IGN writes: "The Wii and PlayStation 2 versions of Rock Band (released in June 2008 and December 2007, respectively) were mere shadows of their former Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 selves. Most of the key features had been gutted, there was no online play or downloadable content, no character creation, and they weren't too easy on the eyes. The masses didn't seem to mind, though, as the Wii and PS2 versions of the original game outsold both Rock Band and Rock Band 2 on the other systems last year. "
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15 Jan 2009

Fender: Survey Shows Music Games Drive Students To Play Real Instruments

PS3 News from N4G | Rock Band

PS3 - Rock Band - Fender: Survey Shows Music Games Drive Students To Play Real Instruments

Today Fender and Little Kids Rock, a non-profit music education organization, announced that an informal survey they conducted in November 2008 revealed that music games like "Rock Band" and "Guitar Hero" actually do inspire students to play real instruments. The survey polled 812 music instructors and said that enrollment in music programs has increased in the past year.
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15 Jan 2009

Harmonix: 'Rock Band' Inspires Would-be Musicians

PS3 News from N4G | Rock Band

PS3 - Rock Band - Harmonix: 'Rock Band' Inspires Would-be Musicians

Harmonix's Alex Rigopulos says that "Rock Band" has encouraged more people to learn how to play real instruments. He also speaks briefly on The Beatles licensing.
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12 Jan 2009

Lenny Kravitz Arrives on Rock Band Tomorrow

PS3 News from N4G | Rock Band

PS3 - Rock Band - Lenny Kravitz Arrives on Rock Band Tomorrow

Harmonix and MTV Games announced today that the inimitable singer-songwriter and producer Lenny Kravitz will bring four of his greatest hits to the Rock Band Music Store of downloadable content. The multi-talented Kravitz has sold more than thirty million albums and won four consecutive Grammy awards for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance 1999-2002, setting a record for most wins in a single category. Kravitz' classic rock star style and one-of-a-kind, smooth sound that blends the best of soul, rock and funk have left many to classify him as one of the most regarded rock musicians of his time.
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11 Jan 2009

Rock Band Weekly Releases (01/13 XBL, 01/15 PSN)

PS3 News from N4G | Rock Band

PS3 - Rock Band - Rock Band Weekly Releases (01/13 XBL, 01/15 PSN)

In the week ahead, Harmonix is putting out Rock Band tracks from Lenny Kravitz, Megasus, and Honest Bob and The Factory-To-Dealer Incentives. Three tracks will be from Lenny Kravitz, from the album "Let Love Rule" and another popular track of his, "Are you Gonna Go My Way." Here are the tracks that will be released next week:

Lenny Kravitz Pack 01 ($6.99 PSN or 560 Microsoft Points, or $1.99 or 180 Microsoft Points per track)
- "Are you Gonna Go My Way" by Lenny Kravitz
- "Freedom train" by Lenny Kravitz
- "Let Love Rule" by Lenny Kravitz
- "Mr. Cab Driver" by Lenny Kravitz

Single Tracks ($.99 or 80 Microsoft Points per track)
- "Megasus" by Megasus
- "Entangled" by Honest Bob and the Factory-to-dealer Incentives
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10 Jan 2009

Mad Catz reveals wireless bass, pedal controller for Rock Band

PS3 News from N4G | Rock Band

PS3 - Rock Band - Mad Catz reveals wireless bass, pedal controller for Rock Band

Ars Technica writes:
"Mad Catz is really up in Rock Band's business. At CES we stopped by the company's booth to see what they had to show us, and the new selection of Rock Band peripherals was pretty impressive.

The first thing they showed us was an updated version of the Fender Bass controller. Coming this Spring for $89.99, the new version of the controller features quieter buttons, an improved finish on the neck of the guitar, and a split strum bar that registers one side as up and the other as down... which means you can pluck even faster. That's not the big news, though."
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7 Jan 2009

"Mega Artist" Soon to be Announced for Rock Band

PS3 News from N4G | Rock Band

PS3 - Rock Band - "Mega Artist" Soon to be Announced for Rock Band

Slashgamer Writes: "We have been invited to a special Rock Band 2 event somewhere in San Francisco. These types of things are common - it's a great way for the media to get a hands on preview and talk to the team behind the game. This time around we get to play with some tracks that will be made available soon that has already been announced to the public.

However, while reading the invite, we noticed one thing that was mentioned in the description."
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5 Jan 2009

Roy Orbison Rock Band Track Pack Dated & Priced

PS3 News from N4G | Rock Band

PS3 - Rock Band - Roy Orbison Rock Band Track Pack Dated & Priced

Harmonix and MTV Games announced today the addition of one of the most influential pioneers of rock and roll, Roy Orbison, to the Rock Band Music Store catalogue of downloadable content. Grammy Award-winning Roy Orbison was a singer, songwriter and performer whose distinctive sound scored him an astounding nine Top 10 hits in four years in the early 1960's. Orbison's historic career began in the 1950's and saw a huge resurgence in the late 1980's, when he became a prominent influence on artists like Bruce Springsteen, Elvis Costello, Bono, K.D. Lang and Traveling Wilburys.
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4 Jan 2009

Rock Band Drum Kit Now $30

PS3 News from N4G | Rock Band

PS3 - Rock Band - Rock Band Drum Kit Now $30

GameStop is listing the Rock Band drum kit at the incredibly cheap price of $30 in their Weekly Ad. The offer is only valid until January 8, 2009 so take advantage of this fast. Rock Band 2 is available for PS2, PS3, Wii and Xbox 360, receiving a 9 out of 10 from Game Freaks 365.
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4 Jan 2009

Mad Catz releases two new products designed for Rock Band

PS3 News from N4G | Rock Band

PS3 - Rock Band - Mad Catz releases two new products designed for Rock Band

Mad Catz has been a little behind with the third party accessories for Rock Band. Fear not because they have released not one but two separate products, one being the M.I.C and the other a portable drum kit. Both are made to be somewhat simple and portable.
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24 Dec 2008

Roy Orbison Coming To Rock Band

PS3 News from N4G | Rock Band

PS3 - Rock Band - Roy Orbison Coming To Rock Band

Blend Games doesn't write many stories targeting the 65+ demographic but here you go: Harmonix and MTV Games are planning to bring classic rock and roller Roy Orbison's music to Rock Band as downloadable content.
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23 Dec 2008

Rock Band kicks off 09 with DLC from Jethro Tull, Snow Patrol, Deep Purple, and James Gang

PS3 News from N4G | Rock Band

PS3 - Rock Band - Rock Band kicks off 09 with DLC from Jethro Tull, Snow Patrol, Deep Purple, and James Gang

Harmonix and MTV Games announced today the addition of four new tracks to the Rock Band Music Store catalog of downloadable content from bands Snow Patrol, Deep Purple, James Gang and Jethro Tull.
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23 Dec 2008

Boom in music video games helps original artists

PS3 News from N4G | Rock Band

PS3 - Rock Band - Boom in music video games helps original artists

"...the video game "Rock Band 2," which along with "Guitar Hero" is rocking bars and living rooms across the country. Many songs' sales have more than doubled after release in one of the games, and well-known bands have started lining up to provide new music direct to the game makers. Now record labels - noticing what they are missing, and struggling as compact disc sales tumble - are looking for a bigger piece of the action."
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20 Dec 2008

Rock Band adds more Foo Fighters music and "Rockin the Holidays 2008 Pack"

PS3 News from N4G | Rock Band

PS3 - Rock Band - Rock Band adds more Foo Fighters music and "Rockin the Holidays 2008 Pack"

Harmonix and MTV Games are rocking the holidays by delivering both a Rock Band "Rockin' the Holidays 2008 Pack" and more Foo Fighters to the Rock Band Music Catalog.

The Foo Fighters 3-pack includes"DOA" from the band's 2005 album In Your Honor, "Times Like These" from their 2003 album One By One and the hit single "This Is A Call" from their self titled debut album.
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15 Dec 2008

Pearl Jam's Ten Confirmed for European Rock Band Music Store

PS3 News from N4G | Rock Band

PS3 - Rock Band - Pearl Jam's Ten Confirmed for European Rock Band Music Store

Harmonix, the world's premier music video game development company, and MTV Games, a part of Viacom's MTV Networks, today confirmed that Ten, the debut album that sold twelve million copies and introduced the world to Pearl Jam in 1991, will be offered for download in the Rock Band Music Store day-and-date with the re-issue of the album...
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15 Dec 2008

Pearl Jam's 'Ten' album coming to Rock Band in March

PS3 News from N4G | Rock Band

PS3 - Rock Band - Pearl Jam's 'Ten' album coming to Rock Band in March

An "exclusive" from Geoff Keighley, who likely read that line from a teleprompter while presenting live from the Spike VGAs: Pearl Jam's "Ten" album is coming as a Rock Band downloadable album in March. That should be just enough time for you to find the appropriate amount of flannel to wear while you play.

The full album includes the following tracks, and chances are you recognize at least a few:
* "Once"
* "Even Flow"
* "Alive"
* "Why Go"
* "Black"
* "Jeremy"
* "Oceans"
* "Porch"
* "Garden"
* "Deep"
* "Release"
* "Master/Slave" (hidden track)
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13 Dec 2008

Guitar Hero Outsells Rock Band Almost 3-to-1 in November

PS3 News from N4G | Rock Band

PS3 - Rock Band - Guitar Hero Outsells Rock Band Almost 3-to-1 in November

The music genre overall was down six percent in dollar sales for November, but the Guitar Hero and Rock Band franchises still remain quite popular. Unfortunately for EA, which has been suffering of late, Activision's property has simply been more popular.
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10 Dec 2008

Viacom: Talent Prefers Rock Band

PS3 News from N4G | Rock Band

PS3 - Rock Band - Viacom: Talent Prefers Rock Band

Edge writes: "The Rock Band franchise has an easier time attracting music talent than its competitors, claimed Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman during the UBS 36th Annual Global Media and Communications Conference on Tuesday.

"There's a strong music orientation to our company; many of our networks are ideal vehicles to promote the game, and you'll see more and more of that as we move forward," said Dauman.

'We also have the opportunity to attract talent to [Rock Band] in a way that our competitors have greater difficulty doing.'"
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8 Dec 2008

Rock Band Catalogue Surpasses 500 Tracks in Europe

PS3 News from N4G | Rock Band

PS3 - Rock Band - Rock Band Catalogue Surpasses 500 Tracks in Europe

Harmonix and MTV Games today announced the rock-pop pioneers of No Doubt will bring thirteen tracks to the Rock Band music catalogue of downloadable content expanding the Rock Band library to include more than 500 songs!

No Doubt's The Singles 1992-2003 pack will include thirteen master tracks...
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6 Dec 2008

Rock Band's Library of DLC Songs Passes the 500 Mark

PS3 News from N4G | Rock Band

PS3 - Rock Band - Rock Band's Library of DLC Songs Passes the 500 Mark

Harmonix, the world's premier music video game development company, and MTV Games, a part of Viacom's MTV Networks (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), today announced the rock-pop pioneers of No Doubt will bring 13 tracks to the Rock Band® music catalog of downloadable content expanding the Rock Band library to include more than 500 songs!
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