They reigned the charts for decade as an active band. They continued this reign even long after the fab four all went their own ways perusing their own interests. Their songs have been used in every other form of media ever since. Hell, they even have a Cirque du Soleil show in Las Vegas that has been going strong since 2006. Now The Beatles have started to dominate the gaming industry with the latest iteration of Rock Band, which is one of the greatest rhythm games ever, in my opinion. The Beatles Rock Band is a 45 track version of Rock Band, with planned expansions. Read More...

Toys, pack-ins, gimmicks, add-ons and peripherals are all words that are not unknown or unheard of to Nintendo Wii owners’ ears.  Since the console’s launch in 2006, a great many guns zappers, dance pads, microphones, etc., have been bundled with Wii games filling living rooms to capacity -- especially with the onset of rhythm games.  Even Nintendo’s best-selling game, WiiPlay is merely a controller with a $10 tech demo, and there has always been a premium attached to the bundles that have exceeded the normal price point for a Wii game at $49.99. Read More...

At Gamescon in Cologne, Harmonix announced which full albums will be available as DLC for Beatles: Rock Band in 2009. They also revealed the pricing structure and some extras you'll receive. This on the heels of yesterday's reveal of 19 of the last 20 songs on the disc. I would normally say that the 1360 Microsoft points (roughly $17) for an entire album and the typical 160 Microsoft points ($2) per song may turn off the owners of this game, but I would be wrong. I know how wrong by the fact that upon reading the press release, I balked at the number then quickly followed up with, "yeah, I'll probably buy it anyway." Beatles fans have been waiting for something like this since plastic guitars began filling up living rooms. Read More...

As I correctly speculated in my last Beatles: Rock Band article, there was yet another teaser for the fans as today MTV Games and Harmonix announced 19 of the 20 songs yet be revealed. With only one song remaining to be divulged, it looks as if it will be either a widely popular tune or a special "not-previously-released" track that's been hidden in the vaults and purposely kept from public view so that it can be released live with the remastered recordings set to release on the same day as the game. Considering the track list so far, there are some big Beatles songs on there indicating they are not afraid to show their hand, so the latter does seem more likely. Looking at the breakdown by studio album* it appears that they've set up a few albums to be big DLC money makers. Read More...

As you may have been able to tell from my E3 Impressions of The Beatles: Rock Band, I am a little excited for this game to arrive on September 9th.  Today, MTV Games and Harmonix gassed up the hype machine and took it for a drive around the neighborhood, releasing the next 15 songs that will be found on-disc whether the game releases.  With 25 of the 45 songs released, I'm sure that means at least 1 more teaser announcement before a full track listing will be issued.  I am definitely excited by the additions of And Your Bird Can Sing, With a Little Help from My Friends and Revolution, but will continue to hold out hope for Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) or really anything from Rubber Soul. Read More...

Standing outside of the famous Abbey Road, I thought about all the artists that have passed through into stardom. The doors opened to a vintage theater seating, a stage and curtain and giant LCD monitors. The curtains drew revealing Studio 2 made famous by the Beatles. The instruments were cardboard cutouts and we were still in the Los Angeles Convention Center, but as Harmonix began to demonstrate their newest Rock Band offering, it was difficult to not be swept up in the melodies and harmonies of a band as influential as The Beatles. Releasing on September 9th, the disc will have 45 tracks with plenty of DLC to follow, beginning with "All You Need is Love" (time-released exclusive) on Xbox 360 and the entire album, Abbey Road. All proceeds from purchases of All You Need is Love will benefit Doctors without Borders. Read More...

New Beatles Rock Band Controllers With pre-orders starting to fly in for this new Rock Band game, The Beatles, the people over at Harmonix and MTV have decided to hook those pre-order people with a few little extras for shelling out a few bucks before the game comes out. Well hook them up somewhat. By giving them a site they can go to where they can place in a code given when pre-order. This will apparently give access to a few things that will hit the internet hours after it is placed in there. Read More...

Rock Band Unplugged Does anyone else remember a little game Harmonix made oh so long ago called Amplitude? Where you flew a space craft around on different tracks and shot down "notes" to keep the beat, vocals, etc. going on a song playing in the background. You could upgrade and change your avatars and ships based on your scores. Also had some kick ass music that has yet to be fully seen on any of Harmonix's current projects. Ring a bell? Read More...

THE BEATLES: ROCK BAND WORLDWIDE RELEASE SET FOR 9/9/09 I guess all of the talks have finalized and all of the licensing is settled for today they announced when we can all look forward to playing the collective works of The Beatles in a Rock Band type arena. That would be the 9th of September this year. Oh, and get this, it will be available worldwide and on all three of the major next gen consoles all at the same time. Let that set in for a second because I know that is some shocking news given the staggered releases from before, both location-wise and platform-wise. Read More...

MTV And Apple Corps. Join Forces For Beatles Music Game So yesterday there was an announcement that there was something major going to be announced from Apple and MTV. A nice little presser that included some of the PR people from Harmonix. So of course that sprouted rumors and theories of what was going to be announced. A big one was a Beatles version of Rock Band. Given the companies involved. Read More...