EA have today revealed that the initial UK release of Rock Band will be exclusive to the Xbox 360 beginning on May 23, with the alternative versions for other platforms being released later this summer.

In addition to the 58 tracks from the North American release, Rock Band will feature nine new tracks spanning German, French and UK hits including:

• Blur “Beetlebum” (English)
• Oasis “Rock ‘n’ Roll Star” (English)
• Tokio Hotel “Monsoon” (English)
• Muse “Hysteria” (English)
• Les Wampas “Manu Chao” (French)
• Playmo “New Wave” (French)
• Die Toten Hosen “Hier Kommt Alex” (German)
• Juli “Perfekte Welle” (German)
• H-Block X “Countdown to Insanity” (German)

Rock Band’s unprecedented offering of over 70 songs to date currently available for purchase and download in the US will be made available in Europe beginning on Tuesday, May 27th. Each track will be available for 160 Microsoft Points on Xbox 360. Following that date, all new Rock Band DLC will be available simultaneously in the US and Europe on a weekly basis.

It has been suggested that the game will retail at around £180 for the full set, with the stand alone version being around £49.99.

So have Microsoft managed to pull a rabbit of of the hat again with this timed exclusive? Let us know your thoughts as usual.