MTV Games and Harmonix today unveiled Rock Band 2 for the Xbox 360, announcing the game will appear exclusively on Xbox 360 in September, with other platforms (PS3 and presumably Wii and PS2) debuting later in the year.
Rock Band 2 will have more music, more online modes and more features, but the biggest feature for current Rock Band owners is likely the fact that Rock Band 2 will be compatible with all current Rock Band downloadable content. That’s right, all previously purchased tracks will immediately load into your Rock Band 2 song list. No need to re-purchase or re-download.
Although MTV Games didn’t go into details, they promised what we’ve come to expect from Rock Band and Guitar Hero: “The biggest and most diverse soundtrack ever featuring some of rock’s most prolific acts.” So if Activision and MTV Games are both promising the biggest track list, who’s a guy to believe?
The online modes are also promised to be “new and dynamic,” although again, we received few details. Rock Band 2 will also feature new and improved drum and guitar peripherals, enhanced functionality and new designs, all while maintaining full compatibility with the original Rock Band instruments.
But back to this Xbox 360 exclusivity thing…. None of the parties involved — EA, MTV Games, Harmonix or Microsoft — announced just how much Microsoft paid for the timed exclusive, but we’re confident it was not a paltry sum. Microsoft, of course, is completely stoked:
“We expect Rock Band 2 to continue to drive an amazing social music experience on Xbox 360,” said David Hufford, senior director of Xbox Product Management. “We look forward to supporting Rock Band 2 on Xbox 360 as gamers continue to download hundreds of new music tracks from Xbox Live so they and their friends can perform the rock music they love most.”
More details regarding Rock Band 2’s features and music 2 will be revealed at E3 2008, so we will definitely bring you all the details as they surface.