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.

Mad Catz Interactive announced that, through a series of amendments, it has expanded its multi-year licensing agreement with Harmonix Music System. The amendments grant Mad Catz rights wherever Rock Band is sold to distribute bundles of the Rock Band 3 game with selected music videogame controllers, and adds several new accessories to the range of licensed peripherals Mad Catz intends to produce and distribute for the upcoming Rock Band 3 game.

The bundle contemplated by the expanded agreement is a keyboard bundle, which will package a copy of the Rock Band 3 game with the official, licensed Rock Band 3 keyboard. The new products added under the expansion of the agreement include a MIDI adaptor, which will allow the authorized Rock Band Squier® by Fender® Stratocaster®, along with most MIDI keyboards and electronic drum controllers, to operate as Rock Band 3 game controllers. Other new, added products for use with Rock Band 3 will include a keyboard stand, microphone stand and drum pedal.

“As excitement builds in anticipation of the fall launch of Rock Band 3, we are thrilled to have expanded our agreement with Harmonix to include a bundle which we believe offer the perfect introduction to the game and some of its unique features,” said Darren Richardson, President and Chief Executive Officer of Mad Catz. “For Mad Catz, distributing videogames along with the relevant accessories is an ideal way to leverage our powerful global distribution capabilities. We are also excited about the new products this agreement adds to our range of officially-licensed Rock Band peripherals. The MIDI adaptor is especially note-worthy, providing an innovative solution intended to make Rock Band 3 playable by musicians using many standard, MIDI-compatible controllers.”

Newly announced Tracks

• Marilyn Manson – “The Beautiful People”
• Filter – “Hey Man, Nice Shot”
• Foreigner – “Cold As Ice”
• Def Leppard – “Foolin’”
• The B-52s – “Rock Lobster”
• Tears For Fears – “Everybody Wants To Rule The World”

Previously Announced Tracks:

2000s:

• 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.

The Rock Band 3 Squier by Fender Stratocaster Guitar Controller is a fully functional, full-sized, electric guitar with strings that also functions as a game controller for Rock Band 3’s innovative Pro mode gameplay. Its revolutionary technology will allow gamers and music lovers around the world to experience the immediate joy of playing guitar through the fun and accessibility of Rock Band gameplay.

Rock Band Pro, which incorporates more realistic instrumental performance information into gameplay, including string and fret information on guitar, differentiated cymbal and tom notation for drums, and full pitch-accurate gameplay for keyboards. Rock Band Pro is available in all modes of Rock Band 3, and features tutorials and a variety of difficulties, including Easy, meaning that real instrument performance is within reach of any player, no matter their experience level.

The Rock Band 3 Squier Stratocaster uses technology built into the neck and fingerboard of the guitar to track finger positions in real time. The guitar also transmits strum data for the six individual strings, allowing the game to give feedback to players as they make the leap from rhythm game rocking to real world skills. Players can unplug from the fun of Rock Band 3 and plug directly into an amp to rock for real.

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 and 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.

Rock Band 3 will ship in North America for the Wii/PS3/Xbox 360 ($59.99), and NDS ( $29.99).