With all the Rock Band-related hype and tidbits floating around the Internet the last week or so, here’s one that’s really worth mentioning.

This juicy morsel, posted in an article by 360 editor Nate Ahern on IGN Insider, referenced via Kotaku, states as follows:

Immediately upon purchasing Rock Band 2 you’ll have the ability to download a huge library of songs, as well as all of the songs off of the original disc as a free download.

Update just before posting: According to IGN Xbox Team Editor-in-Chief Hilary Goldstein, “Nate goofed in writing that. He hopes that is allowed. Nothing about this has been announced and Nate’s never even seen RB2. Sorry, guys.” Honest mistake … or covering tracks? We’ll know next week.

Please note that NONE of this has been confirmed by Harmonix, MTV, or EA, so take it all with a grain of salt for now.  With the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) less than a week away, we should get confirmation one way or the other regarding this potentially awesome development.

If this rings true, this is a HUGE step to make things easier and even more appealing to current and future Rock Band owners, epsecially after Harmonix’s confirmation that all Rock Band DLC would be compatible between both games.  How would this, if true, affect the Guitar Hero franchise, with GH: World Tour slated to be released this holiday?  How would this affect sales of the original Rock Band?  Would it get pulled from shelves?  Would the songs require some sort of code that current owners need to redeem to get the download?  Or would the songs from the first disc just be made available in the game’s music store as regular DLC?

We at RockGamer will keep you informed as more developments are made available.  In the meantime, head on over to Cena’s Corner to check out his thoughts on the upcoming war to end all wars - “Rock Band vs. Guitar Hero”!

Author’s editorial note: As an avid gamer, (music related and otherwise) my personal biggest concern for the future is CONSOLIDATION, both in physical equipment (consoles/game discs/peripherals) and DLC.  I’m already at the point that I’ll need to buy the 360’s larger hard drive!  If this rumor ends up ringing true, Harmonix will have already sold me 100% on their next installment.  The Guitar Hero franchise will really have to deliver on a lot of things to win back my priority.  (Again, E3 will hopefully reveal a lot of both franchises’ plans)  I know there are others out there who feel as I do, and we want to hear your thoughts!  Leave a comment, or head over to our forums to voice your opinion!