EA Says Rock Band Delayed. Not So, Says EA

Will the real release date please make itself known.

There's some confusion over the immediate future of Rock Band in the UK and EA's reluctance to bring clarity isn't helping matters.

A mild furore was kicked off earlier in the week by Charles Huang, co-founder of RedOctane, the company responsible for creating the original guitar peripheral for Guitar Hero and for publishing the game at the start.

Huang told GameSpot that he didn't think EA's Rock Band - created by ex-Guitar Hero developer Harmonix and a direct competitor to Guitar Hero III - would make it to PAL regions this year because of the difficulty posed by manufacturing the many instruments the game supports. He also guessed that Rock Band would sell for $275 in Australia (around £115).

A competitor talking down a rival product is one thing but the matter became more urgent when an EA representative told GameSpot that "we don't think [Rock Band] will be released in Q4", meaning no Rock Band before 2008.

But that's not the end of the story. Another unnamed EA spokesperson told Eurogamer on Wednesday that no territory has yet decided on a firm release date.

"The Rock Band date still hasn't been set in either the US or UK," the spokesperson told the site. And that despite several retailers and US sites reporting an early November release for Rock Band.

So which is it? Is Rock Band out in the US in November and nowhere else this year? Or will everyone be rocking down with Santa come Christmas Day? Or will no one?

EA knows, but the company isn't returning calls for information.

Alex Wollenschlaeger
Editor, Kikizo