
Before the NYC Guitar Hero II event with Gene Simmons got into full swing, Joystiq got the chance to sit down with Larry Hryb (AKA Major Nelson) and talk about all things Xbox. Speaking about the highly priced Guitar Hero II downloadable songs, Major Nelson states that it's not analogous to iTunes. In other words, the interactivity, the licensing, and the testing all go into creating a price for the new tracks. Furthermore, since the tracks are on a new platform, all the contracts have to be renegotiated. Of course, Red Octane wants to make some money as well. When asked about the bundling issue -- i.e. "I have to buy two crappy songs to get the one I like" -- Major Nelson says that bundling was probably done to bring the cost down. By working on three songs at once, rather than individual songs, Red Octane could conceivably cut down on development costs, thus reducing the price to consumers. In other words, individual songs would likely be even more expensive.
Major Nelson also discusses the upcoming Halo 3 beta, the competition from Sony, the Spring Update, and the Wii. Hit the "read" link for the full interview.
See Also:
Xbox 360 Fancast 010 (featuring Major Nelson)












Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
4-12-2007 @ 12:28PM
Chappy said...
Boo hoo hoo "interactivity, licensing, and the testing..." Sorry Major, but I don't give a crap about your excuses. I'm sure it costs more than $60 to make a game like Dance Dance Revolution, but the developer and publisher make up the difference in volume. Most gamers won't pay more than $60 for a game, and we won't pay more than $1-$1.25 for a song. Charge more than that and your sales go down, and if you think the solution is to raise prices than you've failed economics 101.
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4-12-2007 @ 12:30PM
AG said...
On that Guitar Hero thing...Yeah...um....that's B*llSh*t. The actual gameplay aspects of these track were coordinated for a ps2 version that came out a couple years back.
And if someone says that it's like paying for music, it flat isn't. You cannot radio play or copy these songs. Heck, they aren't even the songs themselves but covers. B*llsh*t
All of the OG material should have been included in the Xbox360 version. NEW material should be paid for. Then you can charge whatever you want.
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4-12-2007 @ 12:41PM
Jason Seely said...
If it is cheaper to bundle the songs, how about bundling all the songs from GHI together and selling them for 59.99 on a disk in the store. Maybe they could call it GHI:Remastered.
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4-12-2007 @ 12:42PM
AG said...
BTW Atari and TestDrive are a perfect example of "how to" support your community and make some cash. Too bad that game doesn't get enough credit. They did some things game-play wise that deserve serious laurels.
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4-12-2007 @ 12:43PM
Tony Bowman said...
i've got no problem with the pricing. while i would like it to be lower or free(and who wouldn't?), it's NOT THAT BIG OF A DEAL. don't pay and don't play if the price is too steep for you. Red Octone Harmonix, Microsoft and Activision DON'T OWE YO ANYTHING. no free songs, no cheap content, nothing but exactly what you pay for.
you paid for GH2, which stated that DLC would be available. they didn't promise a price. you saw the price up front and declined to pay it for the extra content. and it is EXTRA content. you aren't buying GH1. you're buying songs that were also in GH1. there's a big damn difference.
bitching that the GH1 songs should have been included in GH2 on the 360 is FARCICAL. why no outcry when the GH1 songs weren't included in the PS2 version of GH2? it's like bitching that you didn't get GRAW1 for free when you bought GRAW2.
grow up, babies, and vote with your wallet and not your loud mouth.
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4-12-2007 @ 12:45PM
ANt said...
Major Nelson I respect the guy for what he does, and most of the time he's a robot for Microsoft because he has to be.
I know if you asked him "off the record" about GH II and the 500 point songs that he would be upset about it too.
Considering that these songs most likely are on the disc already and being unlocked by an encryption key makes it all the more difficult pill to swallow.
So we as the general public need to do one thing, don't buy them plain and simple....
Oh by the way.....I had two bad guitars, and Red Octane responded to my email that I sent about it, and they made me out to be an idiot, telling me that I need to unplug the guitar and restart my 360 and all.
I love the game, but I had to return it for a refund finally. Too many problems, not to mention multiple trips to GS to make the exchanges, let alone find one, and the experience with Red Octane sealed the deal.
Screw them and their killer app....they obviously don't care about the consumer and their hard earned dollar.....it's all about the $$$$$$$$$$$$$$.
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4-12-2007 @ 1:00PM
AG said...
@Tony Bowman
and yelling out into the e-void is pretty superfluous as well, pal.
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4-12-2007 @ 1:13PM
Otis Whitaker said...
@ #5 - So, you'd be aptly happy if they were charging any price? God, I hate people like you. You'll bend over for whatever the company wills you to bend over for.
"THEY DIDN'T PROMISE YOU ANYTHING CAPITALISM CAPITALISM LOVE LOVE LOVE STICK ME!"
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4-12-2007 @ 1:47PM
Tony Bowman said...
you deem the price to high to pay. i deem the price high, but not too high to pay. i do, in fact, hope the price is lower for future content. i got a free 1600 points card when i got my copy of GH2, so i spent it on the songs. so what? there wasn't anything else out that i wanted, and i know better than to play a waiting game with Microsoft and it's partners.
i have a strict budget for gaming and if future content is more that what i have left in the budget for that pay cycle, then no content for me. if there is money in the budget and it's content i want, i'll get it. it's simple as that.
that's not me bending over. that's me planning ahead, setting a budget and stickign to it, spending what i'm OK with on content i want, when and if i want it. it's called being an adult. you should try it sometime.
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4-12-2007 @ 2:01PM
JJZee said...
This is such junk. I think he should get hammered or the stupidity of the idiot licensing/renegotiation argument that he is stating. I won't be buying any DLC for GH2 until it is reasonably priced and packaged.
It is sad that he can't be a Liaison to the gaming community and is just their corporate mouthpiece where we can "think" our objections are heard.
This is the RIAA at its worst. Corporate GREED at its worst. Microsoft at it absolute worst. As the argument gets repeated about licensing then what is sad is Red Octane should higher better negotiators. They are reselling songs available on other platforms (ALREADY CREATED). The work is done and Microsoft/Red Octane/Activision are just trying to make as much money as possible.
I hope the gaming community remains solid and continues to put pressure on the companies about their greed.
This is so sad
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4-12-2007 @ 2:02PM
ANt said...
====> ( )o( )
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4-12-2007 @ 2:12PM
Jason Seely said...
funny how the guy throwing the temper tantrum is calling everyone else babies. ah the irony.
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4-12-2007 @ 2:22PM
glenncou said...
Look, I'm not happy about the pricing, either, but to say that for these songs the work was already done, you're wrong. Each of these songs had to have the work done to make them multiplayer (which hadn't been released, if even done).
Most of you have no idea the amount of work that is necessary for doing any kind of game development, and to say this is just easy, piece of cake, no work required BS are wrong.
Still, it's too expensive for what I think is fair, and I'll be voting with my wallet.
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4-12-2007 @ 3:37PM
graikor said...
Let me get this straight... He knows the songs are more expensive than they really ought to be, and he thinks bundling 3 of these overpriced songs together is a solution? I accept that could reduce the per-song price, but if I don't want one or two of the other songs in the bundle, I (just speaking for myself here) would rather pay a bit more per-song and be able to select the songs I want individually.
Another reasonable option would be to have a downloadable pack ala the Shivering Isles Expansion for Oblivion - all (or even most, if there are rights issues) of the original GH songs for a single $40 download. I'd even buy it if some of the GH II features (like co-op play) were not available for the older songs.
As it stands now, I will not be purchasing any DLC for GH II unless changes are made, and I was one of the earlier signers of the petition, which I urge anyone who is upset about this DLC strategy to sign ( http://www.petitiononline.com/GHIIDLC/petition.html )
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4-12-2007 @ 4:38PM
Jcarpio said...
I can't believe i'm going to say this.. but...
You're paying a dollar more to interact with a song?
And that's a bad thing?
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4-12-2007 @ 5:01PM
FoReVeR ReD 117 said...
If it were cheaper to bundle them in packs, why not bundle them in a five pack to make them even more cheaper? huh?
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4-12-2007 @ 5:25PM
BSpraggs said...
And maybe they'll bundle in some english lessons. "more cheaper?"
That petition will do nothing. The Bioshock petition was obviously a marketing scheme to get people to love them. I'd buy the songs if I had the money, $2 a song isn't that bad, and I get to play it over and over again. . .
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4-12-2007 @ 5:30PM
ANt said...
So you don't have $6 in your wallet, D-bag??
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4-12-2007 @ 5:57PM
dan said...
Nelson says that bundling was **probably** done to bring the cost down. By working on three songs at once, rather than individual songs, Red Octane could **conceivably** cut down on development costs, thus reducing the price to consumers.
Don't sound so sure there do we Major?
There was a set amount of songs that were worked on, its up to you how to distribute them. or you couldve taken a vote to see what we wanted, let alone in a bundle.
of course they put one good song with two we dont want. pretty greedy MS
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4-12-2007 @ 7:36PM
Mike said...
Tony Bowman,
Serious question - I'm not here to flame I don't do that... You think these prices are reasonable, so, by that logic, if GH1 were re-released on the 360 without the guitar controller, would you be willing to pay $98 for it?
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