• next week on rock band

    Rock Band DLC's Worst Week Ever?

    The newly announced DLC for Rock Band is certainly... eclectic. New Children of Bodom joins fresh Naked Brothers Band, all at reduced prices, a mix that Harmonix says is "keeping you on your toes."

    There are nine new tracks coming the week of December 2nd, one of which is absolutely free. The rest will set you back just 99 cents (80 Microsoft Points) when they go live on Xbox Live Marketplace next Tuesday and the PlayStation Store next Thursday. Some, however, are for a limited time only. More »

    6:20 PM on Wed Nov 26 2008
    By Michael McWhertor
    13,325 views, 164 comments

  • playstation 3

    Your Guitar Hero World Tour Drums Now Work In Rock Band 2

    Owners of the PlayStation 3 version of Rock Band 2 will be asked to upgrade their copies to version 1.01 today. That hundredth increase in version numbering brings with it a bunch of new bug fixes, the most noteworthy being a corrected "interoperability issue" with Guitar Hero World Tour drum and guitar peripherals. Happy, happy clutter-free days! Even better, if you found yourself somehow on the receiving end of a copy of Konami's Rock Revolution, that game's drum kit will work too. For the full list of changes, read on. More »

    3:40 PM on Mon Nov 24 2008
    By Michael McWhertor
    5,899 views, 41 comments

    Most discussed unangbangkay: Do the Rock Band 2 controllers work vice-versa? I've always wanted to start playing these sorts of things, but the more »

  • rock band

    Rumor: Yngwie Malmsteen, More Soundgarden Coming To Rock Band

    The next batch of downloadable tracks for Rock Band and Rock Band 2 may have been leaked a little early, courtesy of the in-game music store and some eagle-eyed ScoreHero forum members. We'd advise you to take it as rumor for now, as the face-melting promise of these tracks would only lead to disappointment if they're incorrect. We're talking about the oft-requested by Luke Plunkett "Jesus Christ Pose" by Soundgarden and a triple shot of Yngwie (Fucking) Malmsteen. Oh, and some Lamb of God if that's up your alley. For the rumored next DLC update, read on. More »

    6:00 PM on Thu Nov 20 2008
    By Michael McWhertor
    6,571 views, 57 comments

    Most discussed Real_fn_Show: This was a perfect release...but it had to be ruined by The Killers. oh well, 2 out of 3 ain't bad more »

  • rock band 2

    Play Tenacious D On Rock Rock Band 2

    Are we done with Tenacious D yet? That one album was quite funny (who doesn't love a Dio joke?) and the videos are pretty good whenever Dave Grohl shows up. That movie got made, also.

    Fans of movie comedy guy Jack Black and acting and music guy Kyle Gass can try to prolong the magic by singing, strumming and thwacking along with the Tenacious Twosome on Xbox LIVE this Thursday. JB & KG will be appearing on LIVE to promote their new DVD The Complete Masterworks 2.

    Xbox LIVE Gold members can have a chance at playing with the band by sending a friend request to JBTenacious or KGTenacious and hanging out on LIVE for half an hour before the Game with Fame session starts on Thursday, November 20, 8:30 P.M. ET.

    Play with Jack Black and Kyle Gass of Tenacious D [Xbox.com]

    4:20 PM on Tue Nov 18 2008
    By Stuart Houghton
    3,709 views, 51 comments

  • ultimate band

    Ultimate Band's Band-Free Setlist

    Peripheral-free, douche-simulator Ultimate Band hits store shelves next week. While I found the theory interesting, I wasn't totally sold on the concept when I got a chance to check out Disney Interactive Studio's take on Guitar Hero World Tour and Rock Band. On the plus side, you don't need yet another set of plastic instruments to pack away in your slowly filling closet. On the negative side, the game when I played it was far too easy to feel satisfying.

    The song list for the DS and Wii versions of the game aren't that bad actually, with appearances by hits from The Who, Blondie, Devo and The B-52s. Too bad they're all covers, and from what I remember, bad covers. The full list is on the jump. More »

    9:00 AM on Tue Nov 18 2008
    By Brian Crecente
    3,598 views, 37 comments

    Most discussed CockroachMan: That's a pretty good song list actually. more »

  • rock band 2

    The Killers Also Coming to Rock Band

    Yesterday brought word that three tracks from The Killers would be available Nov. 25 for Guitar Hero: World Tour. They're also putting three cuts on Rock Band 2, available on the same day. (Nov. 25 is the day the Las Vegas band's next album, "Day and Age" is released in stores.)

    Rock Band 2 will feature the band's signature hit "Mr. Brightside," alongside "Smile Like You Mean It" and "Spaceman." (GHWT had "Human" and "Losing Touch" instead.) That information comes from MTV and was reported by Wired.com yesterday.

    Guitar Hero, Rock Band Add Killers Tracks [Wired.com, thanks Stephen Z.]

    10:00 AM on Sat Nov 15 2008
    By Owen Good
    2,737 views, 62 comments

    Most discussed DefHamster: Jeez, all I want is "All These Things That I Have Done," can't let that happen can they? more »

  • rock soap opera

    Guitar Hero World Tour Doubles Rock Band 2's October Take

    The release of yesterday's top ten best selling software in the U.S. was curiously absent of any rhythm game presence. No Guitar Hero World Tour, no Wii Music, no Rock Band 2, all of which saw new releases in October. A look at the top twenty, however, shows that, save for Wii Music, that Guitar Hero World Tour outsold the debut of Rock Band 2 on the PlayStation 3. And, according to a report from GameDaily, the Activision Blizzard published game outdid the Rock Band competition in dollar sales by about two to one.

    Yes, Rock Band 2's debut on the Xbox 360 in September gives Guitar Hero the advantage of dropping four new SKUs at once. But it appears Guitar Hero World Tour is already catching up, moving 534,000 units last month. Activision Blizzard is closing the gap and it would appear Harmonix, EA and MTV Games have some competition.

    Guitar Hero World Tour's Dollar Sales More Than Double Rock Band 2 [GameDaily]

    4:40 PM on Fri Nov 14 2008
    By Michael McWhertor
    4,538 views, 87 comments

    Most discussed MoeB: The better game made the most money? I'm not surprised. more »

  • ruh roh

    Grace Kim: Guitar Hero World Tour is a "Ripoff"

    Back when we told you the story of how Grace Kim became Playboy's Miss November, and how she was secretly getting super freaky with Rock Band while she was doing PR for Guitar Hero, word trickled back to me that her former boss at Activision was not the happiest person in the solar system. I'm thinking that disappointment will only deepen after this video, in which Grace plays Guitar Hero: World Tour on G4TV, is asked for her opinion of it, and calls it "a little bit of a ripoff of Rock Band." She disses the drum kit, too. She did have a kind word for the Guitar Hero franchise, however; she said GH III was more aesthetically pleasing than World Tour.

    You can watch her play all the instruments, which includes pounding the kick drum in a pair of less-than-sensible stiletto boots, and getting booed off the stage singing Blondie's "One Way or Another." I want to bring her into Kotaku tower to have her eat Kentucky Fried Chicken's Guitar Hero Super Smack Pack Whatever the Hell it Is Meal and tell us what she thinks of that.

    Playboy's Miss November vs Guitar Hero World Tour

    4:00 PM on Thu Nov 13 2008
    By Owen Good
    8,494 views, 193 comments

    Most discussed AvatarofJustice: Ys, bcs sm slt wh tks hr clths ff fr mny's pnn mttrs. more »

  • black friday

    Dell's Black Friday Deal: 360 With Free Rock Band 2

    It's no sell-at-a-loss Wii deal, but Dell's Black Friday offer isn't too shabby. The company's Dell Home catalogue has only a single game-related entry, but it's a decent one:

    XBox 360 Arcade Holiday Bundle w/Rock Band 2 Game - $199.00.

    For reference, the Arcade is $199 anyway. So you get a free copy of Rock Band 2 with it. And the free Sega Superstars Tennis. And the five free arcade games. It's most likely the disc-only version of Rock Band 2, but still, that's a handy saving should you be...someone who owns Rock Band 1 (with instruments) on 360 and...needs another 360...without a HDD...

    Dell Home [Black Friday]

    3:30 AM on Wed Nov 12 2008
    By Luke Plunkett
    6,262 views, 23 comments

  • harmonix

    Rock Band Devs Getting $300 Million In Bonuses

    It will be a very merry Christmas at the Rigopulos and Egozy households this year as the two Harmonix founders are about to have a December to remember — read: a new Lexus for the wife with obligatory gargantuan bow. In addition to rumored Jelly of the Month Club memberships, Alex Rigopulos and Eran Egozy have been paid a $150 million bonus for "exceeding performance targets" last quarter with Rock Band series.

    Another $150 million will be paid to the Harmonix dudes in 2009, making the total... carry the 1... an impressive $300 million in bonuses from owner Viacom.

    Given Sumner Redstone's current money issues with his other businesses (Midway, National Amusements) it may seem a little out of whack in terms of fund allocations, but a spokeswoman told Bloomberg "If they are making more money for us and we have to give a little back, that's OK."

    Viacom to Pay $300 Million Bonus to `Rock Band' Maker [Bloomberg]

    3:40 PM on Mon Nov 10 2008
    By Michael McWhertor
    4,034 views, 65 comments

    Most discussed DarthHater1137: Good, I hope it goes down to the "lowest" level of employee. It's good to see devs get what more »