Why can't PS3 ever get any more of the RBN 1 songs it never got?

[regomar]

There are a number of songs that were released on the first RBN that were never ported to PS3 that I really want but everyone says they'll never be ported. I'm just curious as to why that is? Many of the same bands have songs on both networks. They're porting RBN2 songs every week, why never any RBN1?

And while I'm on the topic of PS3 getting shafted, why does Sony only allow 5 new songs a week? Seems like they're just turning down money. It's very frustrating to me.

[GNFfhqwhgads]

There are a number of songs that were released on the first RBN that were never ported to PS3 that I really want but everyone says they'll never be ported. I'm just curious as to why that is? Many of the same bands have songs on both networks. They're porting RBN2 songs every week, why never any RBN1?

Because no RB3 features.

And while I'm on the topic of PS3 getting shafted, why does Sony only allow 5 new songs a week? Seems like they're just turning down money. It's very frustrating to me.

Yup, turning down money. The process is totally free for Harmonix and Sony, because since when has a business had to pay to do something?

[regomar]

Because no RB3 features.

Yup, turning down money. The process is totally free for Harmonix and Sony, because since when has a business had to pay to do something?

Tone down the hostility there chief, it's unnecessary.

I never claimed that anything is free, but I sincerely doubt Microsoft is hosting this content out of the goodness of their hearts so it must be selling and making money for all parties involved.

If Harmonix weren't making money on the PS3, they wouldn't be still releasing content there. They've stated many times that they were capped at 5 songs per week by Sony but I haven't been able to see WHY. Your non answer doesn't help in this regard.

[www1221]

Dont mind GNF thats kinda his schtick

[Dangimarocker]

Dont mind GNF thats kinda his schtick

Exactly.

[Oscarvarium]

In short: Porting RBN1 songs is/was a significantly different process from doing RBN2 and required a switchover time. When they started doing 2.0 tracks there was a significant amount of downtime and they can't switch back without having to go through that again, and then AGAIN a third time when they switch back to 2.0.

[regomar]

In short: Porting RBN1 songs is/was a significantly different process from doing RBN2 and required a switchover time. When they started doing 2.0 tracks there was a significant amount of downtime and they can't switch back without having to go through that again, and then AGAIN a third time when they switch back to 2.0.

Ok, that's fair. Combined with not having RB3 features I guess I know why they won't be porting any more RBN1 stuff.

I still don't understand why they're limited to only 5 songs a week though. Has there ever been an official explanation as to the why of that? I gather that it's Sony's fault, but I haven't been able to find a policy from Sony regarding this issue anywhere. I'm just tired of begging to have tracks Xbox users got half a year ago.

[Oscarvarium]

Ok, that's fair. Combined with not having RB3 features I guess I know why they won't be porting any more RBN1 stuff.

I still don't understand why they're limited to only 5 songs a week though. Has there ever been an official explanation as to the why of that? I gather that it's Sony's fault, but I haven't been able to find a policy from Sony regarding this issue anywhere. I'm just tired of begging to have tracks Xbox users got half a year ago.

Sony need to manually QA every track that's ported and that takes man hours and resources. Sony imposed the 5-song limit, although it was increased to ten for a short time before the RBN2.0 switchover in order to get as many RBN1.0 songs ported as possible before they switched. They also allowed ten songs a while ago when they released a handful of double bass songs but that was a special one-off, and double bass songs presumably require less QA because they're almost entirely identical to the regular tracks.

[regomar]

Sony need to manually QA every track that's ported and that takes man hours and resources. Sony imposed the 5-song limit, although it was increased to ten for a short time before the RBN2.0 switchover in order to get as many RBN1.0 songs ported as possible before they switched. They also allowed ten songs a while ago when they released a handful of double bass songs but that was a special one-off, and double bass songs presumably require less QA because they're almost entirely identical to the regular tracks.

Thanks, I appreciate your answers

I'm a bit surprised that Sony have such a stringent QA check that they're more slow than Microsoft by such a significant margin, but I guess it is what it is. Thank you for taking the time to explain. Guess I'll just have to be content with what I have. If I had an Xbox I'd buy those but I don't so I'm stuck with slow Sony.

[HMXLachesis]

Thanks, I appreciate your answers

I'm a bit surprised that Sony have such a stringent QA check that they're more slow than Microsoft by such a significant margin, but I guess it is what it is.

One pertinent detail: on Xbox, RBN songs don't go through Microsoft QA at all. Instead, they go through the playtest/peer review process on creators.rockband.com. Setting up this system on Xbox was a massive investment by both Microsoft and Harmonix. However, the system has proven out - we've released over 1,800 RBN songs on Xbox!

However, Sony was not involved in the creation of the RBN, and from Sony's perspective, an RBN file is just like any other DLC file. Additionally, when we prepare RBN songs for Sony, those files go through a conversion process that could theoretically introduce errors. This is why Sony checks RBN songs for errors just like regular DLC songs.

For what it's worth, I empathize with your interest in the old RBN1 songs that never got transferred over. However, the transfer from the RBN1 system to the RBN2 system took 3 weeks. Last summer, we estimated that swapping back to RBN1 and then swapping back again to RBN2 would take 2-3 weeks each time, resulting in potential delays of up to 6 weeks for our PS3 audience. These days, it would probably take longer (since the RBN1 system hasn't been touched in over a year).

The best answer here is to reach out to RBN1 authors of songs you love and see whether they're open to doing RBN2 versions that we could theoretically bring to the PS3. However, there would be no guarantees of any given song coming to PS3.