My uncle said it was the greatest thing ever but he’s a huge Beatles fan.
I’m told in terms of soundtrack and such it’s quite good, but the show doesn’t really come together as a whole the way other cirque shows do. I think the beatles are a better theme for a video game then a circus show :)
All I really want, I think, is While My Guitar Gently Weeps (the best Beatles song, IMO) and Helter Skelter, which would just be fun to play.
Here’s an interesting take on why the unique game and not an expansion pack (AC/DC) or download pack (The Who) from Ben Fritz over at Variety:
Which brings up one interesting question: Why are the Beatles getting their own unique game and not “Rock Band: Beatles Edition?” One possibility is that the Beatles are so (self?) important that they demand/deserve their own game in which their music doesn’t mix with other artists.
The other possibility is that, since Activision surely went after these rights hard, Apple Corp. (administrator of the Beatles catalog) decided it didn’t want to be accused of taking sides in the “Rock Band” - “Guitar Hero” war, so it just sidestepped the whole mess.
So they needed to be set apart or above the fray?
I know a lot teens and tweens who got a buzz from the “1” album release, which developed into full-on Beatlemania with Julie Taymor’s “Across the Universe” film.
I also know that a lot of adults would have assumed that I’d be listening to Whitesnake while I was growing up in the 80s, not The Beatles. They would have been wrong.
Some people are indifferent to or even hate their music, but The Beatles are as about as close to a universal favorite as any band will ever get.
That’s the most obvious explanation, but I’m not sure that’s what happened. From the tidbits that Alex R. doled out today, Harmonix may have dummied up the concepts and a prototype for a non-RB game before they even pitched it to Apple.
Of course, this would have been a preemptive strategy to counter a Guitar Hero: Beatles edition, but it doesn’t take away from the fact that it was a pretty savvy move to get Apple invested in the game rather than the scratch. Because let’s face it, both Activision Blizzard and Viacom would have paid whatever it took to bring this home to their own franchise. I don’t think the final decision to go with Harmonix came down to AB being outbid.
A few additional candidates (all White Album period):
Hey Bulldog
Everybody’s Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey
Helter Skelter
Yer Blues
Peter
Age-wise (I’m 42), I’m kind of on the cutting edge of Beatles hate. Growing up in the SF Bay area during the 70s, it was drowning in Beatles adoration. Hell, even my parents (!) kept “Great Songs of Lennon and McCartney” on the piano’s music stand. Musically, it was the first thing my friends and I rebelled against. I still HATE HATE HATE the Beatles. I acknowledge their place in the evolution of music, but there’s NO GODDAMN WAY I would ever spend a cent on their music or this game.
I recognize I’m in the minority on this, though. This will sell a ton & drag in a lot of Boomers.
Looking at my kids and their friends, it is just apathy. They like current pop music, so they might pick up some Beatles love with more exposure, but I don’t see them leaning on me to buy a Beatles game. Interestingly, a lot of 60s pop gets remade by new Disney bands, and so the kids think the originals don’t sound right.
How come I rarely hear Beatles songs on the radio? Are they not as popular as we think or are the royalty premiums too high?
I can’t even imagine a situation where this isn’t the most massive coup ever. And anyone who thinks that the Beatles aren’t still massively in the minds of modern youth, well, go do a search on Facebook or Myspace for them. They’re still huge.
Also, Fidget link:
http://fidgit.com/archives/2008/10/rock-band-creator-announces-be.php#comments
I’ve heard (anecdote) that the Beatles have more radio stations dedicated to playing nothing but their music than any other band. By a landslide. Only thing that comes anywhere close is Elvis. I’d guess it has more to do with money than anything else. Even so, I generally hear at least one Beatles song a day while swapping between stations here in Atlanta.
Does that mean nothing from Let It Be? (Technically, the Beatles didn’t split until 1970.)
Peter
Do you listen to oldies stations? I hear the Beatles all the time. There are even occasional Beatles weekends.
not really, no. I do listen to regular pop stations sometimes and can regularly hear The Stones, Righteous Bros etc. But very rarely the Beatles for some reason.
I just think that doing, you know, a game where you take the most RB-friendly Beatles songs and plopping them into the RB engine while you play at Shea Stadium or on the Apple rooftop or whatever would be doing the Beatles a disservice; so many of their best songs don’t fit into that mold. But how do you put a sitar in there? I don’t know, but I am not a game designer.
I thought LOVE was amazing. The only other one I saw was Zumanity.
I really hope it is more than ‘playing on the roof of apple’
The way has already been paved to make something insane,trippy and fun and special with the mythology of the Yellow Submarine movie.
Sir Paul gives us a little more info:
Can you tell me about this special Beatles edition of the Rock Band game that’s coming out this fall?
"It will feature different periods of the band - you get early days, Liverpool, then psychedelic, and on from there. It's very cool. And I like the idea that the game introduces kids to music, you know?"
Instant bet: Which will be released first? The Beatles Rock Band game, or the remastered Beatles albums digitally?
Seriously though, I am really excited for this game. As someone who admires the entire Beatles catalog, this will be music heaven.
I was thinking about this game the other day and wondering … if this isn’t going to be an official “Rock Band” game, what could Harmonix do to elevate it above a typical RB title or track pack?
While a lot of people are speculating that they might add keyboards to the game, my hope is that they add support for backup vocalists, which would be just perfect for a Beatles game. Being able to sing Beatles songs and rewarding points for people singing in harmony would raise the genre to a whole new level, I think.
Thats an interesting idea sluggo, and a really cool feature if implemented correctly. Plus, consumers wouldn’t have to invest so heavily in new equipment. A second mic is peanuts compared to a complicated keyboard controller.
You say you want a revolution?
Well, you know, we’d all want to change the world.