Rock Band 2 Officially Announced [UPDATE 2] News

The Rock Band publishing triple threat of Harmonix, MTV Games, and EA has now officially announced Rock Band 2. The sequel is billed as a timed exclusive for the Xbox 360 in the US where it will be released this September, while other platforms are to follow later in the year.

One feature of the sequel that will be music to the ears of cash strapped Rock Band owners is that Rock Band 2 will boast cross-title compatibility (according to an IGN report). All of the tracks that Rock Band 1 owners have already downloaded on the game's Music Store will be automatically transferred to their Rock Band 2 library.

European gamers shouldn't hold their breath for Rock Band 2 to arrive in PAL regions any time soon though, because Rock Band 1 was only released over here last May. Also shipped as an Xbox 360 timed exclusive, Rock Band 1 is yet to be released on PS3, PS2, and Wii in Europe - it's due to hit shop shelves later this summer on the remaining three platforms.

"As successful as the original Rock Band continues to be, we've now had the benefit of the last eight months to listen to our fans' requests and to build upon that foundation," said Alex Rigopulos, Co-Founder and CEO of Harmonix. "Rock Band 2 is a second-generation band game that will elevate the music game experience to the next level."

Thankfully, all the original Rock Band peripherals will be compatibility with this sequel even though Harmonix is releasing new instruments in a similar bundle pack to the first game. In addition to this, Harmonix will continue to support Rock Band 1 with the weekly track pack updates to its Music Store.

In order to level the playing field with Guitar Hero World Tour, all the tracks on Rock Band 2's game disc will be master recordings. It's amazing what a little bit of competition will do.

[UPDATE] Since we went to press with this article, EA has told CVG (regarding the UK release date for Rock Band 2), "We are expecting to see Rock Band 2 ship in September for the Xbox 360, with other platforms to follow."

So, to clarify, Rock Band 2 will be released on the Xbox 360 in the UK at roughly the same time that Rock Band comes to PS3, PS2, and Wii. Interesting.

[Update 2] It now appears that there is no confirmed date for Rock Band 2 in Europe. EA seemed to retract its earlier statement when an EA spokesperson told Eurogamer, "There was a misunderstanding and there is no confirmed date for Europe."

That makes a bit more sense.