Golden Oldies

What about the tracks from RB1 and the downloadable content from before? No worries, Harmonix has it covered. While not every song from RB1 will transfer over (some due to licensing issues, others because free downloadable master tracks will become available), Drake assured us that most of the tracklist would make it over.

The process of transferring the music is simple. Once the new game installation ability is enabled by Microsoft (which we currently have no date for), the option to download all music from RB1 will be given. Just accept and it’ll take somewhere around 6GB of hard disk space (space required has yet to be confirmed). If you’re like us and have lots of arcade games, downloaded map packs and demos, it may be time to upgrade to the 60GB or 120GB hard drive. On the PlayStation 3, the process will be similar.

As we pointed out, RB2 bundles will not be available at the game’s launch, but single instruments should be available in most retailers. How long they’ll stay that way is anyone’s guess. Regardless, all of the RB1 hardware is compatible with RB2, and based on the current news with hardware compatibility, we’re fairly certain that Activision’s new hardware for Guitar Hero: World Tour will also be compatible.

Right now, we don’t know which tracks that are on RB1 won’t transfer because they’re either no longer licensed or are now master tracks for download. Re-licensing all the tracks costs just $5 (400 points), which is an incredible deal considering that’s 60+ tracks being transferred to your hard drive.

And, of course, all Rock Band DLC will work on RB2. Even though it doesn’t show on RB1, it will all be upgraded to display the difficulty for each instrument and will essentially work like all the new content. As far as Harmonix is concerned, it’s all DLC, so it works for both games. If you decide not to pick up a copy of RB2, all the newer DLC will still be available on RB1.