Comments on: Did Rock Band 2 flop in Europe because of supply issues?

By: MR

MR — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 15:01:57 +0000

The germans and french have got it, but what about us other Euro-gamers with PS3. Isn’t we allowed to play such an awsome game?? I will wait, but is there any point ofgiving RB2 a timed exclusive for 360 by 3-4 months in Norway? That is not a win-win situation for HMX, since the 360 gamers don’t even get the instruments.

By: Nh

Nh — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 14:32:11 +0000

I wonder how real the published release date for the European version of Rock Band 2 on the PS3 is… Wikipedia says February 5th 2009 but I’m guessing that it’s a typo and that PS3 users can expect it around February 5th 3009. The date is quoted from a German website, so I’m figuring something got lost in translation.

By: Figge

Figge — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 02:26:10 +0000

“Harmonix’s latest music title was reportedly the best-selling game in North America in September 2008, selling 363,000 copies, and currently has a Metacritic rating of 92. So the question is, why isn’t it selling in Europe?”

…well EA, let me tell you why your game isn’t selling very good in Europe, 1’st you cant buy the game unless you know some very shady people 2′nd you can’t buy the instruments even if you know some shady people. my 2 cents

By: Aejay

Aejay — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 04:01:03 +0000

What is a mystery is how HMX could be so mindnumbingly stupid about it.. Hey guys, we have competition, we better sell our game in europe too. Sure, but not the instruments..

If you look at their forums, there are people -begging- to be allowed to give HMX their money in return for a few pieces of plastic.. The fact that they are not at all responding to this demand is why the game is failing, because nobody is willing to buy half an experience..

By: JOEY

JOEY — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 12:58:09 +0000

Does this mean that the instruments will not be released in the UK?

By: Tenchkov

Tenchkov — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 18:33:09 +0000

This is hardly surprising. Despite being first to market with the whole band-in-a-box idea, EA/Harmonix/MTV have shot themselves in the foot and have unwittingly handed the European market to Guitar Hero.

Rock Band was released in Europe nearly a full year later than in North America when much of the excitement and novelty had died down. When it was released it was way too expensive (whatever EA may have to say about shipping costs of plastic instruments). EA failed, in the European context, to make use of it’s platform being first to market.

Almost as soon as Rock Band was shipped to Europe, Rock Band 2 was released in North America, so some Europeans may have waited for this with it’s new more robust instruments. However Rock Band 2 has only just turned up in Europe. In addition to all these delays, EA also managed to alienate Europe’s large PS3 user base by releasing both versions of Rock Band as timed Xbox exclusives. I’m sure EA have received a hefty cheque from Microsoft but considering Rock Band was always going to be dragged into a platform war with Guitar Hero this was an unwise strategy.

While Rock Band has struggled to gain momentum in Europe, Activision has released it’s own version of Rock Band, Guitar Hero: World Tour, for every major home console. The Guitar Hero package costs less, and belongs to the much better known franchise, and has been backed up by solid advertising and availability.

The damage to Rock Band’s market penetration, from both the delayed European software releases and the timed exclusivity, considering the strength of Guitar Hero brand, now seems permanent.