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PAX Pack Brings Nerdcore to Rock Band, Donations to Child's Play

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Penny Arcade rockers are getting their own downloadable song pack from Rock Band, MTV Games and Harmonix announced today. The PAX 2008 Collection, due out in early September, will include tracks from nerd-folk artist Jonathan Coulton, nerdcore rapper MC Frontalot, and lovecraftian doomsayers The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets - all of whom performed at the show. The three song pack will include Coulton's Skullcrusher Mountain, MC Frontalot's Livin' on the Corner of Dude and Catastrophe" and Darkest of the Hillside Thickets' Shhh…. The pack hits the 360 on Sept. 2 and the PS3 on Sept. 4 for $3 or $1 a song. All proceeds for the sales of the songs from launch to Holiday 2008 will be donated to the Child's Play Charity. "We're excited that some of our favorite artists can be featured in Rock Band as a result of this pack," said Robert Khoo, Show Director for Penny Arcade Expo. "Calling attention to PAX artists and giving back to the community at the same time show why Harmonix is truly a company focused on the music and their fans above all else."ROCK BAND™ DELIVERS FAN FAVORITES WITH "PAX PACK" Proceeds from Expo Themed Downloadable Songs to Benefit Charity Harmonix and MTV Games announced today a very special set of downloadable content to celebrate the three day Penny Arcade Expo. The "PAX 2008 Collection", launching on September 2, 2008, contains tracks from celebrated nerd-folk artist Jonathan Coulton, nerdcore rapper MC Frontalot, and lovecraftian doomsayers The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets - all of whom will be performing at the gaming fan festival August 27th-29th. Adding to the fan-focused celebration, the Harmonix/MTV Games' proceeds from the sale of this "PAX Pack" between launch and Holiday 2008 will be donated to the Penny Arcade run Child's Play Charity in order to help out children's hospitals around the world. "We're excited that some of our favorite artists can be featured in Rock Band as a result of this pack," said Robert Khoo, Show Director for Penny Arcade Expo. "Calling attention to PAX artists and giving back to the community at the same time show why Harmonix is truly a company focused on the music and their fans above all else." The pack includes "Skullcrusher Mountain" by Jonathan Coulton, the story of a misunderstood genius and the woman he attempts to woo with monstrous creations like a half-monkey, half-pony, "Livin' on the Corner of Dude and Catastrophe" by MC Frontalot, Inspired by the award-winning webcomic "Achewood" and featuring Brad Sucks, and finally "Shhh...." by Darkest of the Hillside Thickets, a previously unreleased track that the nerd rockers have brought exclusively to Rock Band. Release Date: Tuesday, September 2, 2008 (Xbox LIVE Marketplace for Xbox 360) Thursday, September 4, 2008 (PLAYSTATION®Store) Tracks: Jonathan Coulton "Skullcrusher Mountain" MC Frontalot "Livin' on the Corner of Dude and Catastrophe" Darkest of the Hillside Thickets "Shhh…." Price: .99¢ (80 Microsoft Points for Xbox 360) per track $2.99 (240 Microsoft Points for Xbox 360) for 3 pack (All three tracks utilize the original master recordings) Locations: Xbox LIVE Marketplace for Xbox 360 and PLAYSTATION®Network ** Dates for Rock Band game tracks are tentative and subject to change ** About Child's Play Charity: What is Child's Play Charity? Since 2003, over 100,000 gamers worldwide have banded together through Child's Play, a community-based charity grown and nurtured from the game culture and industry. Over three million dollars in donations of toys, games, videos, books and cash for sick kids in children's hospitals across North America and the world have been collected since its inception. When gamers give back, it makes a difference! ************ With the addition of these albums there are now more than 250 tracks available to date via disc and download purchase (complete list of tracks at http://www.rockband.com/dlc). Rock Band continues to fly off shelves and satisfy music fans and gamers' voracious appetite for rock with more than 21 million paid downloads since its launch on November 20, 2007. The Rock Band Music Store allows players to preview and purchase downloadable individual music tracks and packs from the vast selection of offerings available to date without ever leaving the game as they build their own custom Rock Band library. Rock Band allows online play and features that expand the boundaries of music gaming. Rock Band downloadable content is playable and integrated into setlists in all game modes including: Solo Tour, Band World Tour, head-to-head competition either locally or online, and from any Quickplay mode. In order to play downloadable content for head-to-head matches or multiplayer online, all players must own the same downloadable track. Downloadable content for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft is available for purchase via Xbox LIVE® Marketplace for Xbox 360 using Microsoft Points and is downloaded directly to the hard drive of Xbox 360. Downloadable content for the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system's version of Rock Band is available for purchase on the PLAYSTATION Store through the free PLAYSTATION Network and is downloaded directly to PLAYSTATION 3 system's built in hard drive. On June 30, Harmonix, the world's premier music video game company in the world, and MTV Games, announced the release of Rock Band 2 this coming September and will support all previously downloaded content. The groundbreaking music platform that forever changed the face of music video games is committed to taking gaming to the next level with the evolution of the franchise. Rock Band 2 will make its debut on Xbox 360 and be available for additional platforms later this year. Rock Band is rated "T" for Teen (lyrics, mild suggestive themes) by the ESRB. For more information on Rock Band and Harmonix Music Systems please visit www.rockband.com and www.harmonixmusic.com.