Rock Band AC/DC Pack!!!

[Chubby]

OH FUCK YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!

from NYT:

Wal-Mart Wins Deal on Album and Game

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By ROBERT LEVINE
Published: September 29, 2008
Just as Wal-Mart solidifies its power as a music industry hitmaker with an exclusive album from the rock band AC/DC, the chain is getting its first major exclusive video game to go with it.
MTV plans to announce on Tuesday that it has made a deal with the band and its label, Columbia Records, to create an AC/DC version of the channel’s popular Rock Band video game that will be sold in the United States only at Wal-Mart, Sam’s Club and the Wal-Mart Web site (walmart.com).
The release of the video game AC/DC Live: Rock Band Track Pack will give MTV a prominent role in the partnership between the rock group and the retailer to promote AC/DC’s forthcoming album, “Black Ice.” Wal-Mart will create a special area in each of its stores to display the new album and the new game, as well as the band’s other CDs, DVDs and T-shirts and other licensed clothing. Although this is Wal-Mart’s first significant exclusive video game, the chain has emerged as a force in the music business because of the promotional muscle it has put behind recent albums from the Eagles and Journey, which were available only in its stores. Such a partnership is especially important for AC/DC, since the band does not sell its music on Apple’s iTunes store.
“If you want to be a physical band, you better make an alliance with a strong physical retailer,” said Steve Barnett, chairman of Columbia Records. “It’s a great way to sell the new album, the catalog, the game, merchandise and DVDs.” MTV and Wal-Mart are exploring the idea of setting up temporary shops to sell the game and the album in Manhattan and Los Angeles, where the retailer has no stores.
AC/DC Live: Rock Band could help MTV’s Rock Band franchise make further headway against Activision’s more popular “Guitar Hero” titles. Both products allow gamers to play along with music on instrument-shaped controllers.
Although Activision released Guitar Hero: Aerosmith in August and plans a title based on Metallica, this is the first version of Rock Band based on a specific group. Over the last few years AC/DC has sold more CDs than any band except the Beatles, which suggests that the group appeals to teenagers as well as to older fans.
“They rock hard, and that still works for our audience,” said Van Toffler, the president of the MTV Networks’ Music and Logo Group. “It comes down to getting really great marketing, because Wal-Mart is so meaningful in terms of sales if they get behind something.”
Both Columbia and the band will make money on the game, which contains the songs from the popular DVD “AC/DC Live at Donnington.” The game, which will be available for all consoles in early November, will cost less than most new games, about $40 instead of about $60. That makes it an attractive product to Wal-Mart, which believes that lower prices drive demand.
“We think people love music as much as ever, but it translates differently at retail,” said Greg Hall, Wal-Mart’s vice president for content and services, who runs its video game sales. “Music games are a key platform for us, so as the AC/DC release got closer, we talked about how to bring it to life in games.”


It's supposed to be the live cd/dvd tracks (that I play constantly in the car):

"Thunderstruck"
"Shoot to Thrill"
"Back in Black"
"Hell Ain't a Bad Place to Be"
"Heatseeker"
"Fire Your Guns"
"Jailbreak"
"The Jack"
"Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap"
"Moneytalks"
"Hells Bells"
"High Voltage"
"Whole Lotta Rosie"
"You Shook Me All Night Long"
"T.N.T."
"Let There Be Rock"
"Highway To Hell"
"For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)"

[Chubby]

Nov 2nd for all platforms but WII (16th)

[Raiders Army]

Wow. Must buy.

[DanGarion]

This is just a track pack?

[Chubby]

Originally Posted by DanGarion

This is just a track pack?

I haven't seen the official press release but this is supposed to be the entire live album + ???

[Carman Bulldog]

And apparently the tracks will only be able to be transferred once per disc, so no renting and then uploading to the hard drive. (Source)

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by DanGarion

This is just a track pack?

The release I saw last night refers to it as a "standalone game" but the name of the game itself is "AC/DC LIVE: Rock Band Track Pack"

Best I can tell it's more along the lines of the Aerosmith "game" edition than DLC (which is what I associate with the phrase "track pack").

[sterlingice]

I'd be all over it if it's compatible with Rock Band 2 and they get RB2 in gear for the Wii.

SI

[FrogMan]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

The release I saw last night refers to it as a "standalone game" but the name of the game itself is "AC/DC LIVE: Rock Band Track Pack"

Best I can tell it's more along the lines of the Aerosmith "game" edition than DLC (which is what I associate with the phrase "track pack").

And from what I have read, this one is similar to the Rock Band Track pack that they released for the PS2. A set of songs that does not require you to own the original game, i.e. the game engine is on the disk with the songs.

FM

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by FrogMan

And from what I have read, this one is similar to the Rock Band Track pack that they released for the PS2. A set of songs that does not require you to own the original game, i.e. the game engine is on the disk with the songs.

Did you just say the same thing I inferred "standalone game" to mean? Or am I missing something here?

And no, to avoid confusion, I'm not trying to bust your chops or anything. I'm still not 100% that I'm interpreting what's actually being released correctly. And when your son's copy of RB is PS2, what formats/releases they do is pretty important to get right (since there's no DLC for it).

[FrogMan]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Did you just say the same thing I inferred "standalone game" to mean? Or am I missing something here?

And no, to avoid confusion, I'm not trying to bust your chops or anything. I'm still not 100% that I'm interpreting what's actually being released correctly. And when your son's copy of RB is PS2, what formats/releases they do is pretty important to get right (since there's no DLC for it).

well, I replied more to the second part of your post. You said "standalone" first, but then gave another term for it. So, yeah, maybe I was simply reinforcing that it was more the first part of your post than the second part. At least from how I understood it.

You also refered to DLC, which doesn't exist with PS2 so I could only assume at first that you had only dealt with either X a 360 or a PS3.

So back on topic, again from how I understood it, it should be a standalone disk with AC/DC tracks on it. And it will be available for PS2 (very important for us too, since we own that one only)

FM

[FrogMan]

dola, Jon, not sure you bought the track pack they released (we have not yet) but check the description for it:
http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/pro...41&catid=11139

Built on unprecedented deals with top record labels and music publishers, the music featured in Rock Band spans all genres of rock and includes many master recordings from legendary artists.
Rock Band Track Pack Volume 1 is a standalone software product that allows owners of Rock Band Special Edition or Rock Band peripherals to keep the party going with 20 hit songs from the pantheon of rock music, hand-picked with care by Harmonix.

the original Rock Band game is not needed to play the track pack, only the peripherals...

FM