Machogames: Rock Band, Guitar Hero World Tour Tracks From AC/DC and Oasis Set To Drop On Your Console

Depending on your preferred platform for at-home rockin’, next month is gonna offer you a chance to grab new content from two of the world’s biggest names in rock and roll. Downloadable content from Oasis’ new album Dig Out Your Soul, will be available for Guitar Hero World Tour in, while a bevy of live AC/DC hits will make their way to the Rock Band platform in early November, along with a number of other items, as part of a major push for their new album, Black Ice.

The AC/DC track pack, available November 2nd, will feature 18 songs, all live tracks, taken from the band’s famous concert at Donnington Castle. You might have preferred to test your chops with the original studio tracks, but anyone familiar with the concert (we have the DVD) and AC/DC’s live performances know that they tend not to deviate from the script all that much in the music. Essentially, you’ll be playing the studio songs, and the live differences will be so slight you won’t notice.
Oasis’ track pack for Guitar Hero is not quite as appealing, but still worthy of mention. The band’s first single from the album, The Shock of the Lightning, as well as two other songs will be available in the pack or for single download on November 6th. The full album will be available for play next year.
The AC/DC downloads are part of a larger marketing effort to promote the band’s forthcoming release, Black Ice, which is set to drop on Tuesday. The album is an exclusive Wal-Mart property, and the company has put together a variety of different promotional items to pump up its sales, including exclusive band t-shirts, sleepwear and a the release of No Bull: The Director’s Cut DVD, all of which will occupy a special retail ghetto in all of Wal-Mart’s 3,500 stores.

“We’ve turned up the volume to support what we know is one of this year’s most awaited albums from one of the world’s most popular bands,” said Gary Severson, Wal-Mart’s senior vice president of Entertainment. “This is the first time in our history where we’ve taken such a large area within our store to celebrate a legendary band, and we invite fans of all ages to come out with us and get ready to rock. Only at Wal-Mart can you find all of these items together, easily and affordably, to celebrate their U.S. tour and music.”

We’re never gonna insult AC/DC, since their music has helped us get through tough times since grade school. They are about to rock, and we salute them. But when did it become cool for heavy hitting rock bands to make exclusive deals with massive corporations? Rock, we’ve always though, is supposed to be about rebellion and breaking all the rules. When you pick up the AC/DC album with a case of Dr. Thunder and a three pack of wiper fluid, that dream has died.
AC/DC’s Black Ice Rocks Into Walmart Nationwide Oct. 20 [PR Newswire]
Oasis Joins Forces With Guitar Hero(R) World Tour to Bring New Album, Dig Out Your Soul, as Downloadable Content [PR Newswire]