actually available (released?). Considering there's no other official date than Nov 20th and simply acknowledgment of a delay by HMX employees.. I'd wager at this stage that the games release date was Nov 20th (as per the original press release for north america) yet stock isn't set to arrive until it can arrive based on whenever the new packaging was completed and the bundles created from that new packaging and shipped (via ground). And again... the DLC is available on the PLAYSTATION NETWORK. Jesus why is this so difficult to get through to people complaining about our complaints about a completely valid issue.

I know Rock Band is available, but it is not being sold directly IN Canada. I have checked amazon and wish to buy it, but I currently am broke. As for the DLC; I didn't realize there was another site you could buy this stuff from. I only knew of it being on the Xbox Live Marketplace. Maybe next time I will read the rest of the posts (maybe skip a few considering this one is about 12 pages long).

[HMXJohnlok]

If you would like to continue discussing DLC in Canada, I suggest everybody refrain from personal attacks and comment on the original topic. If it doesn't stick to the original topic, I see no reason to keep this thread open. Fair warning.

[mick123]

If there's an official release date set, it doesn't matter if you "can" get the game sooner, just like people who wanted DLC and patches to the game when they got it before the street date here in the U.S.

The street date in Canada was November 20. Any Canadian retailer, such as Amazon, able to get product can sell it here right now.

But, again, that's beside the point. There're people in Canada who want to buy the DLC. Harmonix would make money by selling it to them. What difference does it make whether or not the Canadian street date has arrived? There is a reason to withhold patches and stuff until initial release: to reduce incentive to pirate or otherwise illegally obtain the game. There is no such incentive to withhold DLC from Canadians who already own the game.




And while it's great that you acknowledge DLC as a lack of support, sadly, many others would not. "They even released DLC for Canada! Harmonix, isn't it time you started doing xxx for us!" where xxx equals anything from replacing parts to who knows what else.

Thousands of Canadians will continue to be frustrated by lack of DLC because making DLC available might annoy a handful of clueless Americans who think that making DLC available to Canadians somehow magically prevented their issue from being addressed? Doesn't make much business sense, or plain ol' common sense, to me.

[Jaacar]

If you would like to continue discussing DLC in Canada, I suggest everybody refrain from personal attacks and comment on the original topic. If it doesn't stick to the original topic, I see no reason to keep this thread open. Fair warning.

Don't take this as a flame, but an official comment on the flaming of the topic, but no official comment on the topic itself? Uh...

[Mimglow]

If you would like to continue discussing DLC in Canada, I suggest everybody refrain from personal attacks and comment on the original topic. If it doesn't stick to the original topic, I see no reason to keep this thread open. Fair warning.

So someone who is sick of Canadians talking about this should personally attack us, resulting in the thread being locked? Say It Ain't Sooo-ooo-oooo....

[WiredRacing]

Woo, we finally get a post in this thread from someone at HMX... but it's not exactly what I think any of us were hoping for. :)

Actually, a suggestion, instead of closing the thread in which the original topic has not really been addressed, why not just warn the people who resort to personal attacks and/or close their accounts. I mean why close the thread as they're just likely to go behave exactly the same in one of the other threads.

[Symbiosis]

Yeah, I also live in Canada. Not really that close to the boarder. I live on the coast of B.C. And lucked out when our supplier sent us a copy at the store I work at.

I have the Xbox version. And I also think it sucks that we can't get DLC. I tried to download the Metallica pack. But, to my surprise, it wasn't there...

BOOO Microsoft.

I love the game though.

[Rock_Starman]

It's MS and Sony that put this stuff up. I suggest complaining at majornelson.com if you're wanting DLC on the 360 and should probably complain at blog.us.playstation.com about the overly high PSN prices. I don't think Harmonix can do anything except for ask EA/MTV and all EA/MTV can do is ask MS/Sony.

[padreswin]

To answer WiredRacing's post from yesterday - the game-only copy my buddy bought off Amazon.ca had no French packaging - at least not that he saw. Perhaps there was one of those leaflet style French add-ons, but he doesn't recall seeing it. If it was there (which I doubt), it went straight into the trash with the rest of the packaging.

The game-only copy I bought at a Toronto retailer was brought in from the US since there was definitely no French. I can only guess it may have come from one of their distributors since they had it for sale when I went there at 11 am on Nov. 20 (I've since purchased a SE bundle off eBay).

Either way, I think most of us on this thread would agree there's enough of an appetite from Canadian XBL users to merit making this content available immediately. Even with the smaller Canadian RB user base right now I bet it would outsell a majority of the content on Canadian Xbox Marketplace.

Final point is this, if we get no DLC 'til mid-December, I sure as heck hope when it is made available we're not on the same Week 1, Week 2, Week 3 release schedule and the first four weeks of DLC that will have been released in the US will be available up here from Day 1.

[Granteezy]

In response to all other Canadians who are upset about the DLC not being available in Canada - I agree, it is upsetting not being able to enjoy the same songs as my fellow Americans. Personally I'm a little more upset about EA not being able to replace my defective guitar, as they do not provide any warranty service to Canadians that imported the game before the Canadian release. Thanks a lot EA/Harmonix, you really know how to reward your early-adopting loyal customers. (All for the sake of about a few extra dollars that I would have no problem paying.)

Back to the DLC, here's why Microsoft haven't, and never will release playable DLC before the game is released, such as Rock Band song DLC. They want you to spend your MS points, impulsively or not, on available content before you spend it on "upcoming" content. They would prefer you to buy Uno, Boom-Boom-Rocket, and frogger then reload your points when the next big DLC is available. Think about it. Why else would they not release it? Legal issues? Developer concerns? I doubt both, for Canada's sake. I can't see them withholding the content for any other reason.

Bottom line - we were totally disregarded as Canadians on this release. They pushed the release back by a month at the last minute, then their defective peripherals aren't replaceable, no matter what you're willing to pay, and we have no access to DLC until our release, which is Dec 19th I believe.

[WiredRacing]

Granteezy: That's certainly a logical possibility. Though I would think the content creator may have an issue with that sort of thing. But if it is indeed policy on MS's part then that's all the answer I would have needed on this forum.

To the other guy, I did ask the question on Major Nelson.

Anyhow... last night I managed to purchase the DLC (all of it.. I'm a whore)...lets just say the MS points cards I bought in the US (not knowing I couldn't use them "here" per-se) came in handy for this solution, much to my surprise and that's all I'll say about that. I wouldn't want to ruin it for anyone who spends 5 minutes to think about it. The irony here.. I think my guitar may be flaking out on me now. Hah.

[Granteezy]

Granteezy: That's certainly a logical possibility. Though I would think the content creator may have an issue with that sort of thing. But if it is indeed policy on MS's part then that's all the answer I would have needed on this forum.

To the other guy, I did ask the question on Major Nelson.


The content creator DOES have an issue with it, but they have no choice. It's MS policy. As for Major Nelson, he does actually respond to e-mails surprisingly! I hope he gets around to your question, and if he does - be sure to post here!

[Jaacar]

In response to all other Canadians who are upset about the DLC not being available in Canada - I agree, it is upsetting not being able to enjoy the same songs as my fellow Americans. Personally I'm a little more upset about EA not being able to replace my defective guitar, as they do not provide any warranty service to Canadians that imported the game before the Canadian release. Thanks a lot EA/Harmonix, you really know how to reward your early-adopting loyal customers. (All for the sake of about a few extra dollars that I would have no problem paying.)


I 100% agree here and have actually gotten a lawyer involved now(Can you believe it? A lawyer for a plastic guitar!). Asking me to pay the $5 extra in shipping would have been the easy/smart thing but I guess that wasn't an option for them.


Bottom line - we were totally disregarded as Canadians on this release. They pushed the release back by a month at the last minute, then their defective peripherals aren't replaceable, no matter what you're willing to pay, and we have no access to DLC until our release, which is Dec 19th I believe.

Again, no official statement from anyone on this release date. All we have to go by is a rumored date posted on an outside source website. The ball is not only dropped, it's sinking so fast into the ground it'll need it's own headstone soon.

[J-Rock]

I kind of disagrees with anyone buying DLC however. If Microsoft and Sony see that canadians continue to buy the DLC despite them overpricing it they'll just keep on doing it.

I sent Sony an email asking why there was a 65&#37; increase in prices on some items (mainly the single song downloads where I'm concerned). Of course, I've have yet to get an answer.

[WiredRacing]

Hey look, I'm with you on the PS3 thing. The $1 additional charge per song and such is ridiculous. But leave me (others) alone with 360s, the upcharge is only like 14&#37; which is inline with our dollar when the 360 came out. This has ALWAYS been this way with Microsoft Points, it's nothing new specific to rock band.

The 160/440msp price is very satisfactory to me, I wouldn't even remotely consider it overpriced, $2US/$2.28CAD a track is great. I'd rather pay $2 based on todays dollar but this is an unfortunate side effect of an otherwise fantastic online service (XBL Marketplace). Perhaps MS will adjust the points allocation to Canadian cards considering the recent shift in our dollar, or maybe they won't. Ce la vie, I knew this problem existed going into the 360 (and this game) so it's not HMX fault.. unless, of course, they do have the ability to charge a different MSP schedule.. I doubt it. I don't think theres a precedent for that... As it is, I bought my DLC with a US MS points so I paid under $2 a song. So I'm already ahead.

The solution to the upcharge for 360 owners is to take advantage of the many many many (like every other weekend) online sales BB and FS have where MSP cards are always on for 10% off.. this is where MSPoints become advantageous. Obviously I'd prefer a straight conversion.. I don't expect any matter of whining will change the infrastructure for XBL Marketplace... I'm sure as hell not going to deprive myself of getting more value out of my $170 game due to an extra 0.28 per song. Yeah it'll add up, again... discount cards.

Sorry about the PS3 thing... the way I see it, you already overpaid for the console so you should be used to it by now. :p