Posted Fri Jun 17, 2016 at 01:39 PM PDT by Brian Hoss
Actual info on 'Rock Band 4 Rivals' coming out of E3.
Last Tuesday, with E3 in full swing, Harmonix and partner PDP announced 'Rock Band Rivals,' an expansion for 'Rock Band 4.' Also announced was slew of new 'Rock Band 4' hardware, including the Rock Band Wireless Fender Jaguar guitar controller. 'Rock Band Rivals' has an announced expansion price point of $29.99 for either PS4 or Xbox One. The expansion will also come in a bundle with the base game and the new Jaguar guitar controller for $89.99. Considering that the new guitar is priced at $69.99, the pricing does seem to favor new players who will be getting 'Rock Band 4' as throw-in with the $89.99 bundle.
Harmonix is being quite cagey about what 'Rock Band Rivals' will bring to the table. CEO Steve Janiak has said that "Rock Band Rivals promises a fresh take on Rock Band 4 for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One."
And then there is the online multiplayer, which has been promised as coming this year. Of course, fans can expect to get details from Harmonix over the course of the summer, but with so many 'Rock Band' fans past and present scratching their heads, it's reasonable that E3 yield just a bit more info.
Well, first up, 'Rock Band 4 Rivals' will not include any songs. Specifically, the combined description of 'Rock Band 4' and 'Rock Band Rivals' goes like this:
With over 60 songs on-disc and more than 1,800 songs available from the Rock Band Music Store, you can create the ultimate setlist for your next party. Live out your rock star fantasies with gameplay features like:
Full band gameplay*
Classic Band Tour career mode
Freestyle Guitar Solos
Character Creator
Custom Setlists
Practice Mode
Enhanced music library sorting and searching
Brutal Mode
Weekly Score Challenges
Online Leaderboards
Synchronous Online Multiplayer
(Coming December 2016)
and more!
Plus a backstage pass to additional free updates!
This combined song nature of both the base game and expansion is also described as "Over 1,800 Songs Available, Plus 60+ Songs on Disc." That's a description that matches the number of songs that already are including with 'Rock Band 4,' but it now includes many of the features that have come via updates.
And yes, December is specifically indicated for "Synchronous Online Multiplayer."
With this info in mind, it seems that that 'Rivals' will include modes as its chief draw. Does that mean that the December online multiplayer feature will be confined to 'Rivals?' That's a good question, one which both Harmonix and PDP representatives elected not answer.
While I think it's clear that 'Rivals' will not include any songs, and that online multiplayer is scheduled for December, these are details that could be changed. Since the launch of 'Rock Band 4,' Harmonix has shown both a willingness to listen to fans, and to reexamine certain in-stone decisions such as online multiplayer, Xbox ION drum support, a PC version, and even the game's publisher and hardware partner. Likewise, Harmonix could add songs to 'Rivals' via promotion code (like the preorder songs). Stay tuned to see how it all shakes out.
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