HARMONIX ANNOUNCES ROCK BAND

On the eve of Guitar Hero II’s arrival on the Xbox 360, Harmonix has announced that they’ll be teaming with Electronic Arts and MTV to bring Rock Band to the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 later this year.

What is Rock Band, you ask? While little about the gameplay was revealed, I get the feeling this will be a game like Guitar Hero where instead of just playing the guitar, there are also options for singing vocals, playing the bass guitar, and playing the drums. Yeah, I’m drooling too. (well, I’m drooling about everything but the vocals – I freely admit I couldn’t hold a tune to save my life)

“Our vision for Rock Band is to completely change the way people interact with and enjoy the music they love,” said Jeff Yapp, EVP, MTV Program Enterprises. “By joining forces with EA and the music industry’s largest record labels and publishers, we are striving to create a groundbreaking new platform that allows people to connect with their favorite music and artists in ways they never have before.” – Harmonix press release

The game is scheduled to ship this holiday season, and before you ask, they’re still working out the details of how they’ll be offering the peripherals for purchase. I expect this is going to be one of those titles that’s going to get pricey real fast.

• Harmonix forms Rock Band – Gamespot
• Harmonix – Company website