Rock Band Battles U.S. with Nationwide Tour

Harmonix is taking Rock Band (PS3, X360) on tour in North America, the rhythm game developer announced today. The move will bring the game's already industry-crushing hype to the level of several dozen near-Earth supernovae before it descends into the hands of consumers this fall. Starting Sunday in Las Vegas, a "Rock Band outfitted tour rig" will begin a 24-city tour, allowing wannabe rockers to rock out on a full-on concert stage, light show included. In addition, participants will have the option to try out in a "Rock Off" for the opportunity to appear on MTV's TRL, which just hasn't been the same since Carson Daly (pictured above) left. "We simply couldnÂ’t wait any longer to get the game into consumers' hands and give them a taste of the power of the Rock Band experience," said MTV VP Jeff Yapp. The two selected Rock Off winners will play on TRL and get to hang out with a "real rock band" in New York. Out of the two bands, a winning group will be chosen based on its mastery of badical plastic shredding and given the opening slot before a "yet-to-be-named mega band" at Rock Band's launch concert. More information will be posted on the tour at the Rock Band Web site starting Sunday, but check out the known dates below.

• Las Vegas, NV September 9-16, 2007
• Milwaukee, WI September 13-16, 2007
• Sacramento, CA September 20-23, 2007
• Columbus, OH September 20-23, 2007
• Seattle, WA September 27-30, 2007
• Chicago, IL September 27-30, 2007
• Portland, OR October 4-7, 2007
• Pittsburgh, PA October 4-7, 2007
• Oakland, CA October 11-14, 2007
• Cleveland, OH October 11-14, 2007
• San Francisco, CA October 17-21, 2007
• Philadelphia, PA October 18-21, 2007
• San Diego, CA October 25-28, 2007
• Baltimore, MD October 25-28, 2007
• Los Angeles, CA October 31-November 18, 2007
• New York, NY November 1-4, 2007
• Boston, MA November 8-11, 2007
• New Jersey November 15-18, 2007
• Phoenix, AZ November 27-30, 2007
• Atlanta, GA November 27-December 2, 2007
• Austin, TX December 6-9, 2007
• New Orleans, LA December 6-9, 2007
• Dallas, TX December 13-16, 2007
• Orlando, FL December 13-16, 2007