Mad Catz, a leading third-party interactive entertainment accessory provider, today announced that it has begun shipping its range of premium licensed accessories designed for use with Rock Band and Rock Band 2 videogames for the Xbox 360 console across selected European territories.Published by MTV Games and developed by Harmonix Music Systems, Rock Band 2 has quickly emerged as the preferred platform for music fans and gamers to interact with music, challenging users to master the lead and bass guitar, drums and vocals as solo artists or cooperatively as part of their own band.
Timed to coincide with the launch of Rock Band 2 which begins shipping across Europe for the Xbox 360 videogame system on November 14th 2008, each product in the officially licensed range has been designed and engineered with Mad Catz’ renowned attention to detail, and promises to elevate the Rock Band and Rock Band 2 experience to ever greater heights.
Products expected to ship across key European territories are as follows:
• The first and only official bass guitar available for Rock Band and Rock Band 2, the Fender Precision Bass Guitar delivers a staggeringly authentic bass experience. Incorporating all the features of the standard guitar, including Solo Keys, Whammy, and Overdrive Mode, the Fender Precision Bass is at home when used to play lead guitar as it is when playing bass guitar portions of a selected track. The unique Mad Catz Split Strum Bar allows gamers to strum and pluck notes faster and with more precision, vital for fast tempo tracks. To respect the accuracy of the bass, Mad Catz has engineered whammy compatibility by discreetly incorporating it into the volume knob of the bass, providing gamers with essential functionality when playing either lead or bass guitar portions of the track while preserving the timeless authenticity of the original design.
• Designed exclusively for the Rock Band 2 Wireless Drum Kit, the Cymbal Expansion Pack from Mad Catz provides gamers with a stunningly authentic percussion experience, adding up to three realistic cymbals to their existing Drum Kit. Sold either in a Single, Twin or Triple configuration, the Cymbal Expansion Pack allows gamers to grow their game play at the same level as their skills. Attaching quickly and simply, each Cymbal Expansion Pack contains all necessary brackets and leads needed to add a choice of crash, ride or hi-hat Cymbals to their Drum Kit. Velocity sensitive, each Cymbal reacts realistically in game, outputting a louder noise the harder you hit.
• Freeing percussionists from the confines of the living room, the Portable Drum Kit is small on size but big on quality. The compact form factor combined with highly durable build quality provides a discrete and highly flexible solution allowing bands to tour without the need of a roadie! Each color-coded Drum Pad comes equipped with a tactile backing, reducing slippage when used on a variety of surfaces and the Foam-Tipped Drum Sticks (included in the kit) dampen external noise when in use. The Portable Drum Kit comes complete with a durable Foot Pedal and Control Unit providing access to the full complement of controls needed to navigate in-game menus.
• The Rock Band Premium M.I.C. (Microphone with Integrated Controller) offers budding vocalists a device of superior quality and functionality. The Premium Microphone features a full complement of Action Buttons with the D-Pad and Xbox LIVE button allowing for quick and easy navigation of in-game menus without the need for a separate controller. A convenient Locking Switch prevents accidental access to Action Buttons, and the premium Soft-Touch Finish and high-profile Wind Shield combine to deliver a microphone ideal for sustained jamming sessions.
Darren Richardson, President and Chief Executive Officer of Mad Catz commented, “The Rock Band franchise has proven to be an international phenomenon that is set to continue to grow with the imminent debut of Rock Band 2 into the European market. We have worked tirelessly to continue to introduce accessories that make both Rock Band and Rock Band 2 even more entertaining while upholding the interactivity and authenticity that Rock Band players have come to expect. We’re confident that gamers and music fans alike will be delighted with our range of officially licensed accessories and look forward to expanding the range throughout 2009 and beyond.”
The Mad Catz Xbox 360 licensed Rock Band accessories are expected to be available across key European territories beginning mid November 2008.
Further products in this range and products for additional videogame platforms are expected to be launched early 2009.
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