PS2 & wii: best way start Rockband/GHWT?

[Mom4]

Here's the conundrum for this year's big family Christmas present idea. I think we'll venture into more instruments for our musical games. I'm not sure of the best way to do this. I really wasn't looking to buy a new console too, but:

We have PS2 & wii consoles.
We have 3 PS2 Guitar Hero games & guitars.
4 PS2 Dance Mats (1 is multi-console) with some PS2 DDR games
2 PS2 singstar microphones
1 PS2 Karaoke Revolution microphone & a couple KR games
all in the Rec Room. All still regularly played.

We also have Gamecube with 4 Donkey Konga drums.

AND upstairs is a wii system.
Yes, there are several teens & younger in the home.

Please advise on the best/cheapest way to go to get the full band fun in the family gaming arsenal. Are there any adaptors available that would work?

I am really attracted to the new Beatles release & the family would love Lego Rockband, but neither is essential if the systems/prices don't work out.

Your creative advice is welcome. TIA.

[x-factor]

Your best option is probably going with the Wii edition of Rock Band 1 or 2 or Guitar Hero 5/ World Tour. The complete instrument & game sets are occasionally on sale for around $90-100 new at HMV, Futureshop, and Best Buy. The holiday season is approaching and it may not reach that price point again for quite some time.

However, both the Wii and PS2 versions are gimped compared to the Playstation 3 or 360 versions because of the lack of HD audio and visuals. Another advantage of the PS3 or 360 versions, is that Rock Band 2 will allow exporting songs from RB1 (for $5 and the RB1 game disc is needed to extract the songs) into the song list for Rock Band 2 so no disk swapping is necessary to access all the songs from one game. The PS3 and 360 versions also support downloadable songs online which are not supported on the Wii or PS2 because both of those systems lack a hard drive.

I'm an adult so I find the track lists in Rock Band 1 & 2 more appealing than the ones found in Guitar Hero games. Aesthetically, the Guitar Hero games have a cartoon reminiscent style and have more recent, adolescent songs that may appeal to your kids or teens more than the Rock Band song lists. If it isn't a surprise gift I would suggest asking your family members for input before buying.

If you were considering getting a Playstation 3, the older model Playstation 3s made in 2006-2007 should have backwards compatibility with Playstation 2 games and peripherals. The reason I suggest the Wii version is because its resale value would be higher if you want to sell it in the future because more people are willing to buy Wii games than PS2 ones at this point.

Finally, as for the Rock Bands vs Guitar Hero 5 or World Tour suggestion, Rock Band games consistently have higher average review scores on metacritic.com and gamerankings.com respectively. It might be important to also consider whether or not your family members are fatigued with music genre games. I only own Rock Band 1 & 2, and I'm bored stiff with music games at this point. I rarely play them at all unless I have company over that want to play it, although I'm not that big of a rock music fan.

[Firestorm]

Yeah, the games are better supported on 360/PS3 with their better integrated online marketplaces. I'm not sure how feasible it is for you but, you could get Rock Band 2 + Rock Band 1 songs + a new console for this:

$199.99 for 60GB Xbox 360 Pro (current sale on Future Shop and Best Buy)
$99.99 for Rock Band 2 (current sale on Best Buy)
$8 rental + $5 import fee to get Rock Band into Rock Band 2
---
$313 for system + instruments + 2 games worth of songs.

Rock Band Track Packs (can be imported into Rock Band 2) go on sale for $10 - $20 as well. You can also download songs to your game from their marketplace. 3 songs usually go up every week and each song usually costs $1.99 each. Best Buy has Microsoft Points (the currency used in the marketplace) on sale for 20% off during their Customer Appreciation sales.

Beatles Rock Band is a standalone game and you will pay whatever you can find it at I guess. No sale I'm aware of.

[elty]

Cheapest way is to buy the GHWT set from BB for $80, but the PS2 version is also the worst of the 4.

[Psubs]

Rockband 2 and Rockband Beatles works using the GH:WT instruments for the Wii so that's the best way to start.

Wii
GH:WT Full Band
Rockband 2 (game only)
Rockband Beatles (game only)
Lego Rockband (game only)

There maybe someone on RFD selling an extra GH guitar for cheap.

[Soulsaber]

Your best option is probably going with the Wii edition of Rock Band 1 or 2 or Guitar Hero 5/ World Tour. The complete instrument & game sets are occasionally on sale for around $90-100 new at HMV, Futureshop, and Best Buy. The holiday season is approaching and it may not reach that price point again for quite some time.

However, both the Wii and PS2 versions are gimped compared to the Playstation 3 or 360 versions because of the lack of HD audio and visuals. Another advantage of the PS3 or 360 versions, is that Rock Band 2 will allow exporting songs from RB1 (for $5 and the RB1 game disc is needed to extract the songs) into the song list for Rock Band 2 so no disk swapping is necessary to access all the songs from one game. The PS3 and 360 versions also support downloadable songs online which are not supported on the Wii or PS2 because both of those systems lack a hard drive.

I'm an adult so I find the track lists in Rock Band 1 & 2 more appealing than the ones found in Guitar Hero games. Aesthetically, the Guitar Hero games have a cartoon reminiscent style and have more recent, adolescent songs that may appeal to your kids or teens more than the Rock Band song lists. If it isn't a surprise gift I would suggest asking your family members for input before buying.

If you were considering getting a Playstation 3, the older model Playstation 3s made in 2006-2007 should have backwards compatibility with Playstation 2 games and peripherals. The reason I suggest the Wii version is because its resale value would be higher if you want to sell it in the future because more people are willing to buy Wii games than PS2 ones at this point.

Finally, as for the Rock Bands vs Guitar Hero 5 or World Tour suggestion, Rock Band games consistently have higher average review scores on metacritic.com and gamerankings.com respectively. It might be important to also consider whether or not your family members are fatigued with music genre games. I only own Rock Band 1 & 2, and I'm bored stiff with music games at this point. I rarely play them at all unless I have company over that want to play it, although I'm not that big of a rock music fan.

Actually, the Wii does have DLC. It is stored on the SD card instead.

[Mom4]

Thank you very much for your thorough responses. I'll be watching the deals now I know what to watch for!

[Psubs]

Thank you very much for your thorough responses. I'll be watching the deals now I know what to watch for!

You're welcome Mom. :|