Rock Band taking stage early

Would-be Rock Band purchasers who've been sharpening their knives and survival instincts in anticipation of dealing with the consumption-mad masses on the game's originally announced Black Friday release date of November 23 can relax a little. Reps for developer Harmonix confirmed today for GameSpot that the game will now go on sale November 20, three days before "Black Friday," and in time for the Thanksgiving holiday.

The game's retail debut will coincide with the launch of a new community Web site, RockBand.com. Harmonix has made no secret that it has wanted to accent some of the social aspects of the Rock Band experience, and the revamped Web site will feature leaderboards, personalized band pages touting the group's accomplishments, individual blogs, forums, and even a "classified section" to help bands fill out their lineups. Eventually the site will also have a "photo creator" function that will allow gamers to set and light a photo shoot starring their characters to further shape their bands' images.

Originally announced only for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, Rock Band is also set to arrive on the PlayStation 2 on December 18. European launches for all versions of the game will follow in the first quarter of 2008.