by Jeff McKinney
Last month when I reviewed The Beatles: Rock Band, I mentioned that new songs would be available to play for the game as DLC. Yesterday the first batch of new songs was released and we now have the ability to play every song from the 1969 album, Abbey Road.
So what exactly does DLC mean? Simply put, DLC stands for Downloadable Content, which could be anything that you download from the Internet but in relation to games, usually refers to bonus levels, maps, extension packs and new songs. Let’s use The Beatles: Rock Band as an example; when you purchase that game on a disc it comes with a set number of songs that you can play including “Come Together” and “Here Comes The Sun” from Abbey Road. Now that the DLC of Abbey Road has been released, you will be able to purchase the remaining songs on that original Beatles album from 1969–such as “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer,” “Because” and “Carry That Weight”–add them to the list of songs that you can play.
Here’s the catch, you have to own a current generation game console–PS3, Xbox 360 or Wii–and have the console connected to the internet. Wii and PS3 consoles have WiFi built-in while the Xbox 360 has to be connected with an ethernet cable or external, WiFi usb adapter. Next you will have to have an online account with your game console such as Xbox Live or Club Nintendo. These accounts range from basic free accounts to monthly subscriptions and they are accessed from the home screen of your game system.
DLC is both free and fee-based depending on the content itself. The Abbey Road DLC songs generally cost $1.99 each. To purchase Abbey Road or any DLC just select your Online account from your game console’s home screen.