# Rock Band (video game)

> Rock Band sold 1.5 million North American copies in its launch quarter, EA reported.

- Owner: Harmonix (developer); MTV Games (publisher); Electronic Arts (distribution and marketing)
- Kind: Game
- Sector: Gaming
- Seed date: 2007-11-20
- Milestone date: By end of Feb 2008
- Date basis: Documented milestone; not a measured attention peak. Dates use the stated precision; chart positions are date anchors.
- Spread Score: 41 (Notable, provisional), v1.3
- Mechanics: Visible in use, Scarcity drop, Pairing, Controversy, Platform jump

## Summary

MTV promoted Rock Band through TV and hands-on demos. Its full-band controllers carried play into homes and bar nights. EA reported 1.5 million launch-quarter copies; Viacom later reported 18 million song downloads before the sequel.

## Timeline

- 2007-04-02 — Harmonix / MTV / Electronic Arts (Open web) — The companies announced a game for guitar, bass, drums and vocals with licensed master recordings.
- 2007-07-03 — WIRED (Open web) — WIRED covered a gameplay video that had circulated online before release.
- Week of Aug 26, 2007 — Penny Arcade Expo attendees (Retail) — PAX visitors waited up to 45 minutes to play on a stage during the August 24 to 26 convention.

The full timeline, metrics and sources are on the case page, or via the Pro API (https://howitspread.com/developers).

Canonical URL: https://howitspread.com/cases/rock-band-game

Cite as: How It Spread (2026). “Rock Band (video game).” Case HIS-01661. Spread Score v1.3: 41/100. Updated 2026-10-24. https://howitspread.com/id/HIS-01661