"Nowadays, we express our love through Walmart Gift Cards, Avon fragrance packs, and Sizzler buffet passes. It's safe to say, sons and daughters of the world, that we have pretty much dropped the ball; our mothers deserve more than cheap, foreign-made goods, irritating perfumes, and hazardous meals.

Unfortunately, we here at GameSpy don't really have a solution to this crisis of veneration. But we do have some suggestions. If you're anything like us, chances are your mother doesn't really s..."

"As Mondays are to Xbox Live Arcade fans, Fridays are to Rock Band players, with the latest Harmonix update revealing that songs from Blondie, The Clash, and Sonic Youth will be featured in next week’s batch of new content for Rock Band.

* Hanging on the Telephone by Blondie (master)
* Train in Vain by The Clash (master)
* Kool Thing by Sonic Youth (master)

Once again, the aforementioned tracks will only be available for download individually, 160 Microsoft Points per track..."

"Anyone looking for some free Rock Band tracks had best go out and pre-order either the South Park Season 11 DVD or Disturbed’s new album from Best Buy, as it has been revealed that both will be carrying some free DLC.

The two songs you might want for free from pre-ordering the Disturbed album are:

* “Inside the Fire” by Disturbed
* “Perfect Insanity” by Disturbed

Interestingly, the South Park DVD will carry different tracks, this time featuring three songs in an as yet unrev..."

"MTV Games and Harmonix have teamed up with McDonald’s to drop the price on select Rock Band tracks in the United States and Canada. Each week until June 1st, you can grab two new tracks for 80 points each."

"With all the excitement going on with PlayStation Day in Europe, we're going to turn your attention to another conference coming up soon. The Nordic Game 2008 conference. It's a little more technical of a conference, but it's still got some great developers giving speeches. Sony's own Fumito Ueda, creator of ICO and Shadow of the Colossus will be taking part in the "Game Creation and Technology" program. This program focuses on new game niches and continuing to innovate creatively."

"As part of its first-quarter earnings statement, Viacom (parent company of MTV, which owns developer Harmonix) revealed that the popular music game Rock Band has "shipped more than three million bundled units" since launching last November. Furthermore, Harmonix's consistent updates with downloadable tracks have led to over 10 million songs being downloaded to date.

When Harmonix unveiled its sleek in-game music store for Rock Band the company also announced a total of six million download..."

"It wouldn’t be unfair to state that many a Nintendo Wii owner was upset at the announcement that the version of Electronic Arts’ for their chosen console would not support downloadable content. To make up for it, the firm has announced a disc-based ‘Track Pack’ featuring 20 new songs, which will arrive in North America on July 15."

"It goes without saying that the Harmonix guys aren’t the kind of people to rest on their laurels, as proven time and time again by their relentless weekly releases of new downloadable content for the rock rhythm game Rock Band. Continuing its incredible DLC support, the developer has unveiled what songs will be hitting the Marketplace this coming Tuesday.

As usual, three new tracks will be added:

* “This Ain’t A Scene, It’s An Arms Race” by Fallout Boy (master)
* “Date With The..."

"Have your PS2 guitar controller and want to rock out on the new PS3 console? TAC has a perfect solution for you. The PS2 to PS3 Converter will enable your old PS2 controller (guitar or non-guitar) to be used on PS3 for both Guitar Hero and Rock Band games*.

The converter has a USB connector on one end and PS2 connector on the other. Simply plug the converter into PS3, connect the PS2 controller, and set the switch to either Guitar Hero, Rock Band or Gamepad and you are ready to go."

"Harmonix Music Systems and MTV Games are bringing Smashing Pumpkins’ alternative anthem “Zero” to the Rock Band library. “Zero” is joined by two tracks from the psychedelic rock of The Mother Hips’, “Red Tandy” and “Time Sick Son of a Grizzly,” which round out this coming week’s slate of downloadable content

Release date:
Tuesday, April 29, 2008 (Xbox LIVE® Marketplace)
Thursday, May 1, 2008 (PLAYSTATION®Store)

Tracks:
Mother Hips "Red Tandy"
Mother Hips "Time Sick Son of a Griz..."

"Additionally, Harmonix has confirmed that The Cars' 1978 self-titled debut and the Pixies' Doolittle from 1989 will both be released as full-album downloads in the near future. In regards to Who's Next from The Who, today's update says that details will come "as information becomes available." So while the wait continues for one of the most-wanted album downloads, at least we'll finally be able to access the mysterious "Albums (Coming Soon)" part of the Rock Band in-game store next week."

"Hey everybody,

This week's DLC for $1.99 per song (160 Microsoft Points) or these songs can also be bought in a 3-song Classic Rock pack for $5.49 (440 Microsoft points). PS3 Store should be back up on Thursday so these tracks should come out then as well along with the last two weeks of DLC that they've missed.


"Call Me" by Blondie (master)


"Simple Man" by Lynyrd Skynyrd (master)


"Message in Bottle" by the Police (master)"

"Harmonix's Rob Kay has responded to criticisms over the European price point for Rock Band, telling Eurogamer: "We're not trying to rip anybody off."

As announced earlier today, Rock Band will launch in Europe on May 23rd for Xbox 360, with PS2, PS3 and Wii versions to follow in the summer. The total cost for the game, drum kit, microphone and guitar will come to GBP 180 / EUR 240 - compared to USD 169 (GBP 85 / EUR 107) in the States.

Speaking to Eurogamer today Kay, who is lead desig..."

"Following the announcement that Rock Band will be released on May 23 for Xbox 360, a report claims the full package will cost UK buyers around £95 more than the equivalent bundle in the US.

While US gamers can buy Rock Band, complete with bundled instruments, for $169 (around £85), in the UK, EA has decided to split up the US bundle and sell it all separately.

According to Eurogamer, EA plans to charge around £180 for the Rock Band bundle, offering the standalone game for £49.99 and an ..."

"Electronic Arts will be releasing the Xbox 360 version of Rock Band in Europe on 23rd May.

It will be a timed exclusive for Microsoft, with PS3, PS2 and Wii offerings to appear "later this summer"."

"Next week for DLC we have the HMX Pack (previously only available via the OXM disc). Each track is $.99 (80 Microsoft Points) or $2.99 (240 Microsoft points) for the whole pack.


"Rock Rebellion" by Bang Camaro (master)

"Shake" by Count Zero (master)

"Super Sprode" by Freezepop (master)"

"A reminder to our fellow Rock Band owners who didn't go all-in with a big box purchase or want to rock out free of those wired constraints. You should be seeing stand alone and completely wireless Rock Band Stratocaster guitars hitting retailers this week for an MSRP of around $69. Cosmetically, the Stratocasters are identical to those included in the big box of Rock Band fun, just in a new wireless flavor. Remember, you can also pickup the drum kit as a stand alone peripheral at retailers fo..."

"Just in case you were worried about not being able to grab the new "Still Alive" Rock Band downloadable content for free before it's promotional period (you procrastinating bum), you can rest easy now. Major Nelson just confirmed that Jonathan Coulton's "Still Alive" will forever be a free DLC download off the XBLM. That means future Rock Band purchasers will be able to get their GLaDOS fix for free, whenever they get around to downloading it. Applause to Microsoft, EA, Harmonix and Valve for..."

"Earlier in the day we reported that tomorrow would bring "Still Alive," the end sequence tune from the smash-hit Portal, to Rock Band. Well, fire up your Xbox 360's fanboys and girls because Christmas has come early as "Sill Alive" is available on the Xbox Live Marketplace today. The 18MB download will set you back exactly 0MS Points ($0.00 in any currency) and features one of the best gaming inside jokes of 2007. Go grab it now!"

"When Guitar Hero 3 launched last year it was an immediate success, selling out at a fairly quick pace throughout the holiday season. Following just behind it was Rock Band, selling very well, but not nearly as quickly as Guitar Hero. So far, all versions of Guitar Hero III have sold about 9.1M copies, versus just roughly 1.5M for Rock Band. Of course, part of the discrepancy lies in the fact that Rock Band launched on two platforms while Guitar Hero 3 launched on four, but that is about to be..."

"If you purchase the Wii version of Rock Band when it ships on June 22, you too can own this Wii-colored set of drums. Harmonix hasn't said whether the guitar and microphone controllers will also be white, but I am betting they will. We have been promised more instrument pics at a later date."

"Wii Will Rock You!
MTV Games, Harmonix and EA Announce Rock Band™ for Wii on June 22, 2008

The number one selling game in February 2008 is coming to Wii!

Cambridge, MA - March 24, 2007-- Harmonix, the leading developer of music-based games, and MTV Games, a division of MTV Networks, which is a division of Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), along with distribution partner Electronic Arts, Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS), today announced plans to release the award-winning music video game Rock Band on the W..."

"!!!!!!

Much like when the Halo theme was released for Guitar Hero III over Xbox Live, the cult famous song dear to every Portal fan’s heart, “Still Alive“, is coming to Rock Band! The song was previewed by Harmonix staff and Jonathan Coulton himself (the guy who created the song) at Valve’s party last night. Exact details such as the release date are currently unknown, but this is so ridiculously awesome. I actually dreamt that this would happen, and that more videogame themes would follow..."

"Bioshock
This atmospheric first-person shooter game drew players in to a unique dystopian setting and broke ground with a storyline that forced players to make moral decisions.

Portal
One of the most original (and funny) games in recent history requires players to solve puzzles using a teleporting "Portal Gun." It also features a hugely compelling character in the computerized guide GLaDOS.

Rock Band
The studio that created toy-guitar game phenomenon "Guitar Hero" cranked the volume ..."

"With the recently released “Rock Band” microphone pretty much spilling the beans, it should come as no surprise that Electronic Arts officially announced today the planned release of “Rock Band” for the Wii. They also announced the European launch of “Rock Band” in some form, which is set to take place during the first quarter of EA’s financial year–somewhere between April and June of 2008.

During a question-and-answer session with the press yesterday, Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello ..."

"This week’s new content update sees the likes of PixelJunk Monsters and Jet Moto arriving as full downloadable games in the US, while Capcom fans over the pond also finally get to enjoy a little one-on-one time with the action-friendly Devil May Cry 4 demo.

Over in Europeland, downloadable games Syphon Filter: Combat Ops and Judge Dredd(?) are available, while demos arriving alongside Devil May Cry 4 include SEGA Rally Revo and PixelJunk Monsters – hopefully the full game won’t be too far ..."

"Specifically, if you want to pick up a copy of Rock Band for the Xbox 360, PS3, and PS2, then a further $79,99 USD will secure the official Drum Kit from Feb 12, while $59,99 USD will see you bestowed with the Wireless Fender Stratocaster Guitar peripheral from April 01."

"Drum Machine is a Windows app that allows you to play your Rock Band drums (once "hacked" for Windows) as if it were a real electronic drumset. Drum Machine uses input from the drumset to play "samples" that you assign to each pad. It comes with a few drum samples already, but you can add as many as you want (up to 1024), since they are simply WAV files. Drum Machine also allows you to record yourself, save it to file, and play it back or send it to a friend."

"Looking to bag goodies for free (you filthy spendthrift)? Then US honorary Scrooges can look forward to nabbing demos for Turok and FIFA Street 3 and trailers for Dynasty Warriors 6 and Syphon Filter: Combat Ops - while EU tight arses can slink off with an NBA 08 demo a trailer for Brothers In Arms: Hell’s Highway (also US).

Those willing to invest a few cents or pennies in Sony’s online store can scoop a Motor storm ’Double Track Pack’ and a selection of songs for Rock Band, while EU mone..."

"Having missed out on last week’s seasonal mini-update to the PlayStation Store, which was instead gifted to European game fans, the official US PlayStation blog has now moved to help stem the tears and plug the gap with its first stateside content update of 2008."

"Each song will set you back 160 Microsoft Points and are available now:

'Gimme Three Steps' by Lynyrd Skynyrd

'Hard to Handle' (Cover) by Black Crowes

'Limelight' (Cover) by Rush"

"Edmonton-based Play Me Games has taken stock of around 50 units of Rock Band from a broker in the states and is presently selling the game for a whopping $500. While such a price would frighten off most consumers, demand for Rock Band is so high that Play Me Games saw more than half of its supply flying from the store by yesterday afternoon."

"Activision spokesperson Maryanne Lataif was quoted in saying, 'Unfortunately for Rock Band users, Harmonix has been unwilling to discuss an agreement that will allow us to provide that option in a manner that maintains the high standards people have come to expect from Activision'. Basically, Harmonix hasn't been willing to discuss paying us an extremely large amount of money (rough translation)."

Along with this morning's weekly dose of DLC, EA and Harmonix seem to be tinkering with the website a bit. Visiting rockband.com just shows a splash page asking visitors to "check back in a few for an new community experience!" Something about that screams "MAJOR UPDATE" to me.

"Today, a new "Punk Pack" joins the customizable experience, letting those who are about to rock do up their hair and spit at the establishment.

The pack follows the others and goes for 440 MS points, or $5.50 in normal human money. If you'd rather buy the individual tracks, they'll run you at 160 points ($2). Giving money to a large corporation in exchange for music, which is essentially just a collection of ideas?! This is not the punk way! Then again, strumming a plastic toy guitar proba..."

"Bowie is good. This is a universal fact. Singing, of course, but also acting (Labyrinth, The Prestige), and lending his creative influence, voice, and likeness to video games (Omikron: The Nomad Soul). While the Bowie pack for Rock Band, available today via Xbox Live Marketplace, might not contain my personal favourite Bowie tunes, it is Bowie and that's good enough for me. Well, technically it's Bowie. Two of the three songs in the 440 point pack - Queen Bitch and Heroes - are cover versions..."

"Xbox 360:

Rock Band

Mass Effect

College Hoops 2K8

Avatar: The Burning Earth

Final Fantasy XI Online: Wings of the Goddess

Final Fantasy XI Online: Vana'diel Collection 08

PS3:

Rock Band

Medal of Honor Airborne

College Hoops 2K8

Time Crisis 4

Timeshift

Soldier of Fortune: Pay Back

The Elder Scrolls IV: Shivering Isles

Uncharted: Drake's Fortune

Nintendo Wii:

Nintendo Wii Zapper with Link's Crossbow Training

Ghost Squad

AMF Bowling Pinbusters

Soul Calibur Legends

Trauma...

"

"Band World Tour (and consequently the endless setlist) doesn't have an online mode. It was something we really wanted in there but the time to do it (and do it right taking into account all sorts of mostly unforeseen but very important things) was seriously prohibitive. It is something we are totally working for in the future as not only do you want to play it but so do we (more than you know). That said we do have our band quickplay and the competitive modes online and it they are amazing. S..."

"Finally a reason to be thankful in November. Forget the coming cold and use these reason to stay inside the entire month. We all know this year has one of the best holiday line-ups ever, but we didn’t know how good. Here is an entire top 7 list of games just coming out in November. And below, I have all the awesome games that didn’t make it on the list. Obviously game release dates are subject to game publishers dart boards, so all games are what I at least think is coming out in November."

"Gamestop is saying that the individual Drum Set and Microphone peripherals for Rock Band have been delayed until February 4 2008. If you want the drums or microphone you’ll have to buy the entire 169.99 bundle, so if you were planning on using your Guitar Hero guitar controller (which is compatible) and just buying drums you’re screwed until February 2008."

"The price of starting your own band just got a lot more affordable, as Rock Band will retail for $170. Originally, the price was rumored to be $200, so the $30 discount is killer news for everyone that wants to rock out on their PS3 or Xbox 360. Harmonix is treating PlayStation 2 owners like rockstars, too. A $160 PS2 edition of the game is coming before the end of the year. That’s supposed to hit stores on December 10, while the PS3 and 360 versions go on sale on Nov. 23. So there you have i..."

"In the latest OXM Podcast, Harmonix CEO Alex Rigopulos confirms that the Xbox 360 guitars for Rock Band are wired in the bundles. There will be wired and wireless versions available for the Xbox 360, but once again, the retail bundles will come with a wired guitar. The PS3 guitars are all wireless. The Xbox 360 bundle will also come with a USB hub for all the peripherals to plug into. On both the Xbox 360 and PS3 version the microphone and drum kit will be wired. Rigopulos says, "The cost of ..."

"You read that right, the retail bundles for Rock Band on the 360 will include wired controllers, not wireless. Harmonix CEO Alex Rigopulos has confirmed this in the most recent OXM podcast but adds that included in the bundle will be a USB hub that will allow you to hook in all your various peripherals. Wireless guitars will be made available as separate purchases, but if you were hoping to go all wireless with your launch bundle, I'm afraid you are out of luck. This is really a shame and it ..."

"An EA press release has revealed that Rock Band, the multi-instrumental strum/bang/sing-‘em-up, will be coming out on the PlayStation 2, as well as the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Rock Band creator Harmonix has already enjoyed phenomenal success on the PS2 through its two Guitar Hero games, and the appearance of Rock Band on the popular platform is sure to further boost sales of what promises to be a pricey product."

"Charles who? Why, that would be Charles Huang, co-founder and COO of Guitar Hero publisher RedOctane, who has revealed how he is "irked" whenever people associate rival music title Rock Band with mega-publisher EA. Speaking in an interview with GameSpot, Huang said that calling the multi-instrumental Rock Band an EA title was "misleading", and pointed out that while EA was distributing the title, the company had nothing to do with the development or publishing of the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 36..."

"People, i.e. Xbox World 360's production editor Jem, argue that Guitar Hero is a waste of time; that players should just learn how to play the guitar instead. But when was the last time you recall someone picking up a guitar, cramming 60 notes' worth of lessons into one day and rocking out to Freebird's solo before the stroke of midnight? Didn't think so. But with Rock Band there's an even greater incentive to play - it will actually teach you the skills to play a real drum kit. Result!

Th..."

This may very well be another mistake another online-retailers park, however I'm fairly certain that it's not. Amazon.com have begun pre-orders for Rock Band and it's accessories, which themselves are fairly expensive. You can opt to buy the $199.99 all-in-one pack, or the $59.99 Rock Band Stand Alone Software, and just buy the accessories at your convenience (will be VERY expensive this way).

With the price of the accessories ranging from $30 to $80, it seems buying the stand alone softwa...

"Around three weeks ago, MTV and Harmonix revealed plans to offer whole albums as part of the downloadable content for Rock Band, the forthcoming rock-‘em-up that will allow players to wield either a microphone, guitar, bass, or drums. "Who’s Next", The Who’s 1971 classic, was to kick things off, and today that was joined by "Nevermind", the 1991 Nirvana angst-fest that popularised the Seattle grunge movement, and sold 25 million copies worldwide in the process."

"It’s official: those lucky blighters in the US can now pre-order Rock Band, the Harmonix-developed, multi-instrumental extravaganza that is due to appear later this year on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The game, which will see players warbling into microphones, strumming on plastic guitars, and bashing a too-cool-for-words drum set to a series of rock classics, can now be reserved at both Amazon and GameStop."

"MTV Games and Harmonix have revealed their joint plan to release weekly downloadable content for the Electronic Arts-published Rock Band, introducing regular full-length albums to the game - the first of which will be The Who's "Who's Next".

"Offering entire albums for play on the Rock Band platform is a monumental step forward in Harmonix's ever present quest to provide new ways for people to interact with music and creating the most authentic music experience possible," trumpeted Alex Ri..."

"As part of the ongoing explosion of juicy Rock Band info at E3 (need we say anything more than METALLICA ARE IN ROCK BAND?), MTV and Harmonix have announced that the game will be the first to offer full-length albums for download. Yes, full albums! There's no doubt that this is an important step forward for the genre, allowing fans to play all the way through some of the most classic rock albums of all time with friends. In short, it's going to be brilliant. So what's the first full album tha..."

We've read previous announcements about Rock Band, which has been unofficially dubbed, the one game that may be able to rival the fame and style of gameplay of Guitar Hero. We've E3 having just started, we will be getting a lot more information during the next couple of days, however for now we will have to make do with these two screenshots straight from EA. Enjoy.

"Harmonix has its work cut out for itself. Not only is the company in the midst of creating the most ambitious music rhythm game to date, it also has to select a fist-pumping track list for the game and the 100 downloadable songs that it has set as its goal for the first year. The work gets even tougher when you factor in news that Rock Band will have two new songs released every week for download and that the title will be the first to offer full-length albums as part of its game.

To help ..."

"The inaugural E3 Business & Media Summit is just days away now, and such important gaming events usually prompt enough speculative chatter to kick start the efficient Rumour Mill into complete overdrive. The first significant arrival in terms of E3 rumours is the claim that Harmonix's Rock Band will appear exclusively (for a limited time) on the Microsoft Xbox 360 when it is launched later this year."

"Rock Band allows gamers to perform music from the world’s biggest rock artists with their friends as a virtual band using drum, bass/lead guitar and microphone peripherals, in addition to offering deep online connectivity. Built on deals with the world’s biggest record labels and music publishers, the music featured in Rock Band spans all genres of rock and include many of the master recordings from the biggest songs and artists of all time.

Click here for the trailer"

"Images of the microphone and drum peripherals that will ship with Harmonix’s Rock Band have finally been revealed, only a few days after we got our first peek at the guitar controller. Pictures of the two appeared in the latest edition of Game Informer magazine, and the page in question was promptly scanned and stuck up on the internet for all and sundry to see."

"The first images of the Fender Stratocaster guitar controller that will ship with EA and Harmonix’s Rock Band came to light today, showing precisely what we’ll all be rocking out on come the game’s release."

"We knew the Rock Band guitar was going to be based on the Fender Stratocaster and now, thanks to a GameStop newsletter, we get the clear internet-ready picture of what it'll actually look like. The ten button controller (you read that right, check out another pic after the break) has five frets at the top and another five frets of the same color below. Considering we haven't seen the in-game interface, we assume these are for the designated solo sections mentioned in the Game Informer info re..."

Harmonix art director Ryan Lesser told GamesIndustry.biz that they are working hard to make sure that their upcoming game Rock Band (to be published by MTV Games) will be as affordable for consumers as they can get.

You may know of Harmonix from their sucessful music title Guitar Hero. GH only featured a single instrument; you guess it, the guitar. Rock Band, however will feature Bass, Guitar, Voacals (Microphone), and Drums. In another article (http://www.gamegrep.com/news/1726-starting_y...

"First and foremost, the focus group participant said that testers specifically said the game, already announced on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, would be coming to the Wii as well. On top of that, they were told that the game's set list will feature nothing but original artists, and that the drum peripheral (which Harmonix CEO Alex Rigopulos promised would be "a really impressive piece of hardware") will feature a drum with a kick pedal and real sticks.

There could be some interesting in..."

With the rock music genre taking off in North America with the hit Guitar Hero; EA and Harmonix's game Rock Band has advertised prices at GameStop. However, a representative for Rock Band said at the time,

quote

Let me nip this one in the bud right now. Those are estimated prices and not official in any even remote way. We haven't even decided on prices ultimately, much less announced them.

I think he might want to let GameStop know that as well, then.

• Rock Band - $59.99
  
• Rock Band drum...

""Fender is pleased to be part of Rock Band and the exciting opportunity it offers passionate music fans and gamers," said Bill Mendello, CEO of Fender Musical Instruments Corporation. "Our friends at Harmonix have done an amazing job of capturing the power and style of legendary Fender products within the virtual gaming experience and delivering it all in the spirit of rock 'n' roll."

"Part of Roland's mission is to bring people closer to the music they love. Rock Band certainly fulfills ..."