Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Gaming
  3. News

Rock Band goes on farewell tour before it stops releasing new songs in April 2013

By
Rock Band

It looked like the very nature of the music industry was gearing up for a paradigm shift back in 2008. While digital music sales through services like iTunes and Amazon had never managed to catch up to the halcyon days of 1999 and 2000 when CD sales were skyrocketing, a new form of music distribution was taking shape thanks to Activision Blizzard and Electronic Arts. Guitar Hero and Rock Band were going to be a new source of catalog revenue for bands and music labels alike, with people buying new tracks each and every week to play with friends at home. When Guitar Hero 3 became the first individual game to earn $1 billion back in 2007, the future seemed set in stone. It didn’t really workout that way. By 2011 the music instrument video game market had crumbled, and now a possible final nail will be hammered into the proverbial coffin: Come spring 2013, there will be no more regular Rock Band downloadable content.

“As you may have seen in our recent announcement regarding the release of Rock Band Blitz tracks as singles, Rock Band DLC production has gradually slowed over the past five years,” reads a statement on the official Rock Band website, “We’ve managed to maintain a consistent release schedule for a staggering 275 consecutive weeks, releasing over 4,000 songs for the Rock Band Platform, but in recent months we’ve scaled production down as we’ve transitioned resources onto other projects. With several new titles in development and developers needed to usher these new games along, April 2nd will be the last weekly DLC release for Rock Band.”

Recommended Videos

When it released in 2007, Guitar Hero creator Harmonix’s Rock Band was a more forward-looking product than the franchise Activision had wrested from its control. Rather than forcing players to purchase discs of limited new songs, Rock Band would have a persistent iTunes-style storefront of new digital songs that carried across new iterations of the series. Rock Band, Rock Band 2, and the store of downloadable tracks generated $1 billion by March 2009, just eighteen months after the release of the original game.

While revenue for the series continued to grow into 2010, Electronic Arts, Viacom’s MTV Interactive division, and Harmonix’s ambitions outpaced their market. The cost of developing products like The Beatles: Rock Band—a single song cost “thousands” to produce—crippled the franchise whose value was diminishing as Activision and Electronic Arts flooded the music game market.

Harmonix will continue to release new Rock Band DLC over the next six weeks.

Topics
Anthony John Agnello
Anthony John Agnello
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Anthony John Agnello is a writer living in New York. He works as the Community Manager of Joystiq.com and his writing has…
How to revive dead companions in Baldur’s Gate 3
Withers offering services to the player in Baldur's Gate 3.

You're given a good bit of leeway during battles in Baldur's Gate 3 before you or a companion actually bites the dust for good. While in battle, if a teammate does take enough damage to drop, they aren't dead then and there. Instead, they will be downed with a chance to roll every turn to get back up. If they roll successfully three times, the battle ends, or you use another character to pick them up, they're good. If they fail that roll three times, however, they will be completely dead. That can be harsh when you've become attached to certain characters and want to further their stories, so you'll be looking for any way you can to bring them back. Thankfully you do have a few options for reviving companions in Baldur's Gate 3, but just like respeccing, they aren't so obvious.
Pay Withers to bring them back

Withers is a friendly undead you can find in a secret room in the Dank Crypt found inside the Overgrown Ruins. After finding and speaking to him in his sarcophagus, he will offer you various services, one of which is bringing back any dead companions. He won't do this out of the kindness of his heart (probably because it isn't beating) and will charge you a heavy fine of 200 gold to do so. Still, that's a small price to pay to bring back a beloved character. Once paid, that character will appear in your camp where they would normally be, so there's no need to go back to their corpse and find them.
Use a scroll of Revivfy or learn it

Read more
Every video game delay that has happened in 2023 so far
The player skates toward the moon in Skate Story.

Few things feel as inevitable in the video game industry as delays. Ever since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, game delays have only become more and more common as developers find previously set timelines unrealistic and adjust their release plans accordingly. More than halfway through 2023, we've already seen some notable AAA games like Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, Skull & Bones, and Pragmata delayed pretty heavily. Because video game release date delays are so common, it can be tough to keep track of every game that has had its launch date shifted in some way.
That's why, just as we did in 2021 and 2022, Digital Trends is rounding up every game delay that's announced throughout 2023. Here are the high-profile ones that have happened so far, listed chronologically by their new intended release dates.
The Dark Pictures: Switchback VR (March 16)

As Until Dawn: Rush of Blood is one of the best games for PlayStation VR, The Dark Pictures: Switchback VR, Supermassive Games' PlayStation VR2 successor, is a highly anticipated launch title for the upcoming VR headset. Unfortunately, it will no longer make PlayStation VR2's February 22 launch and will instead be released on March 16. On Twitter, a message from Supermassive Games says this delay will ensure that players "receive the most polished, terrifying experience possible" at release. The game was released on that date to mixed reviews.
Atelier Ryza 3: Alchemist of the End & the Secret Key (March 24)

Read more
Is Remnant 2 cross-platform?
Three characters shoot at a boss in Remnant 2.

Aside from the focus on firearms and integrating some randomly generated environments, the Remnant series sets itself apart from other souls-like games mainly with its focus on co-op. Both titles encourage you to team up with two friends to fight your way through the mutated monsters that await. After so many years of progress in terms of multiplatform games incorporating full cross-platform support, you might assume Remnant 2 will follow suit and let you make a group with anyone regardless of what platform they're on. However, the truth may be a bit more disappointing. Before you make plans with your squad, here's what you need to know about Remnant 2's cross-platform support.
Is Remnant 2 cross-platform?

Unfortunately, Remnant 2 does not have cross-platform play between PS5, Xbox Series X or PC -- and there's no word about it being added in the future.

Read more