Speaking at Gamescom 2009, Alex Rigopulos, CEO and cofounder of Harmonix, the world’s leading developer of music-based games and a part of Viacom’s MTV Networks, today confirmed release details for the three Beatles albums that will be available for purchase as downloadable content in The Beatles: Rock Band Music Store by the end of this year. Abbey Road will be released on October 20, 2009, followed by the release of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band in November and Rubber Soul in December.
Additionally, Rigopulos revealed that tracks from Queen, Nirvana, Tom Petty, Elton John, Iggy Pop, The White Stripes, Pantera, Talking Heads, Korn, The Raconteurs and more will be among the artists coming to the various offerings across the Rock Band™ platform. With over 800 songs available to date via the Rock Band catalog and 1000 by end of 2009, the billion dollar selling and genre-defining Rock Band franchise continues to be the gold standard in music video games by completely dominating its closest competition with its massive music library, weekly downloadable content and artist offerings, innovation, and superior gameplay (Rock Band 2 average metacritic score: 92). With its leadership stance on music game peripheral compatibility, disc and DLC export, the recently announced Rock Band Network and the upcoming The Beatles: Rock Band, music fans will need to look no further than the Rock Band platform to satisfy all their music video game appetites.
Details for downloadable albums coming to The Beatles: Rock Band Music Store are as follows:
Abbey Road (1969)
Release Date: October 20, 2009
Pricing: $16.98 (or 1360 Microsoft Points for Xbox 360) for album
$1.99 (or 160 Microsoft Points for Xbox 360) for individual tracks
· “Come Together”
· “Something”
· “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer”
· “Oh! Darling”
· “Octopus’s Garden”
· “I Want You (She’s So Heavy)”
· “Here Comes The Sun”
· “Because”
· “You Never Give Me Your Money”
· “Sun King”
· “Mean Mr. Mustard”
· “Polythene Pam”
· “She Came In Through The Bathroom Window”
· “Golden Slumbers”
· “Carry That Weight”
· “The End”
· “Her Majesty”
In addition, purchasers of the full album download of Abbey Road will have the option to play the famous 16-minute B-side medley as a single continuous track. The medley includes “You Never Give Me Your Money,” “Sun King,” “Mean Mr. Mustard,” “Polythene Pam,” “She Came In Through The Bathroom Window,” “Golden Slumbers,” “Carry That Weight” and “The End."
Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967)
Release Date: November 2009
· “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band”
· “With A Little Help >From My Friends”
· “Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds”
· “Getting Better”
· “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”
· “Good Morning Good Morning”
· “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)”
· “A Day In The Life”
Rubber Soul (1965)
Release Date: December 2009
· “Drive My Car”
· “Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)”
· “You Won’t See Me”
· “Nowhere Man”
· “Think For Yourself”
· “The Word”
· “Michelle”
· “What Goes On”
· “Girl”
· “I’m Looking Through You”
· “In My Life”
· “Wait”
· “If I Needed Someone”
· “Run For Your Life”
As previously announced, “All You Need Is Love” will be released Sept.9, 2009 for the standard Rock Band DLC pricing of $1.99 (or 160 Microsoft Points for Xbox 360), exclusively through Xbox LIVE for a limited time as a downloadable song for The Beatles: Rock Band, with Apple Corps Ltd, MTV Games, Harmonix and Microsoft proceeds benefitting Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF).
The Beatles: Rock Band downloadable content will be available for purchase on the Xbox®LIVE Marketplace for Xbox 360, PlayStation®Network and via the in-game The Beatles: Rock Band Music Store for Wii™ using Wii points purchased through the Wii Shop Channel.
In conjunction with the release of the entire, original, digitally re-mastered Beatles CD catalogue, The Beatles: Rock Band will be available Sept. 9, 2009, simultaneously worldwide in North America, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and other territories for the Xbox®360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system from Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. (SCEI), and the Wii™ home videogame console from Nintendo. The game will be compatible with all Rock Band instrument controllers, as well as most Guitar Hero® and other authorized third-party music video game peripherals and microphones.
The Beatles: Rock Band 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. The Beatles: Rock Band will be published by MTV Games and was developed by Harmonix, the world’s premier music video game company and creators of the best-selling Rock Band. Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) will serve as distribution partner for the game. In addition, Giles Martin, co-producer of The Beatles innovative LOVE album project, is providing his expertise and serving as Music Producer for this groundbreaking Beatles project.
For more information on The Beatles: Rock Band, as well as art and video assets, please visit http://www.thebeatlesrockband.com/press.
For more information on Rock Band™2 and the Rock Band Music Store www.rockband2.com and www.rockband.com/music. For more information on Harmonix Music Systems please visit www.harmonixmusic.com.
