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Conan isn't the world's best Beatles: Rock Band bassist

by Griffin McElroy { Sep 10th 2009 at 6:00PM }

On the eve of the launch of Harmonix's digital British invasion, Conan O'Brien had a very special guest on his show -- Dhani Harrison, a collaborator on The Beatles: Rock Band and son of the late, great George Harrison. He spoke with everyone's favorite ginger giant, then demoed the title with Conan, who struggled on the bass line for "Birthday." Sadly, it looked as though he was playing on Easy. Actually, it looked even easier than that. Does Beatles: Rock Band have a "Toddler" setting?

You can check out NBC's site for a video of the interview and "Birthday" sampling. As for the Cone, we suggest he stay off the gee-tars and stick with his Edith Bunker-inspired vocal work.

Do You Want to Know a Secret? Seven more songs revealed from The Beatles: Rock Band

by Andrew Yoon { Jul 21st 2009 at 9:00AM }

Twist and shout! On top of the recent late-night video debut of eight songs to be featured in The Beatles: Rock Band, Harmonix has just revealed seven more tracks that will appear on the game's set list. With a little help from my friends, you'll be able to play with Harmonix's latest revolution: the three part harmony. I've got a feeling that if you and your bird can sing, you'll be playing this game eight days a week. Here are all 15 of the new tracks:

"Twist And Shout"
"Do You Want To Know A Secret"
"Can't Buy me Love"
"I Wanna Be Your Man"
"Eight Days A Week"
"Paperback Writer"
"And Your Bird Can Sing"
"Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band"
"With a Little Help from My Friends"
"Within You Without You / Tomorrow Never Knows"
"Yellow Submarine"
"Revolution"
"Birthday"
"Dig A Pony"
"I've Got A Feeling"

Check out last night's video -- as well as our impressions of the game from a recent sneak preview -- after the jump!

Gallery: The Beatles: Rock Band (07/20/09)

Continued →

Former Beatles, widows involved in The Beatles: Rock Band development

by Richard Mitchell { Jun 24th 2009 at 10:00PM }

It looks like Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Yoko Ono and Olivia Harrison have more to do with The Beatles: Rock Band than thrilling journalists at Microsoft's E3 media briefing. In an interview with Crispy Gamer, the game's lead designer, Chris Foster, intimated that the former Beatles, along with Ono and Harrison, have shared quite a bit of input with the team at Harmonix.

Foster calls the group "the shareholders," and states that they helped put together the song list, its venues and gave input as to whether the game's "dreamscapes" adequately supported the songs. "They looked over all the characters, the animations ... they really kept us honest on whether we were capturing the spirit of the band as they were performing, which was a huge challenge for us," says Foster, noting that it's necessary to capture the joy that The Beatles expressed when playing.

According to Foster, seeing the former Beatles and their widows at Microsoft's E3 briefing "is about as validating as everything." He adds, "They don't get together for almost anything ... it has to be something important, something they believe in."

The Beatles: Rock Band to get NO mustache DLC

by Kevin Kelly { Jun 3rd 2009 at 9:30PM }

Harmonix is extremely pleased that it nailed the different looks of the Beatles in The Beatles: Rock Band, straight down to the facial hair from different eras. Yes, that includes Big Beard Paul McCartney above. Harmonix community manager John Drake told us, "We're really proud of all the mustache content we have in our game. However, there will be no mustache DLC in the game. Confirmed. You heard it right here."

So, if you're hoping for some kooky Salvador Dali-esque facial hair creations to come to the game at a later date, we're sorry. However, the game freaking rocks. We wouldn't even care if they featured in-game ads for the Gillette Gamer Razor in it at this point.

Dhani Harrison: Beatles Rock Band will "blow people's minds"

by Richard Mitchell { May 28th 2009 at 6:30PM }

Speaking to musicradar.com, Dhani Harrison, son of the Beatles' George Harrison, took care not to mince his words when discussing The Beatles: Rock Band. Naturally, one would expect that someone so closely connected to the project would be pretty positive about it, but Harrison made himself quite clear, saying, "I'm not hyping in the least when I say The Beatles: Rock Band is going to blow people's minds." He then added that the game will "set a new standard for video games."

Strong words to be sure, but, considering Harmonix's pedigree, it just might be true. We'll find out when we take the game for a spin next week at E3.

OFLC lists 'Rock Band Project 9' ... it's likely The Beatles: Rock Band

by Alexander Sliwinski { May 21st 2009 at 10:45PM }

Australia's rating board, the OFLC, currently has a listing for "Rock Band Project 9," which it classified on April 29 of this year. We're not used to rating agencies using code terms, but it turns out that's likely what happened in this case. We got in touch with the Harmonix/MTV/EA combine and were informed by the hive mind, "We can confirm that The Beatles: Rock Band will be coming to Australia and New Zealand on September 9, 2009."

But, but ... that wasn't even our question!! So, we'll take this to mean -- without it being said -- that Project 9 is code for The Beatles: Rock Band. This wouldn't be the only oddly labeled Rock Band title on the OFLC site, as Rock Band Unplugged is simply titled Rock Band PSP.

Harmonix has been hiring like crazy -- and there are most certainly secret projects going on -- but "Project 9" will likely be all set to let us jam with Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band this autumn.

[Thanks, Andrew]

The Beatles: Rock Band guitars confirmed, pre-order club announced

by Ben Gilbert { May 5th 2009 at 11:15AM }

MTV Games and Harmonix have announced The Beatles: Rock Band will have two standalone guitars made available alongside the forthcoming Liverpudlian music rhythm game. The Rickenbacker 325 and Gretsch Duo Jet, played by John Lennon and George Harrison allegedly throughout their respective careers, are set to go on sale when the game launches in September for $100 bucks a pop. For those of you playing along at home, that equates to $250 for the full "premium" bundle plus another $200 for both of these guitars, altogether adding up to a whopping $450 for you serious Beatles fans. We spoke with Mariana Agathoklis at MTV Games this morning who said, "These guitars are really for the hardcore fans."

Additionally, the "pre-order club" has officially opened for business at the game's official site, allowing those who've already pre-ordered the game to access "breaking news and access to exclusive game elements including art and behind-the-scenes footage." The bad economy has us in a bit of a fiduciary bind -- maybe you fine folks pre-ordering the game would be so kind as to shoot us a tip when the hot scoops hit?

Update: Mariana at MTV Games asked us to clarify that these guitars will be compatible with "all Rock Band instruments, as well as most Guitar Hero and other music game peripherals." We've also added an image of the guitars in question in a gallery below, direct from the pre-order site to your eye cavities.

Gallery: The Beatles: Rock Band guitars

Rock Band Beatles footage spotted at Coachella [update]

by Ben Gilbert { Apr 19th 2009 at 11:30AM }

If we've said it once, we've said it a thousand times: Sneaking cameras into concerts is illegal, folks. And so it's with sheer bravado that we've posted the Paul McCartney performance from two days ago at Coachella in California, playing "Got to Get You Into My Life," above. You'll understand though -- we had to -- as you'll see on the Beatles-sized screen behind Mr. McCartney some awfully interesting Rock Band-esque characters backing him up.

Though we can't confirm anything, and there certainly aren't any streaming note charts in sight, we're going all the way out on a limb here and guessing the footage may be our first glimpse at The Beatles: Rock Band (again, sans gameplay). We've asked publisher MTV Games for confirmation and will update this post when we hear back.

Update: Thanks to commenter Comtar for pointing out official confirmation of The Beatles: Rock Band video during Mr. McCartney's set at Coachella, via McCartney's website: "It was a night of firsts and was the unexpected, unannounced world premiere of the images from the coming Beatle Rock Band game which played on vast screens throughout "Got To Get You Into My Life." Looks like it wasn't a rumor after all!

[Thanks, Adam!]

Rumor: Beatles Rock Band supports multiple mics, harmonies

by Richard Mitchell { Apr 15th 2009 at 4:00PM }

From the pages of Game Informer, according to Destructoid, comes a rumor that the upcoming The Beatles: Rock Band will support multiple microphones so that players can harmonize on vocal tracks. Apart from making sense, given the wide use of harmonies in Beatles music, the rumor raises a question: Where are we going to keep all this stuff? The sheer amount of equipment needed to supply four virtual rockers with both an instrument and a microphone begins to rival that of a real band. Here's hoping the next Rock Band accessory is a full-size van.

The Beatles: Rock Band features unreleased material

by Majed Athab { Mar 12th 2009 at 1:45PM }

The hits and classics won't be the only tunes found in The Beatles: Rock Band, says George Harrison's son Dhani. He told Billboard.com that Harmonix's new game will feature Beatles material "that has never been heard, never been released." Dhani is apparently one of the prime movers for getting this game out in the first place, revealing that work on the title started two years ago.

Dhani says The Beatles game will be "totally, historically accurate." Does that mean we're going to see a Yoko Ono scenario? Let us know, Dhani, before the game's September 9 release.

[Via Destructoid]

MTV's Beatles game to feature 'early days' and 'psychedelic' periods

by Dustin Burg { Feb 12th 2009 at 12:43PM }

In a brief interview with Entertainment Weekly, Sir Paul McCartney shed some light on the this year's upcoming Beatles music game. McCartney confirmed that the 45 Beatles tracks will come from "different periods of the band" and that gamers will be treated to "early days, Liverpool, then psychedelic, and on from there." Of course, we all know who the final boss is going to be.

Ever since Harmonix announced plans to release a standalone Beatles music game, we've been kept in the dark regarding the game's details. So, even though we're still mostly fumbling around within its dimly lit development, Mr. McCartney has come to the rescue with a shimmer of informative light. Even if it's just a BIC lighter.

[Via IGN]

Harmonix 2009: The Beatles yes, Rock Band 3 no

by Majed Athab { Jan 8th 2009 at 7:00AM }

We're quite glad to hear that Harmonix has opted not to pursue more disc-based Rock Band content this year. The business model that Harmonix has built for the rhythm game genre is -- at the moment -- close to perfection, and we wouldn't want to see another entry into the series disrupt this hegemony.

Harmonix co-founder and CEO Alex Rigopolous revealed the news at this week's Consumer Electronics Show. "We've actually made a choice to break out of the annual release cycle for Rock Band this year," said Rigopolous. "[This is] partly because the annual cycle places limits on the choices you can make as a developer. We're trying to take a long term view."

Instead of having Rock Band 3 this year, the company is putting focus on its Beatles game, which supposedly will have all-new gameplay previously unseen from Harmonix. That title is still due for a late 2009 release.

[Via MTV Multiplayer]

Harmonix talks the game that is not Rock Band: Beatles

by David Hinkle { Nov 4th 2008 at 6:18PM }

First of all, don't call it Rock Band: Beatles. Harmonix's John Drake and Dan Teasdale don't like it. No, in fact, this is a completely separate game. How do we know? We've read the latest interview where Teasdale and Drake talk about the upcoming game.

While they don't specifically say it will be on Wii, they do mention the game coming to multiple consoles and, let's face it, ignoring the Wii's base is foolish. They've been working on the game for 17 months before it was even confirmed as real, so they've had plenty of time to work on all versions of the game. But, considering the company's inability to take the console seriously in the past, should we even expect the game to release on the Wii? Or would we get another gimped port?

Sadly, a great deal of the interview talks about Rock Band 2, so we don't really have much more to go on concerning this upcoming Beatles-based music game. They did say that the game would be encompassing the entire Beatles catalog, so that's something!

MTV won Beatles rights with 'flexibility,' songs won't be Rock Band-compatible

by Ross Miller { Nov 3rd 2008 at 12:58PM }

With such a dearth of information surrounding MTV's Beatles music game, we're trying to keep track of all the little details that have unfurled since last Thursday's revelation. According to sources close to Reuters, MTV Networks won the rights because it showed "more flexibility" than Guitar Hero World Tour publisher Activision Blizzard, whose CEO Bobby Kotick has repeatedly asserted that music publishers should be paying his company for inclusion in game.

That flexibility, we suspect, has to do with Rock Band branding, or the lack thereof. Although we've known that the Beatles game would share headlines with MTV/Harmonix's successful music series, Reuters notes rather matter-of-factly that "none of the Fab Four's songs will be available for download on the existing Rock Band franchise." (The recently-released AC-DC Track Pack allows you to transfer songs to your hard drive to play in Rock Band.) Given there's still quite a bit of time until the game's planned "holiday 2009" release, we'll hold out hope that Apple Corps changes its tune.

Sorry, Rock Banders, no Beatles for you

by David Hinkle { Nov 3rd 2008 at 10:51AM }

When it was revealed via conference call that MTV had scored the rights to the Beatles for an upcoming game, many questions arose. What music would the game include? Would it be a Rock Band spin-off? Would it work with any of the Rock Band games? Well, sadly, we have an answer on that last one.

According to Reuters, there won't be any compatibility between the upcoming Beatles-specific game and the Rock Band games from Harmonix. There won't even be a chance to download the Beatles songs into a Rock Band game. Hopefully, down the line, we'll get hope that this will change. For the time being, however, just look forward to the Beatles-specific game and be sure to tell us what you're looking forward to playing.