Helping or hurting RB?

[LordRavenBaja]

Over the last few days, I've been trying to decide if my purchasing habits of DLC are helping or hurting the RB franchise.

From RBN, I've found a bunch of great bands that I would never have heard of and have purchased several CD's after hearing a band's song. And searching for those songs has led me to other bands that I've grown very fond of, such as Nighwish.

From HMX, most of these bands are known, which is great, although they really turned me on to Evanescence, thank you.

To my point, when I purchase songs, I have had an agenda:
- songs that I like (no brainer)
- songs from bands that I like, but maybe the song isn't one of my fav's
- genre that I like

On the second 2, it was with the thought that purchasing these would lead to other releases that would fall into the first category.

But is that really how it works? Does it really affect HMX"s releases when I purchase a song from a specific genre or artist, even though I may not like that song?

Example: 311. I don't normally listen to Rock/Rap/Reggae (or whatever you want to call that type of music). But they were OK and it was the first music in weeks that I even thought was OK, so I bought it. So does my purchasing of these songs give HMX the wrong impression?

I some times buy a song because I want more from that band. But could my purchasing of that song give HMX the misinformation that I like it and want more of it?

Green Day is another example. I bought the CD from my sister for $20. Not because I'm a Green Day fan, but to add to my library. Did that affect the decision from HMX to re-release songs from that disk (since I also bought the code to transfer)?

I love RB and am thankful for the amount of DLC they produce. But the "hamburger" comment that HMX has been clinging to has me a bit put off. I am a customer and should not be thanking a company for being in business for profit. And while they may be a fast food establishment, they do not just server hamburgers!! You may have over 4000 items on your menu, but they are not all hamburgers. Can you image McD's saying "you should be grateful that we've served over a million"!!! But the hamburger comment is a different subject.

I'm really questioning whether I will purchase songs that are just "OK" in the future. My only concern is that it will affect the longevity of DLC.

Thoughts?

[tnevaker]

i think you're overthinking it. just buy songs you like. one person's DLC buying decisions aren't going to make a difference in the release schedule. it would take hundreds or thousands of people buying (or not buying) the same thing to even get their attention.

[LordRavenBaja]

I certainly do not think that my purchasing habits are keeping HMX full of funds. But if there is a large number of the community purchasing like I do, then your thousands comment may apply.

A perfect example is the top 10 downloaded songs. Are they downloaded because they are the best songs on RB? NO. It's because they were free. And I've heard HMX specifically talking about using purchase history as a driver for new DLC.

I'm curious how many others buy DLC for the hope of future releases.

[GNFfhqwhgads]

A perfect example is the top 10 downloaded songs. Are they downloaded because they are the best songs on RB? NO. It's because they were free. And I've heard HMX specifically talking about using purchase history as a driver for new DLC.

It seems like you're implying that Harmonix just drools and the mouth and can't work out any reasoning past 'sales numbers' to justify anything. You aren't dropping some bombshell by showing Harmonix that the biggest songs are the ones that are free. Why you possibly think free songs being downloaded a lot must mean they're looking exclusively to Miranda Cosgrove's quality career and GLaDOS's quantity career as future DLC is laughable, mostly because neither of them has either of those things and we've never seen anything by any free artist past the day their free song came out.

So yeah. No idea what you're saying.

[meck77]

I have to respectfully disagree with a couple of points here. You say that if Pink Floyd were to come out it would be the biggest seller that HMX has ever had but keep in mind that there are thousands of people that dont even play this game anymore or have any idea of what music is coming out because they no longer care and dont check. Sad but true


Also I would like to point out that there really is no question of hurting or helping, the correct question would be am I helping enough. If you are purchasing anything on any weeks then you are helping keep this game and genre alive and kicking(which I for one thank you). I think they are still pursuing licensing for new music but keep in mind alot of what were getting was purchased a long time ago. So on that note you were going to get this music no matter what you bought.

Your current purchases may effect what new music labels and bands they go after. I would think if no one was buying any metal that they would stop pursuing licenses for new metal music. That is obviously just an example you cant kill the metal, the metal will live on. New-Wave tried to destroy the metal but the metal had its way!!!

Just my two cents

[Witticus]

Rock Band only still survives because of the support from the community involving DLC. Otherwise we would have gone the sad pathetic way of Guitar Hero.

[LordRavenBaja]

That's my thought as well. So the follow up on this would be:

What source ('s) should HMX use to obtain the true wishes of the purchasing community?

The requested groups and what I hear from others on the forum are not what we are getting. I understand the artist/label being a pain for some of the top groups, which really sucks. I personally think that HMX would see the highest sales on record with a Pink Floyd release, especially an entire disk. I have friends that don't play now that said they would buy PF or Zep. But I know that is out of the question.

I'm not saying that I don't enjoy my hamburger with pickles, but who wouldn't order a steak if they could get it?

[Numskull]

I'm not saying that I don't enjoy my hamburger with pickles, but who wouldn't order a steak if they could get it?

Vegetarians?

I do not have the most populist taste in DLC, and that's putting it mildly. I have all the available songs from Spinal Tap and The Main Drag, but nothing by Disturbed or Blink-182. (And you would have to pay me to make me taint my hard drive with Snoop Dogg.) As a matter of general principle, I'm strongly in favor of Harmonix bringing new artists to the platform instead of releasing yet another Foo Fighters pack. I fully understand the motivation for releasing so much Avenged Sevenfold material, but that doesn't mean I have to like it. So, if I'm on the fence about buying two particular singles or packs, I will often use popularity as a reverse tiebreaker, choosing to support the song(s) that fewer people will buy.

This does not mean I will completely ignore the Rock Band heavy hitters. (I have some Weezer songs so my Weezer-loving friends see some playable choices when they sort by artist, but like hell if I'm buying all of them.) Nor does it mean I would deprive myself of more DLC from repeat-appearance artists who I really like. (Hey Harmonix, Rush have been around since 1968, but we only have one of their songs from after 1982. Just sayin'.) It merely means that I do what I can to make some of Harmonix's more obscure selections a bit more profitable.

What can I say? I'm just a rock 'n' roll commie at heart.

I have no idea if this is the kind of response you're looking for. If it is not, please accept my apology. And do you want fries with that?

[LordRavenBaja]

Vegetarians?

I have no idea if this is the kind of response you're looking for. If it is not, please accept my apology. And do you want fries with that?

This is a great response, thank you.

And yes, I expect fries with my order. Now if we get to order steaks, I'll make it a baked potato.

PS, vegans don't count. I don't ask goats what they prefer.

[HardRockerBrazil]

Rock Band only still survives because of the support from the community involving DLC. Otherwise we would have gone the sad pathetic way of Guitar Hero.

That, and the fact that Harmonix doesn't churn out a new entry in the series every six months like Craptivision did.

Rock Band only survives thanks to DLC, and the revenue from licensing.
In fact, IMO, this year was overall weak (no albums?) with a few exceptions (like the Maiden Epics pack), but people keep buying music to expand their in-game library and not have to play the same warmed-over songs over and over again. So it's a win-win situation if you ask me: HMX wins by getting revenue from the DLC, and the player wins because he can keep on having fun with his game.