Rock Band Track Pack

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Rock Band Track Packs (called Song Packs in Europe and Australia)[1] are a series of supplemental media discs for the Rock Band series of music video games. The packs are developed by Harmonix and Demiurge Studios (earlier packs were developed with Pi Studios), and distributed by MTV Games and Electronic Arts. The track packs are fully functional standalone games and do not require separate Rock Band titles to play;[2] however, on consoles that support downloadable content, the songs from these packs can be integrated with other Rock Band titles. The initial purpose of the track packs was to allow users of systems without support for downloadable content (PlayStation 2 and originally Wii) to be able to play some of the downloadable tracks. With the exception of the AC/DC pack, all songs in each track pack are available as downloadable content in online stores.

Rock Band Track Pack Vol. 1 (Rock Band Song Pack 1) was released for the Wii and PlayStation 2 on July 15, 2008. The addition was announced on May 5, 2008.[3] This disc contains 20 songs previously released as downloadable content for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 .[2][4] As there are only 20 songs, all tracks have been re-arranged into "Stages" instead of Tiers, with four "Stages" in total. The following songs are featured on this track pack:[4]

AC/DC Live: Rock Band Track Pack (AC/DC Live: Rock Band) was announced on September 29, 2008, and was released for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 on November 2. The Wii version was released on November 16, 2008. The pack contains all 18 tracks from AC/DC's Live at Donington DVD. The game, through pre-existing licensing deals that AC/DC has with the retail chains,[6] was only available at Wal-Mart and Sam's Club.[7] This exclusivity agreement was only applicable in the United States, and ended on November 4, 2009, when GameStop began selling new copies of the game for $20.[8] Each copy of the track pack includes a code that can be redeemed online to allow Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 owners to download the content to their console for use in other Rock Band titles. The game can also be played as a standalone title, including a number of achievements for Xbox 360 owners, but otherwise does not feature many of the gameplay elements of the full Rock Band titles, such as character creation or customization, online play, or a World Tour mode.[6] The track pack retails for $30 for the PS2 version and $40 for other consoles.[5][7] Harmonix has confirmed that the songs will remain exclusive to the disc release, citing AC/DC's preference to sell their music as full albums instead of singles. They have not ruled out releasing the content in the future should the band's views change.[9]

Rock Band Track Pack Vol. 2 (Rock Band Song Pack 2) is an expansion disc for the Rock Band series featuring 20 master recordings previously released as downloadable content on the Xbox Live Marketplace and PlayStation Network Store. Unlike the first expansion, Vol. 2 is available on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 as well as the Wii and PlayStation 2. Much like the AC/DC Live pack, the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions also include a code to download the songs to a hard drive for use in other Rock Band games.[11][12][13]The following songs are included on the game disc:[11]

Rock Band Track Pack: Classic Rock is an expansion disc for the Rock Band series featuring 20 master recordings previously released as downloadable content on the Xbox Live Marketplace and PlayStation Network Store. The pack is available for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, and PlayStation 2. The Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions also include a code to export the songs to a hard drive for use in other Rock Band games.[14] The Track Pack can also be played as a standalone game for all systems in the same manner as the AC/DC Live and Track Pack Vol. 2,[14] and is also the first Rock Band Track Pack on Wii and on PS2 to be fully compatible with all Guitar Hero instruments.

Harmonix released a fifth track pack for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, and PlayStation 2. The disc features 21 songs, and for the first time includes songs never before seen in the Rock Band series. These songs were exclusive to Rock Band Country Track Pack for a limited time before being released to the Rock Band Music Store by late 2009 and early 2010. The Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions also include a code to export the songs to a hard drive for use in other Rock Band games. The Track Pack can also be played as a standalone game for all systems in the same manner as the AC/DC Track Pack and Track Pack Vol. 2.[15]

Rock Band Country Track Pack 2 contains 21 tracks, and was released for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Wii on February 1, 2011.[17] All songs on the disc were exclusive to the Track Pack before being released as downloadable content on November 8, 2011. The retail disc export is compatible with Rock Band, Rock Band 2, and Rock Band 3 while the standalone DLC is only compatible with Rock Band 3. Both the retail disc export and standalone "RB3 Versions" feature Pro Drum tracks and Harmony Vocals where appropriate while the "RB3 Versions" additionally have Keyboard and Pro Keyboard tracks added where appropriate. A Pro Guitar upgrade is available for the "RB3 Version" of "Ride" by Trace Adkins.[18] The "RB3 version" versions of this entire track pack are available as a bundle download in the online Rock Band store, under the name "Country Mega Pack."

Rock Band is a 2007 music video game developed by Harmonix and distributed by MTV Games and Electronic Arts. The game is available for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, and Wii game consoles. Rock Band is based on Harmonix's previous success with the Guitar Hero series of video games in which players used a guitar-shaped controller to simulate playing rock music. Rock Band expands on the concept by adding a drum and microphone peripheral, allowing up to four players to participate in the game, playing lead and bass guitar, drums, and vocals. The gameplay in Rock Band is comparable to that in Guitar Hero along with elements from Harmonix' Karaoke Revolution.

Rock Band for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 2 and 3 shipped with 58 songs on disk, while the Wii version, released at a later date, contained 5 additional songs that were released as downloadable content for the game. The European version of the game also includes 9 additional songs that have since been released as downloadable content for other regions. The player can expand their music library on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions by purchasing new songs offered on a weekly basis through the consoles' respective store systems. A full list of downloadable songs is available. For the PlayStation 2 and Wii versions of Rock Band, Harmonix has created Rock Band Track Packs that contain a selection of the downloadable content already offered.

With Rock Band 2 and Rock Band 3, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 players can export a majority of songs from the Rock Band soundtrack to their console's storage device by purchasing a "transfer license".[1][2] Additionally, certain songs rated as "Family Friendly" by Harmonix are playable in Lego Rock Band. "Enter Sandman", "Monsoon", "Paranoid" and "Run to the Hills" cannot be exported to any other game in the series. The original recording of "Run to the Hills" was made available as a downloadable single and also in Iron Maiden Pack 01 on June 9, 2009.[3] While initially not exportable to Rock Band 3, "Black Hole Sun" and "Dani California" were made available via a patch released on November 8, 2011.[4] On the European version, "Hier Kommt Alex" & "Rock 'n' Roll Star" can be exported to Rock Band 2 but not Rock Band 3.[5] Exports of the Rock Band soundtrack (with the above exclusions) into Rock Band 4, for those that have already exported them into Rock Band 2 or 3, was enabled in January 2016.[6]

Players can play Rock Band alone through a Career mode for lead guitar, drums, and vocals, earning in-game money for their character to purchase new outfits and instruments. Each of the 45 songs[7][8] has a different difficulty ranking for each instrument part, as well as a total band difficulty. There are a total of nine difficulties, or tiers. In career mode each song in a tier must be successfully completed to move onto the next and unlock the songs in that tier. This tier system is also used for rating the difficulty of the song (the "Band" tier) and its separate instrumental parts for downloadable content even though the songs are not used to unlock new songs in career mode. Once songs are unlocked, they may be played in any mode, including Quickplay, and multiplayer (competitive and co-operative modes) off- or online. Each instrument part in each song can be played at one of four difficulty levels, which include Easy, Medium, Hard, and Expert.

A total of 13 bonus songs can also be unlocked through the game's Career mode.[8][9] The bonus setlist consists of bands formed by Harmonix employees as well as local bands from near Harmonix's headquarters in Cambridge, Massachusetts, or from Boston. The exceptions are Flyleaf, Crooked X, and Mother Hips. "Timmy and the Lords of the Underworld" comes from the titular fictional band featured in the comedy show South Park.

The European version of Rock Band features nine additional songs not available on the North American disc. These bonus songs include English, German, and French vocals.[11] These songs were released as downloadable content in the North American market on May 20, 2008.[12]