Rock Band: Band in a Box

so obviously a lot has been made of the whole Rock Band pricing fiasco here in the United Kingdom and Europe, with the price being almost doubled here compared to how much it costs in the States. we Brits are used to paying more than the Yanks for the stuff; its things like high VAT and reasonably high taxes that allows us to have a national health service. that being said, there are a lot of issues that have been raised and some that haven't. For the service of all those contemplating whether or not to buy this game or boycott EA, this is a general appraisal of the situation:

1) the full game's RRP in the United States is $169, the equivalent of about £85, whereas here the RRP is £180. the reason an EA spokeman gave for the high costs is increased import and shipping costs for the parts, which i believe are coming from China (shock of all shocks). so their reasoning is that this is how much they have to charge in order to turn the same profit they turned with the US price. however there is one key issue with the pricing; how come the game can RRP at £180 but Amazon can afford to sell it for £140? Amazon must be making profit from this and must be passing on profits to the publishers. to put this into perspective, Amazon.com in the US only offers a $20 discount on the game, only 12% in comparison to .co.uk's discount of around 22%. so it is entirely impossible that EA could have set a RRP of £140 and made a profit. if this is the case, then the £180 is purely exploitative and unreasonable and you probably should boycott this game to show EA a lesson

2) according to most feedback from users and critics alike, this game is incredibly fun and totally excellent, and is definitely a product worth owning, which is what makes the pricing so difficult. the game has a 93% MetaCritic score for a reason.

3) if you already own a Guitar Hero guitar, im fairly certain that with the Xbox 360 you can play Rock Band with the GH guitar, in which case all you really need is the drums which can be sold at a cheaper price, so if you are not so eager on singing along that is probably a more economical and sensible idea

4) for those of who holding out for Guitar Hero World Tour when it is released later this year, the game's USA price has been set at $189, which means odds are the kit is going to be just as expensive, unless of course EA IS simply exploiting customers and Activision could afford to sell it for a cheaper price. but that gamble could cost you 6 months worth of thoroughly enjoyable rocking out on Rock Band.

5) the game does come with songs that you would have to buy as downloadable content in the USA, so you are saving some money there

6) the £140 Amazon price is actually a very reasonable price for the item. considering that the game has pretty much double the content of Guitar Hero 3, which costs about £60, £140 is a pretty reasonable price to pay, especially if you have an Amazon Prime subscription like me and get free shipping. so the only real reason not to buy the game through Amazon would be a matter of principle of not wanting to give EA their money, which is fair enough

7) Amazon's more reasonable price tag may be off-set by the aforementioned shipping costs, but there is also the inherant danger of potential hardware damage. there are many reported cases of Rock Band's drum kit being a little fragile, and they do break. and since im not sure how you go about getting your kit repaired, there is a good change you may have to return it to Amazon since they sold it to you, which may also push up shipping costs and provide other issues. i may be wrong and there may be a simpler way to get your drums repaired if they do break, but just be aware that the Rock Band drum kit can break. also the Guitar Hero drum kit does look pretty damn cool and may not have the technical issues of the Rock Band drum kit.

in conclusion, i have decided to buy this item through Amazon, and im sure i will enjoy playing it. im not really into the whole boycott idea; besides one person buying the game doesn't make a difference. your decision on whether or not to buy the game purely comes down to personal opinion. if you love playing games with friends and party games, and especially if you have some mates to go in with on buying the game, you really owe it to yourself to buy this game - it is the most complete and enjoyable music game on the market. if you believe EA's pricing is unfair, and you want to vote with your money, then by all means wait to see how much Activision will be charging you for GH4, but don't expect too much mercy.

if you are stuck on the fence, debating whether or not to buy it or boycott it and hold tight for GH4, the best advice i can give you is read the soundtrack, go read some reviews, go read the hype for Guitar Hero World Tour and think whether you really think the game is worth £140, or whether waiting six months for Guitar Hero is worth it. as i said, if you're on a tight budget, find a friend who will go half-in with you and share the experience of rocking out; that is after all what the game was designed for.

i hope this guide provided you with some clearer guidelines on whether or not you should buy this admittedly awesome game. thanks for reading, and rock on!

Outside the (justified) criticism for price-gouging, you don't need this whole kit. Generic USB mikes work fine (the joypad is used for menu interaction), and the Guitar Hero III controller is so far superior to the terrible RB guitar as to be worth leaving the bundle on the shelves just because that thing's included.

Take note that the drum kit will still need work if you're planning to do any serious playing; extra PVC supports, sound dampening, better drumsticks and probably a replacement pedal - most of which must either be imported from the US (at least for now) or built DIY.

Might as well have just included the control box...

i think rock band is brilliant, had it for 3 months now and i still play everyday , i would strongly advise anyone to go for rock band rather than world tour, cant fault rock band on anything really, instuments work very well and are very stirdy.