Continuing its weekly tradition, developer Harmonix has revealed the three new downloadable tracks that will be available for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 editions of Rock Band next week.

All three songs are original master track recordings:

• "Hanging on the Telephone" by Blondie
• "Train in Vain" by The Clash
• "Kool Thing" by Sonic Youth

"I like Sonic Youth," commented aspiring comedian Reid Faylor, "but it's just noise."

Per usual, the tracks will be sold separately for 160 Microsoft Points ($1.99) and will be available from the Xbox Live Marketplace on Tuesday, May 13, followed by a PlayStation Store release on Thursday, May 15.

New to the PlayStation Store this week is a playable demo of Free Radical's shooter Haze (PS3), plus an expansion to Q-Games PixelJunk Monsters as well as Rock Band and Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock downloadable content.

Available free of charge, the Haze demo is said to provide a sample of both the game's single-player campaign as well as its four-person, drop-in drop-out online co-op. Haze is scheduled to hit store shelves on May 20.

Click through for more in this week's PlayStation Store update, including PixelJunk Monsters Encore and new tracks for Harmonix's Rock Band... Read more

The previously announced expansion for Q-Games PixelJunk Monsters will hit the PlayStation Store tomorrow at a $5.99 price point, Sony Computer Entertainment America revealed on the PlayStation Blog.

The expansion, entitled PixelJunk Monsters Encore, includes a new island, 15 new levels, five new music tracks and item cost and availability revisions. Q-Games president Dylan Cuthbert said that the expansion was created to end his wife's ceaseless nagging for more content.

"My wife simply loved the game so much she would badger me every day for more levels, so in the end I caved in," Cuthbert said. "Of course, we were also getting mails every day from people asking for more so we simply decided to listen to everyone."

The Shacknews-endorsed downloadable tower defense title was released on the PlayStation Store last January for $7.99.

Box art for Gearbox Software's Samba de Amigo (Wii) on games retailer GameStop's website indicates that the game will support some sort of pay-to-play content.

Unearthed by the internet detectives at gaming forum NeoGAF, the box art—while not necessarily finalized—is the first Wii box shot to feature the red Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection logo, which indicates pay-to-play functionality in the game. Given Samba de Amigo's maraca-shakin' rhythm roots, the evidence seems to... Read more

Marking the third promotional campaign to feature Rock Band downloadable content this week, developer Harmonix and fast-food eatery McDonald's have teamed up to offer cheaper downloads of select songs across the next month.

Beginning today, the cost of two individual Rock Band tracks will be temporarily lowered to 80 Microsoft Points ($1), down from the average asking price of 160 Microsoft Points ($2). The promotion will run for a total of four weeks, with the discounted songs changing every week.

Meant to promote the McDonald's Dollar Menu, the cheaper downloads are available for both the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 editions of the multi-instrument music title.

The discount schedule and specific per-week songs are:... Read more

The August 12 release of South Park - The Complete 11th Season on DVD will include downloadable content for Harmonix and MTV Games' multi-instrument music title Rock Band, though further details are scarce.

According to TVShowsOnDVD, marketing materials sent to retailers claimed that, while supplies last, "every DVD will include a 3-song download pack for the MTV Games sensation Rock Band."

It's not the first time that Rock Band and South Park have mingled, as the game contains a track from South Park band Timmy & The Lords of the Underworld. On the flip side, the eleventh season of South Park includes an episode that lovingly mocks instrument-based games, such as Guitar Hero and Rock Band.

No specific songs or platforms were named, though only the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions of Rock Band support downloadable content. A similar Best Buy promotion only offers an Xbox 360 download, though the exclusive Disturbed tracks will eventually be available on both platforms.

Update: The two Disturbed tracks listed below will be released as publicly available downloads for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in June, a representative from Harmonix and studio owner MTV Games informed Shacknews. No price point was provided.

Original Story: Mega-retailer Best Buy is offering two exclusive downloadable songs for Harmonix's multi-instrument title Rock Band to those who pre-order the next album from thrash metal group Disturbed.

Upon pre-ordering the Indestructible album from BestBuy.com, the code for an Xbox 360 download of the tracks will be send via e-mail. Both hailing from the new album, the songs are:

• "Inside the Fire" by Disturbed
• "Perfect Insanity" by Disturbed

Though this marks the first time a retailer has pushed album pre-orders via DLC, it's not the first time that a band has released songs from an upcoming album as DLC. Motley Crue previously debuted its latest single within Rock Band, and Def... Read more

Capcom today announced a new expansion to A.C.R.O.N.Y.M. Games' downloadable shooter-RPG hybrid Rocketmen: Axis of Evil (PS3, X360).

Entitled Rocketmen: It Came from Your Uranus, the expansion will include three new levels, three weapons and two new subweapons, and a host of new enemies for the original game, which debuted on Xbox Live Arcade and the PlayStation Network earlier this year.

The expansion is priced at 400 Microsoft Points ($4.95), and is scheduled to hit the Xbox Live Marketplace on May 14 and the PlayStation Store a day later.

Another Friday, another trio of songs revealed as next week's downloadable content for Harmonix's multi-instrument music title Rock Band.

This coming week will bring PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 owners the Scene Pack, which contains the following master track recordings:

• "This Ain't A Scene, It's An Arms Race" by Fallout Boy
• "Date With The Night" by Yeah Yeah Yeahs
• "It Hurts" by Angels & Airwaves

The Scene Pack will be available for download from the Xbox Live Marketplace on Tuesday, May 6 and the PlayStation Store on Thursday, May 8.

Per usual, the tracks will be bundled together for 440 Microsoft Points ($4.99) and sold separately for 160 Microsoft Points ($1.99).

A bundle of three tracks from British rock group Muse will be downloadable content for Neversoft's Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock, publisher Activision announced today.

Slated to hit the Xbox 360's online Xbox Live Marketplace and the PlayStation 3's online PlayStation Store on May 8, the pack contains the following songs:

• "Exo-Politics"
• "Supermassive Black Hole"
• "Stockholm Syndrome"

No price point was listed, though past Guitar Hero III track packs have sold for 500 Microsoft Points ($6.25).

Harmonix's competing music title Rock Band will be receiving a sole Muse track of its own, "Hysteria," as downloadable content at some point, likely later this month.

New to the PlayStation Store this week is Sony Japan Studio's perspective puzzler echochrome, plus a fresh batch of downloadable tracks for Harmonix's Rock Band.

Inspired by the works of MC Escher, echochrome tasks the player with guiding a mannequin figure through a level by tilting and turning the environment to create a path, while breaking perspective laws to get from A to B.

Available for both the PlayStation 3 and PSP, both versions of echochrome are priced at $9.99. Both versions include 56 levels unique to their respective platform, making 112 levels in all for puzzle fanatics.

Click through for more in this week's PlayStation Store update... Read more

How will developer Harmonix follow up after delivering the entirety of Judas Priest's "Screaming For Vengeance" album as downloadable content for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 editions of Rock Band?

By releasing two The Mother Hips tunes and a Smashing Pumpkins track, it seems.

Beginning Tuesday, April 29, the following three Rock Band tracks will be available for purchase and download from the Xbox Live Marketplace:

• The Mother Hips "Red Tandy"
• The Mother Hips "Time Sick Son of a Grizzly Bear"
• Smashing Pumpkins "Zero"

Each master track recording will sell individually for 160 Microsoft Points ($1.99). Per usual, the songs will then be available to PlayStation 3 owners for the same price via the PlayStation Store the following Thursday, which happens to be May 1.

New to the PlayStation Store this week is a ton of downloadable content including Rock Band, Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock and Army of Two DLC, three new demos, and a fresh addition to the PSOne Classics library. In terms of the week's downloadable content roundup, the Variety Map Pack for Infinity Ward's Call of Duty 4 is up for grabs. Priced at $9.99, the Variety Map Pack includes four multiplayer maps: Creek, Broadcast, Killhouse, and Chinatown (a remake of the classic CoD map Carentan).

New content for Neversoft's Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock this week is the Def Leppard track pack, priced at $6.25. In addition to the band's new single "Nine Lives," the pack also includes master tracks of "Rock of Ages" and "Photograph."

Fans of Harmonix's Rock Band, meanwhile, now have access to the game's first full DLC album, Judas Priest's 1982 opus "Screaming for Vengeance." The pack is priced at $14.99 for the whole ten-track album, or $1.99 for individual ... Read more

Confirming earlier reports, publisher Activision has reaffirmed that the first downloadable map pack for Infinity Ward's Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare will arrive on the PlayStation 3 this Thursday, April 24.

Priced at $9.99, the Variety Map Pack includes four multiplayer maps: Creek, Broadcast, Killhouse, and Chinatown (a remake of the classic CoD map Carentan).

A code for a free download of the Variety Map Pack will be included in the upcoming Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare Game of the Year Edition re-release. To commemorate today's news, a company representative sent over the accompanying loldog.

Released for the Xbox 360 version earlier this month, the Variety Map Pack went on to set a new record for the Xbox Live Marketplace, exceeding one million downloads in its first nine days of availability. A PC edition of the pack is said to be in the works.

In case you were still on the fence about buying Grand Theft Auto IV because you thought one city just wasn't enough fun to explore, you may just have to reconsider.

A recent CVG print article taking a look at GTA IV has some exciting news regarding Rockstar's plans for future downloadable content. Here is the quote via Gamervision:

"Of course to call games as vastly ambitious as Vice City or San Andreas mere 'expansion packs' seems childish, but nevertheless, the downloadable content coming for the Xbox 360 version of [GTA IV] has repositioned those games in just this way.

"[GTA IV's expansions] are to GTA IV what Vice City or San Andreas were GTA III. Yes, Rockstar is clearly hinting at new downloadable cities; and the chances of them being London, Vice City or SA again are slim to none. So that's new as in brand new. GTA IV's Liberty City is the beginning. Think about that and be excited."

Considering that Grand Theft Auto IV is already expected to bust through $400 million in sales before a single expansion is released, publisher Take-Two can surely see the profit train on the horizon.

Publisher Activision announced today that the Variety Map Pack for Infinity Ward's Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare exceeded one million downloads in the first nine days of its release, setting a new record for paid downloads on the Xbox Live Marketplace.

The content was released on Xbox Live on April 10, priced at 800 Microsoft Points ($10). The map pack is scheduled to drop on PS3s via the PlayStation Store on April 24.

Composed of four maps, the Variety Map Pack includes Creek, Broadcast, Killhouse, and Chinatown (a remake of the classic CoD map Carentan).

Ending months of waiting and speculation, Rock Band developer Harmonix has announced that the first entire downloadable album will be available next week for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 editions of the multi-instrument music title.

The entirety of Judas Priest's 1982 album "Screaming For Vengeance" will be priced at 1200 Microsoft Points ($14.99). Individual tracks, such as "You've Got Another Thing Comin'" and "Electric Eye," will be priced at 160 Microsoft Points ($1.99).

"Screaming For Vengeance" will arrive in the Xbox Live Marketplace on Tuesday, April 22, with the PlayStation 3 release following on Thursday, April 24.

Additionally, Harmonix revealed that the whole of The Cars' "The Cars" and the Pixies' "Doolittle" albums are both slated to arrive as downloadable content in the future, along with the previously announced The Who's "Who's Next."

The tracklist of Judas Priest's "Screaming For Vengeance" follows:... Read more

Electronic Arts today announced that new content will be released for the co-op shooter Army of Two next Thursday. The new Security and Strategy Corporation Challenge DLC contains four maps featuring a series of obstacle courses, with the chance to join the SSC, the Private Military Corporation in Army of Two, upon completion.

"We want to support our fans with new content that delivers on the two-man gameplay but with a unique twist," said EA Montreal's Alain Tascan, adding, "The SSC Challenge gives players a chance to test their skills in a different setting while retaining the action packed co-op intensity that gamers have come to expect in Army of Two."

The SSC Challenge mode and maps will be available for $7.50 on both the Xbox Live Marketplace and PlayStation Store.

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The first update to the PlayStation Store since the service's relaunch and new look has gone up, chock full of overdue Rock Band content, downloadable games, and more.

Polyphony Digital's preview racer Gran Turismo 5: Prologue will hit the PlayStation Store tonight at 12 AM EST, priced at $39.99. The game packs 60+ vehicles and six tracks, and is meant as a sneak peek to the eventual release of Gran Turismo 5.

A bounty of content for Harmonix's Rock Band has also been added, bringing PS3 Rock Band owners up to speed after two weeks of downtime. This week's update includes "Still Alive" by Jonathan Coulton available free of charge, as well as Freezepop's "Sprode", Count Zero's "Shake", and Bang Camro's "Rock Rebellion" for $0.99 a piece.

Additionally, the Classic Rock Pack—which includes "Call Me" by Blondie, "Simple Man" by Lynyrd Skynyrd and "Message in a Bottle" by the Police—is also up. The songs are priced at $1.99 a piece, or $5.49 in a bundle.

An expansion for SCEA Santa Monica's Warhawk (PS3), entitled Operation: Broken Mirror, has been added to the PlayStation Store. The booster pack ... Read more

Infinity Ward announced today that the Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (PC, PS3, X360) Variety Map Pack will be released on North American PlayStation 3s on April 24, and in Europe a week later.

The new content, which was released on the Xbox 360 earlier this month, will be available as part of next Thursday's PlayStation Store update at a $9.99 price point.

The map pack includes four multiplayer maps: Creek, Broadcast, Killhouse, and Chinatown (a remake of the classic CoD map Carentan). For a more intimate look, scope out the recent batch of gameplay videos.