The Beatles: Rock Band Message Board

#thegratefuldead Look, if there's one game that merits a massively multiplayer online experience, it's The Grateful Dead. This has been on our radars for a little while, and it's unclear whether it'll be a proper MMO, a Facebook game, or what. Things become marginally clearer in this new video, called "The Epic Tour," that has been posted to the game's official site. More »

#music Ringo Starr might be "absolutely crap" at Rock Band, but that isn't going to stop him from trademarking the crap out of his name, Ringo. Rather, Ringo™. More »

Receive 10% Discount on room rates and The Beatles: Rock Band game.

#e3 You might not be ready to rock, but the E3 gaming expo is ready to rock you. More »

#e3 You might not be ready to rock, but the E3 gaming expo is ready to rock you. More »

The Beatles: Rock Band may have been a critical success, but it never achieved the levels of commercial success MTV and had hoped for in Europe. MTV general manager Scott Guthrie told MCV that a combination of the bad economy and competition contributed to the game's undesirable performance.

"We got caught in a few things that happened last year. It was a tough economy; there was a lot of competitive products out there, and I think Beatles probably had softer sales than it would have if some of those things weren't in play," he said. "Overall we were pleased with the sales. I think that we underestimated the competition and they took mind share away from us." This shouldn't be an issue for MTV's next game, Green Day: Rock Band, the company hopes.

The competition Guthrie talks about is Guitar Hero 5, which did gangbusters in Europe. But while Guitar Hero 5 was busy selfishly generating cash for Activision, The Beatles: Rock Band managed to generate a lot of cash for charity, so that has to help MTV get through those cold nights. Right?

The Beatles are a tough act to follow. And so, several weeks from the release of Green Day: Rock Band, publisher MTV Games has some promoting to do. MTV Games GM Scott Gutherie recently explained the reasoning behind picking the younger, less "classic rock"-oriented band for its next single-act music game following The Beatles: Rock Band.

"We were pleased with the performance of Beatles: Rock Band, but we were expecting higher sales," Guthrie said. "Our core audience of 16- to 34-year-old males are much more familiar with Green Day music than The Beatles." Targeting the core gaming audience with a band active during their lifetimes certainly seems like a sensible business move, though it does signal a move away from the kind of market expansion MTV and Harmonix were attempting with Beatles. However, Guthrie's suggestion that "Green Day probably has a much higher awareness than perhaps The Beatles did" seems like a stretch. Everyone knows The Beatles.

The clear market advantage that the Green Day game does have is the benefit of being compatible with Rock Band's existing and ever-growing library, as its tracks are exportable (for a fee) to Xbox 360 and PS3 hard drives and playable in the main iterations of the series. Though Guthrie didn't say as much, it's possible Beatles sales suffered because the game was a standalone project, which didn't mesh well with the Rock Band ethos and its core demographic.

The Beatles are a tough act to follow. And so, several weeks from the release of Green Day: Rock Band, publisher MTV Games has some promoting to do. MTV Games GM Scott Gutherie recently explained the reasoning behind picking the younger, less "classic rock"-oriented band for its next single-act music game following The Beatles: Rock Band.

"We were pleased with the performance of Beatles: Rock Band but we were expecting higher sales," Guthrie said. "Our core audience of 16- to 34-year-old males are much more familiar with Green Day music than The Beatles." Targeting the core gaming audience with a band active during their lifetimes certainly seems like a sensible business move, though it does signal a move away from the kind of market expansion MTV and Harmonix were attempting with Beatles. However, Guthrie's suggestion that "Green Day probably has a much higher awareness than perhaps The Beatles did" seems like a stretch. Everyone knows The Beatles.

The clear market advantage that the Green Day game does have is the benefit of being compatible with Rock Band's existing and ever-growing library, as its tracks are exportable (for a fee) to Xbox 360 and PS3 hard drives and playable in the main iterations of the series. Though Guthrie didn't say as much, it's possible Beatles sales suffered because the game was a standalone project, which didn't mesh well with the Rock Band ethos and its core demographic.

Kind of a big deal.

Back when The Beatles: Rock Band's Special Value Bundle was first announced, we had some reservations about how much of a "special value" it really was. However, a recent Amazon discount has made its description irrefutable: For just $51.08 (shipping included), you can grab the 360 version of the bundle, which includes a copy of the game and a set of instruments from the original Rock Band. If you can deal with the calamitous clicking and clacking of the series' original drum kit, that's one heck of a deal.

There's no telling how long this discount will be offered, or how many copies of the bundle are still available, so prospective mop-toppers should act swiftly.

[Via CheapCollegeGamer]

The Beatles keep on winning accolades.

#mtvgames Patient fans of The Beatles, your wait and see approach to the originally high priced The Beatles: Rock Band has paid off. The MTV Games and Harmonix music game is now much more reasonably priced. More »

Whether you're drowning in peripherals or relatively new to the music simulation racket, Amazon's got two options for you to jump into The Beatles: Rock Band. As part of the retailer's Deal of the Day, the -- wait a minute. Have we written this post before? Either they've changed something in the Matrix, or we've totally written this post before. Ah-ha! We knew it -- Amazon is reprising its temporary fire sale on all things Beatles: Rock Band, knocking the price of the core game (on all platforms) down to $28.49.

If you're dying to get your hands on the Premium Bundle's stylish instruments, you can grab the Xbox 360 version for $124.75 or the PS3 version for $134.75. Sorry, Wii owners -- the bundle for your console didn't get encheapened today. We know. Life is super unfair sometimes.

Mega64 gets back to its roots in the troupe's latest video, enlisting the aid of John and Jane Q. Public to create another minute and a half of comedy based on The Beatles: Rock Band. You're probably asking yourself how the trio can recreate the full British pop quartet. To answer that, we offer this: through the aid of a surprise guest, of course!

Head past the break to see who. We're pretty sure you'll never guess who it is.

[Thanks, Brock]

If you've yet to play one of those rhythm games that exclusively features the work of a single band, but you're dying to temper your expectations for Green Day: Rock Band, you should probably consider picking up the similarly-titled Harmonix opus that focuses on the career of the Beatles. In fact, you should do it right now -- Amazon's offering Beatles: Rock Band for $28.49 on all three major platforms as its Deal of the Day. As an added bonus, the retailer is also selling the Premium Edition bundle, which includes all those sexy instruments, for just $139 (down from MSRP $200).

We recognize that The Beatles are no Green Day, but you should be able to emulate playing the upcoming Billie Jo Armstrong simulator by muting your television while playing Beatles, and just crankin' up the Dookie.

A portion of an Experience Points review… …The ending cinematic is a perfect metaphor for the game: it is a testament to the reverent isolationism we impose on legends.

One more song from the fab four.

The Beatles: Rock Band single "All You Need is Love" will bounce on trampolines over to Wii and PS3 on February 16 and March 4, respectively. The song was initially released exclusively on Xbox 360, with proceeds from purchases going to Doctors Without Borders. The track raised approximately $218,000 for the international relief agency before the promotion ended on January 31.

All you need to download the track and start singing along is $2, or 200 Wii Points.

When you guys aren't setting franchise records downloading a track for The Beatles: Rock Band, you're helping to save lives .... well, actually, we guess you were kinda doing them both at the same time. My, what wonderful multitaskers you all are! Microsoft has revealed that the Xbox-exclusive track "All You Need Is Love" managed to procure $217,780 to date for the Doctors Without Borders charity, an international humanitarian outfit that specializes in assisting those in need in impoverished and war-torn countries. That figure comes from both the DLC and the custom Xbox 360 auctioned off for $17,400. Oh, and if you didn't know all that about the charity stuff and just wanted to download a Beatles song, then there it is: you're making the world a better place, one harmony and hot guitar solo at a time. All proceeds from "All You Need Is Love" will go to Doctors Without Borders up until January 31.

Sales of the latest Rock Band game seem to be fueled less by Beatlemania and more by Beatlemildinterest. According to the L.A. Times, the NPD estimates that The Beatles: Rock Band moved 357,000 units in December, for a total of 1.18 million in the U.S. Worldwide, the game has sold 1.7 million, the same amount Rock Band 2 sold in the U.S. alone during its first four months. A spokesperson for MTV Games said the company was pleased with the holiday sales, though "some European markets performed below the company's expectations." It's not terribly encouraging, but perhaps EA should be happy the news isn't worse: According to the NPD, the music genre is down 46% year-over-year to $1.06 billion. Though rock may be its stock-in-trade, it seems like music games spent most of 2009 singing the blues. [Via VG247]

If you've got to get the Beatles: Rock Band limited edition into your life, but don't have $250 around to pay for it, you'll be happy with what Amazon has done. In fact, since what Amazon has done is "knock $90 off the price of the Xbox 360 version," it would be hard to imagine anyone being unhappy with it who doesn't work for EA or Amazon. Right now, you can get the Xbox 360 version of The Beatles: Rock Band, with the Beatles replica instruments, for $159.99. The PS3 version is not as dramatically discounted, but is still better than MSRP at $199.99. If you want wireless instruments and the game, but don't care about the Beatles-esque look of the guitar and drums, you can get the Special Value Edition for $139.99 on either Xbox or PS3 -- or, for wireless drums, a copy of the Rock Band 2 special edition bundled with a copy of Beatles from EA's Rock Band Deals Online for $149. In conclusion, don't ever pay $250 for Rock Band. [Via Cheap College Gamers] Update: Price has risen to $200 for the Xbox version -- the pitfall of reporting on markdowns. Also, fixed reference to wireless instruments in the Special Value Edition.

It's a holiday miracle! Though there are a few intriguing items in this week's PSN update (such as the long overdue release of Braid, a demo for Army of Two: The 40th Day and Beatles: Rock Band's "Rubber Soul" DLC), the highlight of this latest update is the delectable set of discounts. Some games have had their prices temporarily reduced, such as Battlefield 1943 and Burnout Paradise. Others, such as Puzzle Quest and The Cube, have been permanently encheapened. Click past the jump to see the full list of additions and discounts! Choose your platform to view the corresponding release list: (Note: Continue past the break to view both release lists.)

Norwegian Wood headed your way.

For the sake of clarity and brevity in this week's Rock Band Weekly, let's split this info up: The Beatles: Rock Band will have the album Rubber Soul available next week. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and Abbey Road were previously released on November 17 and October 20, respectively. The standard Rock Band music store receives new tracks from All-American Rejects, 30 Seconds to Mars and even more Green Day. As a reminder, Rock Band Unplugged DLC is going on holiday for an unspecified amount of time. Check out pricing and track details after the break. Select a platform below to view complete DLC listing:

Sad that you missed all the Black Friday sales? Walmart wants to take advantage of that feeling of being left out, with a series of December sales and price drops. The most exciting offer: for one week (from December 5 -12), every Wii will come with a $50 gift card, effectively dropping the price to a ridiculous $150.Walmart's price drops on games are less dramatic, failing to reach the depths of, say, Amazon's Black Friday weekend drops, but the list provided (after the break) does include a lot of hot games for less than MSRP -- like The Beatles: Rock Band on Wii for $40 and Batman, Dragon Age, Left 4 Dead 2, and a lot more for $50 each. Walmart promises more price drops on its website and in stores. How can it afford to do this stuff?Oh, right, by dominating the entire retail industry.

"The Making of The Beatles: Rock Band" special to premiere November 27th on VH1 Classic at 7:30PM ET/PT.

In a refreshing move, Toys R Us revealed some November video game deals for Sunday, November 22 through Thursday, November 26, available both in-store and online. Therefore, they won't require you to stand outside in the middle of the night or battle other deal-seekers for possession of a "doorbuster" (which Toys R Us is also reportedly doing). Even better, Toys R Us is the only retailer we know of handing out Cold Stone gift cards with purchases. Starting on Sunday: all DS and PSP games will be buy one, get one half off. Wii and Xbox 360 Arcade hardware purchases will be bundled with (seriously) a $15 gift card for Wendy's, Subway, or Cold Stone Creamery -- deal available in-store only "Select video games" will be bundled with a $25 iTunes gift card -- deal available in-store only The Beatles: Rock Band standalone software will be $49.99. The Beatles: Rock Band "Special Value Edition" will be $134.99. "Select video game storage units" will be $34.99. From Friday, November 20 through Sunday, November 22, both TRU stores and Toysrus.com will offer a "Ready to Play DS Lite Pack" for $157.95, containing a DS Lite, a case, various accessories, and two DS games from an "edited assortment." TRU says that, when purchased as part of this set, the DS comes out to $64.99.