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.

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.

Developer Harmonix has announced an expansion pack for the PlayStation 2 and Wii editions of its multi-instrument music title Rock Band.

Due out on July 15 and priced at $29.99, Rock Band Track Pack Volume 1 contains 20 new tracks, all of which have been released as downloadable content for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions.

The expansion disc solves the issue of lacking storage capacity on the PlayStation 2 and Wii, which prevented the release of additional songs as downloadable content. It should be noted that the disc only contains a small portion of the numerous downloadable tracks that have been made available for the other editions.

To break it down, PS2 and Wii owners will be paying roughly $1.50 for each song, which is comparable to the average cost of $2.00 for an individual song download on X360 or PS3. However, some downloadable songs are bundled together or priced separately at a slightly lower cost.

The track list is as follows... Read more

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

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).

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.

Activision CEO Bobby Kotick said that the fourth installment of Neversoft's Guitar Hero franchise will incorporate additional instruments similar to competitor Harmonix's Rock Band (PS2, PS3, Wii, X360).

"[Guitar Hero IV's] not just about guitars," Kotick told IGN. "We'll include a lot of other instruments, vocals. It will help us expand internationally. It's the first game we've had in which we can use local content and local bands."

The runaway success of the multi-instrument rhythm game Rock Band, which includes drums and vocals on top of guitars, had led many to speculate that the traditionally guitar-only Guitar Hero franchise would eventually see the addition of more instruments.

Guitar Hero IV is expected for release this fall, as the third Guitar Hero title announced by Activision for release in 2008. The first two were announced as Guitar Hero: On Tour and Guitar Hero: Aerosmith.

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

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

The five bonus songs contained within the Wii version of Harmonix's Rock Band have been revealed to be tracks previously released as downloadable content for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 iterations, reports Joystiq.

According to the site, which recently went hands-on with the Wii edition of the multi-instrument music title, the five tracks accompanying the 45 main songs and 13 bonus tracks of the previously-released editions:

• "Dirty Little Secret" - The All American Rejects
• "Don't Look Back in Anger" - Oasis
• "Roam" - The B-52's
• "Rockaway Beach" - The Ramones
• "Roxanne" - The Police

The above, along with many others, are currently available for purchase and download within the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 editions of the game. Had the songs been new, it is likely they would have eventually appeared as downloadable content, much like the forthcoming European bonus tracks.

Both the Wii and PlayStation 2 versions of Rock Band lack the online play of other editions and do not support downloadable content due to the systems' lack of storage capacity. Co-developed by Harmonix and Pi Studios, the Wii edition of Rock Band arrives in North America on June 22.

Developer Harmonix has announced that the new Motley Crue single "Saints of Los Angeles" will debut as a piece of Rock Band downloadable content later this week.

The track will be available for download beginning tomorrow, April 15, for the Xbox 360 version of the game, with the PlayStation 3 release following on Thursday, April 17. It will carry a price of 80 Microsoft Points / $1 for a limited time.

"Saints of Los Angeles" marks the first single to be initially released via Rock Band. Music label Mercury Records recently revealed that Def Leppard will perform a similar feat by debuting its single "Nine Lives" as downloadable content for Neversoft's Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock later this month.

Update: Distributor Electronic Arts has retracted the August 29 date for the PS2, PS3, and Wii versions of Rock Band in Europe, claiming that the fact sheet containing the date was "in error." They are currently expected to arrive at some point in the summer.

Original Story:The PS2, PS3, and Wii versions of Harmonix's multiplayer rhythm title Rock Band will launch on August 29 in Europe, according to a report from VideoGamer.

The launch date grants Microsoft's Xbox 360 console a full three months of Rock Band exclusivity in the territory, scheduled to kick off on May 23. European release details were issued by publisher EA last week, which also revealed that the game would be sold for GBP 49.99 / EUR 69.99, with an Instrument Pack—containing a drum kit, guitar and microphone—going for an additional GBP 129.99 / EUR 169.99.

At current exchange rates, the game and instrument pack will run gamers a staggering $356.77 / $378.36, compared to the North American kit's $169.99 suggested retail price. An additional guitar for a four-piece band bumps the price to $472.29 / $502.98 at current rates.

Responding to consumer outrage over the pricing, Harmonix product development VP Greg LoPiccolo dismissed allegations of price gouging on the company's official forums.

"We're not making a killing on Rock Band in Europe," wrote LoPiccolo. "We are incredibly sensitive to pricing issues. We are painfully aware that the higher the price we charge, the less copies we'll sell... [Price gouging] doesn't serve... Read more

Harmonix today announced the next batch of downloadable content for Rock Band as the Classic Rock pack, available next week from the PlayStation Store and Xbox Live Marketplace.

The pack includes master tracks of "Call Me" by Blondie, "Simple Man" by Lynyrd Skynyrd, and "Message in a Bottle" by the Police. The Classick Rock pack can be purchased for 440 Microsoft Points ($5.49), or individually for 160 Microsoft Points ($1.99).

The new content will be available next Tuesday on the Xbox Live Marketplace, and on PS3s the following Thursday.

Rock Band developer Harmonix said that the absence of downloadable content on the Wii version of Rock Band is due to a lack of viable storage space, CVG reports.

The developer had confirmed that the Wii version of its rhythm party opus would not support downloadable content when the port was announced late last month.

"Come on Nintendo, we need a hard drive," said Rock Band design director Rob Kay. "That's what we want. The whole problem is there's nowhere to store it."

The Wii currently offers 512 megabytes of internal flash memory for storage, expandable via SD flash cards. Rock Band downloadable tracks range roughly between 20 and 40 megabytes per song.

"If the platform could do it, we'd jump on it," added Kay. "It's something that we championed to Nintendo, that we'd like to do it. Who knows what will happen down the line, I don't know what's coming down the line, but that's the reason there's no DLC in Wii Rock Band."

MTV Games has confirmed to Shacknews that the new tracks contained within the European edition of Harmonix's multi-instrument music title Rock Band will be released in North America as downloadable content for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 iterations.

As revealed this morning, the UK release of Rock Band will pack nine new songs:

• Blur "Beetlebum" (English)
• Oasis "Rock 'n' Roll Star" (English)
• Tokio Hotel "Monsoon" (English)
• Muse "Hysteria" (English)
• Les Wampas "Manu Chao" (French)
• Playmo "New Wave" (French)
• Die Toten Hosen "Hier Kommt Alex" (German)
• Juli "Perfekte Welle" (German)
• H-Block X "Countdown to Insanity" (German)

The company has not yet revealed pricing details or a date for the North American release of the content, though common sense suggests it may coincide with the European debut of Rock Band on May 22.

The Xbox 360 edition of Harmonix's multi-instrument opus Rock Band will arrive in the UK on May 23, studio owner MTV Game and distributor Electronic Arts have announced.

Released in North America last year on PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, Rock Band will be a timed X360 exclusive for European territories, with the other versions said to arrive later in the summer. EA previously stated its intent to release the three editions in Europe by the end of June, though it is not known how the upcoming Wii version, due June 22 in North America, fits into that schedule.

Unlike North America, where the title was sold both by itself for $59.99 and in an instrument-packed bundle for $169.99, the game and its instruments will only be sold separately, according to Eurogamer. The game itself will run GBP 49.99 / EUR 69.99, with an Instrument Pack--containing a drum kit, guitar and microphone--going for GBP 129.99 / EUR 169. Wireless guitars will be sold for GBP 59.99 / EUR 79.99.

Going by those prices, it will cost Europeans GBP 239.97 / EUR 319.97 to assemble a full four-instrument band: two guitars, a drum kit and microphone along with a copy of the game. At today's exchange rates, that comes out to a startling $472.29 / $502.98, whereas the same products would only run a paltry $229.98 in North America.

The European edition of Rock Band will pack nine exclusive songs, which are listed below. All of the existing downloable content, which Harmonix has... Read more

Continuing its schedule of weekly content downloads, developer Harmonix has revealed that the HMX Pack will be available for the Xbox 360 of Rock Band beginning Tuesday, April 8.

Previously bundled with the February issue of Official Xbox Magazine, the HMX Pack contains three songs from Harmonix-selected artists: "Rock Rebellion" by Bang Camaro, "Shake" by Count Zero, and Freezepop's "Super Sprode."

Each track will sell individually for 80 Microsoft Points ($1), with the three-track bundle going for 240 Microsoft Points ($3).

Due to Sony's redesign of the PlayStation Store, the pack will not be available for the PlayStation 3 version until the PlayStation Store relaunches in mid-April.

Developer Harmonix has announced that Jonathan Coulton's surprisingly catchy track "Still Alive" will be this week's sole piece of downloadable content for its multi-instrument music title Rock Band.

Originally recorded as the ending theme for Valve's wit-driven puzzle shooter Portal (PC, PS3, X360), "Still Alive" quickly became an internet phenomenon, most commonly referenced by the phrase "I'm making a note here, huge success."

The first Rock Band song to be given away for free, "Still Alive" will be available for the Xbox 360 edition of Rock Band beginning tomorrow, April 1. Xbox 360 owners will be able to download the track from either the Xbox Live Marketplace or the recently-added in-game music store.

Due to Sony's redesign of the PlayStation Store, the track will not be available for the PlayStation 3 version until the PlayStation Store relaunches in mid-April, though Harmonix was adamant that it will still be free at that time.

Despite pending litigation, MTV-owned developer Harmonix has announced that its music-based multi-instrument title Rock Band will hit the Wii on June 22 in North America.

The Wii version will come with a total of 63 songs, five of which are bonus songs. A full list of the 63 tracks was not provided, though the initial 58 are expected to mirror the 45 main songs and 13 bonus tracks of the previously-released PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 editions.

A Special Edition bundle--containing a wireless guitar, drum kit, and microphone--will sell for $169.99. Stand alone instruments and software will also be available at release, allowing Special Edition buyers to pick up the extra guitar needed for a four-person band.

The Wii edition of Rock Band will not include online multiplayer or support for downloadable content, a Harmonix representative confirmed to Shacknews.

Such online functionality was a highly-touted feature of the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 releases, having sold over six million song downloads since the two... Read more