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|image=[[File:Rb3 box art.jpg|256px]]
|image=[[File:Rb3 box art.jpg|256px]]
|caption= ''Rock Band 3'' cover
|caption= ''Rock Band 3'' cover
|developer=[[Harmonix Music Systems|Harmonix]]
|developers=[[Harmonix Music Systems|Harmonix]] [[Backbone Entertainment]]
|publisher=[[MTV Games]]
|publisher=[[MTV Games]]
|distributor=[[Electronic Arts]]
|distributor=[[Electronic Arts]]

Revision as of 21:06, 9 November 2010

"RB3" redirects here. For the Formula One race car, see Red Bull RB3.
Rock Band 3
Rock Band 3 cover
Publisher(s)MTV Games
Designer(s)Dan Teasdale, Sylvain Dubrofsky, Brian Chan, Casey Malone
SeriesRock Band
Platform(s)Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, Nintendo DS
Genre(s)Music video game
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Rock Band 3 is a music video game, and the third main game in the Rock Band series. Harmonix Music Systems is the primary developer for the game, which is published and distributed by MTV Games and Electronic Arts, respectively. As with previous games in the series, Rock Band 3 allows players to simulate the playing of rock music and other genres using special instrument controllers mimicking lead and bass guitar, drums, and vocals. Rock Band 3 expands upon previous games by including three-part vocal harmonies—previously used in The Beatles: Rock Band and Green Day: Rock Band—and support for a keyboard instrument, a MIDI-compatible 25-key unit.

Rock Band 3 features a new "Pro" mode, which is designed as a learning tool to accurately mimic playing of real instruments: guitar and bass players will have to match specific fingering on frets and strings, drummers will have to strike cymbal pads in addition to snare and toms, and keyboardists will use precise fingering across the whole keyboard. MadCatz and Fender are manufacturing controllers and add-ons to support the Pro mode. The introduction of the new keyboard and Pro hardware was done to make Rock Band 3 a "disruptive" title to revitalize the struggling rhythm game market after poor performances in 2009, while striving towards Harmonix's goals of incorporating real instruments into video games.

The game includes 83 songs, many selected to emphasize the keyboard instrument. Existing game content, including prior downloadable content and songs from the Rock Band Network, carry forward into Rock Band 3, with the full Rock Band library reaching 2,000 songs by the end of October 2010. Rock Band 3 is designed to take advantage of players' existing libraries by providing user-created set lists and challenges and tools to easily search and select songs from the library.

Rock Band 3 was released worldwide during the last week of October 2010 for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, and Nintendo DS.[3] The game received universal acclaim from critics, with praise for the addition of keyboards that broadens the potential music library for the series and the revamped career structure to keep players invested in the title. The Pro mode was particularly highlighted by reviewers, who stated that the mode brings the rhythm game genre closer to teaching players to learn real instruments, though at a large cost of entry.

Gameplay

See also: Common gameplay elements of Rock Band

Rock Band 3 allows for several players, locally or through online game services, to use various instrument controls to simulate the playing of music. In addition to the four instruments from previous Rock Band games—lead guitar, bass guitar, drums, and vocals—Rock Band 3 adds support for three additional players, two through backup vocal harmonies with the lead singer (a feature previously introduced in The Beatles: Rock Band), and one playing an electric keyboard.

The overall goal of the collective band is to successfully complete a song by using their controllers to strike correct notes in time with note tracks shown on the game screen; or, in the case of the vocalists, to sing in relative pitch to the original artist. Each player has a performance meter, which increases when correct notes are hit and falls when notes are missed; a band performance meter represents an average of all players. If a player's meter should drop to zero, that player will temporarily drop out, silencing their part, and the band's performance meter will start to drop. If the band's meter hits zero, the band will fail the song, and depending on the game mode, either be required to start over or to opt to continue on after allowing for players to change difficulty levels. A dropped player can be saved up to two times by the use of "Overdrive" collected by any other player. Overdrive is collected by correctly matching a series of specially marked notes. Certain sections of songs provide "unison moments" where if all players successfully complete the section, they will all get a boost of Overdrive. Overdrive is triggered through various means on the controllers: by tilting the guitar controller vertically briefly, striking a specific drum pad at an indicated time, hitting a controller button on the keyboard, and making a loud noise during marked sections for vocalists.

Prior to a song, each band member selects from one of four difficulty levels, Easy, Medium, Hard, and Expert, which influence the number and rate that notes appear on the note track; they also can select the Pro mode for guitar, bass, keyboards, and drums. As the band performs, they score points. Subtle changes have been made to tracking of fast-moving parts such as trills, tremolo picking, and drum rolls, rewarding playing for being exactly on cue but not penalizing for small differences.[4] Each player can build up a multiplier by hitting consecutive notes correctly, up to a 4× value except in the case of the bassist who can go up to 6× through "bass groove". Overdrive can be unleashed separately by each player to temporarily boost a band multiplier by 2×, with potentially up to a 10x multiplier if each part triggers Overdrive. After successfully completing a song, the band is rated on a 5-star scale based on pre-determined scoring values. A "5 gold star" rating can be earned if the entire band is playing in Expert mode and their score exceeds by 50% the required score for a normal 5 star performance (for example, if a 5-star rating would be achieved at a score of 100,000, a "5 gold star" rating would be achieved at 150,000). The best performance by a player for each song in the player's library is tracked separately based on instrument, Pro mode, and difficulty, and used to provide and compare leaderboard statistics.[5]

Song library and game modes

Road Challenges provide new ways for Rock Band 3 players to interact with their library, providing numerous tour options and performance challenges. These provide "spades" in addition to stars for good performances, and individual performances are tracked during a song to provide additional feedback to players. Along the bottom are individual menus that are part of the game's new "overshell" that allow a player to change settings without affecting the other players.

Players have better tools to sort through songs to help manage a song library that is expected to be larger than 2000 songs by the end of 2010.[6] Sorting options include filters based on Pro mode support, keyboard or vocal harmony support, difficulty, genre, decade, numbers of times played, leaderboard positions, and when the player acquired the song; any numbers of these filters can be applied to fine-tune the sort, such as selecting all "moderate-difficulty metal songs from the '80s that support keys and harmony vocals".[5] Players are able to rate songs from 1 to 5 "lighters" and use this as a sorting metric.[7] The rating system also allows Harmonix to suggest new songs to players in the Rock Band store.[8] Players are also able to create, save, name, and design art for custom set lists which they can share through the game's online services or through the Rock Band website.[7][9] The "Battle of the Bands" mode featured in Rock Band 2, in which Harmonix created daily and weekly themed challenges based on the library of songs, will extend into Rock Band 3, but allowing players to create the challenges themselves from the within the game or the website, including the type of challenges, what instrument(s) it is aimed for, and how long to allow the battle to run, then advertise them through social media services like Twitter and Facebook.[7][9] Harmonix will also continue to create custom setlists and battles.[9] The official Rock Band website will be updated to reflect these new features, as well as allowing players to track their own bands or friends' bands.[10]

The game features a more in-depth career mode; players are able to design more detailed characters, which appear nearly at all points alongside the narrative, making the game "one story of your band", according to Harmonix senior designer Dan Teasdale. The career mode includes over 700 career goals, similar to Xbox 360 Achievements or PlayStation 3 Trophies, to help continue to urge the players to progress in the game.[11] "Road challenges" combine features of the Tour mode of Rock Band and Rock Band 2 with Mario Party concepts, according to Teasdale, and is based on feedback from Rock Band players. For example, the band may be challenged to re-invigorate the virtual crowd using copious amounts of Overdrive after they were disappointed by an opening act, or in another challenge, the band will be required to play as accurately as possible for a crowd of critics.[12] Numerous versions of these challenges are available, that vary in the amount of time to complete (from 30 minutes to 3 hours) and difficulty. Some of these challenges feature multiple gigs; after playing through one gig, the band is presented with three choices for songs to play at the next gig, either from pre-made set lists, customized set lists, or random selection from all available songs. With each song completed within a challenge, the players earn spades; one spade for each star based on the overall scoring, and additional spades for meeting the challenge goals. These challenges are tracks on the scoring leaderboards for the game.[13]

The playing modes are wrapped in an "overshell", which allow for players to sign in or out of game console profiles, manage players in the band, and jump in or out of the game with any available instrument at any point, including while playing a song.[14] Players also will have the ability to pause the game and make changes in difficulty; when leaving the pause menu, the song rewinds a few seconds to allow all players to synchronize before the scoring restarts. Due to the limitations in the number of local players on some consoles, only four of the five parts (lead and bass guitar, drums, harmonized vocals, and keyboards) can be played in online and local career and competitive modes. The game provides the option of a local "All Instruments" quick play mode where all five parts are utilized allowing the full seven-member band to play; the vocals are not assigned to a console player but instead are based on the input (if present) from USB-connected microphones, and the vocal results are not scored along with the other playing members.

Custom character support

Rock Band 3 includes support for using pre-made and custom avatars to represent band members on stage during performances, as from previous Rock Band games. These avatars can include a variety of clothing styles, hair styles, accessories, makeup, and instruments to allow users to customize their performance. While custom characters have been a part of the Rock Band series from the start, Harmonix wants players to feel more connected with their characters and band within Rock Band 3.[15] Harmonix' Chris Foster stated that they realized the game is wish-fulfillment for most players in taking one's band through the rise of success, and structured a weak, non-presuming narrative to help guide this without forcing any particular aspect of the band's story.[16] One aspect to connecting the player to their band was to constantly show the characters throughout all parts of the game screens, such as on the main menus, during song selection and loading screens, and during practice mode.[15] Another approach was to allow more detailed customization tools to encourage the player to create themselves or other characters as they wanted in the game. They wanted to advance the looks of the avatar characters, making them like living dolls with near-realistic features but highly idealized visual elements, such as smooth skin and hair. This was achieved through the use of improved shaders that gave the appearance of realistic services but with Rock Band stylized art aesthetic.[17] The team aimed to provide something that was in between the complex creation tool for Mass Effect and the simple set of tools for Miis.[15] Rock Band 3 custom character creator allows for more direct customization of the character's facial looks, using a combination of pre-made face styles (including those already from Rock Band 2), facial components such as noses or chins, and adjustment sliders to change size, position, and other details. Numerous additional hair styles are available in addition to the existing elaborate and showy styles from the previous game. Additional controls can be used to further adjust the tone of the character's body, and players are able to apply tattoos across most anywhere on the character's body. Players can then purchase clothing and instruments in the various in-game shops, with items becoming unlocked as the player progresses through the game.[15]

Pro Mode

Rock Band 3 adds support for a 25-key keyboard (left track) in addition to guitar, bass, drums, and vocals. Pro mode will challenge lead and bass guitarists, keyboardists, and drummers with a more realistic playing experience, such as requiring keyboardists to use a full range of keys, drummers (center) to strike proper cymbals as noted by round gems, or guitarists (right) and bassists to use accurate fingering on the fret bar. The on-screen display for the guitarist and bassist shows the numbered fret and string for the base fingering, and, for chords, a waveform that shows where the fingers should be positioned on other strings relative to the base fret. This screenshot shows Spacehog's "In the Meantime".

Rock Band 3 introduces a "Pro" mode, which is aimed to provide a more realistic playing experience by requiring a more exact accuracy of the playing of the guitar, bass, drums, and keyboard instruments. Pro mode players will be able to select difficulty levels; one can play Pro mode on the "Easy" difficulty level, which reduces the number of notes to hit, but still would require proper fingering or hitting the correct cymbal.[6] The progression of difficulties in Pro mode is aimed to help the player become familiar with the new playing style. For example in Easy Pro guitar, the player may only be required to finger single notes, while Medium will introduce chords.[18] The Pro mode is available across all game modes, and is selectable at the same time as when selecting the desired difficulty and handedness for the instrument. Pro players can play alongside normal mode players in any game mode.[6]

To further help players with the Pro mode, trainers will be included with the game. The trainers were developed in conjunction with the Berklee College of Music to help ease current players into the more realistic playing experience.[19] The training modes use songs created by Harmonix artists designed to help the players become comfortable with the instruments and interface over a series of lessons. According to Harmonix' Dan Sussman, there are about 60 to 80 songs specifically made for the trainer; at present they will only be available for that mode, but Harmonix has considered placing the songs onto the Rock Band Network at a later date.[20] Players are able to slow down songs in this mode as well.[21]

Instrument controllers

All existing Rock Band and other compatible controllers will continue to work for all game modes beyond the Pro mode.[6] Guitar controllers can be used to play non-Pro keyboard parts, while the keyboard controller can also be used to play non-Pro guitar/bass parts.[7] A special MIDI adapter, also made by MadCatz and sold separately, will allow players with existing MIDI-compatible keyboards or drums to use them within the game; the unit will not work for existing MIDI guitars due to the additional data that Harmonix registers over the MIDI data.[22] In April 2010, Harmonix and game controller manufacturer Mad Catz entered a multi-year deal to allow Mad Catz to produce and sell its controllers alongside the Rock Band games.[23]

In addition to the standalone game and controllers, Harmonix and MadCatz are shipping Rock Band 3 a bundle package that includes the keyboard controller and game. Licensing prevents this bundle from being sold to PlayStation 3 users in the United States, but Harmonix worked with vendors to offer a "soft bundle" of the standalone game and keyboard at the same cost as the bundle, and to honor existing pre-orders for the bundle.[24]

Guitar and bass

Two new official guitar controllers will be made to work with Pro mode in Rock Band 3. One (left, foreground) is the stringed Fender Squier Stratocaster, while the other (left, on back; right, in closeup) is the Fender Mustang with 102 buttons to simulate frets and strings, and a "string box" on the body for strumming.

Existing "5 button" guitar controllers from previous Rock Band and other compatible games (such as Guitar Hero) can still be used for non-Pro parts in Rock Band 3.

For Pro guitar and bass, one of two official controllers will be required that has the ability to track fingering on specific frets either as fret buttons or strings, and will present this for on-screen feedback to the player.[18]

Mad Catz will be producing a new guitar controller, based on the Fender Mustang for the game's Pro mode, where instead of five colored buttons, there will be 6 buttons across 17 different frets, for a total of 102 buttons; the player will be required to strike the corresponding buttons on the right frets similar to guitar strings.[6][22] The player uses the "string box" that contains six stainless-steel strings which can detect which strings are being strummed, replacing the "strum bar" from the typical "5 button" controller.[25] The controller will remain compatible for standard "5 button" Rock Band or other similar game play. There are five specific fret rows of buttons marked on the Mustang to match the standard five colors; any button within those rows will be treated as the colored button, while any string can be strummed to replicate the strum bar.[25][26] It also functions as a full MIDI guitar, with the MIDI output connector providing compatibility with MIDI software sequencers and hardware devices; unlike the Fender Squier below, the Mustang does not require the use of the MadCatz MIDI PRO-adapter to connect to the game console.[27]

A second guitar controller will be made with Fender in the style of a Squier Stratocaster, featuring six strings instead of fret buttons. The instrument is a true electric guitar that also has full output MIDI support outside of the game.[6][22][28] A demonstration of the unit at the 2010 Electronic Entertainment Expo shows the Fender guitar controller being played directly through an electric amplifier alongside other players on the other controllers while playing the game.[29] The Squier will not be able to be used for normal guitar/bass play.[26] The Squier was not available at Rock Band 3's launch, but will be released in March 2011.[30] The Squier will be console neutral, producing MIDI output and requiring players to also purchase the MadCatz MIDI Pro-Adapter specific for their console.[31]

During Pro mode play for guitar and bass, single notes are represented by a number, representing the fret on the guitar, over a single string. Chords are represented by solid bars that mimic waveforms. The base position for the player's hand on the fretboard is given by a number on a specific string. The shape of the bar over the other strings provide relative fret positions for the player's hand on the controller.[32] The instrument controllers provide feedback to the player by sensing the player's current fingering, which is then shown as a waveform drawn at the base of the note track, in the same style as the chord representation, allowing the player to match their waveform to the chord's shape.[33] Players can optionally enable a feature that numbers every fret position for a chord.[33] Chord names are shown at the side of the track, approaching the appearance of a guitar tablature.[18] In addition, Pro Guitar and Bass will include legato-style playing through hammer-ons and pull-offs, as well as slides on sustained notes along the strings represented by sustained note gems with slanted tails.[34] Pro Guitar also includes open chords, arpeggios where the player holds a chord and plucks specific strings for it, and left-hand muting of notes.[33]

Within Easy Pro mode, the game will only present single notes to the player; Medium difficulty introduces chords, while Hard difficulty is a less-dense version of the full guitar track charted for Expert mode.[33] The game will adjust which frets to use depending on which Pro model guitar is used.[4] Some leeway is given on Pro Guitar such as by missing a chord by one offset string.[34]

Drums

Existing drum kits from Rock Band, Guitar Hero, and other games, including the ION electronic drum kits, will continue to work for regular drums within Rock Band 3.[35] For Pro drums, a three cymbal-pad set is added to the core drum kit; notes on screen will be marked as a rounded note instead of rectangular to indicate a cymbal hit instead of a drum hit.[36] MadCatz and other manufacturers already produced a three-cymbal add-on set for Rock Band 2 drum kits, but will introduce a new wireless version with the release of Rock Band 3.[22] The player can optionally use 1 or 2 additional cymbal pads, configuring the Pro Drums mode to only recognize those.[36] Players can also add a second foot pedal and configure the game to act as a second bass drum pedal or as a hi-hat pedal.[36] Additionally, existing ION drum kits will work in Pro Mode for Rock Band 3, and ION will also be releasing an updated brain for their drum kits adding the second pedal port which was previously unused on the Rock Band 2 kit.

Keyboard

The new keyboard controller is a functional MIDI keyboard with 25 keys, and can be used either horizontally or worn as a keytar, with an effects touchpad in the "arm" of the unit. In normal play, players simply strike one or more of five keys from Middle C to G on the keyboard, as indicated on-screen, while Pro mode requires precise fingering of each key.

Rock Band 3 introduces keyboard parts for songs. MadCatz will produce the new keyboard controller for the official release. The controller resembles a keytar with a handle to one side and the ability to attach a guitar strap to wear the unit.[14] Optionally, the unit can be placed on a horizontal surface and played in that fashion.[37] The keyboard features 25 full-sized velocity-sensitive keys, and is MIDI compatible, allowing it to be used outside the game;[17] for instance, the band Freezepop, which has close ties with members of Harmonix, has used the keyboard controller as a keytar for their stage shows.[38]

Players will need to strike notes and chords, marked to specific keys on the display, to score points. In normal play, five white keys, from the middle C to G, each correspond to colored notes on screen, and are played in a similar manner to existing guitar and bass parts; these keys can also be used to play guitar and bass parts on the keyboard.[39][14][6][7] Overdrive is launched by pressing a special button on the controller.[11] A touch-pad in the handle of the unit functions as a pitch wheel, providing for a whammy bar-type effect on sustained notes.[11]

On screen, Pro mode for keyboards will show ten white keys and the corresponding black keys, as the full range cannot be displayed on screen; Two visual cues are given to the player to identify what position on the controller they should play relative to the keys shown on-screen.[39] One cue is through highlighting the entire lane that corresponds to a played note whether correct or not; this is designed to help keep the player's hand positions correlated on the unit.[39] A second cue is uniquely grouped coloring of a channel containing a set of 5 keys matching similar markings on the keyboard unit to identify the correct area of the keyboard that the player should be on.[39] Pro keyboard charting includes notes and chords using a combination of white and black keys. On Easy or Medium Pro keys, the range of keys on screen will not shift. On Hard or Expert Pro mode, the ten white key range will move up and down as the song necessitates, requiring the player to move their own hands in turn.[40] Arrow indicators will be displayed to indicate when the displayed area is about to shift left or right, giving the player time to compensate.[6][7]

Vocals

Any USB-compatible microphone can be used for the vocal parts. A USB hub can be used for up to three microphone players. Rock Band 3 does not require the vocalists to be signed in on the console's systems; this allows Rock Band 3 to surpass the usual limit of four local players that exists on the Wii and Xbox 360.[22] Vocal harmonies cannot be performed by separate players over networked connections due to latency issues.[41] Pitch correction technology developed by iZotope will be integrated into the game, allowing vocalists to add effects to their vocal performances within the game.[42]

Nintendo DS version

The Nintendo DS version of Rock Band 3 is similar to Rock Band Unplugged or Lego Rock Band for the DS, and requires the player to manage playing four tracks at various times to prevent any single performance meter from dropping to zero.

The Nintendo DS version of Rock Band 3 follows the gameplay format of Rock Band Unplugged for the PlayStation Portable or the Nintendo DS version of Lego Rock Band. There are no special instrument attachments; instead, gameplay is designed around matching notes using the face buttons on the DS. Each of the 26 songs, a subset of the songs available on the Rock Band 3 disc for other consoles, are presented as a set of four tracks, one for each instrument, with the player able to move between them. To perform well, the player must move between tracks using the shoulder buttons and succeed to match a phrase of notes using the face buttons of the controller in order to boost the band's performance meter; in normal game modes, this will cause the track to play automatically by itself for a brief period allowing the player to focus on the other tracks. The player can fail a song if they cannot match notes correctly, or by ignoring a single track for too long. The DS version includes a single-player career mode and both cooperative and competitive play modes.[43] Additional features that were present in Unplugged also are included in Rock Band 3 for the DS, but have been renamed to match changes in the game's console modes. For example, the "Band Survival" mode from Unplugged, requiring the player to keep all the instruments going without any respite after successfully completing a track section, will be called "Pro Mode" in Rock Band 3 for the DS.[44]

Development

Despite previous success of rhythm games, the genre as a whole saw nearly a 50% drop in revenues in 2009;[37] sales of top-tier titles The Beatles: Rock Band and Guitar Hero 5 were significantly off from initial projections.[45][46] Part of this has been attributed to the late-2000s recession limiting new purchases, but other analysis have speculated that consumers had grown tired of purchasing new iterations of instrument controllers for the same gameplay.[47][48][49] Harmonix, in designing Rock Band 3, sought to capture the playing experience that "really started this whole phenomenon in the first place", according to project director Daniel Sussman.[37] Harmonix's CEO, Alex Rigopulos, stated that "Our ambition for Rock Band 3 was really to re-energize and reinvigorate the (music game) category and advance it and move it forward."[37] The primary change in the game, the introduction of the Pro mode, was seen by Rigopulos as the envisioning of Harmonix' long-standing desire to include authentic simulation within music games. Rigopulos considered the transition from their work on Guitar Hero into Rock Band through the addition of drums and vocals as an opportunity to further explore the possibility for guitar.[50] In introducing the game to journalists at a closed media event about a month prior to the 2010 Electronic Entertainment Expo, Harmonix called Rock Band 3 a "disruptive title" for the music game industry.[12] Another aspect that Harmonix considered was "a ground-up rebuild of the Rock Band platform" and how players could interact better with the game and music library, according to Sussman.[51]

Harmonix included the keyboard controller to help address these goals. The keyboard functionality was "designed basically to answer that staleness factor" that has been seen in music games, as said by Sussman.[6] In designing the keyboard, they had to consider several factors, such as making sure that the unit was "party accessible" and could be learned easily in normal play, while the pro keyboard tracks felt authenic and yet still playable with one hand, considering those that may play the unit while standing.[39] The team also included the "pro" mode to help invigorate existing players to give them new challenges, aimed at those that "had any aspirations of connecting with the music in a deeper way", according to senior designer Sylvain Dubrofsky.[37] Sussman commented that the combination of existing and new gameplay modes provides "an experience that is both accessible to players who are just getting into this thing, and builds something for the hard-core player who is maybe a little bored with where music games are".[6] Sussman noted that there still remains a large gap between mastering the Pro modes and playing real instruments: "We see Pro as a different experience from the five-button simulation, but not necessarily a track to expertise."[17] Sussman further commented that inclusion of Pro mode, particularly at higher difficulty levels, was "because it shows the potential ceiling of where this can take you".[17] However, Harmonix was still dedicated to helping to "open doors" for players interested in learning real musical instruments, such as by including appropriate music fundamentals that can be used outside of the game.[17] Harmonix created the Pro Guitar charts for songs through careful audio interpretation of master tracks and through watching live performances of the songs to ensure they were using the correct chords.[34]

Promotion

Six people playing Rock Band 3 at the San Diego Comic-Con International, July 23, 2010.

Rock Band 3 will be distributed by Electronic Arts after the two companies reached a continued agreement for distribution of the series, which was initially set to expire in March 2010, with the final EA-distributed title to have been Green Day: Rock Band.[52][53]

A pre-E3 event occurred on May 20, 2010, to provide exclusive coverage of the game to selected gaming journalists, who would remain under news embargo until June 11, 2010, just prior to E3.[54] The first evidence that Rock Band 3 would include keyboards came from a teaser image for the game in the Green Day: Rock Band demo, released in late May 2010; the image showed 5 icons, 4 representing the existing instruments in the game and the fifth showing a keyboard layout.[55] Ars Technica claimed via a mole, that the unit would be a "keytar", and the inclusion of the Pro modes.[56] Ars Technica later claimed that Harmonix requested to have the article removed due to the embargo, and insisted that the unit should not be referred to as a "keytar". Ars Technica further commented that while other gaming sites had to wait until June 11th when the embargo was lifted, USA Today was able to reveal their stories the day before, scooping the other sites who had originally remained quiet on Ars Technica's story for fear of breaking the embargo.[57]

The 2010 E3 Game Critics Awards awarded Rock Band 3 for the "Best Social/Casual Game",[58] and included both the new keyboard and the Pro guitar peripherals as "Best Hardware" nominees.[59] The game was also awarded the title of "Best Music Game" as well as being nominated for "Most Innovative" by GameTrailers.[60][61]

Several offers are available for players that pre-ordered the game, depending on vendor.[62] In North America, those that pre-ordered through Gamestop received access to three downloadable tracks for the game; "Burning Down the House" by Talking Heads, "My Own Summer" by Deftones, and "Blue Monday" by New Order. Players preordering the game through Amazon.com or Best Buy received immediate access to a unique in-game guitar for their avatars.[62]

Soundtrack

Main article: List of songs in Rock Band 3

The full soundtrack for Rock Band 3 will feature 83 songs, including a mix of tracks that will make use of the new keyboard peripheral.[63][62] Prior to the 2010 Gamescom convention in mid August, 2010, Harmonix had officially revealed about 50 of the songs in the game; however, inadvertently during a video interview at the conference, most of the remaining set list was determined from a Rock Band 3 demonstration screen showing the song list in the game in the background of this interview.[64] The next day, Harmonix members, including John Drake and Dan Sussman, created a makeshift video from Gamescom, officially rejecting the reliability of the list from the previous interview, asserting themselves as "communication professionals" that would "never accidently leak" the full setlist—while at the same time, scrolling through all 83 songs in Rock Band 3 in the video's background as a means of confirming the full setlist.[65][66] The full setlist list was formally announced a few days later.[62]

The Nintendo DS version of the game will feature a 26-song subset of the consoles' setlist.[43][62]

Downloadable content

See also: Complete list of downloadable songs for the Rock Band series and List of Rock Band Network songs

Existing content for other Rock Band games, including the majority of on-disc songs from the retail products Rock Band, Rock Band 2, Lego Rock Band, Green Day Rock Band and the AC/DC Live Track Pack, songs offered as downloadable content, and songs from the Rock Band Network will be playable in Rock Band 3.[6] More than 2000 potential songs were available at the game's launch between these sources.

Harmonix has authored previous downloadable content since the release of Rock Band 2 with the necessary cues for cymbal strikes, allowing most existing songs to be immediately playable in Pro mode for drums.[4] However, the interaction of older downloadable content with other new features in Rock Band 3 has yet to be fully determined.[4] According to Harmonix' Dan Sussman, they "have the facility to add those parts to existing songs" and that there is "a lot of stuff in that back catalog that's ripe for keys and even Pro mode"; Harmonix is encouraging fans of the game series to provide input on what content and features they would like to see updated after Rock Band 3's release.[67][26] According to MTV Games' Paul DeGooyer, they have already identified one band that is willing to help to update songs to include Pro mode, and further have selected a number of fan favorites and other songs that they expect to upgrade with Pro features.[68] The first upgraded songs appeared on November 9th as part of the Bon Jovi Greatest Hits pack: Rock Band 3 editions of "Livin' on a Prayer", "Wanted Dead or Alive" and "You Give Love a Bad Name" were re-released with Keyboard, Pro keyboard and Vocal Harmonies included. The Pro Guitar and Pro Bass tracks are a dollar for each song, and can be bought for either the original versions or the new, "RB3" version.

Harmonix will continue to create additional downloadable content following the release of Rock Band 3, launched by a set of twelve songs from The Doors during the launch week.[69] Post-release content will include, when appropriate, keyboards and Pro keyboards and vocal harmonies; due to the cost and effort to create Pro guitar and bass authoring, Harmonix expected to release these additional authored parts as a separate download for a limited number of songs. DeGooyer has suggested that the Pro guitar and bass portions of songs will cost an additional $1 in addition to the core price $2 per song due to the additional work required, however, Harmonix has not yet confirmed the final pricing.[68] For instance, three of the release-week songs from the Doors will include Pro guitar and bass parts, but the other nine will not.[69] Future downloaded content released by Harmonix will no longer be compatible with previous games in the series due to changes in the song format.[70]

Rock Band Network songs will also be playable in Rock Band 3; they will be playable in all modes in random setlists, challenges, and customized setlists, instead of being limited to select modes as they were in Rock Band 2.[71] The Rock Band Network will gain new features to support vocal harmonies, keyboards and Pro drums, but will not initially support Pro guitar or bass due to complexities with authoring and the testing userbase.[72]

Reception

Rock Band 3 has received universal praise from gaming journalists who considered the game to be a major jump from Rock Band 2 and a pinnacle of the rhythm game genre. Matt Miller of Game Informer called the title "a culmination of Harmonix’s efforts to bring music to the masses".[75] Ben Kuchera of Ars Technica commented that for Rock Band 3, "This is the new state of the art for rhythm games, and it's hard to find fault with what's being offered."[81] Joystiq's Griffen McElroy asserted that Rock Band 3 "is the greatest rhythm game ever made, and quite possibly the only rhythm game you need to own".[82] Reviews praised the incorporation of realistic instruments and the education of how to play them into the video game setting, seeing the title as a means of preparing players to pick up real instruments. Chad Sapieha of The Globe and Mail said that with the release of Rock Band 3 "we are just a hair’s breadth away from moving beyond make believe"[83] while the New York Times's Seth Schiesel stated that "Harmonix has brilliantly torn down the wall between music games and real music".[84]

Reviews praised the introduction of keyboard and the new controller. Miller described the keyboard peripheral as "small and light" with a number of options for how one can play it,[75] with Johnny Minkley of Eurogamer adding that the keytar approach makes the keyboard peripheral "gaming's next must-have shame-maker".[80] Many reviews noted that while there are some enjoyable and difficult non-Pro versions of the keyboard charts, playing in this mode was not much different from the established "five button" guitar method, and that the real enjoyment from the peripheral was through Pro mode.[77][80] IGN's Hilary Goldstein noted that the keyboard addition allows Harmonix to expand the types of songs that one would previously have never expected to appear in a Rock Band game, such as Warren Zevon's "Werewolves of London" or any Elton John song.[77] Sam Machkovech for The Atlantic expressed similar sentiments, adding that with the ability to include more keyboard or synthesizer-heavy songs into the game, "the songs are just plain better".[85]

The new Pro mode was critically acclaimed as the primary feature that distinguished Rock Band 3 from other music games in the field. Minkley stated that the inclusions of Pro features "at once dramatically expand the potential of the game and fundamentally change the approach required to play and enjoy it".[80] Reviewers appreciated the training modes, including their integration into the overall game's career progression and the breadth of material that is covered.[80][78] Nina Shen Rastogi of Slate commented that Rock Band 3's training modes helps to overcome the discouraging early period of trying to learn guitar as "the gaming elements will mask the rote, homeworklike nature of the guitar training process".[86] Kuchera noted that the approach of the modes was aimed if one understood music theory to some degree already; "If this is your first introduction to music theory, though, you may need a little more explanation", he concluded.[81] This lament was similarly stated by Machkovech, who felt the lessons had "text that was written by a musical savant" that would be too confusing to those without musical backgrounds and too simple for those trained in music arts.[85] Chris Kohler of Wired described the experience he and a friend had where after playing though Devo's "Whip It" on Pro guitar and keyboard, they were able retain enough muscle memory to play their respective parts on real instruments, albeit not perfectly; Kohler summarized his experience that "Just playing Rock Band 3 taught us a little bit of actual music".[87]

A primary consideration for the game was the cost of entry to enjoy the new features of the game particularly in Pro mode; both the cost of the new keyboard and Pro guitars (ranging from $80 to 280) and the time investment to learn these aspects was considered high and may only cater to niche players.[78][80] The Metro noted that if one does not purchase any of the additional hardware controllers, "it's not much different to Rock Band 2".[88] Goldstein commented that the amount of investment into the game will affect one's perception of the game's value: "either something completely new and challenging or just more tracks to rock out to".[77] Goldstein further noted that with the cost and time spent on the Pro guitar models, "why not spend a little more and buy the real thing".[77] Several reviewers commented that the buttoned Mustang Pro guitar is not as sturdy as other instruments and does not have the same tactile feel as a real guitar. Specifically, the reviewers noted that the width of the button impressions do not vary in width as real guitar strings would, and there is no tactile feedback as one would have with a fretboard. These reviewers suggested that players, if dedicated to the Pro guitar mode, to wait for the stringed Fender Squier which had more favorable reviews.[80][89]

The game's soundtrack was considered to be "the most unusual and varied in the franchise" by Miller,[75] and "an eclectic collection that's a little more pop than metal" by Goldstein.[77] Kuchera considered the set list to be one of the best in any music game, "spanning decades and genres and bringing a wide variety of songs to suit any taste".[81]

Sales

Initial sales figures from the United Kingdom showed that, for the two days that the game was available, only about 7,400 units were sold across all platforms, placing Rock Band 3 as the 26th-best-selling title during the week ending October 30, 2010.[90]

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