Rock Band instruments going solo Feb. 12

The lack of stand-alone instruments for Harmonix's Rock Band--the $169.99 Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 bundled version and $159.99 PlayStation 2 version of which comes with a guitar, drum kit, and mic--has proven to be a serious headache for many wishing to form a virtual quartet. While Xbox 360 and PlayStation 2 fretters have had no problems supplying bassists with Guitar Hero II or III guitars, PlayStation 3 gamers have been unable to supplement their lineup without swiping another trio's axeman.

When the now-platinum-selling Rock Band first hit stores last fall, developer Harmonix assured gamers that the game's instruments would be offered a la carte--eventually. Today, publisher MTV Games confirmed that, starting February 12, a $79.99 drum kit and $59.99 guitar would be available in US stores. No mention was made of when--or if--a Rock Band microphone would be sold solo, although the game already works with any USB microphone.

The introduction of solo drum kits will allow many more players to take advantage of the drum-versus-drum section of the game's versus mode. The introduction of a la carte guitars will also open up the guitar-versus-guitar mode to a larger number of owners of the PS3 version of Rock Band, which can also be bought as a single disc.