MEGATON! Beatles to be in Rock Band

Games
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Press release below.

I’m a little bummed. Of course, the game could be some brand new, even cooler version of Rock Band, but at the moment, it’s an unknown, so I guess that’s natural.

THE BEATLES INSPIRE NEW MUSIC VIDEO GAME; APPLE CORPS LTD., MTV AND HARMONIX COME TOGETHER FOR UNPRECEDENTED DEAL

Exclusive Agreement Set to Bring The Beatles Music to Fans for the First Time in Interactive Form Here, There and Everywhere in 2009

New York, NY – October 30, 2008 – The Beatles’ extraordinary music and phenomenal legacy is set to rock across the universe in the form of a video game through an exclusive partnership between Apple Corps Ltd., Harmonix and MTV Games, a part of Viacom’s MTV Networks (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B).

This partnership marks the first time that Apple Corps, along with EMI Music, Harrisongs Ltd, and Sony/ATV Music Publishing, has agreed to present The Beatles music in an interactive video game format. Published by MTV Games and developed by Harmonix, the world’s premier music video game company and creators of the best-selling Rock Band®, the game will be an unprecedented, experiential progression through and celebration of the music and artistry of The Beatles. The game was creatively conceived with input from Sir Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, along with Yoko Ono Lennon and Olivia Harrison, and enjoys their full blessing. In addition, Giles Martin, co-producer of The Beatles innovative LOVE project, will provide his expertise and serve as Music Producer for this groundbreaking Beatles project.

“The project is a fun idea which broadens the appeal of The Beatles and their music. I like people having the opportunity to get to know the music from the inside out,” Sir Paul McCartney said.

“It gives me great pleasure to be part of The Beatles / Apple and Harmonix / Rock Band partnership,” said Ringo Starr. “The Beatles continue to evolve with the passing of time and how wonderful that The Beatles’ legacy will find its natural progression into the 21st century through the computerized world we live in. Let the games commence.”

“It’s cool. I love it and hope it will keep inspiring and encouraging the young generation for many decades,” said Yoko Ono Lennon.

“People are having so much fun playing Rock Band. Combined with The Beatles tracks, it is a great way to either listen or participate,” said Olivia Harrison. “If you like the music, it doesn’t take much persuasion to get you to play.”

“Introducing the genius of The Beatles to a whole new generation of music lovers through original and inspired ways is extremely exciting to us at Apple Corps,” stated Jeff Jones, CEO, Apple Corps. “We are truly pleased to be working with the innovative forces at MTV and Harmonix as they embody our mutual passions for music and creativity.”

“Many of us have been part of a generation that has long enjoyed an enduring love affair with The Beatles and now we’re looking to extend that love affair for future generations to enjoy,” said Van Toffler." “Our inspiration for this project comes from a keen sense of history and a place of utmost reverence and respect for the band, their music and their heritage.”

“The impact of The Beatles is forever ingrained in the hearts, minds and souls of millions the world over,” said Judy McGrath, Chairman and CEO of MTV Networks. “The Beatles are the reason many of us are WHERE we are, and some of us are WHO we are.”

“We are honored to be part of this new way for people to discover the timeless music and art of The Beatles - the most creatively and commercially successful, critically acclaimed, and influential band in the history of popular music,” stated Paul DeGooyer, MTV’s Senior Vice President of Electronic Games & Music.

“By presenting their music and artistry through the creative filter of a groundbreaking video game, we are giving legions of fans and music lovers all over the world a profound, new way to experience The Beatles,” said Alex Rigopulos, CEO and Co-Founder, Harmonix. “This game will be a celebration of the Beatles undeniable legacy.”

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Maybe some kind of Yellow Submarine-themed game with player music being used to defeat the Blue Meanies?

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Sounds much better to me than just DLC tracks. I’m not all that familiar with Beatles music, except through all the covers of their songs over the years, so it sounds awesome to me to have a whole game dedicated to the band, going chronologically through their career.

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It’s cool that they’re making this into a whole project, but I hope they will at least let us import the tracks into RB. I’d love to experience a RB spinoff based completely around the Beatles’ world, but I don’t want it at the expense of having to swap discs every time I want to play a Beatles song.

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You didn’t think such deal will be about DLCs, right?

It´s interesting, they are not going to use Rock Band brand (probably because they can´t), so I wonder how they are going to deal with it. In any case, big coup, Activision Blizz should seriously consider what they want to release for Q4 2009, a Beatles music game would obliterate anything, including Guitar Hero 4.

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It’s going to be awesome when Yoko shows up in the final part of the game and destroys your save game.

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I think you’ve got it mixed up Telefrog. Harmonix got the license, not Neversoft. grin.

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All’s I’m saying is: A Metallica game AND a Beatles game? In the same year?

My head asplode.

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If the game features the dreaded GH-style boss battles, they need to be called “Defeat the Beatles.”

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Sure, why not? At least, something like the AC/DC pack would’ve made sense, a standalone product but still under the Rock Band label with the option to use the music in Rock Band.

Really? I mean, it’s a big deal, but is it that big a deal? I imagine this will have appeal to everyone, I mean, everyone knows who The Beatles are, but it’s not like all the teens are just clamoring for a Beatles game above all else. Obliterating any and all competition just seems too strong a prediction.

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I would add The Rain to that list, but that’s more fun for drummers probably.

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Think casuals on the Wii. The Beatles are well-known, super-safe, relatively easy to play, and catchy.

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What the hell does this even mean?

The game was creatively conceived with input from Sir Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, along with Yoko Ono Lennon and Olivia Harrison, and enjoys their full blessing. In addition, Giles Martin, co-producer of The Beatles innovative LOVE project, will provide his expertise and serve as Music Producer for this groundbreaking Beatles project.

This sounds like one of those multimedia edutainment titles that plagued software shelves in the early 90s. Pass.

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Yes. In the world of music there is nothing bigger than The Beatles, I´m not talking about personal tastes, but what the band and its legacy means for the music industry. About its appeal, it´s The Beatles, there a whole generations that will pay attention to this, this could even bring people to experience videogames for first time. Teens are just a small part of the potential market of this.

This is related to the first answer. It´s The Beatles, not only they can sell this type of agreement for an incredible amount of money, the right holders can impose anything they want too, including not sharing their brand with any other. Even a company like Viacom, and after paying god knows how much money, is still forced to accept strict conditions to make something like this happen. This is, talking from a pure music business viewpoint, bigger than everything and it was obvious the holders wouldn´t accept anything less than a new product completely focused around The Beatles.

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If there’s one thing I know about Harmonix, it’s that whatever they produce will have some genuine performance nature and true interactive musicality. It’s not going to be edutainment. They’ve never pinched off an edutainment loaf in their lives, and this is in some ways their biggest opportunity yet, so why the fuck would they shit^H^H^H^Hstart now?

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Beatles to be in own game. No word on export to RB. I’m guessing probably not. If you can use the RB instruments and get 80-100 Beatles songs, it’s a Day 1 purchase anyway.

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LOVE is the Beatles / Cirque du Solei show playing in Vegas. I heard it sucked compared to the other shows.

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I doubt they’ll be selling half the entire Beatles catalog, and a game, for fifty bucks. (The AC/DC track pack, which does not include a new game, has 18 songs for $40.) We’d be lucky to get a greatest hits package with 20 to 30 songs.

I enjoyed the Love Cirque de Soleil show, but it’s the only one I’ve seen so I can’t say if it’s better or worse than the others. I assume that McCartney, Starr, and Martin had little to do with the show besides adding their names for publicity purposes, and assume that the same will hold for the game. No offence, Ringo, but I don’t want you designing my video games.

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While great news, I’d be much MUCH happier rocking out to (waaay more kick azz rocking imo):

EDIT to/too; changed my intent

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You really think that isn’t going to be Activision’s counter to this?

That is, after they stop playing “Yesterday” over and over and staring blankly into space.