Rock Band 2 - Development

Development

A sequel to Rock Band had been reported as in development for release in late 2008 in a Wired blog by Chris Kohler. According to Kohler, Harmonix was working on improving the instrument controllers, but the current controllers would be forward compatible with Rock Band 2. Kohler's piece also stated that the game would likely include similar features as announced for Guitar Hero World Tour, also planned for release in late 2008.

According to lead designer Dan Teasdale from Harmonix, the game includes many features that players have been asking for, including "first time ever" features. Band World Tour mode allows the use of downloadable content, in addition to on-disc tracks, and there are several new solo play modes that "not only provide new ways for you to experience your music library, but also new ways for you to make the transition from Expert to real instruments".

Eric Brosius, Harmonix's Audio Director, described the process of selecting songs for Rock Band 2 as organic, allowing the set list to grow as needed with influence from fans' reaction to the first game but without any specific vision of the final list, and knowing that tracks that failed to make the main disc content would end up as content for download. The team often licensed several songs from a single group, and then selected one that would be the most satisfying for all players in the game; additional songs not used in the main set list will likely appear as downloadable content in the future, though the initial twenty songs to be made available immediately after Rock Band 2's release featured new bands. The final setlist features songs with harder drum and vocal parts compared to Rock Band, in consideration that a "second generation" of players now exist who are familiar with the instruments on the first Rock Band. Songs were censored where necessary to achieve the desired game ratings; however, the team did not alter songs that had suggestive themes. Brosius stated that the inclusion of Guns N' Roses' "Shackler's Revenge" was due to the team knowing they wanted a Guns N' Roses song, then determining that they wanted one off the "mysterious" Chinese Democracy album; Axl Rose helped the team to select the specific song.

While a "Jukebox Mode" was originally planned, which would have allowed players to simply listen to the music and watch their band perform without interacting with the game, Harmonix stated that it was removed in the final stages of development, and that there are no plans to add it back to the game. However, an equivalent experience can be "activated" through the use of several in-game modifiers.

Rock Band 2 was officially announced by EA Games on June 30, 2008, and was presented at the 2008 E3 conference. The game premiered exclusively on the Xbox 360 on September 14, 2008 as a result of a marketing agreement with Microsoft. All other versions of the game, including the PlayStation 3 and Wii versions, were released later in the year. The PlayStation 3 version supports Trophies. The Wii version of Rock Band 2 was promised to be a "more competitive product" compared with the Wii version of Rock Band, as stated by Wired's Chris Kohler after speaking with Harmonix at the E3 conference. The Wii version supports downloadable content and the same multiplayer modes as the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 version. The PlayStation 2 version does not have these features.