Rocksmith 2014 Launches on PS4 Today

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Rocksmith 2014 Launches on PS4 Today

Playing a musical instrument is a lifelong journey. No matter when you start, you’re never really done — there’s always something new to learn. So if you started learning how to play guitar or bass on PS3 with Rocksmith or Rocksmith 2014, it’s only natural that you’d want to continue on your PS4. Well, here’s good news: as of today, you’ll be able to pick up Rocksmith 2014 on PS4 — and if you do, a dozen Jimi Hendrix songs are headed your way next month, for free.

Rocksmith 2014

The PS4 version of Rocksmith 2014 Edition contains all the content of its predecessor; nothing has been removed in the transition to the latest hardware. You’ll get 55 songs from bands like Arctic Monkeys, Muse, Boston, Slayer, Foo Fighters, and Aerosmith (just to name a handful), plus interactive lessons that cover everything from how to tune and change your guitar strings up through complex chords, pinch harmonics, and two-hand tapping.

Beyond the song library, Rocksmith 2014 offers Guitarcade mode, a retro-style mini-game collection that makes you forget you’re actually building valuable skills; Session Mode, which encourages you to stretch out and improvise with a customizable backing band that follows your direction; and a detailed Tone Designer, a sonic playground of amps and effects where you can dial in the exact sounds you hear in your head. Whether you’ve never picked up a guitar or bass before or you’re a seasoned musician looking for fresh inspiration, Rocksmith 2014 offers a complete package.

You’ll find some PS4-specific perks, too. The visuals are now 1080p native, so the note highways and detailed lesson videos will look better than ever before. Thanks to the PS4’s built-in Share functionality, you’ll be able to stream your Session Mode jams or Guitarcade playthroughs directly to Twitch with the touch of a button. And if you’re a PlayStation Vita owner, you can use Remote Play to send Rocksmith 2014 to your portable screen and practice even when you’re not plugged in.

If you are one of those returning players I mentioned at the start, here’s great news: any DLC songs you’ve purchased on your PS3 will be downloadable on PS4 at no additional cost. That includes the DLC songs that came out for the original Rocksmith back in 2011! (Patience, though — since we’re talking about several hundred songs, we expect them to become available by the end of the year).

Rocksmith 2014Rocksmith 2014

Plus, anyone who picks up the PS4 edition before January 31st, 2015 will be able to download a dozen songs by guitar legend Jimi Hendrix absolutely free. These songs won’t be released until December 16th, but when they’re released, all PS4 owners can download them at no cost:

  • Purple Haze
  • The Wind Cries Mary
  • Fire
  • Little Wing
  • Bold As Love
  • Foxey Lady
  • Castles Made Of Sand
  • Freedom
  • Manic Depression
  • If 6 Was 9
  • Voodoo Child (Slight Return)
  • Red House

The Jimi Hendrix 12-song pack would normally cost $29.99 — and it will, after January 31st — so make sure you download them on PS4 from the in-game Shop menu item during that magic freebie period starting mid-December. They’ll keep you challenged!

If learning to play guitar or bass is one of your lifelong goals, Rocksmith 2014 might be the way to finally achieve it. Through Rocksmith 2014, we’ve seen people learn to play in just 60 days — and you might be surprised at what you can do, too.

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55 Comments

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  • Can I use the guitar cable I got with the original PS3 edition on the new PS4 edition and just plug it into the USB slot? I want to buy it digitally on PS4.

    Also thanks for greatly improving the songs to include classic guitar focused rock. Hendrix!! The original’s song selection of hipster indie trash was terrible.

    • Yes, the cable from your PS3 version (or any other version) of Rocksmith or Rocksmith 2014 will work — they are universal. So digital will be the best option for you!

  • I own it on PS3 and look forward to test this new version, but I have some questions:
    Will the same cable work in the PS4 version?
    How do you guys deal with Latency, once now there is no analog output straight from the PS3?
    Is note detection more precise in PS4?

    Thank you
    Raoni

  • No mention of price. Game should be cheaper digitally if you have the real tone cable already.

  • Will there be a guitar bundle for this PS4 version?

    • Nope, but any standard electric (or electrified) guitar will work — bring whatever you’ve got, plug in, and give it a shot.

  • I have similar questions.
    1. Will the RealTone cable from my PS3 work on the PS4?
    2. Is there a low cost digital upgrade for current owners of the PS3 version?
    3. What solution for latency has been developed to get around the fact there is no analog audio output on the PS4?

  • I would like to also ask about crossbuy, so if I already purchased the Rockband that just came out will there be som sort of deal or download for us in this situation? I bought the bundle and now I have to buy another game? At the very least we should be allowed to use our PS3 disk like at launch with 2K 14 and the rest of those games. Stop the double dipping!!! That’s an Xbox tactic!!!!

    • There is no upgrade offer (we looked into it and it didn’t work out, sorry), and PS3 discs do not work in a PS4. But if you bought DLC on PS3, it will be downloadable on PS4 when it’s made available in the PS Store, which should be throughout this coming month.

  • @RaoiniRJ
    @istrain71

    audio output should be Optical audio on ps4, the thing is…my home theater doesn´t have an optical input…so i´ll have to buy and adaptor optical-to-rca or something like that and lose quality and maybe it´ll add some lag so maybe i´m screwed unless i buy another home theater or play rockmisth with tv speakers ( -_____- )

    • Optical to RCA should not affect you too much, if at all — we tried that exact setup here during our dev testing and it was fine.

  • I wonder how much longer the blog can avoid discussing this month’s PS+ games.

  • Can I download Rocksmith 1 song list if this is my first Rocksmith? need me some house of the rising sun!

    • If you played the original Rocksmith for PS3, you will be able to buy the import pack on PS4 — but if you haven’t played it on PS3, then you will not be able to import that original game content.

  • @bany_rock

    I find Optical Output terrible. I used to run my PC audio into my home theatre through it and there is always some lag where you miss the first second or two of sound until the optical kicks in to send it to the speakers. I’d stick with HDMI if this is the case.

  • And even more posts NOT talking about the only thing we want to know.
    Oh, we’re listening. We understand your frustration. We just wont say anything about it.

    We just want communication. Timely communication.

    • Is this something I can answer for you? I’m not sure I understand the question, so please restate it in a different way, and I’ll help if I can.

  • I always appreciate a DLC revelation not clouded in weekly riddles, and Hendrix is about as big as it reasonably gets in music games, so good on Ubisoft SanFran. It’s a little off-putting to hear about this incentive after Dan rather brazenly derided people criticizing the lack of one, though.

    I’d love to buy this, but for some reason Ubisoft didn’t see a reason to release a retail version without the cable. I will never buy a digital title if a retail alternative exists, and I’ve already shelled out for two cables between three versions of Rocksmith. You’d think if they wanted longtime supporters to bite again they’d explore all reasonable options, but now I’m stuck waiting for either a substantial discount or for a used disc-only listing somewhere.

    • Well, we heard a lot of people say they wanted an upgrade path. We tried that; we looked into it, and it didn’t work out. So we considered some other way we could bring extra value to people who wanted to upgrade. If I’m reading this right, you’re upset that we actually did find a way to bring more value to people who wanted to switch platforms…? Yeah, we’ll have to disagree on that one!

      Anybody who is coming to RS2014 for the first time with their PS4 does not have a cable, so they need one. We do not want people buying the wrong version, only to get home and find that it doesn’t work without the cable! So doing the disc version with the cable made the most sense and kept everything easy for retailers, too.

      If you already have a cable and buy the disc version, you have two for multiplayer, which some folks don’t even realize is an option. If you don’t want another cable, just buy the digital download edition when it appears on the PS Store later today. Heck, you could even sell the spare cable to a friend who needs one, but either of the first two options strikes me as easier. Whatever works for you!

  • Anyone on the fence need not question the value of this package, though– while it’s not favorable to those of us who have supported the franchise from the start (in physical form), it’s still a great value for Anyone coming in fresh.

    One more tip for anyone upgrading: If you buy digital, consider waiting a month or so before buying– the original Rocksmith 2014 had seen a significant sale just weeks after launch last year.

  • Will save data be transferable from PS3 to PS4?

  • No All Along The Watchtower or Hey Joe? Couldn’t secure the rights to those covers? Sad. Those are two of the Experience’s best songs.

  • Yes the real tone cable will work.
    The there is a post on the Rocksmith forums that explains all of your questions.
    http://forums.ubi.com/showthread.php/924044-Rocksmith-2014-PlayStation-4-amp-Xbox-One-FAQ

  • @14 No, but the skills carry over. ;-)
    Stole that one from Dan. Haha
    And yes the Cable will work on PS4.
    Also, it may be $60 but we get Jimi along with that. So win win.

  • Here is a some very detailed answers to most of your Rocksmith PS4 questions: http://forums.ubi.com/showthread.php/924044-Rocksmith-2014-PlayStation-4-amp-Xbox-One-FAQ

  • I want this, but I’m not getting it until there’s a price drop. You should be ashamed at the way you’re taking advantage of your loyal fans. First, the $10 import tool, which is NOT about re-licensing fees. Then, there’s the retail package whicih you refuse to sell without the cable for people who want a physical copy and already purchased a previous version, because “We decided it wasn’t feasible to not take advantage of people”. Then, there’s this digital version, priced as much as a physical game, which should NEVER be the case because we all know you save a ton of money and hassle with digital distribution.
    People, use your heads and don’t ‘think Ubisoft are gods just because they made a cool guitar game. It’s still Ubisoft and their shady practices are on par with EA and Activision. Yes, Rocksmith is an excellent game/learning tool/jam companion, whatever you use it for, but don’t let Ubisoft rip you off.

    • The $10 import fee is, in fact, about re-licensing fees. When we did the original Rocksmith, the songs were licensed just for use on the game disc — that is standard with music licensing, where you are only arranging one usage in a specific context. We needed to go back and get a second license to extend that permission to a different context — namely, use with a new game and converting the disc songs to pure data songs.

      If the import pack were about turning pure profit, it would not exist — it would be more lucrative for Ubisoft to reissue all the on-disc songs as standalone DLC for a higher price, if you would like to look at it cynically. If those 52 imported songs would cost $156 instead of just $10 to take care of the extended license.

      Anybody who is coming to RS2014 for the first time with PS4 does not have a cable. We do not want people buying the wrong version, only to get home and find that it doesn’t work without the cable! And this has happened with the PS3 version. So doing the disc version with the cable made the most sense.

      Nobody at Ubisoft things they are gods. We’re just people making software that other people will hopefully enjoy and find valuable. If that’s not you, that’s okay.

  • To answer some question:
    Yes, the Real Tone cable you already have is compatible with PS4 and is no different from the cable that you get with the PS4 edition.
    No, there is no upgrade or digital discount. The digital version of this game will cost $60.
    HDMI is still a no-no for audio output, meaning you’ll need to use your optical output for the lowest latency. The optical output on PS4 is better than it was on PS3, but we still don’t know how it will compare to analog, which isn’t an option this time around. It may be in your best interest to wait for customer reviews, as the latency may be a game-ruiner for you.

  • @Rockefellow, for once we agree on something. I never buy a game digitally unless it’s the only option, so I, too will either be waiting for a discount or picking up a used disc. Hopefully we can find something reasonable before that Hendrix pack isn’t offered anymore, because there’s no way I’m paying for something thtat was originally free, but we couldn’t get because we didn’t want to be ripped off.

  • I’m sorry I saw Dan Amrich and remembered him on the OXM podcast with Ryan. Then remembered he went to ATVI, and now at Ubi?

    Hope all is well, Dan. Can’t wait to get Rsmith for PS4, started it on 360 but I don’t use my 360 anymore. Want to break out the SG and go for it again.

    (preferably when it’s on sale, though)

    For the holdouts, it was like $30-35 last Black Friday even with the cable.

    • Hi Colonel! Yes, I got the chance to move back to the Bay Area in April to work on Rocksmith, which as you know is right in my happy place, combining games and guitars. I learned a lot at Activision but I didn’t care for Los Angeles, and I really missed my friends in the Bay Area. Ironically, Ubisoft’s SF offices are literally a block away from IGN, so sometimes Ryan and I get to do lunch! :)

      I hope you find your way back to Rocksmith, too. Sorry the DLC doesn’t hop between competing consoles. :/

  • Anybody answering any questions here?!?!!?

    Will the PS3 cable work with the PS4 version?

  • will that Hendrix DLC be free for PS3 users as well?

    is there cloud saves so progress is synced between my PS3 and PS4 versions?

    I hope the Hendrix DLC means we’ll be getting some Frank Zappa… a whole generation of players learning Watermelon on Easter Hay, The Black Page Part 2, and Inca Roads would be fantastic.

    Looking forward to more 1990s Duran Duran, hopefully with some Devo and Oingo Boingo as well!

    • The DLC will be available on PS3 as paid DLC, but only PS4 has a limited window where it will be free. It’s a promotional deal, to entice people to upgrade.

      The PS3 and PS4 game save files are different enough that you cannot use the same file on both systems, even with the power of the cloud. :)

      Your suggestions for future DLC are always welcome at bit.ly/rsrequests — you might be surprised to hear how often we hit up that data. The request app feeds directly to the music team, and they work with the licensing team to try to secure new songs.

  • warlock7, see post #20.

  • Is there supposed to be a PS4 Digital download of this today?

  • Why isn’t this game on the Playstation Store yet? It’s already past 5:30pm. It has been on the Xbox One all day, but I was hoping to get it for PS4. I’m tempted to just get the Xbox version now just as a way of voting with my wallet. If Microsoft can get releases out at midnight on the day of release, why can’t Sony? It’s frustrating.

  • Ah, the PS4 version just went up. However, I don’t see any extra purchasable tracks like in the Xbox One store. Will the PS4 not be getting those? Since I have both systems I often debate which version to get and usually the PS4 version is better or equal in terms of features (like Destiny), but not always (like COD Ghosts)…so I’m wondering if this might be one of those cases where Xbox has more exclusive songs in Rocksmith 2014, because that would definitely be a deciding factor.

    • As noted in the FAQ, the legacy DLC will be up in batches over the course of the next few weeks. http://bit.ly/rsps4xb1faq has some info. There are no exclusive songs on either platform — all the DLC is the same so you are not missing anything. Going forward, we will continue to put out all the DLC for all the platforms.

  • Thanks for answering my question! I’m glad there are no exclusives. There are already hundreds of songs on the Xbox One store, so as long as the PS4 will eventually get them too, I’ll go ahead with the PS4 version. I hope it won’t take weeks though!

    • We’re expecting that the legacy DLC will go up in batches, a few dozen songs a week, so yeah, it will likely be through the end of the month before all the content makes its appearance. I mean, fingers crossed — we’ve delivered the data, but understandably, real people have to put that data into the PS Store, and that does take time and effort.

  • Uh hello, Dan u said that PS3 disks don’t work I the PS4, but that’s not totally true 2K14 Basketball at launch allowed if you bought it for the PS3 to play it in the PS4. I don’t think you’re trying 2 B misleading, but I know that this is a capability. Blu-ray is blu-ray it can work if the powers that B want them 2 work. Thanks for answering some of my questions. I appreciated that.

  • Hi:

    You say that the game is in 1080p native, but in the Playstation Store it says that the gane is “720p HD Video Output”. What is the correct info? Thanks.

  • i find the song choice awful :( why they only add this old forgotten garbage? Look out there, so much great guitar based music. I would love to pick this up for ps4 but please add some different guitar music like sigur ros, depeche mode or any other current “not soft rock” garbage.

    • Musical taste is entirely subjective and intensely personal. What you can’t stand makes someone else want to pick up and play — and vice versa. What inspires you makes someone else go “Eww!”

      The good news is that there are now 500 playable songs in the Rocksmith 2014 library. They’ll be added to the PS4 store over the next few weeks, but if you’re looking for variety, you will have it. It’s impossible for us to accurately predict the tastes of two million Rocksmith players, so we don’t try — instead, we offer a little something for everybody. Classic rock, heavy metal, 80s pop hits, alternative rock, 70s funk, Chicago blues, classic soul, yacht rock — whatever you are into, there has to be SOMETHING in those 500 songs that sounds pretty good to your ears. You can find the complete list here: http://rocksmith.ubi.com/rocksmith/en-US/music/index.aspx

      This week’s DLC is Killswitch Engage, a metalcore band. Definitely not soft rock.

  • I bought Rocksmith for my 360 back when it originally launched.

    Although I like the concept, the horrible latency issues made me quit within a few days.

    Nowadays I am rocking a PS4 with a PX4 Wireless Headset, and I’m wondering that combo is good enough to be able to play without noticeable lag?

  • Do they have support for an electric Acoustic guitar?

    And if they do, do they have song packs for electric acoustic?

    • There is some acoustic material in the game — Ain’t No Sunshine by Bill Withers comes to mind — but the vast majority of the content is solidbody electric. An acoustic electric will work — it has for many people — but the game may have a little more difficulty picking up all your notes, depending on your pickup and how it’s installed. The game was designed for solidbody electrics, but yeah, you can be a rebel and use an electrified acoustic. :)

  • I’ve been looking forward to this all week, until I saw the price…£59.99? I bought both Rocksmith games on PS3, and loved them ( I have two cables because of this). To be honest, I am disgusted at that price for a digital copy with no cable. I can get it on Amazon for £54.99 WITH a cable! Not interested in the Jim I Hendrix DLC free or otherwise… I was expecting 30_35 quid for a digital game to be honest, and would have definitely bought some DLC content too. I appreciate You’ve had to rewrite the entire game, but I think You are cutting Your own throats here… For the record, I’ll probably buy it from Amazon in any case, because I love the game, but at least I’ll have a physical game AND another cable.

    • That Amazon price sounds like a fantastic deal, considering you also get a spare cable for less than the price of the digital download software alone.

      Remember that retailers (both physical and digital) set their own prices; Ubisoft, as the publisher, is only allowed to suggest prices. It’s actually illegal to do anything more than say “here’s what we feel is a fair price” and then let the retailers set it from there. As it relates to the UK, here’s more info: https://www.gov.uk/competition-law-unfair-pricing-agreements

  • So I’ve been playing guitar for 20 years and would have probably bought this for a laugh.
    Also the jimi DLC would have been great.
    I want to know if there is a way to just stick the track on and jam over the backing track?
    Big shame you can’t stream out, because you know, people might make streaming this game their main way of listening to music! Cha!

    Also there needs to be an online guitar duel?

  • If you bring your own streaming hardware, you can stream out. We’ve been doing it all week at twitch.tv/rocksmithgame

    Online latency makes remote multiplayer a problem — but same-room couch duels you can do, as the game support local multiplayer. Just plug in a second Real Tone Cable and you’re golden.

  • Hey I downloaded rocksmith 2014 today on my ps4. Got a lot of my old songs. But I can’t play guitarcade, session or lesson modes. Says “can’t play until rocksmith is installed”….it is installed and updated. Is this a problem or just me. Or do inhale to play through to unlock those?

  • Actually got the last issue sorted. But now wondering, when I play in the os3 my electric guitar is low for some reason but I turn that up in the options. I can’t seem to find that in the ps4 version. Is it taken out? I can’t really use my electric wig it without that option. I have to use my acoustic electric but sometimes it’s too loud or the wife

  • Hey Crawnin,

    I have the same “can’t play until rocksmith is installed” problem. Could you please tell us how you sorted out this issue ?

    Thanks

  • It just took some time. I had it installed for about 2 to 3 hours before everything came through in the menu. Was weird. Just give it some time and exit the game and go back in. I exited a couple times. I got lessons and sessions came on it, then about half hour after that I exited the game and went back in and guitarcade was there

  • Hi. I had already bought the Import Tool to import the songs from the original Rocksmith to Rocksmith 2014 (PS3). Would I need to pay an additional $10 to get the original Rocksmith’s tracks on Rocksmith 2014 for PS4?

  • Do I need PS3’s Rocksmith 2014 for that song import? How it’s possible to download first Rocksmith soundtrack for PS4? On PS3, there was a save file, but here? I already have only first Rocksmith for PS3 and I don’t want to buy 2014 on PS3 anymore, I’m looking to buy the PS4 EU version only.

  • I am trying to download all of my DLC for the ps4 version of rocksmith but it all does not show up. Is there a way I can have all of my dlc able for download to include the DLC I purchased from the first version.

  • A patch for RS was release around 5AM eastern this morning and it seems to have taken care of this problem. I have now access to all the sections in the menu.

    Thanks for you help Crawnin.

  • I was all ready to but this today and wanted to download it from the online store, as I owned the PS3 version and sanded the 2014 for my ps4. I already have the tone cable from the early version so no bother.

    However I come to download it and it’s 60 pound. This is without the tone cable, where when I look on other sites it’s 55 with the cable??? This just doesn’t make any sense. Why is it more expensive to download when you get less for your cash? Can someone please explain this to me?

    I’ve decided to give it a miss now and use the cash for some guitar lessons instead. I’ll make a deal… I’ll buy it today if someone can explain to me why this is the case??

  • “There is no upgrade offer (we looked into it and it didn’t work out, sorry), and PS3 discs do not work in a PS4. But if you bought DLC on PS3, it will be downloadable on PS4 when it’s made available in the PS Store, which should be throughout this coming month.”

    PS3 Discs do “work” in a PS4 >> they’re blu-ray.
    The code is just not enabled to run.
    It’s a shame there was not a $10/upgrade option
    similar to the early releases of this current-gen; COD, AC.IV, etc.. .
    The Discs were used as a key to enable to upgraded version to be able to run digitally.
    ::
    Anyway.. .
    Purchased ps4 digital version and relieved to notice the improved
    responsiveness and decrease in lag over the ps3/360 versions, even w/ R/L component audio!
    Was very excited but then let down that the import tool was not available immediately.
    :::
    Would love to see classic (ozzy) Black Sabbath & Jeff Buckley
    ::

  • Hi, how can I download songs for the PS4 version? I keep going to the shop but all it says is ‘no content available’. Will appreciate feedback, thanks very much guys!

  • I can’t justify getting the PS4 version and having to buy digital audio output equipment, given that my PS3 / analogue audio setup (to a subwoofer and 2 speakers) works perfectly ie zero lag, and also because the track listing and gameplay are virtually identical (from what I have read) between PS3 and PS4 versions.

    Not even the enticement of a free Hendrix bundle gets the PS4 version over the line for me.
    .

  • I just got Rocksmith 14′ for ps4. I already had it on ps3 and I’ve discovered a troubling anomaly. At leas two of my favorite songs are missing. More than a feeling by Boston and Rockstar by Nickelback aren’t in my song list or in the store. There are others missing but these are the ones I’m most concerned about. I have them on ps3 and the press release said the dlc would be the same. What’s going on with this?

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