Todd Hargosh of GiN writes:

"It's no surprise: I'm a Rock Band addict. Sure, I'm currently in the process of testing out Guitar Hero World Tour, and am enjoying it quite a bit (despite a bum orange crash cymbal that will require a tuning kit). But I've always been partial towards Harmonix's music masterpiece.

Of course, with the release of Rock Band 2 last September (on the 360 at least, the PS3 and Wii would have to wait a month longer) MTV wanted to promote the Rock Band franchise even further, and in doing so they announced the Rock Band Live tour. I had a chance to attend last Friday's live concert at the Patriot Center in downtown Washington D.C., and despite not knowing a lot about most of the bands in attendance, I was able to enjoy myself.

The main headliners in the show included Dashboard Confessional and Panic at the Disco, whom I remember from playing their song "Nine in the Afternoon" on Rock Band 2. In addition, both the CAB and the Plain White T's performed in the opening acts, and all proved to be quite entertaining for the crowd in attendance at the arena.

But of course the show was not just about the four bands that performed, it was also a chance for fellow Rock Band aficionados to get together and partake in the game they enjoy playing. Around the venue were several Xbox 360 stations set up to play all the songs from Rock Band 2, complete with the new line of instruments, including the new Fender Precision Bass guitar."
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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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Over at the official Rock Band forums, Harmonix has announced that the DLC for 11/11 will be the much anticipated Foo Fighters Album "The Colour and the Shape". Tracks include:

1. "Doll"
2. "Monkey Wrench"
3. "Hey, Johnny Park!"
4. "My Poor Brain"
5. "Wind Up"
6. "Up in Arms"
7. "My Hero"
8. "See You"
9. "Enough Space"
10. "February Stars"
11. "Walking After You"
12. "New Way Home"

The Colour and the Shape will be available for download starting November 11, 2008, for the Xbox 360 and November 13, 2008, for the PS3. Pricing will be $19.99 (1600 Microsoft Points) for the album, or $1.99 (160 Microsoft Points) per track. All tracks are masters.
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Rock Band as a franchise is a huge success, and the hard work of the folks at Harmonix has led MTV to a major prize in securing the rights to create a music game featuring The Beatles. But thanks to the success of the Rock Band franchise, MTV will be shelling out $150 million to the former shareholders of Harmonix. This is in addition to the $175 million that MTV Networks paid when they acquired the company back in 2006.
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hmxsean, a Harmonix Developer, writes:

"Hey everybody,

So in addition to the 20 free DLC pack coming out next week we also have a three pack from Presidents of the United States of America (just in time for election day), a new track from Hinder, and a new track from Fallout Boy.

POTUS Three Pack

Presidents of the United States of America- Dune Buggy
Presidents of the United States of America- Feather Pluckn
Presidents of the United States of America- Ladybug

Hinder - Use Me
Fallout Boy - I Don't Care

Each of the POTUS tracks are $1.99 (160 Microsoft Points) or $5.49 (440 Microsoft Points) for the whole pack. The tracks for Hinder and Fallout Boy are $.99 (80 Microsoft Points) each for a limited time (1 month). All tracks are masters.

DLC arrives on Tuesday, November 4th for Xbox 360 and Thursday, November 6th on PS3."
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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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ButtonMasher writes: Over the long weekend a few ButtonMashers assembled for a BBQ in Wellington to eat some food and play some RockBand, good time were had. But there was a question that arose, when would the downloadable content for RockBand arrive in NZ that is available in the other regions. EA has confirmed that it is in fact on its way, and soon.
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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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A slow day, a relatively ho-hum day, and then Kotaku's heart fills with joy as news reaches them that November 4th will see the release of the most election day appropriate Rock Band 2 track pack possible, featuring three songs from The Presidents of the United States of America. 'Ladybug', 'Feather Pluck'n', and one of their favorite songs of all time, 'Dune Buggy', will be joining their hit single 'Lump', which shipped on the Rock Band 2 disc. This has yet to be confirmed by Harmonix.
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Today's marketplace update includes loads of RockBand content, along with various other content.
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Virtual games like Rock Band and Guitar Hero could be inspiring people to pick up an instrument and rock out for real.

Of 3,500 people surveyed over a third said they had taken up a musical instrument as a result of playing the games...
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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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Chris Faylor of ShackNews writes:

"Developer Harmonix has announced next week's batch of downloadable content for its multi-instrument music games Rock Band and Rock Band 2, which brings:

* "Breed" - Nirvana
* "Lounge Act" - Nirvana
* "On a Plain" - Nirvana
* "Polly" - Nirvana
* "Something in the Way" - Nirvana
* "Stay Away" - Nirvana
* "Territorial Pissings" - Nirvana"
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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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Games Are Evil reports that Motley's Crue's 1989 release "Dr. Feelgood" is now available in the Rock Band store. Single tracks are 160 MS Points, but the entire album can be snatched for a nicely discounted 1280 MS Points. Too bad the 13th track "Get It For Free" couldn't have been taken more literally :-)
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With billowing smoke and shimmering stage lights, Stage Kit for Rock Band will soon help wannabe rockers look more like the real thing.

The Stage Kit, designed and developed by Performance Designed Products (PDP), will hit store shelves in October, closely following the recent release of Rock Band 2 for Xbox 360. Both should be popular choices this holiday season.

The Stage Kit creates a light-and-smoke effect that is synchronized to the music and will help would-be rockers in living rooms look the part of rock stars on stage. The accessory is the latest in the push to make the video game experience more real.
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Harmonix and MTV Games announced today Mötley Crüe's album Dr. Feelgood will become the sixth album to join the Rock Band® Music Store catalog of downloadable content. The most successful album by the heavy metal band, Dr. Feelgood will be available starting October 14, 2008, for the Xbox®360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and October 16, 2008, for the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system.
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Console Monster writes: "The Xbox Live Marketplace has been updated and today's new content hits the bullseye. In the style of Jim Bowen's Bullseye: innnn one:

Name: Dead Space Animated Comic #5
Price: Free
Availability: All Xbox Live Regions except Germany

Name: Rock Band - Rock Band 2 Gamer Picture Pack
Price: Free
Availability: All Xbox Live Regions

Name: Rock Band - Rock Band 2 Gamer Theme
Price: Free
Availability: All Xbox Live Regions..."
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ShackNews writes:

"Rock Band developer Harmonix has announced nine new tracks for next week's downloadable content update for its Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 stores. The Offspring are headlining next week with a three-track pack, available as a bundle for 440 Microsoft Points ($5.50) or individually for 160 Points ($2)"
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