In a move that might prove to be connected to the recent sale of the series developer, Harmonix’s Aaron Trites announced that the forthcoming Rock Band Network pack would be the last released on the Wii. Originally conceived as a work around for user and artist created content, The Rock Band Network will continue to exist in its other carnations (The full Xbox 360 experience, and best of selections on the PS3) but the given reasons for the shutdown on the Wii which Trites explained as “…the smaller online install base, limited demand for releases so far and the significant amount of work it takes for our producers and audio team to convert and process these additional tracks” make it seems as if this decision wasn’t a hard one to make – even if the company wasn’t in an uncertain financial state.
Although this could have spelled the death for Rock Band as a platform on the Wii, Trites ensured that “regular Wii DLC …will continue uninterrupted.” The decision to discontinue the service on the Wii (as opposed to the PS3 which sold comparably to the Wii versions of Rock Band 2 & 3) continues to perpetuate the idea that the typical Wii-user isn’t as likely as its PS3 and 360 counterparts to connect online and purchase downloadable content.
Rock Band Network’s swan song will be available for download tomorrow, January 18th, and consist of the following songs:
- The Main Drag – “How We’d Look On Paper”
- Wounded Soul – “Rx”
- Band of Horses – “The Great Salt Lake”
- Firewind – “Head Up High”
- Cetan Clawson and the Soul Side – “White Heat”
- OK Go – “White Knuckles”
Popularity: unranked [?]
