Guitar Hero Van Halen (PS3) vs Rock Band 3 (PS3)

Guitar Hero: Van Halen is the third band-specific rhythm video game in the Guitar Hero series. As with the previous games Guitar Hero: Aerosmith and Guitar Hero: Metallica, the game features 25 songs from Van Halen along with 19 additional songs from selected artists that have been inspired by the group. The game was released in retail for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Wii systems on December 22, 2009, in North America, and on 19 February 2010 for Europe. However, as part of a promotion with Guitar Hero 5, the game was shipped to Guitar Hero 5 purchasers prior to its retail release. Guitar Hero: Van Halen is similar to the preceding band-centric game, Guitar Hero: Metallica, featuring support for four players in a single band on lead and bass guitar, drums, and vocals.

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, and will be published and distributed by MTV Games and Electronic Arts. 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 will feature 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 will be manufacturing controllers and add-ons to support the Pro mode. The 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 will include 83 songs, many designed to emphasize the keyboard instrument. Existing game content, including prior downloadable content and songs from the Rock Band Network, will 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.