Rock Band reaches 1000 songs
Harmonix break music game record with disc and downloadable content
The Rock Band series now has more than 1000 songs available across the various Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Wii versions - more than any other music game including Guitar Hero, according to developer Harmonix.
The first home music game to feature a dedicated drum peripheral and to feature bundles containing guitar, drum and microphone controllers, Rock Band now features more than 390 bands across the various retail versions and downloadable songs.
Release of weekly downloadable content is now in its 105th consecutive week, with more than 60 million songs having so far been downloaded from the Rock Band Music Store. A full list of all 1000 songs is available at the official Rock Band website.
Joined this week by new title Lego Rock Band, the series also comprises the original Rock Band, Rock Band 2, standalone expansion AC/DC Live and the high profile The Beatles: Rock Band. Other branded products include Rock Band Unplugged for the PlayStation Portable and a series of "track pack" expansions, many of which have not been released in Europe.
The series in general has proven less successful outside of the US than Guitar Hero due to high prices, limited availability of peripherals and staggered release dates for different format versions - with the two mainline titles being timed Xbox 360 exclusives in Europe.
The Rock Band Network, which was due to go live this month, has been delayed but is still planned to go into open beta this year - although the storefront will not be ready until 2010. The service is intended to allow players to turn their own music into content playable in Rock Band, allowing it to be shared online.
"When we launched Rock Band two years ago, we made a promise to create a music gaming experience that delivered on a weekly basis more songs and artists than ever imagined," said Alex Rigopulos, co-founder and CEO of Harmonix. "We're extremely proud to pass this remarkable milestone of over 1000 songs in Rock Band and will continue to innovate and bring more of the best music to Rock Band players all over the world."