 | Parts of this article (those related to generally not-past tense) need to be updated. (October 2015) |
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| Developer | Harmonix |
|---|---|
| Type | Online service |
| Launch date | March 4, 2010 |
| Platform(s) | Xbox 360 PlayStation 3 Wii |
| Status | Discontinued |
The Rock Band Network (abbreviated RBN) was a downloadable content service designed by Harmonix with the help of Microsoft to allow musical artists and record labels to make their music available as playable tracks for the Rock Band series of rhythm video games, starting with Rock Band 2 (2008). It was designed to allow more music to be incorporated into Rock Band than Harmonix themselves could produce for the games, and it was seen as a way to further expand the games' music catalog into a wide variety of genres. The Network started closed beta testing in July 2009. The Rock Band Network Store was publicly available on March 4, 2010 for all Xbox 360 players in selected countries (US, Canada, UK, France, Italy, Germany, Spain, Sweden, and Singapore). Rock Band Network songs were exclusive to the Xbox 360 for 30 days on each song's release, after which a selection of songs would be made available on the PlayStation 3.[1]
The Rock Band Network was based on the XNA Creators Club model and uses peer review to check songs for playability, copyright violations and profanity in a song's lyrics. Harmonix had developed a suite of software tools, including a modified version of REAPER, a digital audio sound tool, and Magma, a metadata packaging tool, for use by artists and labels. In addition, Harmonix had helped to spawn the creation of several third-party companies, based on the previous hacking environment for the creation of custom songs, that will author an artist's song into a Rock Band track. Artists retain full control on their songs, and receive 30% of the sales from the Network. Several artists and labels had committed to expanding the distribution of their music through the network. A second version of the Network, "RBN 2.0" went live shortly after the release of Rock Band 3. The new version incorporated the ability to author regular and Pro keyboard, vocal harmonies, and Pro drums; due to the complexity and time investment, RBN 2.0 did not support authoring of Pro guitar or bass. The Network has been considered a more favorable option for the addition of user-generated content for music games than compared to Activision's previous attempt with "GHTunes" for the Guitar Hero series.[2]
Harmonix has since announced that they would be discontinuing regular DLC updates for the Rock Band series as of April 2, 2013; the Network would remain functional for Xbox 360 users while the third-party technologies, such as Microsoft XNA, remain automated processes, while the PlayStation 3 would see no further releases after April 2.[3] The service was fully closed in September 2017 as Harmonix moved forward with other projects, and all of its songs were removed from the DLC store in February 2018.[4] In May 2018, Harmonix announced it would be bringing the most popular entries as well as fan-requested songs from the Network into Rock Band 4; however, unlike core Rock Band DLC, users are unable to carry over any previously purchased Network songs due to licensing constraints.[5]
- ^ "Rock Band Network Store Open for Business". IGN. March 4, 2010. Retrieved March 4, 2010.
- ^ Bylund, Anders (March 15, 2010). "Can Viacom Do What Activision Couldn't?". Motley Fool. Retrieved March 15, 2010.
- ^ Lynch, Casey (February 18, 2013). "New Rock Band DLC Ends in April, Harmonix Working on New Projects". IGN. Retrieved February 18, 2013.
- ^ "Harmonix Music Systems".
- ^ Khan, Imran (May 3, 2018). "Harmonix Announces Return Of Rock Band Network Songs". Game Informer. Retrieved May 3, 2018.