Rock Band is a music video game developed by Harmonix, published by MTV Games and Electronic Arts. It is the first title in the Rock Band series. The Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions were released in the North America on November 20, 2007,[2] while the PlayStation 2 version was released on December 18, 2007[6] with the Wii version being released on June 22, 2008. The Xbox 360 version was released in Europe on May 23, 2008 while the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2, and Wii versions were released on September 12, 2008. All four ports of the game were released in Australia on November 7, 2008. The game was to be released in Japan and to be developed by Q Entertainment but it was canceled.
Rock Band allows up to four players to simulate the performance of popular rock music songs by playing with controllers modeled after musical instruments. Players can play the lead guitar, bass guitar, and drums parts to songs with “instrument controllers”, as well as sing through a USB microphone. Players are scored on their ability to match scrolling musical “notes” while playing instruments, or by their ability to match the singer’s pitch on vocals. Players with the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions can interact with players on the same platform through both online and offline multiplayer capabilities. In addition to the 58 core songs included on the game disc, over 2,000 downloadable songs were released for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions.[7]
At launch, the game software was made available in a bundle that packaged it together with the instrument peripherals, as well as for purchase separately. Individual instrument peripherals were released at a later date. The game has received widespread critical acclaim,[8] with sales of four million units and global revenues of $600 million.[9] Players have made over 100 million downloadable song purchases since Rock Band ’s release.[10] The game’s success prompted the release of six sequels: Rock Band 2, The Beatles: Rock Band, Lego Rock Band, Green Day: Rock Band, Rock Band 3 and Rock Band 4.
