can't wait

Nice, I'm excited for Pro drums, looks like even more fun :D

If there's a bundle with a Guitar, a Drumkit and a Keyboard; I would totally buy that.  I feel like my old plastic instruments are just about done.

Why can't I just plug in my real strat?

That is pretty awesome. I skipped over Rock Band 2 completely, but this may get me back.

Sounds rather definitive. And I am interested in the deeper mechanics/learning to play instruments, so maybe I'll check it out when it's not twohundredandeighty goddam US dollars...  Like...half that and I'd still be unsure.

Do Midi guitars work with Garage Band? If so, that could be a good buy since it wouldn't just be for Rock Band. But I do like the idea of buying what is essentially a real guitar and using it to play.

Aweso....
 
*head explodes*

No pro Bass mode fuck!

That looks pretty cool, and probably a decent way to get people into music. I'd still rather get together with my friends and jam, but... this looks promising.

It's very nice that they'll have an attachment so that I can use the midi keyboard that I already have. That alone shows that they understand their autdience.  I'm completely stoked for this release now.

 My life felt complete before I read this article.  Now comes the summer of impatience.
 
And of foreboding.  Nothing that matches what I want this exactly could ever be commercially viable.

the drunken violence is not only you when someone is pressing buttons when your trying to set it up its the most frustrating thing ever

I'm not paying for anymore RB2 DLC until I know it's going to be updated to RB3, but this is still the best rhythm game ever. I mean, come on, it has Bohemian Rhapsody, three-part harmonies and A KEYBOARD. Those three things combined make for the rhythm game experience we've all been waiting for since they released "Don't Stop Believin'."

I promised myself I'd never buy one of these games again. Goddammit, Harmonix. God. Dammit.

Ugh, as I thought for the Pro stuff for guitar and drums.  The keyboard I might get, but there's no way I'm spending $300+ for an additional "Pro" drum and guitar set.  The drop-in, drop-out user features sound great, but that's just really continuing to fix the terribleness of RB1 with respect to the way it organized multiplayer. 
 
More music is great and the software will probably be a pickup if its worth it, but overall most of this does not sound like anything I'm interested in.  As Jeff said, great for people really into RB or musicians, but causal fans who play RB with friends (the vast majority of RBs userbase) are not going to go for what it looks like they've spent most of their time innovating.

" Why can't I just plug in my real strat? "

The whole thesis of all the Rock Band and Guitar Hero games that Harmonix has developed over the last five years or whatever, seems to be just getting people excited about music in ways that they weren't before. This seems to be the logical endpoint to their master plan - I am really for real interested in learning how to play keyboards and guitar.
 
And this seems like just the sort of weird motivation to get me to stick with it!

As a piano player, I'm very excited to finally join the legion of annoying "musicians" who are constantly complaining about how these games are ruining music. Haha! I only kid!
 
Oh and the MIDI box that allows you to use your own keyboards is a great idea. That means I won't have to pay stupid amounts of money for a new keyboard that's probably inferior to the one I already have.

FIRST!!!!!!1111!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is so awesome. Harmonix is once again going to get all my monies. I'm so hyped for this.

LSD!

" Midi Box? FUCK YES. Now I can use my dad's electronic drums instead of those stock shitty ones... "

Well, considering I started playing guitar after the first Guitar Hero made me want to learn, I'm getting this game on launch day.  I want to learn how to play keyboards, and a game is as good a start as any.

I can't wait to hear about all of the defects this equipment will have.

" @Dysnomia said:

" Midi Box? FUCK YES. Now I can use my dad's electronic drums instead of those stock shitty ones... "

Now we can truly rock it real. "

Looks great. I'm disappointed Mad Catz are the ones making the instruments, but whatever. Who knows if I'll even upgrade? I like playing vocals these days, and a microphone is basic enough that mine is fine. I'm glad I chose Rock Band over Guitar Hero a long time ago!

DJ Hero 2 and now this...music games are going to be the death of my this year obviously.

That is pretty amazing, congrats harmonix.

I thought music games where dieing.

This is a bold move.  Kudos to Harmonix for taking this genre in a direction that will pay off on its potential.
 
It may not be the real thing, but RB3 seems like it can train people's fingers to fret on a guitar, or train people how to control their limbs independently for drums, or get a better understanding of note intervals with a keyboard.
 
I play guitar and allowing people to get comfortable with the concept of a real instrument before actually getting one seems like a great way to encourage people to pick up a real instrument.

 Maybe this thing can teach people keyboard or drums I got no experience playing with those instruments to know if it can or can't. I do have 22 years of experience with real guitars 19 of it on a serious level and can tell you the Pro Guitar looks like a waste of time and money. I suppose they are gonna have a Nigel West Dickens type of guy pimping the Guitar Pro in an advertisement to fool the mass audience. 

I never liked the rhythm games. I'd rather play a real guitar. But these games basically teaching people how to use an instrument... that is pretty dang awesome. I may need to invest. Now if they can teach me how to read sheet music. :)

May or may not have been posted already, but there IS a Pro Bass mode in this game.
 
"It wasn't playable at the event, but Harmonix showed us the Expert Pro chart for Dio's "Rainbow in the Dark" and it is mind-blowing. You are literally going to be asked to play every single note. Don't worry, different difficulty levels will be available on Pro to ease players into the new mode. It will also be used for Pro bass play. Pro is completely integrated in the game and can be chosen on a per-player/per-song basis (if supported)."  
 
 http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/64223
 
Confirmed by Harmonix on Scorehero.
 

Maybe finally I can replace my RB1 stuff

People still care about these guitar/band games?

The simple fact that all of my imported songs from Rock Band and Downloaded songs from RB2 will work in RB3 makes this a day one buy for me.
 
Importing songs into Guitar Hero 5 from World Tour and Smash Hits is total BS, leaving half of the tracks missing.

I wasn't planning on buying anything except the game even though I play piano.  But now I'll probably pick up that midi controller so I can use my own keyboard, plus the cymbals for the drums, since some sort of indicator for when to use drums vs cymbals was exactly what I was hoping for in RB3.
 
One complaint, though... I wish they would expand the keyboard highway when in single player.  Going by some screenshots, it doesn't look like that's the case.

It's a small bump in the road, except for people who would willingly pay for new songs but don't want to pay for a new game to be able to pay for new songs.

God dammit. I know I will have to buy all of the peripherals now.

Gitar Hero 6 will then come out with Keyboard, Pro Guitar and Fog Machine with Strobe. I cant wait for Rock Band 3

Do want.

I swear, flying tabs is the way for this "Pro Guitar Mode"

" People still care about these guitar/band games? "

Hmm, I bought the first Rock Band used off of a friend when he switched up to Rock Band 2.  I enjoyed it but never really gave it enough of a chance to totally hook me.  I've been thinking more and more about playing though and 3 looks like something that I simply must have.  I've been looking for an excuse to get actual equipment that works so a brand new RB3 bundle might just be the solution this holiday season.  

I have to say good on Rock Band for not doing year after year sequel.  Now that they are doing one it seems like a huge improvement over the last. 

I'm into the MIDI box thing! Does the keyboard have velocity sensitive keys? Also do they finally make use of the velocity sensitivity they've had in the drumkit?

" @RichardZk said:

" Why can't I just plug in my real strat? "

Because then you wouldn't be giving them 150 bucks. There was another developer who was making a game called guitar rising, 
http://guitarrising.com/, but I haven't heard anything from them and assume the game has been cancelled.  However, it would have allowed you to use any guitar with the game - a much better idea then paying for a 150 dollar midi plastic guitar... "