To Buy Rock Band for the Wii or Not to Buy

It was announced yesterday that Rock Band was finally coming to the Wii on June 22 for $169.99. Individual guitars, drums, and microphones will also go on sale that same day. I've had Guitar Hero III since November, but it has been collecting dust for the last month. I'm not bored with the game, I'm just not willing to put the time in to make the jump from medium to hard. Plus, I still have 50 some odd stars left to get in Super Mario Galaxy. It'd help if I could play some friends online in GH3, but it doesn't seem like that's going to happen. Stupid friend codes.

The jury's still out on the Wii version, but kinda excited.

The Bad
Early reports from Wii fan sites (four of which I sadly check every morning) state that the Wii version of Rock Band will be more like a port of the PS2 version. This implies no downloadable content (DLC), World Tour mode, character customization, nor online play. DLC would be nice, but it's not a dealbreaker for me, and while World Tour mode would be great, having to go through a predetermined setlist is the same as GH3 which I'm used to. Of course, if I played the World Tour mode on 360 or PS3 I'd write something different. Also, the Wii version won't use the Wiimote meaning the GH3 guitar won't work with this game, so to play both bass and lead guitar you'll have to purchase an extra guitar. Rock Band also costs $80 more than I paid for GH3, but you get so much more.

Is this worth $169.99? Probably.

The Good
Rock Band is coming to the Wii! Finally we get to play with something other than "just" a guitar, but also drums and a microphone. The game includes 63 songs plus 5 additional ones for the Wii. Just as I'm getting kind of bored with playing GH3, I can expand my fake music experience and get others involved instead of having just one person play guitar while everyone else watches. Rock Band is more welcoming to first-time players because they could at least sing if they're not good with rhythm-based instruments. Plus, my SO has been talking about playing the drums forever. As far as the $80 price difference, I could always take up Activision's offer and sell my GH3 back to them to get a check for $132 and use it toward Rock Band in June.

Final Decision
I have until August to ask for a refund from Activision so I will just wait and see just what Rock Band on the Wii entails and read a few reviews closer to June 22. Maybe the game won't even be worth buying. Plus, I'm still counting on Tiger Woods 09 as my next purchase for the Wii because I hope that it includes online play and even tighter controls.