MTV, EA and Harmonix today announced that individual instrument peripherals for the PlayStation 3, PS2, and Xbox 360 versions of Rock Band will begin shipping to North American store shelves next month.

The Rock Band Drum Kit hits February 12 and will retail at an MSRP of $79.99, while the Rock Band Wireless Fender Stratocaster Guitar is set to ship April 1 and will cost $59.99.

MTV GAMES, HARMONIX AND EA CONFIRM PLANS TO SHIP STANDALONE ROCK BANDâ„¢ INSTRUMENTS TO U.S. RETAIL STORES

Music Fans and Gamers Prepare to Expand the Band, Rock the World

CAMBRIDGE, MA – January 24, 2008– Harmonix, one of the world’s leading developers of music-based games, and MTV Games, part of Viacom’s MTV Networks (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), along with distribution partner Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS), announced today that individual instrument peripherals for Rock Band â„¢ will start shipping to U.S. store shelves beginning on February 12th.

“The release of standalone instruments allows Rock Band musicians to enjoy the full Rock Band experience, including drum, microphone and guitar head-to-head modes, creating a whole new level of competitive fun,” said Alex Rigopulos, CEO and co-founder, Harmonix. “We’re also delivering a stand-alone wireless guitar solution for all versions of Rock Band as well as providing the opportunity for consumers to build their band one instrument at a time.”

With standalone instrument peripherals being made available, players have the opportunity to expand the full Rock Band experience by competing in challenging play modes such as Microphone vs. Microphone, Drum vs. Drum and Guitar vs. Guitar. With instrument “versus” modes, gamers can battle against each other in “Score Duel” mode for the high score or in the challenging “Tug-O-War” mode, where giving the best performance is key. These exciting “versus” modes can be played locally or online and work with all Rock Band downloaded song tracks. In order to play downloadable content for head-to-head matches all players must own the same downloadable track. In addition, gamers can buy a new wireless standalone guitar to round out their Rock Band Special Edition Bundle or choose to build their band piece by piece through the purchase of individual software and instruments.

Rock Band Instrument Release Dates/Pricing:
· Rock Band Drum Kit (Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system, PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system) $79.99 MSRP; February 12, 2008
· Rock Band Wireless Fender® Stratocaster Guitar Controller (Xbox 360, PLAYSTATION 3 system, PlayStation 2 system*) $59.99 MSRP; April 1, 2008

Standalone Rock Band game software is currently available, as well as the Rock Band Special Edition Bundle featuring a Fender Stratocaster guitar controller, an electronic drum kit, real drum sticks, a microphone and software. The Xbox 360 and PlayStation 2 system bundles also come with a USB hub for easy plug-in access for all instruments.

Rock Band is rated “T” for Teen (lyrics, mild suggestive themes) by the ESRB.

Electronic Arts is the exclusive distribution and marketing partner for Rock Band.

* Note: The Rock Band PlayStation guitar and drums work for both PlayStation 2 and PLAYSTATION 3 systems.

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

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