the-beatles

Beatles: Rock Band ‘Sgt. Pepper’s’ DLC debuts Nov. 17

November 13th, 2009 at 11:15am Under Xbox 360

In a move no doubt inspired by the Movember Movement, Harmonix and MTV Games have revealed that the second DLC album for The Beatles: Rock Band, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, will release the week of November 17. Tracks from the British sensation’s eighth studio album, as featured in the DLC release, include:

“Fixing A Hole”
“She’s Leaving Home”
“Being For The Benefit of Mr. Kite!”
“Within You Without You”
“When I’m Sixty-Four”
“Lovely Rita”
“Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)”
“A Day In The Life.”

Xbox 360 and Wii owners can purchase the DLC on Tuesday, November 17. The tracks will be available as a complete Track Pack for 1080 ($13.50) or 160 ($2.00) individually on Xbox 360; and 200 Wii Points ($2.00) per track on Wii. PlayStation 3 players get a few extra days to grow out their glorious mustaches when the pack lands on PSN on Thursday, November 19 for $13.49 (or $1.99 per track).

As previously revealed, Beatles fans can look forward to next month when 1965’s Rubber Soul will become available as the game’s third full-album DLC.

Beatles: Rock Band ‘Sgt. Pepper’s’ DLC debuts Nov. 17 originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 13 Nov 2009 10:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Continue Reading Beatles: Rock Band ‘Sgt. Pepper’s’ DLC debuts Nov. 17

Tags: dlc, ea, full-albums, harmonix, moustache, movember, mtv-games, release-date, rock-band, sgt-peppers-lonely-hearts-club-band, the-beatles, the-beatles-rock-band

By Mister-X Continue Reading Beatles: Rock Band ‘Sgt. Pepper’s’ DLC debuts Nov. 17 Add comment

Here comes the trailer for Abbey Road from The Beatles: Rock Band (do do do)

October 20th, 2009 at 03:00pm Under Wii / Nintendo

For those of you ready to Carry That Weight and swing Maxwell’s Silver Hammer, Harmonix and MTV Games released the full “Abbey Road” album download today for The Beatles: Rock Band. Rather than simply release the songs, the DLC comes with new animations for the four British gents and, in some cases, new “dreamscapes” (the pseudo-psychedelic animations tripping our your friends while you play songs).

The trailer above offers a medley sampling of the whole album, should you not be acquainted with it. But then, we must ask, what planet are you from where “Abbey Road” is an unfamiliar album?

Here comes the trailer for Abbey Road from The Beatles: Rock Band (do do do) originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 20 Oct 2009 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Continue Reading Here comes the trailer for Abbey Road from The Beatles: Rock Band (do do do)

Tags: abbey-road, dlc, ea, ea-partners, electronic-arts, harmonix, mtv-games, rock-band, screenshots, the-beatles, the-beatles-rock-band, trailer, Wii / Nintendo

By Mister-X Continue Reading Here comes the trailer for Abbey Road from The Beatles: Rock Band (do do do)Add comment

Activision: Guitar Hero beat Beatles because it’s ‘fun as hell’

October 7th, 2009 at 08:30pm Under Xbox 360

We were just as perplexed as anyone when Guitar Hero 5 trounced The Beatles: Rock Band in the UK — where we hear the Fab Four is fairly popular still. Thankfully, Activision’s Guitar Hero business CEO, Rock ‘n’ Roll Dan Rosensweig, is there to explain it all. “The number one thing about Guitar Hero is that it’s fun as hell — it’s focused on the guitar, and the variety and value proposition — and the reviews are spectacular. So I guess we’re the only ones not surprised.”

Rosensweig went on to tell GamesIndustry.biz that “internally we always talked about the Fab Five – Guitar Hero 5 – was going to beat the Fab Four.” So, we’ve also discovered Activision’s real secret weapon that keeps it ahead of the competition: Hilarious wordplay.

Activision: Guitar Hero beat Beatles because it’s ‘fun as hell’ originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 07 Oct 2009 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Continue Reading Activision: Guitar Hero beat Beatles because it’s ‘fun as hell’

Tags: activision, Dan-Rosensweig, ea, guitar-hero, guitar-hero-5, rock-band, the-beatles, the-beatles-rock-band

By Mister-X Continue Reading Activision: Guitar Hero beat Beatles because it’s ‘fun as hell’Add comment

‘All You Need is Love’ becomes fastest-selling Rock Band song

September 18th, 2009 at 04:45pm Under Xbox 360

Microsoft has announced that “All You Need is Love,” the first downloadable song for The Beatles: Rock Band, became the fastest-selling tune in the franchise’s history within the first two days of availability. We’d like to believe that the Xbox-exclusive track was entirely propelled by the spirit of philanthropy, with proceeds from sales (”tens of thousands of dollars,” Microsoft says) benefiting Doctors Without Borders, but its success probably comes from the fact that it’s “All You Need is Love.” By The Beatles.

A limited edition Beatles-themed Xbox 360, bearing artwork from the game’s introduction video, was also sold by Microsoft during an online charity auction. After ten days, the system took off for $17,300.

If you’ve yet to expand the legendary band’s in-game lineup or hope to gain entry in the on-going Beatles sweepstakes, keep in mind that revenue from “All You Need is Love” is still going to charity. All you need is 160.

‘All You Need is Love’ becomes fastest-selling Rock Band song originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 18 Sep 2009 15:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Continue Reading ‘All You Need is Love’ becomes fastest-selling Rock Band song

Tags: All-You-Need-is-Love, auction, dlc, the-beatles, the-beatles-rock-band, the-beatles-rock-band-dlc

By Mister-X Continue Reading ‘All You Need is Love’ becomes fastest-selling Rock Band song Add comment

The Beatles: Rock Band DLC to include original dreamscapes

September 9th, 2009 at 04:16pm Under Xbox 360

If you plow halfway through The Beatles: Rock Band today, you’ll notice that all the songs taking place in a studio setting (as opposed to The Ed Sullivan Show or Shea Stadium, for example) feature really lovely animations, which Harmonix calls “dreamscapes,” inspired by the song they accompany. The developer tells us that the DLC albums arriving in the coming months will receive similar treatment.

“DLC songs which don’t end up in historical venues will have custom dreamscapes, yes,” said Dare Matheson Lead Artist on the game at Harmonix. “There will be visual themes and elements that will stretch from the on-disc dreamscapes into the DLC dreamscapes, but everyone is custom, unique, and fully-crafted for the song it will accompany. It’s a bargain!” At the same $2-per-song price as regular ‘ol Rock Band DLC, we can’t help but agree.

The Beatles: Rock Band DLC to include original dreamscapes originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 09 Sep 2009 15:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Continue Reading The Beatles: Rock Band DLC to include original dreamscapes

Tags: dlc, ea, harmonix, mtv, the-beatles, the-beatles-rock-band

By Mister-X Continue Reading The Beatles: Rock Band DLC to include original dreamscapes Add comment

PAX 2009 interview: The Beatles: Rock Band lead designer Chris Foster

September 9th, 2009 at 01:44pm Under Wii / Nintendo

The Beatles: Rock Band drops today, along with the band’s remastered albums ~~availability on iTunes (?)~~ and a flood of Beatles: Rock Band news. Fans will be wailing on plastic instruments all day in an effort to travel back in time and live out their fantasies of becoming musical legends.

We caught up with lead designer Chris Foster at PAX, who gave up some secrets about the game (including the scrapped “forever” mode). Read on for the full interview.

Continue reading PAX 2009 interview: The Beatles: Rock Band lead designer Chris Foster

PAX 2009 interview: The Beatles: Rock Band lead designer Chris Foster originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 09 Sep 2009 12:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Continue Reading PAX 2009 interview: The Beatles: Rock Band lead designer Chris Foster

Tags: 09-09-09, Chris-Foster, harmonix, pax, pax-2009, rhythm, the-beatles, the-beatles-rock-band, Wii / Nintendo

By Mister-X Continue Reading PAX 2009 interview: The Beatles: Rock Band lead designer Chris Foster Add comment

Reminder: The Beatles: Rock Band DLC already available

September 9th, 2009 at 12:44pm Under Xbox 360

If you’re picking up The Beatles: Rock Band today (which you really should) and you’re getting it on Xbox 360, we’ve got a quick reminder that the first DLC for the game is already available for 160 ($2). If you’ll recall, Microsoft announced “All You Need is Love” to be an Xbox 360-exclusive track at its E3 keynote. Better yet, by buying the song, you’re going to be contributing to Doctors Without Borders, which sends physicians and other medical personnel into impoverished countries.

Although, doctors, isn’t it just a tad irresponsible leaving the country in the middle of the PAXPOXalypse? Oh, and if you’re unfamiliar with the song, we’ve taken the liberty of embedding it after the break.

Continue reading Reminder: The Beatles: Rock Band DLC already available

Reminder: The Beatles: Rock Band DLC already available originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 09 Sep 2009 11:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Continue Reading Reminder: The Beatles: Rock Band DLC already available

Tags: All-You-Need-is-Love, dlc, paxpox, rock-band, the-beatles, the-beatles-rock-band

By Mister-X Continue Reading Reminder: The Beatles: Rock Band DLC already available Add comment

Rumor: 45th track in Beatles: Rock Band is ‘The End’

September 3rd, 2009 at 11:24am Under Wii / Nintendo

We can just picture it: Harmonix employees collectively having a laugh at our expense as the forty-fifth (and final) track featured in The Beatles: Rock Band is announced to be … wait for it … “The End.” The image you see above certainly makes this possibility seem all the more real, as the Abbey Road track isn’t listed anywhere on the nearly complete track list we’ve had for some time now.

Apparently, the game has already landed in a few lucky forum-goers hands over at ScoreHero, who quickly revealed the alleged final track. Also revealed: The game’s a lot of fun. Shocking! All kidding aside, though, we’re fairly confident “The End” made it into the game as track number 45, but we’ll have to wait and see with our own eyes when The Beatles: Rock Band launches next week.

Rumor: 45th track in Beatles: Rock Band is ‘The End’ originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 03 Sep 2009 10:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Continue Reading Rumor: 45th track in Beatles: Rock Band is ‘The End’

Tags: abbey-road, ea, ea-partners, harmonix, mtv-games, music, rhythm, rock-band, scorehero, the-beatles, the-beatles-rock-band, the-end, track-list, Wii / Nintendo

By Mister-X Continue Reading Rumor: 45th track in Beatles: Rock Band is ‘The End’Add comment

Harmonix to ‘re-energize’ its franchises after The Beatles: Rock Band

September 2nd, 2009 at 06:15pm Under PSP

Sure, The Beatles: Rock Band developer Harmonix has been busy working on next week’s big release for some time now, but did you know it’s also working on “re-energizing” its “core franchises?” Harmonix PR overlord John Drake told CVG as much, saying that while the studio is ready to refocus on its existing portfolio, it’s been busy making sure it got The Beatles game 100 percent right. “We were terrified while making the game, hoping we don’t make [Apple Corps] mad at any point — they’re really nice and easy to work with, but this is The Beatles, you can’t afford to mess this up.”

Considering the longtime rhythm game developer more or less re-energized its Amplitude and Frequency franchises with Rock Band Unplugged, we’re taking a wild stab in the dark here when we suggest Drake’s likely talking about Rock Band 3. And does “re-energizing” in this case mean “adding Project Natal functionality?” We’re not sure yet, but we’ve got our fingers as uncrossed as possible, just in case.

Harmonix to ‘re-energize’ its franchises after The Beatles: Rock Band originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 02 Sep 2009 17:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Continue Reading Harmonix to ‘re-energize’ its franchises after The Beatles: Rock Band

Tags: amplitude, cvg, ea, ea-partners, frequency, harmonix, john-drake, mtv-games, project-natal, rock-band, rock-band-3, the-beatles, the-beatles-rock-band

By Mister-X Continue Reading Harmonix to ‘re-energize’ its franchises after The Beatles: Rock Band Add comment

Net a free Avatar shirt with the purchase of The Beatles: Rock Band

August 31st, 2009 at 06:00pm Under Xbox 360

Specially marked boxes of the upcoming music title The Beatles: Rock Band include a unique bonus: an exclusive Avatar shirt. The freebie marks the first (and hopefully not the last) time Avatar apparel has been given away alongside the launch of a game, giving extra incentive for users to pick up a copy of the Xbox 360 version. Coincidentally, it’ll make for a hilarious image when your Avatar shows up in Guitar Hero 5 donning a Rock Band promo t-shirt — if Avatar apparel is able to show up in game, that is.

Of course, this news only matters if your Avatar’s dress code includes wearing band logo shirts. Our Avatar dress code allows only suit and tie, because we’re gentlemen. Make sure to check out Major Nelson’s Flickr page for details on how to spot the free bonus at retail.

Net a free Avatar shirt with the purchase of The Beatles: Rock Band originally appeared on Joystiq Xbox on Mon, 31 Aug 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.