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Don't Expect Rock Band 4 Anytime Soon

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Harmonix focused on continued downloadable content for the time being.


 You'll keep rockin' on the same disc...for now.
 You'll keep rockin' on the same disc...for now.
The soft commercial response to Rock Band 3 and Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock prompted MTV Games to sell Harmonix and get out of games and Activision to send Guitar Hero into at least temporary retirement. Harmonix has no plans to ditch music video games, however, and in an far-reaching interview with Game Informer today, VP of strategy and business development Chris Rigopulos talked about the future.

Harmonix has already promised an announcement next month at E3 (another Dance Central, easily the most well received Kinect launch title, seems likely), but Rigopulos threw cold water on speculation we'd be seeing Rock Band 4. 

"We’re not planning a Rock Band 4 disc release in 2011," he said. "Rock Band 3 is a big game with lots of available music content and lots of new goals and challenges. We want to give our fans the time to explore that fully. But rest assured that Harmonix is still developing new ideas and concepts to advance the Rock Band franchise, and we look forward to sharing those when the time is right."

There's wiggle room there, of course, by specifically saying "disc release." Harmonix could implement new features into Rock Band 3 through a significant patch, but by all accounts, folks are happy keyboard tappin' on Rock Band 3. Having recently reduced the price to $19.99, there's now a very small barrier to entry.  
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patrickklepek

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Edited By patrickklepek

 You'll keep rockin' on the same disc...for now.
 You'll keep rockin' on the same disc...for now.
The soft commercial response to Rock Band 3 and Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock prompted MTV Games to sell Harmonix and get out of games and Activision to send Guitar Hero into at least temporary retirement. Harmonix has no plans to ditch music video games, however, and in an far-reaching interview with Game Informer today, VP of strategy and business development Chris Rigopulos talked about the future.

Harmonix has already promised an announcement next month at E3 (another Dance Central, easily the most well received Kinect launch title, seems likely), but Rigopulos threw cold water on speculation we'd be seeing Rock Band 4. 

"We’re not planning a Rock Band 4 disc release in 2011," he said. "Rock Band 3 is a big game with lots of available music content and lots of new goals and challenges. We want to give our fans the time to explore that fully. But rest assured that Harmonix is still developing new ideas and concepts to advance the Rock Band franchise, and we look forward to sharing those when the time is right."

There's wiggle room there, of course, by specifically saying "disc release." Harmonix could implement new features into Rock Band 3 through a significant patch, but by all accounts, folks are happy keyboard tappin' on Rock Band 3. Having recently reduced the price to $19.99, there's now a very small barrier to entry.  
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Ellis7x

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Edited By Ellis7x

Not much they can do to it now anyway

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baconbringer

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Edited By baconbringer

I expected this.

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ThePhantomnaut

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Edited By ThePhantomnaut
@Ellis7x said:
" Not much they can do to it now anyway "
Pretty much.

Well Rock Band 3 is $10 at Toysrus. I am interested.
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Malphye

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Edited By Malphye

Right move not to release it in 2011. Still to early if they go in direction.

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MeAuntieNora

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Edited By MeAuntieNora

Call of Duty needs a break like this.

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baconbringer

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Edited By baconbringer
@ThePhantomnaut:@ThePhantomnaut said:

" @Ellis7x said:

" Not much they can do to it now anyway "
Pretty much.
Well Rock Band 3 is $10 at Toysrus. I am interested.
"
Wow, that's a great deal... and kinda sad. It's a shame how activision over-saturated the rhythm genre.
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MayorFeedback

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Edited By MayorFeedback

Not sure why anyone would want a Rock Band 4 right now anyway. The game itself is solid in every way and the DLC coming out every week is completely killer. Short of Pink Floyd: Rock Band or something like that, they're definitely set for a while. At least I am.

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PLWolf

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Edited By PLWolf

Don't need RB4, just keep releasing tracks with Pro Guitar and I'll keep buying them.

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falconer

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Edited By falconer

More Rush please? Please.....

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MolluskLingers

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Edited By MolluskLingers

GH Skips 2011: RIP GH

RB Skips 2011: Harmonix are a smashing sucess! 

More biasm please.
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Afroman269

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Edited By Afroman269

I'm satisfied with where Rock Band 3 is. No need to get a new game anytime soon. Just keep the tracks coming.

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deactivated-5b531a34b946c

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Edited By deactivated-5b531a34b946c

... Beatles DLC..? A man can dream.

Seriously, though, I wasn't expecting a Rock Band 4 this year. Rock Band 2 was 2008 and Rock Band 3 was 2010. Just keep the DLC coming.

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234r2we232

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Edited By 234r2we232

Just give me my Mike Patton Rock Band, Harmonix.

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phish09

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Edited By phish09

Awesome.  Just give me some more Phish with pro keys and it's all gravy.

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Orgophlax

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Edited By Orgophlax
@Methodis said:
" GH Skips 2011: RIP GH
RB Skips 2011: Harmonix are a smashing sucess! 

More biasm please.
"
You really are insane.
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Afroman269

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Edited By Afroman269
@Methodis said:

" GH Skips 2011: RIP GH RB Skips 2011: Harmonix are a smashing sucess! 

More biasm please.
"

lol
 

"The soft commercial response to Rock Band 3 and Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock prompted MTV Games to sell Harmonix and get out of games and Activision to send Guitar Hero into at least temporary retirement."

Try reading an article for once. Troll harder.
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QKT

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Edited By QKT

screw rock band 4, i want rock band: muse

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Edited By JJWeatherman

Harmonix could implement new features into Rock Band 3 through a significant patch    

Iiiinteresting.

Meh, whenever Harmonix gets around to a RB4, it'll be fine by me.
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Kyreo

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Edited By Kyreo

I didn't even think there WAS going to be a Rock Band 4.

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MolluskLingers

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Edited By MolluskLingers
@Orgophlax said:
" @Methodis said:
" GH Skips 2011: RIP GH
RB Skips 2011: Harmonix are a smashing sucess! 

More biasm please.
"
You really are insane. "
I'm sorry did I insult your favorite game developer
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cheesebob

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Edited By cheesebob
@QKT:  I'd want a rock band Queen, Radiohead, Pink Floyd, R.E.M., The Clash and about 25 other bands before Muse.
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Edited By shenstra

All I want from Rock Band right now is some cymbals. They're only sold in full pro-drum kit form in Europe and I already have drums from The Beatles: Rock Band. Other than that, just keep bringing the DLC and I'll keep buying it.

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xpgamer7

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Edited By xpgamer7

After the MTV fiasco I didn't think this would happen for a while. It's just too soon for a small company.

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Afroman269

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Edited By Afroman269
@shenstra: You know you can just get the 3 cymbal pack for like $40. I picked them up at gamestop and attached them to my rock band 2 drums. It's pretty awesome.
edit: wait they don't have standalone cymbals in europe?
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ch3burashka

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Edited By ch3burashka

That's what they said the last two times, too...

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megalowho

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Edited By megalowho

Two words. Funk. Band.

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Edited By FreakAche
@CH3BURASHKA: Yeah, but they were owned by Viacom the last two times. Things are probably going to change.
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JJOR64

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Edited By JJOR64

Just picked up Rock Band 3 today.   :)

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Edited By melcene

Considering the continued success of their DLC, they don't need to make another game yet.


I really like what they said in the original interview though, how the discs don't make as much sense as the DLC, music-wise, because the discs may only have so many songs people actually like, but the DLC allows the players to freely pick and choose.
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TehFlan

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Edited By TehFlan
@megalowho said:
" Two words. Funk. Band. "
I would buy that so hard you have no idea.
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rmanthorp

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Edited By rmanthorp  Moderator

I wasn't expecting a Rock Band 4 at all.

A man can hope...

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QKT

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Edited By QKT
@Cheesebob: or maybe a rock band four with all of them in :D
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Edited By Shivoa

Remember when RB was first sold as a platform, where new games wouldn't be a regular occurrence and everything would be DLC driven.

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Edited By Dallas_Raines

I'm glad they own the IPs.

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MolluskLingers

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Edited By MolluskLingers
@Shivoa said:
" Remember when RB was first sold as a platform, where new games wouldn't be a regular occurrence and everything would be DLC driven. "
wouldn't be the first time in a series of lies Harmonix has made to its fans.
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RE_Player1

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Edited By RE_Player1
@Methodis said:
" @Shivoa said:
" Remember when RB was first sold as a platform, where new games wouldn't be a regular occurrence and everything would be DLC driven. "
wouldn't be the first time in a series of lies Harmonix has made to its fans. "
I don't think they ever meant to make a Rock Band 2. That was directly due to Activision making full band game and they needed something on shelves that could compete. 
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ToxicAntidote

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Edited By ToxicAntidote

Isn't Rock Band 3 already the ultimate game in the genre?

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Edited By GreggD
@Methodis said:
" @Shivoa said:
" Remember when RB was first sold as a platform, where new games wouldn't be a regular occurrence and everything would be DLC driven. "
wouldn't be the first time in a series of lies Harmonix has made to its fans. "
I can live with a few "lies", since they gave me the keyboard support and Pro mode.
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TvsFranksWildYears

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Edited By TvsFranksWildYears

Smart move. It'll keep rock Band profitable. Maybe if Guitar Hero had stuck to more DLC and less full- on games, they would still be in business. 

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smallville123

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Edited By smallville123

See harmonix is smart and not fucking DESTROYING their properties like ActiVision

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petitfool

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Edited By petitfool
@shenstra said:
"All I want from Rock Band right now is some cymbals. They're only sold in full pro-drum kit form in Europe and I already have drums from The Beatles: Rock Band. Other than that, just keep bringing the DLC and I'll keep buying it. "

Really? That's odd. Here in North America there are separate cymbal add-on packages available in addition to a full-on drumkit. There is nothing of the sort over there as well? Maybe you can find a place online where you can import it.
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winsord

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Edited By winsord

I don't need RB4 quite yet, so that's alright. Though I do wish they'd downloadable music more suited to my tastes. :P

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Malakhii

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Edited By Malakhii

Not surprising considering how Rock Band 3 ended up selling. I still love it though, and I'll be more then happy with it for a while. 

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Edited By PerfidiousSinn

There doesn't need to be a Rock Band 4, really. They already have all the instruments that matter, what else would they add? Theremin? That would be impossible to convert to video game form. Trumpet? Lame. Bassoon? Now you're just being silly.

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stackboy

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Edited By stackboy

If they added more Road Challenges to RB3, I'd be happy with this. Still tons of great songs to play. Dance Central 2 is a shoe in at E3, surely.

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Edited By shenstra
@Afroman269 said:
" @shenstra: You know you can just get the 3 cymbal pack for like $40. I picked them up at gamestop and attached them to my rock band 2 drums. It's pretty awesome.
edit: wait they don't have standalone cymbals in europe?
"
Yup, no stand-alone cymbals. They're only available packed in with a drumkit for roughly $225 (including tax). MadCatz doesn't think it's worth the trouble because we never got Rock Band 2. Never mind all the people who bought The Beatles: Rock Band, who only need the cymbals. Some official MC importers sold separate cymbals through their websites, but for some insane reason they only sell within country borders, so even then only Brits and Germans could get them. I can actually import them from the US, but shipping costs make that rather expensive as well.
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datarez

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Edited By datarez

Thank goodness.  I'm still barely getting into the actual challenge stuff of RB3.  I've mostly just made playlists and went when having people over until now.

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Stahlbrand

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Edited By Stahlbrand

Who was really expecting RB4 in 2011?  A major title update to RB3 maybe, continued robust DLC certainly, but not a new disc.

I just got back to regularly playing RB3 in the last few weeks.  Lots of clutch DLC in the last few months.