Filed under: Gaming, iPhone, App Store, iPod touch
Rock Band on iPhone is a hit
Disgruntled TUAW commenters, I'll save you some time: "OMG Mike of course a game powered by EA and one of the most popular franchises of all time is a hit. Try reporting some real news!" But not so fast -- Rock Band, which hit the App Store top 10 and conquered the Top Grossing list just days after its release this week, is actually a more unlikely hit than you think. For one thing, it sold at a price of $9.99 only -- no free versions, no trials, no pricing sales or schemes that have become the rule rather than the exception on the App Store lately. And for another thing, it had a comparable competitor in Tap Tap Revenge 3, selling for just 99 cents. TTR3 is a hit as well -- it's topping the list of paid apps that Rock Band is on -- but many people figured consumers would pass on the $10 app for the 99 cent one, and many people were wrong.In short, even though, yes, Rock Band has EA's power behind it and it's based on an already popular game, it actually has bucked what we've seen so far: prices racing to the bottom, and tough chances of making a hit game, much less a profitable one, at the $9.99 price point. We don't yet know whether the game is profitable (or how either Rock Band's or TTR3's microtransaction models will do in the future), as it's just too soon.
But Rock Band is already seen as a game that stands as a shining example of what many were thinking wasn't true: big publishers with big name titles can put out big games at (relatively -- $10 is still cheap when you're talking about Rock Band at large) high price points and see them sell.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
brady said 10:40PM on 10-21-2009
The price point actually greatly effects the ranking on the list, as it is Top Grossing not # of sales, so Rock Band has to sell 1/10th that of TTR3 to be equal on the list. Furthermore it hasn't sold as many copies because TTR3 is the top of Paid Apps while Rock Band is 6th. No offense, but this article makes an incorrect point.
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Alexander Stone said 2:08AM on 10-22-2009
Actually, there are 3 separate "Top 10" lists. Only one is based on revenue. The other is based on ratings over a rolling time period and the other is based on download count.
It breaks down as "Rating", "Popularity", and "Grossing"
SaudiMac said 5:40AM on 10-22-2009
What a shame, this game is only available to a handful of iTunes store countries.
Music Labels is pushing people to pirate this game
Danny said 10:44PM on 10-21-2009
Ughhhh...the name sells it Einstein. TTR3 is a better game but RB had the bigger name unfortunately!
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Kevlar said 2:59AM on 10-22-2009
I'm not sure. I've never played TTR3, but I did play both previous two.
Don't get me wrong, they were good games, but there was a kind of disconnect with between the actions and the music. It felt like you were tapping along with the song.
Rock Band feels like you are actually performing the song.
Sure, it may not have the best track list, or plastic instruments, but the experience is spot on, and the game plays very well.
In my opinion, it's up there with the best mobile games on the iPhone, and definitely worth the $9.99.
Art said 11:02PM on 10-21-2009
OMG Mike of course a game powered by EA and one of the most popular franchises of all time is a hit. Try reporting some real news!
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Aaron P. said 11:29PM on 10-21-2009
I picked up Rock Band this afternoon and it's worth every penny IMO. For the most part, it's an extremely faithful representation of what's on the consoles. My only complaint is that from time to time there seems to be the slightest bit of timing mismatch between the note on the screen and the note being played. It's messed me up several times now.
Another slightly annoying thing is that it periodically freaks out a bit when you miss a note, thereby causing you to miss even more notes.
Despite that, its an incredibly fun game. Hopefully they can fix these minor issues in an update soon.
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oboewan said 1:31AM on 10-22-2009
Lag in any music game is an automatic dealbreaker for me. Thanks for helping me in my purchasing decision
Will said 12:23AM on 10-22-2009
I have it and I like it very much. I didn't pay for it but it is a
great game. I like it a lot more than any of the TapTaps. 10 bucks
is a high price, but it is a great game. Very well done.
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Beanie said 12:19AM on 10-22-2009
Please tell me you just borrowed it from someone else. If you pirated it, seriously, I hate you.
Justin said 1:27AM on 10-22-2009
He could have won a promo code in a contest or something.
mentalsticks said 9:51AM on 10-22-2009
or his little sister paid for it and they share an itunes account.
Will said 1:05PM on 10-22-2009
LOL! Actually my girlfriend purchased it cause she's a huge fan of Rock Band. We work and live together... The iPhone is for my business. Sometimes you have to mix business with pleasure ;)
Alexander Stone said 2:07AM on 10-22-2009
I caved and bought it about an hour after it hit the App Store. it's really fun. I don't normally like these kinds of games, but the multiplayer option sold me on it. Me and my friends all have iPhones and enjoy getting together to play the console version, so being able to rock out on the go seemed like a major plus for me.
I'm looking forward to the song packs and future improvements.
I have noticed a timing issue from time to time, but it's only happened once or twice, ever.
Anyway... it's a great game. 9.99 isn't too bad. If you don't have a spare $10 lying around, you probably shouldn't be looking in the games section of the App Store to begin with.
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deus said 3:00AM on 10-22-2009
I find the game play to be a lot smoother than with TTR3. TTR3 just feels bloated for some reason. I was truly surprised with how fast Rock Band started up on my 3G and the fact that this smooth running game came from EA. Yes, there are minor glitches rarely, but Tapulous has had 3 revisions to fix this and they have yet to do so completely whereas Rock Band, in its first attempt, had a more polished feel to it overall.
I have to say that the price point is a little steep. I really wish there was some mechanism of verifying that you bought songs on other systems and have it download the content onto your iPhone automatically, but I'm assuming that's a licensing issue. Still, it would be rather nice, not to have to pay for the same songs, twice...
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Alexander Stone said 3:27AM on 10-22-2009
I agree. It'd be great to be able to migrate your purchased content across all platforms, but that's just not the world we live in (yet!).
99 cent song packs aren't too bad, though. Just hope they come out with larger song packs and keep putting out content on a regular basis like they do with the console versions (releasing new songs every week, seemingly).
I also hope the success of this one leads to a very healthy development cycle, meaning that we get to see more attention to the game and constant stream of improvements and features.
Dzamir said 7:48AM on 10-22-2009
In Italy, Wolfram Alpha (priced at 40€) is at the 38th position of the Top Grossing! And my app (priced at 5€) continues to sell without problems.
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Tim said 12:52PM on 10-22-2009
I just have to say, having tried both TTR3, and Rock Band, Rock Band blows TTR3 out of the water and makes TTR3 seems like it blows chunks.
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