Rock Band's PAL Pricing

We always knew Rock Band was going to be expensive. The US version retails for US$170 or about NZ$210. Given that PAL gamers always have to pay a premium for our games, it was expected that Rock Band could cost as much as $300. After all, Guitar Hero sells for about $170 and Rock Band comes with a guitar, drums, and microphone.

If you're in America, that is. You see, EA has confirmed with Eurogamer that Rock Band will be released in Europe in two seperate bundles. The first is an instrument pack that contains the guitar, the drums, and the microphone but no game. This will cost £130. Gamers will then need to purchase the game as well for £50, meaning that the total cost of Rock Band will be £180 or a whopping NZ$445 -- twice the price of the American version!

Despite its excellent presentation, great DLC support, and unparalleled multiplayer gameplay, it seems that Rock Band has just priced itself out of the stratosphere. When combined with the fact that the game is over 6 months late, only coming for now on the Xbox 360, and that the exclusive content to make up for the delay is actually going to cost you more money, it seems that Rock Band has become a bit of a lost cause for PAL gamers.

No release date or price has been set for New Zealand yet, but we'll keep you in the loop when news comes to hand.

[Source]