Harmonix and MTV Games announced features for Rock Band 3, the next generation of the ultimate social and interactive music gaming platform.
 
Featuring an incredible 83-song setlist and access to far more music than any other music game, as well as innovative new gameplay modes and instruments, Rock Band 3 will change the way fans think about and play music games. This next iteration in the Rock Band platform has something new for everyone and also supports traditional Rock Band gameplay with players' existing instruments.

The Rock Band 3 disc soundtrack contains 83 of the best bands from around the world, including bands that have never appeared in a music game, as well as support for existing Rock Band tracks (Rock Band and Rock Band 2 discs, downloaded songs, track packs, AC/DC Live: Rock Band Track Pack, LEGO Rock Band and Green Day: Rock Band).
 
Additionally, Rock Band 3 will give players immediate access to a music library approaching 2,000 songs by launch, with new content added regularly. Rock Band's gigantic music selection dwarfs that of any other music game on the market.
 
Announced Tracks:

  • Metric, "Combat Baby"
  • Rilo Kiley, "Portions for Foxes"
  • Them Crooked Vultures, "Dead End Friends"
  • The Vines, "Get Free"
  • The White Stripes, "The Hardest Button to Button"
  • Phoenix, "Lasso"
  • Ida Maria, "Oh My God"
  • Juanes, "Me Enamora"
  • Jane's Addiction, "Been Caught Stealing"
  • Smash Mouth, "Walkin' on the Sun"
  • Spacehog, "In the Meantime"
  • Stone Temple Pilots, "Plush"
  • Dio, "Rainbow in the Dark"
  • Huey Lewis and the News, "The Power of Love"
  • Joan Jett, "I Love Rock and Roll"
  • Night Ranger, "Sister Christian"
  • Whitesnake, "Here I Go Again"
  • The Cure, "Just Like Heaven"
  • Ozzy Osbourne, "Crazy Train"
  • Queen, "Bohemian Rhapsody"
  • Jimi Hendrix, "Crosstown Traffic"
  • The Doors, "Break On Through"

 
Rock Band 3 allows players to create and save setlists and share them with friends, both in-game and through RockBand.com. New song filters make it easier to find the types of songs fans want to play and hide the songs they don't, while a built-in song recommendation system will suggest tracks from Rock Band's colossal music library, based on personal fan preference.
 
In addition to guitar, bass, drums and solo vocals, Rock Band 3 adds three-part vocal harmonies that were introduced with The Beatles: Rock Band and, for the first time ever, a keyboard peripheral to the band.  Up to seven players can rock together for the ultimate social gaming experience.
 
Rock Band 3 empowers players to develop actual musical skills through the fun of fully scalable Rock Band Pro gameplay. Fans can dive in on Easy to try out basic skills and work their way up to Expert for real mastery.

  • Pro Drums supports three expansion cymbals, with gameplay differentiation between toms and cymbals.
  • Pro Keys features pitch-accurate keyboard performance across a two-octave range, displayed on an easy-to-read keyboard track.
  • Pro Guitar features notated guitar and bass performances, available for play with either the new Fender Mustang PRO-Guitar simulated guitar controller from Mad Catz or the Rock Band 3 Squier by Fender Stratocaster Guitar Controller that is a real guitar/controller hybrid. The Rock Band 3 Squier Stratocaster is a fully functional, full-sized, six-string electric guitar that also functions as a game controller.

For the casual player, Rock Band 3 has great new party modes that allow fans to get rocking with friends quicker than ever, including party shuffle and persistent drop-in/drop-out and difficulty selection from any gameplay screen. For the serious player, the revamped Career Mode features 700+ goals and rewards and seamless leaderboard integration for an endlessly deep campaign experience. Rock Band 3 also adds a suite of social networking tools to the game so fans can engage friends and fellow rockers over Facebook, Twitter and more. Whether players want to jump in for a quick song or take their band to the top, Rock Band 3 has a mode for everyone.
 
Rock Band 3 will ship simultaneously worldwide this Holiday 2010 in North America, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and other territories for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, the Wii, and Nintendo DS. Rock Band 3 will be compatible with all Rock Band and The Beatles: Rock Band peripherals, as well as most third-party instrument and microphone controllers.  Mad Catz is the official peripheral manufacturer and distributor for Rock Band game controllers.