Rock Band 2 Gets the Royal Treatment with Instruments

New York, NY – September 18, 2008 – Harmonix and MTV Games announced today a new lineup of musical instrument manufacturers whose premier products will be appearing in Rock Band 2. Joining the list of amazing in-game instruments from the original Rock Band, will be real world microphones, new guitars and an array of industry leading drumsets from some of the music industry’s most prolific manufacturers.

“We believe that working closely with our musical instrument partners is crucial to our mission to deliver the most authentic music experience possible,” stated Greg LoPiccolo, Vice President of Product Development, Harmonix Music Systems. “Whether it’s picking out your P Bass™, finding the right finish & hardware for your drums, or choosing the best microphone for your singer’s style, having real world instruments included within the world of Rock Band 2 is essential.” The full list of musical instrument partners included is as follows:

Guitars, Basses and Amplifiers:
Fender™ (Including Charvel™, Gretsch™, Jackson™, Squier™, SWR™)

Drums:
DW
Gretsch Drums™
Ludwig/Conn-Selmer
Pearl
SJC Custom Drum
Zildjian Cymbals

Microphones:
Selnnheiser
Shure

Accessories / Additional Instruments:
Ernie Ball
Electro-Harmonix
EMG Pickups
Fender™
Ludwig Drumsticks
Pro-Mark
Roland/BOSS
Vater Drumsticks
Vic Firth
ZVEX

Rock Band 2 features the largest music catalogue of any music-based videogame to date including over 100 songs on the Rock Band 2 soundtrack with an unrivaled blend of classic and new artists including AC/DC, Guns ‘N Roses, Bob Dylan, Pearl Jam, Motorhead and more! With the addition of complete and immediate backwards compatibility for songs purchased from Rock Band’s ever-expanding online music store and the ability to export most songs from the original Rock Band disc, the Rock Band music library will feature more than 500 songs by year’s end.

The Rock Band online music store recently surpassed 21 million paid downloads since the game’s launch in late November 2007. With more than 300 tracks available to date via disc and download purchase (complete list of tracks at www.rockband.com/dlc), the massive Rock Band Music Store allows players to preview and purchase downloadable individual music tracks, packs and albums from the vast selection of offerings available as they build their own custom Rock Band library.

Rock Band 2 is rated “T” for Teen with descriptors of lyrics and suggestive themes by the ESRB.

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

All information contained in this news post comes directly from a press release sent out by Harmonix