This game is undervalued big time. At the end of Jan. it had a LTD sales of 1.5m copies in the US alone. Add Canada, Europe and all other territories sales and the end result will be higher than 2m by the end of Jan. Also it sold 240k in Jan. NPD alone which means the game has still the power to push big numbers month after month.
About Guitar Hero 3 sales, apparently there's a rumor in the new EGM that there could be more Guitar Hero releases this year than last year. That is, more non-numbered releases like last year's 80s game. If this is true, it could cause Guitar Hero 3's sales to be lower than we were expecting due to increased intra-series competition. @Jonman, Worry about an expensive game on an inexpensive console sure didn't stop them from getting out that PS2 version as quickly as they could.
@Jonman, I personally see Rock Band as very expensive for any console - no matter what the price of the original console was - and I believe that this is the same for many people. Wii games do not really occupy a very lower price point for regular games to start with (only $10 in the case of the top of the line titles). If there is not a good amount of cash floating about in Wii-owners pockets, then why did Guitar Hero III sale thus far in good numbers (an expensive purchase when compared with many consumer media purchases). Yes of course there is more money willing to be spent by "hardcore" gamers, but this crowd still exists to some point on the Wii - nonetheless, there is still a significant enough crowd on the Wii that would be willing and would like to purchase Rock Band for the Wii (and a company like EA does not usually say no to a good possibility at making money).
I can't help but feel that the price of the package would have to come down a *lot* to make it a viable proposition for Wii. There just simply isn't anything like the same amount of cash floating about in Wii-owners pockets destined for games as there is with the more hobbyist machines. Let's not forget that Wii games occupy a lower price point for regular old boxed discs to start with.
How low could you see the Rock Band package coming down to? Even dropping a third of it's price down to $120 (unlikely as that seems) still seems like a steep price for a Wii game.
@Jonman, Rock Band is an expensive title on any of the consoles - not just if it were to come to the Wii.
Also, by the time that Rock Band could make it to the Wii, production of the instruments needed will cost less for EA and they should be able to bring the price down a little. It would be idiotic for EA to ignore the kind of numbers that a game like Guitar Hero III has received on the Wii and not put out Rock Band for the Wii.
Isn't this purely a pricing issue? Rock Band alone costs only $70 less than the Wii itself.
With the Wii comfortably sitting as the budget proposition in the console market, does it even make sense releasing a single game that costs nearly as much as the machine itself? It's not like the Wii boasts an impressive attach rate suggesting that it's owners are happy to throw money at cotent for the machine.
@Laoldar, I do not see getting the controllers to work with the Wii as any trouble at all for a Rock Band release on the Wii (saying that if they are wireless, the Wii uses standard Bluetooth). I really do not see anything that could make it hard for EA to get a version of Rock Band out for the Wii - plus, we all know EA likes money and with the numbers Guitar Hero III has put up on Wii, they cannot ignore the platform.
As of today, EA has said that there are no plans for a Wii version.
Considering all that would have to go into porting this game (getting the controllers to work with the Wii, etc), there's no way we'll see a Rock Band game on the Wii before next fall...if ever.
@Laoldar, It seems unlikely to me they'll want to cede the entire year to Guitar Hero 3 in the Wii music game category. I'd be surprised if it wasn't a mid-year game, like Guitar Hero 2 was last year on X360.
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Also it sold 240k in Jan. NPD alone which means the game has still the power to push big numbers month after month.