The Difference Between Rock Band & Rock Band Special Edition

Rock Band

• The regular edition of "Rock Band" is available for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Wii. The regular edition of the game comes with the game only, consumers would then have to purchase the peripherals separately. The individual peripherals were also released at a later date, meaning regular edition layers had to wait to play or use third-party controllers. This version was cheaper at first purchase, as well as easier to bring home, and allowed players who choose which instrument they preferred rather than pay more to have one or two they rarely used.

Rock Band: Special Edition

• The "Special Edition" of the first "Rock Band" game came with the game disc, a guitar controller, a drum set and a microphone, immediately enabling up to three players to take part in the game in one set. While the initial cost was considerably higher than the game alone (up to $170 at release, compared to $50 for the game alone), purchasing the bundle pack was still cheaper than purchasing the game and peripherals separately; a new drum kit controller alone costs almost $100.

Special Edition Versions

• While every copy of "Rock Band: Special Edition" was packed with the game and three peripherals, variations existed between them. Most notably, the PS2, PS3 and Wii editions included a wireless guitar controller, while the Xbox 360 used a wired controller. The wireless version of the Xbox 360 guitar was available only through separate purchase.

USB Hub

• A special USB hub was originally included only in Xbox 360, Wii and PS2 packages, because of the limited amount of ports available on those three consoles. Later editions of the PS3 version of the game also included the hub, with a special sticker attached to the box indicating that the hub is present.