Three tracks from Super Meat Boy will be coming to the Rock Band Network “soon.”

Since super Meat Boy has one of the best soundtracks of all time (big words but I’ll stand by them any day), this can only be a brilliant idea. “The Battle of Lil’ Slugger”,”Can o’ Salt” and a retro remix of “Betus Blues” will all be coming to the network in extended form, giving players a new challenge.

Danny Baranowsky, the soundtrack’s creator, said: “I wanted to have some stuff in there for the people who delight in 100-percenting expert Dragonforce.”

Via Joystiq

• Rock Band 3 Hits US Stores Today, Launch Week Buyers Get Free DLC
• E310 Preview: Rock Band 3, Surprisingly Impressive
• Green Day: Rock Band Demo Teases Keyboards for Rock Band 3
• Rock Band 3 To Help Us Play Real Guitars?
• New Trailer & Tracks From The Beatles: Rock Band
• Official Rock Band 3 Track List Revealed

A group of College students from Munich have put together this terrific video which takes you through the history of gaming from a first-person perspective.

The group calls themselves “Game Design”  and appropriately the video starts with the first recognized video game Tennis for Two played on an Oscilloscope, all the way to Rock Band

(for some reason not all games are in chronological order).

Watch and enjoy!

Games covered:
Tennis for Two, Oscilloscope, 1958
Pacman, Arcade, 1980
Donkey Kong, NES, 1986
Sonic the Hedgehog, Sega Mega Drive/Genesis, 1991
Street Fighter II. SNES, 1991
Super Mario 64, Nintendo 64, 1996
Final Fantasy VII, Sony Playstation, 1997
Need for Speed: Hot Pursiut 2, Sony Playstation 2, 2002
Ecco the Dolphin, Sega Dreamcast, 2000
Super Smash Bros. Melee, Nintendo Game Cube, 2001
Wii Sports Golf, Nintendo Wii, 2006
God of War III, Sony Playstation 3, 2010
Rock Band XBox 360, 2008

• Look! Lots of God of War III footage!
• God of War 3 GDC footage leaked
• The Watercooler: Those Aussies Are Pretty Loose
• The Watercooler: Family Feud Trolling
• ArcheAge Debuts New Siege Warfare Video; RipTen Adds Helpful Commentary
• The Watercooler: Kids These Days

Microsoft’s Kinect looks to take gaming in a bold new direction by making you the controller.  However, other than a few “family friendly” launch titles, Kinect currently doesn’t have much to offer us hardcore gamers.  We’re not quite sold on it yet, but if these next 10 games were compatible with Kinect, we’d go out and buy it TODAY.

10 – Fight Night

Let’s just come out and say it, Fighters Uncaged just doesn’t cut it as far as fighting games go.  However, Fight Night is one of the greatest boxing franchises of all time and if Microsoft could find a way to make it work properly with Kinect – we’d be all over it.

9- Starcraft II

Yeah, we know, it’s not on consoles, but if it was, we’d want to play it with Kinect.  Being able to move your units around and place buildings with one hand while moving the map with your other hand just makes sense – and it would make for some awesome and intense online matches as well.

8 – Halo Wars

Since Starcraft II isn’t on consoles, Halo Wars will have to do.  Although the online community is all but dead, it would still be fun to play the campaign with Kinect.  In fact, any modern RTS would be fun with Kinect.  R.U.S.E anyone?

• E310: A Series of Unfortunate Press Events – the Microsoft Keynote Summary
• Kinect Star Wars Announces Five New Modes, Dance Like C-3P0 April 3
• The Xbox 360 Kinect Reps Itself with Two Super Bowl XLVI Ads
• Mass Effect 3 Has Facebook Features to Unlock XBL Avatar Items
• Madden Bowl XVIII Kicks off 2012 Super Bowl on Ustream/ESPN3 Tonight
• Rumors Say The Next Xbox Will Play Blu-rays, But Not Used Games

The third installment of Harmonix’s wildly popular Rock Band franchise will be available in North American stores today (October 29th in all other regions).

And if the tag team introduction of Pro Mode and a freshly minted keyboard peripheral doesn’t send you sifting through your garment collection for a pair of zebra print leather pants, the launch week DLC promotion offering free access to The Doors “Light My Fire,” “Riders on the Storm,” and “Touch Me” should have you loving Harmonix madly.

Our own Dave Ernst has been Rock Banding his residence like a heavy metal madman, so look for our Ripten Rock Band 3 review this week.

• Rock Band 3 Trailer Shows Pro Mode In Action
• Rock Band 3 To Help Us Play Real Guitars?
• Super Meat Boy Tracks Coming to Rock Band Network
• Official Rock Band 3 Track List Revealed
• iZotope Pitch Detection Technology Coming to Rock Band 3
• E310 Preview: Rock Band 3, Surprisingly Impressive

After a bit of a leak a while back, Harmonix has given in and released the full tracklist for Rock Band 3, and my, it’s a scorcher.

The full track list is below, and as you can see there are some brilliant songs in the game. Primus’ “Jerry Was A Racecar Driver” is an inspired choice (Primus sucks!), but there are some great songs from David Bowie, The Beach Boys, Jimi Hendrix, Faith No More, The White Stripes, and even Yes.

It’s not got as much Metal as previous games, which disappoints me a lot. I suppose the fact that the two best Megadeth albums are available on the Rock Band store already, as well as the fact that Guitar Hero have nabbed Metallica and Dave Mustaine, have taken the two biggest names out of the question. There’s some Anthrax in there, though- still, there’s nothing like some Judas Priest or Dream Theater for the drummers to aspire to. Remember, however, that you can import songs from Rock Band 1 & 2 into Rock Band 3.

2000s:

• Amy Winehouse, “Rehab”
• At the Drive-In, “One Armed Scissor”
• Avenged Sevenfold, “The Beast & the Harlot”
• Dover, “King George”
• The Bronx, “False Alarm”
• The Flaming Lips, “Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots Pt. 1”
• HIM (His Infernal Majesty), “Killing Loneliness”
• Hypernova, “Viva La Resistance”
• Ida Maria, “Oh My God”*
• Juanes, “Me Enamora”
• Metric, “Combat Baby”*
• Paramore, “Misery Business”*
• Phoenix, “Lasso”*
• Poni Hoax, “Antibodies”
• Pretty Girls Make Graves, “Something Bigger, Something Brighter”
• Queens of the Stone Age, “No One Knows”
• The Ravonettes, “Last Dance”
• Rilo Kiley, “Portions for Foxes”*
• Riverboat Gamblers, “Don’t Bury Me…I’m Still Not Dead”
• Slipknot, “Before I Forget”
• The Sounds, “Living in America”
• Tegan & Sara, “The Con”
• Them Crooked Vultures, “Dead End Friends”
• Tokio Hotel, “Humanoid”*
• The Vines, “Get Free”*
• The White Stripes, “The Hardest Button to Button”*

1990s:

• Faith No More, “Midlife Crisis”*
• Filter, “Hey Man, Nice Shot”
• Jane’s Addiction, “Been Caught Stealing”*
• Maná, “Oye Mi Amor”
• Marilyn Manson, “The Beautiful People”
• The Muffs, “Outer Space”
• Phish, “Llama”
• Primus, “Jerry Was a Racecar Driver”
• Rammstein, “Du Hast”
• Smash Mouth, “Walkin’ On The Sun”*
• Spacehog, “In the Meantime”
• Stone Temple Pilots, “Plush”
• Swingin’ Utters, “This Bastard’s Life”

1980s:

• Anthrax, “Caught in a Mosh”
• Big Country, “In a Big Country”
• The Cure, “Just Like Heaven”*
• Def Leppard, “Foolin’”
• Devo, “Whip It”
• Dio, “Rainbow in the Dark”
• Dire Straits, “Walk of Life”
• Echo & the Bunnymen, “The Killing Moon”
• Huey Lewis and the News, “The Power of Love”
• INXS, “Need You Tonight”*
• J. Geils Band, “Centerfold”
• Joan Jett, “I Love Rock N’ Roll”*
• Night Ranger, “Sister Christian”*
• Ozzy Osbourne, “Crazy Train”*
• The Police, “Don’t Stand So Close to Me”
• Roxette, “The Look”*
• The Smiths, “Stop Me if You Think You’ve Heard This One Before”
• Tears for Fears, “Everybody Wants to Rule the World”
• Whitesnake, “Here I Go Again”*

1970s:

• The B-52’s, “Rock Lobster”*
• Blondie, “Heart of Glass”
• Bob Marley, “Get Up, Stand Up”
• Chicago, “25 or 6 to 4”
• Deep Purple, “Smoke on the Water”
• Doobie Brothers, “China Grove”*
• Elton John, “Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting”
• Foreigner, “Cold As Ice”*
• Golden Earring, “Radar Love”
• John Lennon, “Imagine”
• Lynyrd Skynyrd, “Free Bird”
• Queen, “Bohemian Rhapsody”*
• Ramones, “I Wanna Be Sedated”
• Steve Miller Band, “Fly Like an Eagle”
• T. Rex, “20th Century Boy”
• Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, “I Need to Know”
• War, “Low Rider”
• Warren Zevon, “Werewolves of London”
• Yes, “Roundabout”*

1960s:

• Beach Boys, “Good Vibrations (Live)”
• David Bowie, “Space Oddity”
• The Doors, “Break on Through (To the Other Side)”*
• James Brown, “I Got You” (I Feel Good) – Alternate Studio Version*
• The Jimi Hendrix Experience, “Crosstown Traffic”*
• The Who, “I Can See for Miles”

*Songs available on Rock Band 3 for Nintendo DS

• Rock Band 3 Hits US Stores Today, Launch Week Buyers Get Free DLC
• iZotope Pitch Detection Technology Coming to Rock Band 3
• Rock Band 3 To Help Us Play Real Guitars?
• Super Meat Boy Tracks Coming to Rock Band Network
• RipTen Review: Rock Band 3 (Xbox 360)
• PS3 Rockband 3 Keyboard Bundle Not Available in North America

As our very own Sam Naylor put it: “it’s the only thing about these sorts of games that really matters.” and ever right he was. Activision has announced the track list for the latest installment in the now pop culture hit: Guitar Hero. If you’re like me you think these games should just be jam packed with Metal and that’s it.

They’ve kind of delivered this time however there’s still some questionable content. I just welcome the huge set list in terms of longevity but I hope there’s an “Instant Unlock” cheat for when you want to hit the piss with mates and jam out to your hearts content. Get ready for a long read..

A Perfect Circle – “The Outsider”

Aerosmith – “Cryin’”

AFI – “Dancing Through Sunday”

Alice Cooper – “No More Mr. Nice Guy”

Alter Bridge – “Ties That Bind”

Anberlin – “The Feel Good Drag”

Anthrax – “Indians”

Arch Enemy – “Nemesis”

Atreyu – “Ravenous”

Avenged Sevenfold – “Bat Country”

Bad Brains – “Re-Ignition (Live)”

Band Of Skulls – “I Know What I Am”

Black Sabbath – “Children Of The Grave”

Blind Melon – “Tones Of Home”

Blue Oyster Cult – “Burnin’ For You”

Bush – “Machinehead”

Buzzcocks – “What Do I Get?”

Children Of Bodom – “If You Want Peace… Prepare For War”

Creedence Clearwater Revival – “Fortunate Son”

The Cure – “Fascination Street”

Deep Purple – “Burn”

Def Leppard – “Pour Some Sugar On Me (Live)”

Dethklok – “Bloodlines”

The Dillinger Escape Plan – “Setting Fire To Sleeping Giants”

Dire Straits – “Money For Nothing”

DragonForce – “Fury of the Storm”

Drowning Pool – “Bodies”

Edgar Winter- “Free Ride”

Fall Out Boy – “Dance, Dance”

Five Finger Death Punch – “Hard To See”

Flyleaf – “Again”

Foo Fighters – “No Way Back”

Foreigner – “Feels Like The First Time”

George Thorogood and The Destroyers – “Move It On Over (Live)”

The Hives – “Tick Tick Boom”

Interpol – “Slow Hands”

Jane’s Addiction – “Been Caught Stealing”

Jethro Tull – “Aqualung”

John 5 – “Black Widow Of La Porte”

KISS – “Love Gun”

Linkin Park – “Bleed It Out”

Lynyrd Skynyrd – “Call Me The Breeze (Live)”

Megadeth – “Sudden Death”

Megadeth – “Holy Wars… The Punishment Due”

Megadeth – “This Day We Fight!”

Metallica & Ozzy Osbourne – “Paranoid (Live)”

Muse – “Uprising”

My Chemical Romance – “I’m Not Okay (I Promise)”

Neil Young – “Rockin’ In The Free World”

Nickelback – “How You Remind Me”

Night Ranger – “(You Can Still) Rock In America”

Nine Inch Nails – “Wish”

The Offspring – “Self Esteem”

Orianthi – “Suffocated”

Pantera – “I’m Broken”

Phoenix – “Lasso”

Poison – “Unskinny Bop”

Queen – “Bohemian Rhapsody”

Queensryche – “Jet City Woman”

Rammstein – “Waidmanns Heil”

The Ramones – “Theme From Spiderman”

Red Rider – “Lunatic Fringe”

R.E.M. – “Losing My Religion”

Rise Against – “Savior”

The Rolling Stones – “Stray Cat Blues”

The Runaways – “Cherry Bomb”

Rush – “2112 Pt. 1 – Overture”

Rush – “2112 Pt. 2 – The Temples Of Syrinx”

Rush – “2112 Pt. 3 – Discovery”

Rush – “2112 Pt. 4 – Presentation”

Rush – “2112 Pt. 5 – Oracle: The Dream”

Rush – “2112 Pt. 6 – Soliloquy”

Rush – “2112 Pt. 7 – Grand Finale”

RX Bandits – “It’s Only Another Parsec…”

Silversun Pickups – “There’s No Secrets This Year”

Slash featuring Ian Astbury – “Ghost”

Slayer – “Chemical Warfare”

Slipknot – “Psychosocial”

Snot – “Deadfall”

Soundgarden – “Black Rain”

Steve Vai – “Speeding” (Vault Version)

Stone Temple Pilots – “Interstate Love Song”

Strung Out – “Calling”

Styx – “Renegade”

Sum 41 – “Motivation”

Tesla – “Modern Day Cowboy”

Them Crooked Vultures – “Scumbag Blues”

Third Eye Blind – “Graduate”

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers – “Listen To Her Heart”

Twisted Sister – “We’re Not Gonna Take It”

The Vines – “Get Free”

The White Stripes – “Seven Nation Army”

ZZ Top – “Sharp Dressed Man (Live)”

Phew, glad that’s over. What are you excited about out of the tracks? My personal favorite is Bloodlines (by Dethklok) although I am looking forward to jamming out to some motherfuckin’ RUSH!

• All New Fake Rocking-Out Devices Compatible with All New Fake Rocking-Out Games
• Guitar Hero, Rock Band, & DDR Knock-Offs Target Unsuspecting Consumers
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• Activision Axes Guitar Hero and True Crime: Hong Kong
• Axl Rose Sues Activision For $20 Million Over Guns ‘N’ Roses Licensing Violation
• DJ Hero 2 and Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock Demos Available Now on XBLA

Today’s deal is from Amazon.com, who are offering a Rock Band Portable Drum Kit for $9.99, which is $30 off the normal price. It’s a great way to get a cheap drum set for your system, and should also work with Guitar Hero. Check it out and let us know what you think in the comments.

• Daily Deal: Gamestop Power Saver Sale
• 4th of July Music Game Sale on Xbox Live
• Watch Serious Sam Blow Up Your Christmas
• Indie Game Music Bundle Offers 10 Sweet Soundtracks For A Dollar
• THQ Week on Steam Boasts Big Savings
• Batman: Arkham Asylum GOTY Edition Only $7.50 on Steam This Week!!

Activision has announced today that as part of a “Story-Based Quest Mode,” the full 20-minute version of 2112 by Canadian rock band Rush will be playable in the upcoming Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock. Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson will also be included in the game as narrators, telling the overarching story of the epic song.

“The music, the story and the journey of 2112 lends itself perfectly to the quest in Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock,” said Geddy Lee of Rush. “In our story, the caves of 2112 are where our hero finds the lost guitar and this rediscovery of music is much like the Guitar Hero warriors’ journey to find the Demi-God of Rock’s Legendary guitar, which has been trapped in a cavern.”

“I love the idea of Guitar Hero; they have combined two great things – music and fun,” said Alex Lifeson of Rush. “I think it’s a great way to introduce people of all ages to music of various styles by all kinds of different bands, while providing a launching pad for kids who want to get into playing music.”

The song will feature in full:

• “2112 Pt. 1 – Overture”
• “2112 Pt. 2 – The Temples Of Syrinx”
• “2112 Pt. 3 – Discovery”
• “2112 Pt. 4 – Presentation”
• “2112 Pt. 5 – Oracle: The Dream”
• “2112 Pt. 6 – Soliloquy”
• “2112 Pt. 7 – Grand Finale”

I’ve been waiting for this since I first picked up that plastic guitar; I have the 2112 album in at least 4 different formats. Some people don’t like Rush. I say that those people don’t like music. This is probably the best song to ever be released on a music game.

Hang on, this is in Guitar Hero? Not Rock Band? For shame- unless the quality of gameplay, note charts, presentation, and everything else is massively improved in Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock. I’ll still be getting it, though- just for this. A cunning plan indeed, Activision.

• Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock Coming September 28
• 90 Track Strong Song List Announced for Latest Guitar Hero Game
• Daily Deal: Rock Band Portable Drum Kit
• 4th of July Music Game Sale on Xbox Live
• GH: Warriors of Rock Guitar Is One Sexy Piece of Interchangeable Plastic
• Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock Announced

Been eying a track for your favorite music game, but thought the price was a little steep? Now’s your chance to get a big price break on tons of tracks for Rock Band 1&2, Guitar Hero, and Lips on Xbox Live! After all, what better way to celebrate independence than to play a fake guitar?

More than 200 tracks are part of the price drop, many of which are discounted over fifty percent. The sale is running July 6-12, so there’s only a few days to take advantage of this offer. Full track list and discounts below.

	Rock Band and Rock Band 2
	Artists/Song	Normal Price (MS Points)	Discount Price (MS Points)
	AFI Pack 1	680	440
	Blink 182 Pack 2	440	240
	Boston Pack 1	800	440
	Disturbed Pack 1	440	240
	Foo Fighters The Colour and the Shape (Album)	1600	800
	Going Country Pack 1	680	440
	Green Day Pack 1	440	240
	The Killers Pack 1	440	240
	Megadeth Peace Sells… but Who’s Buying? (Album)	880	440
	Metallica Pack 1	440	240
	Nirvana Pack 1	880	440
	Oasis “Wonderwall”	160	80
	Pearl Jam Backspacer (Album)	1440	800
	Pearl Jam Ten (Album)	1440	800
	Red Hot Chili Peppers Blood Sugar Sex Magik (Album)	1600	800
	Slipknot Pack 1	440	240
	Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers Live Anthology Pack 1	800	440
	Weezer “Buddy Holly”	160	80
	The Best of The Who Rock Band Edition	1600	800
	Wolfmother Pack 01	680	440
	Guitar Hero 5 and Guitar Hero: World Tour
	Artists/Song	Normal Price (MS Points)	Discount Price (MS Points)
	“Another Way To Die” by Jack White & Alicia Keys	160	80
	“California Queen” by Wolfmother	160	80
	Classic Rock 2 Track Pack	440	240
	“Cut Your Hair” by Pavement	160	80
	“Drive” by Incubus	160	80
	The Eagles Track Pack	440	240
	“Life In The Fast Lane” by The Eagles	160	80
	Metallica “Death Magnetic” Full Album	1440	960
	Motorhead Track Pack	440	240
	“Monkey Gone to Heaven” by The Pixies	160	80
	“Negative Creep” by Nirvana	160	80
	“New Slang” by The Shins	160	80
	“New Wave” by Against Me!	160	80
	“No Rain” by Blind Melon	160	80
	The Killers Track Pack	440	240
	The Rolling Stones Live Track Pack	720	400
	The Silversun Pickups Track Pack	440	240
	Vagrant Records Track Pack	440	240
	Vampire Weekend Track Pack	440	240
	Victory Records Track Pack	440	240
	Lips
	Artists/Song	Normal Price (MS Points)	Discount Price (MS Points)
	“Achy Breaky Heart” by Billy Ray Cyrus	160	80
	The Cardigans Song Pack	440	240
	Colbie Caillat Song Pack	440	240
	Coldplay Song Pack	440	240
	Creedence Clearwater Revival Song Pack	440	240
	“Fallin’” by Alicia Keys	180	80
	“Give A Little Bit” by Supertramp	160	80
	“Linger” by The Cranberries	160	80
	Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell Song Pack	440	240
	New Edition Song Pack	440	240
	Paula Abdul Song Pack	440	240
	“Shake It” by Metro Station	160	80
	Snow Patrol Song Pack	440	240
	“So What” by P!nk	160	80
	The Supremes Song Pack	440	240
	The Temptations Song Pack	440	240
	“You Get What You Give” by The New Radicals	160	80
	“You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’” by the Righteous Brothers	180	80

• Daily Deal: Rock Band Portable Drum Kit
• New Video Game Releases: Feb. 6 – Feb. 12
• New Video Game Releases: Jan. 9 – Jan.15
• RipTen Review: Fruit Ninja Kinect (XBLA)
• Xbox Live Summer Of Arcade Starts Today – Dates and Prices
• Xbox LIVE Deal Of The Week 6/12 – 6/18

iZotope Technology has been licensed for use in Rock Band 3, Harmonix announced today. iZotope’s “real-time pitch detection and pitch shifting middleware” will supposedly be used to help make the singing experience much closer to that of a real rock star on stage.

“The ability to have pitch correction in real-time helps to enhance the vocal gameplay and players’ in-game performance in Rock Band,” said Eran Egozy, CTO and co-founder of Harmonix. “We’re excited to feature iZotope’s technology and this new middleware in Rock Band 3 so that our players can enjoy the type of vocal effects that professional rock stars utilize for live stage performances in their homes this holiday.”

“With the production values of video games rivaling that of commercial albums and blockbuster films, consumers expect the same caliber of video and audio quality during dynamic, real-time game play,” explains Mark Ethier, CEO of iZotope. “Rock Band is an ideal platform for us to showcase iZotope’s technology so we can provide gamers with studio-grade audio effects that professional mixers, sound designers and others in the entertainment industry have relied on for years.”

iZotope is essentially “Pitch Detection and Pitch Shifting” tools for making you sound better when you’re singing. Which will be a bloody miracle if you ask me, given that a huge majority of the people I’ve heard “singing” on Rock Band sound like a bag of Vuvuzela-toting cats being swung against a wall. No technology in the world is going to make them sound like David Bowie.

• Rock Band 3 Hits US Stores Today, Launch Week Buyers Get Free DLC
• Official Rock Band 3 Track List Revealed
• Rock Band 3 To Help Us Play Real Guitars?
• Super Meat Boy Tracks Coming to Rock Band Network
• RipTen Review: Rock Band 3 (Xbox 360)
• PS3 Rockband 3 Keyboard Bundle Not Available in North America

Now, when I was a kid, my mother used to forgo buying herself lavish things so that we could have the things we wanted growing up. That said, she never deprived herself of clothes to the point of nakedness like the free spirited Rock Band playing nude mama in the video below.

I’m not even sure what else to say here. Yeah. Just watch the video.

• Rock Band Track Pack Vol. 2 Offers 20 DLC Tracks on One Disc
• Harmonix Wants to Bury the Hatchet Over Broken Axes – Free EA Game For Rock Band Troubled Customers
• Review: Rock Band
• Interview: Rock Band, Ton-Essa La’Rocque, MTV West Coast
• Super Meat Boy Tracks Coming to Rock Band Network
• Rock Band 3 Hits US Stores Today, Launch Week Buyers Get Free DLC

With the saturation of music games at this year’s E3, I expected close-to-nothing new from Rock Band 3. Even as waited for the presentation to begin, I was preparing myself to be bored and unimpressed, but as it started, I became more intrigued, especially as the curtains were drawn and there were seven people standing there. Seven.

Three vocalists, one guitarist, one bassist, one drummer, and one guy on keyboard. The guitar and bass had strings, which is an obvious upgrade from the buttons on previous guitars. It increases the realism of the game, as well as increasing the difficulty and involvement with the game. Including a keyboard means that there are more songs available, and at launch, it’s estimated that there will be 2000 songs available in the Rock Band library.

This means, of course, that Rock Band 1 and 2 songs will be available to import into the Rock Band 3 game, similarly to how the first was to the second game.

Sorting through 2000 songs would be tedious for anyone though, so Harmonix has come up with several ways to sort the music. If there are kids around, the library can be filtered to family friendly songs, or the filters can be used to find all long songs, 90′s songs, metal songs, or whatever you want to play.

Another new feature is the ability to turn off the drum controls — not to stop the drummer from playing, but to stop the drummer from screwing around and making you miss the song you wanted to select.

There is also in game drop-in, drop-out mode, so if you want to go get a drink in the middle of a song, you can, and you can jump right back in when you’re done. You can also change the difficulty of a song halfway through, if you decide that it’s too hard or too easy.

Introducing the new Fender Rock Band 3 Squier Stratocaster guitar.

Now you can play video game music with a real guitar.

Fender is also collaborating with Harmonix and making a Rock Band 3 Squier Stratocaster guitar that can be plugged into the game, and into an amp. This means you will be playing a real guitar.

Rock Band 3 definitely stood out from the rest of the music games at this E3, even as a returning franchise. It will be coming out later this holiday season.

• Super Meat Boy Tracks Coming to Rock Band Network
• Rock Band 3 Hits US Stores Today, Launch Week Buyers Get Free DLC
• Rock Band 3 Keyboard For Real Men, In Lumberjack Shirts
• Green Day: Rock Band Demo Teases Keyboards for Rock Band 3
• Rock Band 3 To Help Us Play Real Guitars?
• New Trailer & Tracks From The Beatles: Rock Band

Those of you who downloaded the Green Day: Rock Band demo from Xbox Live (do it here if you really want) may have already noticed that the above teaser image was displayed to them. Look closely- alongside the four instrument icons is a fifth ‘keyboard’ icon.

Pretty obvious tease- keyboards (or keytars) are certainly the logical progression of the series. I now fully expect the most difficult song in Rock Band 3 to be something by Yes. That’s right, a classic rock reference, on Ripten. How delightful!

Seriously though, I want to play Close to the Edge on Rock Band, and will not be happy until I am able to do so. Incidentally, I’m glad Joystiq noticed this for me, so I don’t have to get anywhere near a Green Day song shitting out of my speakers. Just kidding!

I’m not kidding.

I am kidding.

I’m not.

• Super Meat Boy Tracks Coming to Rock Band Network
• Rock Band 3 Hits US Stores Today, Launch Week Buyers Get Free DLC
• E310 Preview: Rock Band 3, Surprisingly Impressive
• Rock Band 3 Keyboard For Real Men, In Lumberjack Shirts
• Rock Band 3 To Help Us Play Real Guitars?
• New Trailer & Tracks From The Beatles: Rock Band

We all know anybody who is going to make a post about this is going to preface it with “we all know domestic violence is never funny” so I’ll skip that part and just let you know the facts. Teddy Riley, vocalist of the group Blackstreet, has been accused by his daughter of abusing both her and her sister. The instruments of this distasteful act included, allegedly, a Rock Band controller. His daughter claims that at one point during an entire day of violence, Teddy Riley:

“lifted a Rock Band guitar and threatened to kill person(s) w/ it.”

Hopefully this is the only time I ever have to link to TMZ about something.

While all of this is only alleged at this point, it is a pretty sad situation if true. According to reports, the Blackstreet singer spent the entire day of December 23rd beating both his children before grabbing the plastic weapon and wielding it like it was Thor’s hammer. While certainly not a laughing matter, this is one of the more surreal loosely video game related story I’ve heard in a while. Not so much because someone was threatened with death by a Rock Band controller, but because the guy from Blackstreet is still considered a celebrity.

Burn.

[Source: TMZ]

• Super Meat Boy Tracks Coming to Rock Band Network
• The History of Gaming – From a First-person Perspective (Video)
• Top 10 Games We Wish Used Kinect
• Rock Band 3 Hits US Stores Today, Launch Week Buyers Get Free DLC
• Official Rock Band 3 Track List Revealed
• 90 Track Strong Song List Announced for Latest Guitar Hero Game

The Video Game Awards just announced a new Rock Band “Green Day” Edition. You excited? I may consider buying it if it includes the secret track “I Was All By Myself.”

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While I’m sure many of you will just take this news to mean that Rock Band 3 exists in some form, there’s a lot more news here than you’d think. While I assumed Rock Band 3 would just be an expansion of the previous games with a couple of new features, Dhani Harrison tells the Chicago Tribune that that’s not the case.

“I’m working on Rock Band 3 and making the controllers more real so people can actually learn how to play music while playing the game.” Harrison says. “Give me a couple years, it’s going to happen.”

I’m all for learning a new skill while playing some games, but this definitely means the difficulty bar for the third game will be a lot higher. Harrison was deeply (and rightfully) involved with The Beatles: Rock Band, and we all know that turned out well. I can’t see any reason for him not to do a lot of work with RB3, and have it turn out well. I, for one, am just waiting for the outrage from real guitar players who will tell me to put down the plastic guitar.

Thanks Destructoid

• Rock Band 3 Hits US Stores Today, Launch Week Buyers Get Free DLC
• Super Meat Boy Tracks Coming to Rock Band Network
• Official Rock Band 3 Track List Revealed
• Rock Band 3 Trailer Shows Pro Mode In Action
• iZotope Pitch Detection Technology Coming to Rock Band 3
• E310 Preview: Rock Band 3, Surprisingly Impressive

Last night’s Southpark episode featured Cartman as Rock Band lead singer proving that, like the baby in the E-Trade commercial, he too has been blessed with the gift of golden pipes.

His stunning rendition of Lady Gaga’s “Poker Face” is backed up by Kenny and Kyle on Rock Band guitar and drums. I must warn you though, this cover is very catchy and may get stuck in your head for a day or two. You’ve been warned.

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Music game and/or U2 fans Rejoice! According to USA Today, Bono and Co. want in on this Magnificent music game business, and they want to do it the Harmonix way.

“We definitely would like to be in there, but we felt some of the compromises weren’t what we wanted,” bassist Adam Clayton tells USA TODAY’s Edna Gundersen. “That could change. I love the idea that that’s where people are getting music, and we’d love to be in that world. We’ll figure something out. What The Beatles have done, where the animation is much more representative of them, is what we’re interested in, rather than the one-size-fits-all animation. We didn’t want to be caricatured.”

I’ve been rather pleased with Harmonix’s track record, but I have no Desire for a U2: Rock Band. That would get Out Of Control quickly. I have no doubt that Harmonix could do it, but it’s a question of whether or not that’s a Bad idea. It would surely start an Unforgettable Fire in the heart of every music fan, but it’s clear this isn’t coming Tomorrow, or even this October, so we still have to hear from Harmonix on the matter. If we’re lucky, HMX will have too much Pride to take this on, but with them at the helm, Rock Band: U2 could be Even Better Than The Real Thing.

I think I went a bit crazy with the puns here. But I’ll Go Crazy If I Don’t Go Crazy Tonight.

• Super Meat Boy Tracks Coming to Rock Band Network
• Rock Band 3 Hits US Stores Today, Launch Week Buyers Get Free DLC
• Official Rock Band 3 Track List Revealed
• iZotope Pitch Detection Technology Coming to Rock Band 3
• Mom Plays Rock Band Naked While Kids Watch (Video)
• E310 Preview: Rock Band 3, Surprisingly Impressive