N'Gai Croal, who first pointed out that Aerosmith was going to be a Guitar Hero exclusive for awhile is at it again, getting a colleague to chase down whether The Cars debut album, the second full-length album released on Rock Band, will be a Rock Band exclusive. Turns out it will be, at least for awhile, according to Rhino Records.

The deal we made for The Cars is a full album game download and Rock Band is the only game title out there putting full albums up as downloadable content. Having said this, we would not licence the full album out for a similar use; however, we can and will (when opportunity presents itself) licence single tracks from this album for other games. Nonetheless, moving forward we will be licensing more full albums from the Warner Music Group Cataloguefor game download to Harmonix for Rock Band.

Croal notes that doesn't prevent singles from showing up elsewhere, but it does point to a growing battle of the bands that is sure to eventually lead to some major coups as things heat up.

The Great War of Rock Continues to Rage: Rhino Records Tells Level Up That The Cars' Debut Album Was a Rock Band Exclusive

I'm starting to think running competitions is a bad idea. Not because giving stuff away is bad, but choosing just a few winners out of many, many entries makes me cry. Inside.

Our Battle of the Bands comp for $350 worth of awesome T-shirts and tour bag, which ended on Friday, was by far the most popular comp we've run on Kotaku Australia. It was also the hardest to judge, as there was only one prize pack to give away.

But choose we did.

So, congratulations to Benjamin, who sent in his suggestion of "GoldenActz" - in picture form. I think you'll agree it's rather clever... nothing like mixing music with a classic arcade title. Benjamin signed his entry with the rather heart-warming words "i might be drunk right now". Oh, you're a regular charmer Ben!

We'll be in contact soon for your mailing address. Thanks to everyone who entered, we received some very creative stuff. Also massive props to THQ for providing the goods.

Battle Of The Bands Shirt Comp Ends Tomorrow: That's right folks, you have until the end of Friday to win $350 worth of sweet-as T-shirts. I say sweet-as, because I've licked them. In my mind. How can you win this mind saliva-coated apparel? Just hit up the competition post! Thanks again to THQ for supplying the goods.

We still have $350 worth of awesome Battle of the Bands T-shirts to give away to one lucky person.

Okay, not lucky. Talented. To be in the running, just come up with a clever band name and send it in to us at tipsATkotakuDOTcomDOTau with the subject line BotB comp. Just make sure you do it before the end of the week!

For more information, and shots of the shirts, hit up the original post.

Win A Battle Of The Bands Prize Pack, Worth $350! [Kotaku AU]

THQ's musical Wii title Battle of the Bands hit Australian shelves yesterday. The publisher has decided that, in order to celebrate the release, it has to give stuff away. I don't know about you, but this is completely cool by me.

So, what's on offer? A BotB prize pack containing nine limited edition T-shirts and a Battle of the Bands tour bag. For me, that's an entire year's wardrobe. And yes, I am implying that I don't wear pants.

To be in with a chance, all you have to do is answer the following question in fewer than 25 words, and email it tipsATkotakuDOTcomDOTau with the subject line BOTB comp:

If you were going to start a band, what would its name be and why?

There are a few conditions:
1) Comp is open to AU/NZ residents only.
2) The competitions ends next Friday (30/5/08), with winners announced on the following Monday (2/6/08).
3) You may enter as many times as you want.
4) Steve and the Asstones is already taken.

[Terms & Conditions]

There's only one pack to give away, so make sure your entry is clever. Like super clever. I want my brain to explode, reassemble itself, and explode again from the sheer wittiness.

Thanks to THQ for putting this together. If you'd like to see what the shirts look like when modelled by a couple of random dudes, hit the jump.

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The business of rhythm and music games is sort of like the real music industry. Classy little cult hits like PaRappa The Rapper, Vib Ribbon and Ouendan were once the sole territory of the especially hip. You could boast about your Taiko No Tatsujin skills to your rhythm-less pals, or quirk a brow at your uncool peers as you casually hit "play" on your obscure DDR songs during a house party.

Then Guitar Hero and Rock Band happened. Music games are officially big business now, and everyone and their mother (literally) wants in. Next thing you know, you're boycotting the Grammys and defiantly tattooing the word "sellout" on your forehead. Battle of the Bands for Wii is THQ's entry into the rock music arms race—but is it a worthy innovator on the scene, or just a trendwhore leaping onto the bandwagon?

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It was with great trepidation that I checked out Battle of the bands for Wii. The logo alone left me feeling like it was going to be a cheap Guitar Hero knock off with it's heavy Metal pointy-ness. What I was shown when I actually played was a somewhat convoluted rock band/battle game that seemed to miss its mark.

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Not sure whether or not you should pick up THQ's Battle of the Bands (formerly Band Mashups) for the Wii when it comes out late April? I sure was, but that was before I saw the Feel Good, Inc. by the Gorillaz in Spanish. I might actually like it better than the English language version. I suppose I will have to wait until the game is in my hands to know for sure, but make no mistake - this game shall be in my hands. Oh yes it shall.

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