Rock Band For Wii Release Date

As reported way back in February, Rock Band was announced to be coming to the Wii. Today, we have been given a release date of June 22, 2008 at a price of $170.

According to Multiplayer Blog at mtv.com there will be no downloadable content (I am still awaiting DLC for guitar hero!), but there will be 5 songs unique to the Wii platform.

“When developing ‘Rock Band’ for the Wii platform, we focused on making the core gameplay experience as solid and enjoyable as possible while tailoring it specifically to the strengths of the platform.

“The Wii version still contains the robust four-player band experience and all the fun at the core of other versions of ‘Rock Band.’ However, because the Wii’s online capabilities and potential have yet to be fully realized, we wanted to wait before we explored online functionality for ‘Rock Band’ to ensure that players get the high-quality of online performance they’ve come to expect.”

According to the above statement, the Wii will be getting the gimpy version, very similar to the PS2 version which had no DLC. Way to go Harmonix, way to go. I will not be purchasing this game for that very reason. And I would imagine that several others will feel the same way I do. To make it even worse, my Guitar Hero 3 Les Paul won’t work with it.

I can’t lay all of the blame on Harmonix. Nintendo still hasn’t given us a simple way to store what we download anyway. How hard could it be for the techno-geniuses at Nintendo to create a driver that would allow us to hook up an external hard drive via one of the USB ports on the back of the Wii? I would be willing to wager that homebrew guy will come up with a solution before Nintendo does!

Cambridge, MA - March 24, 2007– Harmonix, the leading developer of music-based games, and MTV Games, a division of MTV Networks, which is a division of Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), along with distribution partner Electronic Arts, Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS), today announced plans to release the award-winning music video game Rock Band on the Wiiâ„¢ home video game system from Nintendo in the U.S. and Canada on June 22, 2008 for the suggested retail price of $169.99.

Rock Band for Wii will be released as a Special Edition bundle including the software, drums, microphone and a wireless guitar. Stand alone instruments will also be available on June 22nd for people who want to build their band one instrument at a time or want to play the drum versus drum game mode. The game will feature 63 songs including five bonus songs for Wii gamers to enjoy.

“The Wii’s success among casual and core gamers of all ages makes it an ideal match for the cross-generational appeal of the music featured in Rock Band,” says Bob Picunko, Vice President of Electronic Games and Interactive Products, MTV

“The social interaction and addictive nature of the Rock Band experience is a perfect fit for the Wii and will undoubtedly be fun for the entire family,” says Steve Singer, licensing VP from Nintendo.

Rock Band is an all-new platform for music fans and gamers to interact with music like never before. The game challenges players to put together a band and tour for fame and fortune - all while learning to master lead/bass guitar, drums and vocals. Featuring the most master recordings of any music game ever by the world’s biggest rock artists, Rock Band includes tracks that span every genre of rock ranging from alternative and classic rock to heavy metal and punk. Rock Band has garnered over 40 awards this year including Game Critics Award: Best of Show E3 2007 and three awards at The 11th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards including Outstanding Innovation in Gaming, Family Game of the Year, and Outstanding Achievement in Soundtrack.

Rock Band is rated “T” for Teen (lyrics, mild suggestive themes) by the ESRB.

Rock Band is currently available on the Xbox 360™ video game and entertainment system from Microsoft®, the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system, and on the PLAYSTATION®2 computer entertainment system.

via Kotaku, MTV, joystiq
Rock band for Wii cover created by Ilchymis.