Distinguishing it from all previous rhythm music games, Rock Band 3 features "Pro" mode, which is designed to accurately mimic playing of real instruments.

[3] The game received universal acclaim from critics, with praise for the addition of keyboards that broadens the potential music library for the series and the revamped career structure to keep players invested in the title.

Rock Band 3 allows for 1–7 players, either locally or through online game services, to use various instrument controllers to accurately simulate the playing of music.

[4] The overall goal of the band is to successfully complete a song and earn as many points as possible by using their selected controllers to play the notes shown on the screen at the proper time; or, in the case of the vocalists, to sing in relative pitch to the original artist.

Once a player has enough energy, which is collected by perfectly playing marked sections of the song, he or she can activate Overdrive to double the number of points the whole band earns while it is deployed.

[8] Players are also able to create, save, name, and design art for custom set lists which they can share through the game's online services or through the Rock Band website.

They wanted to advance the looks of the avatar characters, making them like living dolls with near-realistic features but highly idealized visual elements, such as smooth skin and hair.

[19] The trainer mode uses music specially created by Harmonix artists with the intent to help players become comfortable with their instruments over a series of lessons.

This is a true six-string electric guitar, with electronics built in to allow it to interface with the game to provide added features such as on-screen fret sensing.

The Squier Stratocaster Guitar And Controller was not available at the game's launch either – it was finally released in March 2011 due to manufacturing delays in order to perfect the fretboard-sensing feature while keeping cost down as much as possible.

It has six short nylon strings for strumming and picking on the body, like the Mustang, albeit with a rubber mesh in place of buttons along the fretboard.

Using firmware update 1.2 the You Rock is capable of sending the correct signals to the Mad Catz Midi Pro-Adapter in the same way as the Fender Squier Stratocaster.

For example, the (Basic) Rock Band 3 Wireless Fender Precision Bass Controller features, as the actual guitar it is modeled after – a thumb rest.

It also features quieter buttons and smoother action, to further replicate the feel of frets, allow sliding chords, and an improved strum bar.

The Rock Band Wooden Stratocaster Replica was released at the time of the game's release and is basically, a full-size actual wooden guitar body with all of the tuning keys, bridge, metal parts and fittings of the actual guitar left intact; but instead of strings, it has Basic 5-button premium buttons built into the neck.

MadCatz produced the new keyboard controller for the official release which resembles a keytar with a handle to one side; this allows it to be either worn using a guitar strap[14] or placed on a horizontal surface.

[44] One cue is through highlighting the entire lane that corresponds to a played note whether correct or not; this is designed to help keep the player's hand positions correlated on the unit.

[48] Additional features that were present in Unplugged also are included in Rock Band 3 for the DS, but have been renamed to match changes in the game's console modes.

[49] Despite previous success of rhythm games, the genre as a whole saw nearly a 50% drop in revenues in 2009;[42] sales of top-tier titles The Beatles: Rock Band and Guitar Hero 5 were significantly off from initial projections.

[52][53][54] While designing Rock Band 3, Harmonix sought to capture the playing experience that "really started this whole phenomenon in the first place", according to project director Daniel Sussman.

[42] Harmonix's CEO, Alex Rigopulos, stated that "Our ambition for Rock Band 3 was really to re-energize and reinvigorate the (music game) category and advance it and move it forward.

[12] Another aspect that Harmonix considered was "a ground-up rebuild of the Rock Band platform" and how players could interact better with the game and music library, according to Sussman.

[44] The team also included Pro mode to help invigorate existing players to give them new challenges, aimed at those that "had any aspirations of connecting with the music in a deeper way", according to senior designer Sylvain Dubrofsky.

[60] Ars Technica later claimed that Harmonix requested to have the article removed due to the embargo, and insisted that the unit should not be referred to as a "keytar".

[66] In North America, those that pre-ordered through GameStop received early access to three downloadable tracks for the game; "Burning Down the House" by Talking Heads, "My Own Summer" by Deftones, and "Blue Monday" by New Order.

by Arctic Monkeys, "Something from Nothing" by Foo Fighters, "I Still Believe" by Frank Turner, "Rize of the Fenix" by Tenacious D and "Back to the Shack" by Weezer.

[83] Ben Kuchera of Ars Technica commented that for Rock Band 3, "This is the new state of the art for rhythm games, and it's hard to find fault with what's being offered.

Minkley stated that the inclusions of Pro features "at once dramatically expand the potential of the game and fundamentally change the approach required to play and enjoy it".

[86] Kuchera considered the set list to be one of the best in any music game, "spanning decades and genres and bringing a wide variety of songs to suit any taste".

[101] In 2012, after the end of the holiday season following the 2011 re-release, Harmonix released a statement saying they were pleased with the continued performance of Rock Band and its downloadable content.