During the CES last week, Harmonix head honcho Alex Rigopolous discussed a bit of the future of the Rock Band series. In a refreshing twist, he revealed that Rock Band 3 won't be a 2009 release.
“We’ve actually made a choice to break out of the annual release cycle for Rock Band this year,” Rigopolous told the assembled press and industry members. “[This is] partly because the annual cycle places limits on the choices you can make as a developer. We’re trying to take a long term view.”
You have to applaud this decision, especially when you consider the packed release schedule of the competing Guitar Hero series. Rigopolous explained that their focus on the upcoming Beatles game was another reason for the delay. As far as the rumored addition of keyboards to Rock Band 3, the official word is: "Maybe."
In related news, Opposable Thumbs reports that Harmonix is considering bundling music with their game levels. That's right: you might get a downloadable MP3 when you buy the latest Rock Band DLC. This is something I've long felt needed to happen; it makes sense that if you are a big enough fan to download a song for the game, you might want it on your Ipod too. No definite plans are made yet, but apparently it's something they've been discussing for a while. What are your thoughts on bundling MP3s with the DLC?