Since several readers asked for more "Rock Band 2" on Wii clarifications in our last post, I decided to break out the answers into a separate story altogether.
If you missed it, last week Harmonix cleared up a number of mysteries regarding the Wii version of their music sequel, mostly focused on the game's downloadable content.
Keep reading to learn more about "Rock Band 2"'s use of SD cards, Wii Points and instrument compatibility between "Rock Band" and "Guitar Hero."
Gohan asked…"About the Wii Points, does that mean I have to have Wii Points already redeemed on my console before purchasing new tracks? As for the SD card streaming, does the game read those tracks 100% from the card? If so, could this mean Nintendo is open to letting full-blown games run 100% from the card?"
You have to purchase Wii points before booting up "Rock Band 2," yes. But once the songs are purchased, "Rock Band 2"'s in-game store can take advantage of those points. You don't need to purchase new songs from Nintendo's storefront channel.
"Rock Band 2" does read 100% from the SD card, but it doesn't appear Nintendo will be allowing for games to be executed off the card just yet.
Motown asked…" I've always wanted to know how they'd fit all that DLC content on the Wii's 512MB of flash memory? Would you have to add an SD card to download more than 17 songs?"
It's unclear just how many songs would fit on a clean Wii's system memory. That depends on what song you are downloading. The longer the song, the more memory it's going to take up. But it's safe to say there won't be much space for users who are also taking advantage of Virtual Console and WiiWare. An SD card will probably be a must for "Rock Band 2" Wii owners who want more than disc music. So, yes, you'll likely have to have an SD card.
Kindrik asked…"I know that EA does the distribution of Rock Band 2 for Harmonix, so couldn't they have taken advantage of this partnership to possibly make use of EA Nation and circumvent friend codes?"
Harmonix chose to use Nintendo's friend codes infrastructure. While I didn't ask Harmonix about EA Nation, I can speculate. Though Harmonix and MTV Games have partnered with Electronic Arts for "Rock Band 2," it is not considered an EA product. It is an MTV Games product. They simply have a partnership. That likely drove the reasoning behind using friend codes, instead of EA Nation.
Kindrik also asked…"Also, now that we've heard that controllers from Guitar Hero III would be compatible with Rock Band 2 on Wii does that mean that the instruments from the newest Guitar Hero will be compatible as well so that the game will truly be equal to the PS3 and 360 versions in terms of controller compatibility?"
A Harmonix spokesperson told me Friday that the controllers for "Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock" will work in "Rock Band 2" on Wii, but they cannot confirm "Guitar Hero: World Tour" compatibility -- yet.
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Have any other questions, readers? Bring 'em on!
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