Rock Band officially Unplugged June 9

Originally the subject of April Fools' jokes, a portable version of MTV Games and Harmonix's Rock Band was officially announced by Sony in February. However, details on Rock Band Unplugged were limited--an in-game download store was confirmed, but specifics on how the game controlled were limited to fairly convincing rumors.

Today, EA confirmed that Rock Band Unplugged will hit the PSP in North America and Europe on June 9, costing £24.99 in the UK. As previously announced, the game will feature an in-game music store, which will allow players to buy and download new songs over a wireless connection. Tracks will also be downloadable through the PC version of the PlayStation Store.

The game is being developed by Harmonix in conjunction with Backbone Entertainment, the same studio behind last year's well-received Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Unplugged will not feature a peripheral like Activision's Guitar Hero On Tour for the DS. However, as previously rumored, the focus will be on direct control of guitar, bass, drums, and even vocals via the PSP itself. There will also be several game modes, including World Tour, Band Survival, and Warm Up, as well as a character creator.

EA also said today that Rock Band Unplugged will be available as part of a PSP bundle in North America. The $199.99 bundle will include Rock Band Unplugged, a voucher to download Paramount Pictures' School of Rock from the PlayStation Store, a 4GB Memory Stick Pro Duo, and a Piano Black PSP.

Rock Band Unplugged will feature 40 master recording tracks, nine of which will debut in the PSP game before being released for other platforms via download. The full listing for the nine time-exclusive tracks, along with the brand-new trailer, can be found below.

3 Doors Down - "Kryptonite"
AFI - "Miss Murder"
Alice in Chains - "Would?"
Audioslave - "Gasoline"
Black Tide - "Show Me the Way"
Blink 182 - "What's My Age Again"
Freezepop - "Less Talk More Rokk"
Jackson 5 - "ABC"
Tenacious D - "Rock Your Socks"