Red hot music video game Rock Band continues to fly off shelves and satisfy music fans and gamers voracious appetite for rock as more than 6 million game levels based on songs have been purchased since its launch on November 20, 2007.  With an impressive weekly stream of downloadable content since launch and an unmatched offering of over 70 songs available for purchase to date, Rock Band has gone six times platinum featuring a diverse selection of artists ranging from classic rock to up and coming, emerging acts. 

"Thank you to the music lovers who have helped Rock Band reach an incredible milestone of over 6 million purchased downloads at such an early stage,” stated by Paul DeGooyer, SVP DVD, Gaming and Audio, MTV.  “The success of Rock Band downloadable content to date firmly reinforces our vision and its potential as a platform for music discovery. By empowering players with the ability to customize their Rock Band library with a rapidly growing selection of rock artists and songs on a weekly basis and adding great new features such as the in-game music store, we are thrilled to give fans more ways to enhance and enjoy their Rock Band experience.” 

As an ever evolving platform for players to experience music like never before, Harmonix and MTV Games also announced the release of a software update this week which features the new in-game Rock Band Music Store.  This innovative new feature allows Rock Band 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. The Rock Band Music Store has a user-friendly interface to streamline and enhance the music shopping experience and will be available via a free download through the Xbox LIVE and PLAYSTATION Network this week. Accessible from the main menu, the Music Store now lets you view, purchase, and sort all downloadable songs tracks by Artist, Song Title, Genre, Albums, Pack, and more! You can also view album art, listen to song previews, as well as check out detailed information about a song, such as difficulty for each instrument.

Also included in the Rock Band software update are additional game features that address many of the popular requests by the gaming community. Access to Xbox LIVE or the PLAYSTATION Network is required to download the Rock Band feature update.  Users will be prompted to accept the Music Store software update automatically when starting Rock Band while connected to Xbox LIVE or PLAYSTATION Network.

Rock Band allows online play and possesses 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 is available for purchase via Xbox LIVE Marketplace for the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft using Microsoft Points and is downloaded directly to the Xbox 360 hard drive. Downloadable content for the PLAYSTATION 3 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 top of the over combined 125 Rock Band tracks available to date via disc or download purchase, fans can continue to expect more music available for download every week through 2008 through a variety of song packs, albums and individual tracks with suggested retail pricing varying from $.99 to $2.99 per track (The equivalent of 80 to 240 Microsoft Points for Xbox 360), with the vast majority selling for $1.99 (160 Microsoft Points for Xbox 360). For a complete list of Rock Band songs available for purchase to date, please go to http://www.rockband.com/dlc.

Rock Band was the number one selling game in the months of January and February by revenue according to NPD.

Rock Band is rated “T” for Teen (lyrics, mild suggestive themes) by the ESRB.

EA is the exclusive distribution and marketing partner for Rock Band, managing distribution for the game.

For more information on Rock Band and Harmonix Music Systems please visit www.rockband.com and www.harmonixmusic.com.