see deal Rock Band 4 - PlayStation 4 $59.99 on Gamestop

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A pre-order exclusive red Rock Band 4 guitar.

Pre-order-exclusive red Rock Band 4 drums.

White Rock Band 4 guitar.

White Rock Band 4 drums.

Black Rock Band 4 guitar.

Black Rock Band 4 drums.

“When we stopped developing Rock Band 3 [in 2010], clearly the market needed a break,” Harmonix Chief Creative Officer Alex Rigopulos told IGN. “But since then we’ve been paying close attention to what our community has been saying about it. There’s been this steadily growing crescendo of fans saying, ‘Hey Harmonix, what the hell? It’s time! Why haven’t you announced a new Rock Band? We’re ready for it!’”Crucially, your purchased songs from previous Rock Band iterations will transfer to the new generation of consoles, with a few notable exceptions. First, as your purchases are tied to your console account, Xbox One players will only be able to import Xbox 360 DLC, and PS4 players can only bring in PS3 DLC. However, there will be no import fee to bring your DLC into Rock Band 4.Due to licensing restrictions, Rock Band 3’s on-disc music will also not be available in Rock Band 4, though Harmonix told IGN that it’s possible that a deal could be reached in the future for this to happen. Songs from The Beatles: Rock Band will also not be making the leap to Rock Band 4.Meanwhile, backwards compatibility with your old plastic guitars and drums are still up in the air, as both the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 utilize different wireless controller communication protocols than their predecessors. Harmonix is in active discussions with Sony and Microsoft, with the hopes of getting permission to create sold-separately adapters that would plug into your console and enable your last-gen instruments to work.“It is a challenge, but it’s something that [Sony and Microsoft are] working actively with us on,” Rigopulos explained. “I am confident that we’ll be able to find workable solutions.” Harmonix adds that they’re getting back to the “core” Rock Band experience, and thus keyboard will not be supported (though the vocal harmonies added in The Beatles: Rock Band will be).Furthermore, Harmonix has no intention of releasing yearly sequels that, once upon a time, helped saturate and destroy the music game market. In fact, they don’t plan to release any sequels. Rock Band 4, they say, will be a platform that they add to over the course of the console generation, adding new features as well as new music.“Going forward, our goal is to view [Rock Band 4] as more of a live service where we can gradually and incrementally append new functionality to the core experience rather than having $60 annual title updates,” Rigopulos said. “You shouldn’t expect a Rock Band 5 in 2016.”Finally, Harmonix is offering pre-order exclusive instrument colors if you plunk down money on Rock Band 4 via their website.Are you ready to get the band back together? Be sure to check out our list of 7 Things We Want in Rock Band 4

Ryan McCaffrey is IGN’s Executive Editor of Previews and Xbox Guru-in-Chief. Follow him on Twitter at @DMC_Ryan , catch him on Podcast Unlocked , and drop-ship him Taylor Ham sandwiches from New Jersey whenever possible.