by GameSpot AU staff, 1 April 2009

　　It's no secret that when it comes to MTV/Harmonix's mega music franchise Rock Band, Australia hasn't exactly been a lead territory. The first game in the series was released down under close to a year after the US release date, and there's still no word on when Rock Band 2 will ever grace our shores. But it seems the cries of Aussie wannabe rockers haven't gone unheeded, however, with confirmation today that Australian acts will be the first to get their own country-specific track pack under the new On The Road Rock Band label.

　　Rock Band: On The Road will group together various acts from one country in a stand-alone track pack, similar to AC/DC Live: Rock Band Track Pack and the first two track packs released for the PS2 versions of the game. While Harmonix has confirmed that other country track packs are on the way, it seems Australia will be the first nation under the On The Road banner, with Rock Band: On The Road -- Australia scheduled for release sometime in Q4 this year.

　　While MTV/Harmonix has not disclosed just how many songs we can expect from Australia, the company has released a preliminary list of artists which span almost five decades of Aussie music (see below). Harmonix Lead designer Dan Teasdale, an Aussie himself, has previously stated his desire to see more Australian acts on Rock Band. Previously, the only Aussie artists to appear on Rock Band were AC/DC, Jet, Wolfmother and Airborne. One surprise inclusion in the list was former Australian Idol Shannon Noll with his hit, Drive. Noll, in an email interview with GameSpot AU, said he was "honoured to be included with other bands such as Crowded House and Powderfinger".

　　The songs announced so far are:

　　The Living End -- Prisoner of Society

　　Regurgitator -- Kong Foo Singh

　　Grinspoon -- Hard Act To Follow

　　Silverchair -- Tomorrow

　　Crowded House -- Mean To Me

　　Hunters and Collectors -- Holy Grail

　　Powderfinger -- (Baby I've Got You) On My Mind

　　Men at Work -- Down Under

　　Icehouse -- Electric Blue

　　Things of Stone and Wood -- Happy Birthday Helen

　　Bardot -- Poison

　　Kevin Bloody Wilson -- Hey Santa Claus

　　Slim Dusty -- Pub With No Beer

　　Kylie Minogue -- I Should Be So Lucky

　　Shannon Noll -- Drive

　　The Wiggles -- Wake Up Jeff

　　Joe Dolce -- Shaddap You Face

　　Sex Dirt -- Learn To Fly

　　Check back with GameSpot AU for more updates on Rock Band: On The Road -- Australia.

　　The story above is (obviously) an April Fool's Joke, and is intended as humor and/or satire. It is not a statement of fact, nor does it represent the opinion of GameSpot or its parent corporation, CBS Interactive. If you were fooled by it, well that's your problem