This Sunday the Boston Globe will name Harmonix, developer of Rock Band, one of the top places to work in Massachusetts.

The rankings were based on a survey collected by an independent company of around 70,000 employees in the state. Harmonix managed to grab the #11 spot on the overall list, #5 on the list of "best small workplaces," and came in at #3 of the "most inclusive" company. If all the rankings were averaged together, Harmonix would earn a solid #2 in the overall "best small inclusive workplace" list.
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GamingShogun writes, "Harmonix, the leading developer of music-based games, and MTV Games, a part of Viacom's MTV Networks, (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), along with distribution partner Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS), today announced plans to ship Rock Band® Track Pack Volume 2 for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system, the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system and the Wii home video game console from Nintendo on November 17, 2008..."
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The Beatles have licensed songs to MTV Networks' Rock Band videogame series, according to several people familiar with the matter, a coup for the Viacom Inc. unit in its battle with rival Activision Inc. for supremacy in the world of rock and roll video games.

The deal, which is set to be announced Thursday by Viacom's MTV and the band's own Apple Corps Ltd., makes the Beatles the next and biggest major band to license its songs to a music-oriented videogame, joining Aerosmith, Metallica, AC/DC and others.
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Yesterday, Logitech revealed its new $250 wireless guitar controller for Guitar Hero for the PlayStation 2 and PlayStation 3. However, there were some questions about whether or not the peripheral would see a release for the Wii or Xbox 360, or if it would work with other non-Guitar Hero branded games. And now, those questions no longer remain unanswered.
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If rumors on the game's official forums are to be believed, Rock Band may not be catering exclusively to fans of rock and roll for much longer. Rock Band 2 community members are abuzz over a CMT news report from Saturday afternoon that supposedly outed the developer's plans to release country music as downloadable content. Details are beyond scarce, but the alleged CMT report points to December as the expected release date.

While nobody is offering official confirmation at this point, a Harmonix developer with the handle HMXHenry chimed in on the thread to help calm things down. In addition to the standard, non-committal response commonly applied to rumors like this, Henry also directed the following statement toward country music detractors:

"Furthermore, this thread blows my mind. With so many genres represented in Rock Band already, why would the addition of country be such a huge shock? We'll have country in RB sooner or later. Ideally we'll have all the various subgenres that people are clamoring for (hardcore punk, goth, ska, etc) eventually. We haven't shut the door on anything."
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The stand alone version of Rock Band 2 has been available for a few weeks now on the Xbox 360, leaving PS3, PS2, and Wii fans of the franchise wondering when they will get their hands on the game for their respective systems. Well today is the day they will find that out. Good news for PS3 owners as their wait is almost over, but the other two systems have a ways to go still. Also announced are bundle pricing and some of the standalone instruments.
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G4tv.com is reporting a rumor that Motley Crue's 'Dr. Feelgood' Album is coming to Rock Band as DLC. Check the link for details on the date and track list.
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MTV2 and Time Warner Cable announced today that NYC-area rock band Lights Resolve won the Rock Battle NYC competition, and as a result they will be the opening act for the November 2nd stop of the Rock Band Live Tour.
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Gameplayer has unearthed an interesting development in the pricing of Rock Band and Guitar Hero this Christmas that could change the way music game fans approach their purchases.
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Aly & AJ are getting their own Guitar Hero and Rock Band girly guitars. The guitar peripherals will be available in mid-October 2008 for Wii & PS2 and will cost $69.99.
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