Publisher:	EA (Electronic Arts)
Developer:	Harmonix
Released:	29 Oct 2010
Genre	Action
Platform

Rock Band 3 is a music video game, and the third main game in the Rock Band series. Harmonix Music Systems is the primary developer for the game, with additional development by Backbone Entertainment on the Wii and DS versions. The game is published and distributed by MTV Games and Electronic Arts, respectively. As with previous games in the series, Rock Band 3 allows players to simulate the playing of rock music and other genres using special instrument controllers mimicking lead and bass guitar, drums, and vocals. Rock Band 3 expands upon previous games by including three-part vocal harmonies—previously used in The Beatles: Rock Band and Green Day: Rock Band—and support for a keyboard instrument, a MIDI-compatible 25-key unit.

Rock Band 3 features a new "Pro" mode, which is designed as a learning tool to accurately mimic playing of real instruments: guitar and bass players will have to match specific fingering on frets and strings, drummers will have to strike cymbal pads in addition to snare and toms, and keyboardists will use precise fingering across the whole keyboard. MadCatz and Fender are manufacturing controllers and add-ons to support the Pro mode. Harmonix's introduction of the new keyboard and Pro hardware was done to make Rock Band 3 a "disruptive" title to revitalize the struggling rhythm game market after poor performances in 2009, while striving towards Harmonix's goals of incorporating real instruments into video games.

The game includes 83 songs, many selected to emphasize the keyboard instrument. Existing game content, including prior downloadable content and songs from the Rock Band Network, carry forward into Rock Band 3, with the full Rock Band library reaching 2,000 songs by the end of October 2010. Rock Band 3 is designed to take advantage of players' existing libraries by providing user-created set lists and challenges and tools to easily search and select songs from the library.

Rock Band 3 was released worldwide during the last week of October 2010 for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, and Nintendo DS.The game received universal acclaim from critics, with praise for the addition of keyboards that broadens the potential music library for the series and the revamped career structure to keep players invested in the title. The Pro mode was particularly highlighted by reviewers, who stated that the mode brings the rhythm game genre closer to teaching players to learn real instruments, though at a large cost of entry.