Rock Band Network Coming to PS3, Wii Left Out

A little over a month ago, MTV and Harmonix unveiled the Rock Band Network, which essentially opens up the entire Rock Band platform to user submitted songs and could potentially lead to an iTunes-like revolution for the music video game space. 

Joystiq recently dug up some more details, indicating that Harmonix will actually enable PS3 owners to access a large number of the user-uploaded songs through the Rock Band Network Store as well, but that the PS3 version for each song is ultimately offered at Harmonix's discretion. The PS3 versions will be an  "opt in" for artists who will apparently have to do some paperwork to properly port their songs onto the PlayStation Network. So while PS3 owners will get a limited number of Rock Band Network songs, members of the Xbox 360 Creator's Club will be able to play and review every song.

As for Wii owners, well they're unfortunately not getting anything Rock Band Store related. That said, Harmonix commented, "We would love to get it running on the Wii," but because there's no way to patch games on Nintendo's platform, it's going to be difficult. 

The Rock Band Network Store will be patched into Rock Band 2 later this year (probably in mid-November). The store will also bring with it new sorting options (such as Top 10, Harmonix's Picks, Random, and Browse) and the ability to test out songs with free demos. The demos will last about one minute -  or 35% of the song's length, whichever is shorter. Songs on the Rock Band Network will sell in a range between $1 and $3, with pricing set by the artist.

IndustryGamers is eager to see how this shapes up. Harmonix has already done a great job with weekly content, but this could really open up the floodgates and introduce some interesting new music to a wide audience.