Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Beatles Rock Band Game Coming In September

Posted by Soulskill on from the i-think-i've-heard-of-them dept.

An anonymous reader writes with news that The Beatles: Rock Band has gotten a release date: Sept. 9th. Today's announcement also included details about the contents of the game. Quoting Kotaku: "The Beatles: Rock Band will allow fans to pick up the guitar, bass, mic or drums and 'experience The Beatles extraordinary catalog of music through gameplay that takes players on a journey through the legacy and evolution of the band's legendary career,' according to the release. The game will also have a limited number of new hardware offerings modeled after instruments used by John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr throughout their career."

55 comments

  1. Set list? by AuMatar · · Score: 1

    They had some really good songs, and some really bad ones. I'd like to know which group it is. I'd consider getting it if its stuff like Yesterday and Sgt Peppers, but I have no interest in their boy band phase and stuff like "I want to hold your hand" and "She loves you yeah yeah yeah".

    --
    I still have more fans than freaks. WTF is wrong with you people?
    1. Re:Set list? by Roger+Wilcox · · Score: 2, Informative

      The game will feature music from every era of the Beatles' musical career.

      Their revolutionary and influential material began appearing in 1965, so I'd expect to see more content from that period foreward...

    2. Re:Set list? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Okay so they were no Brittany Spears but none of them wore short dresses while commando or shaved their heads. Not that I remember anyway? A lot of the music you listen to now you will deny 20 years from now. The Beetles have stood the test of time. Long after anyone has forgotten who you are they'll be listening to their music. They are far from my favorite group, I lean towards Jethro Tull and Cream type music, but they had an amazing body of work by any standard.

    3. Re:Set list? by symes · · Score: 1

      Jethro Tull?! Now that would be an interesting stand-on-one-leg kind of game.

    4. Re:Set list? by Stormwatch · · Score: 1

      Jethro Tull?! Now that would be an interesting stand-on-one-leg kind of game.

      How would they do the flute controller? It would not be quite right if you didn't have to blow into it; but it would not be too hygienic if you have to share the controller with others...

      --
      Circumcision is child abuse.
    5. Re:Set list? by ImOnlySleeping · · Score: 1

      They aren't bad, just cheesy. Consider this, you still know those 'bad' songs decades later.

      --
      Everybody seems to think I'm lazy I don't mind, I think they're crazy
    6. Re:Set list? by tepples · · Score: 1

      flute controller [...] would not be too hygienic if you have to share the controller with others...

      The game would come with a coupon for Clorox bleach to sanitize the plastic mouthpiece.

    7. Re:Set list? by multisync · · Score: 2, Funny

      The Beetles have stood the test of time.

      The Beetles?

      Turn in your music-geek card.

      --
      I don't care why you're posting AC
    8. Re:Set list? by Gizzmonic · · Score: 1

      They had some really good songs, and some really bad ones. I'd like to know which group it is. I'd consider getting it if its stuff like Yesterday and Sgt Peppers, but I have no interest in their boy band phase and stuff like "I want to hold your hand" and "She loves you yeah yeah yeah".

      Are you kidding? The Beatles brought back rock n roll at a time when the music industry considered it "just a fad." Little Richard and Chuck Berry were waning in popularity, and Elvis was doing cheesy stuff similar to this. Then the Beatles came along and revitalized rock n roll. So if you like ANY rock n roll from after 1962, you should be thankful for "I wanna hold your hand" and "Please please me."

      --
      (-1, Raw and Uncut is the only way to read)
    9. Re:Set list? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Just because you recognize that it had significance, doesn't mean you have to like to listen to it. I also much prefer later Beatles works to their earlier stuff.

    10. Re:Set list? by hal2814 · · Score: 0

      They were comparatively just as risque as Spears, if not more so. The bigger than Jesus remark... The bad-boy leather jacket look early in their career... The long-haired hippie image later in their career... The utter lack of humility when talking to reporters... The fairly open drug experimentation... They were VERY risque for the time.

    11. Re:Set list? by nnet · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Comparing The Beatles to Spears is like comparing giant squashes to snow peas. Please. I don't dispute your assessment of their level of risque, just the comparison to a singer targeted for a specific demographic, mtv pupz. Spears will never, ever achieve the longevity, and breadth/quality of creativity The Beatles did. Amen.

    12. Re:Set list? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Bullshit. Their generation is still alive. That is hardly "stood the test of time". Their music still seems popular among the Geritol set. But after they die off, the Beatles will go the way of the big band era musicians. A couple might still listen, a few more might have heard of them, but they will basically be gone.

    13. Re:Set list? by Paisley+Phrog · · Score: 1

      I get the image of a controller with Guitar Hero (Flute Hero!) style buttons, with an integrated microphone so you could do the Ian Anderson style vocal grumblings he did through his flute.

    14. Re:Set list? by Joe+Mucchiello · · Score: 1

      Hey, but once you have the breath controller, you can do Peter Frampton songs correctly.

    15. Re:Set list? by Joe+Mucchiello · · Score: 1

      The drums on She Loves You are far more interesting than on say Yesterday (which has no drum part).

      You obviously never heard songs like It Won't Be Long or Can't Buy Me Love. Some of that early stuff really rocks.

      What I want to know is will it work with multiple singers? Beatles songs are best known for their harmonies.

    16. Re:Set list? by KingAlanI · · Score: 1

      Please Please Me was, as a whole, an interesting album because of the the blues covers they mixed in with some Lennon/McCartney originals

      --
      I listen to both RIAA and non-RIAA stuff if I like the music, tangential business/politics nonwithstanding.
  2. john lennon would never allow this by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    luuuuuu

    1. Re:john lennon would never allow this by symes · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I don't know about that - it seems like a great way of breathing life back into his music, bringing it to a new generation with no obvious drawback.

    2. Re:john lennon would never allow this by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      John Lennon is fucking dead. Yoko Ono, however, is a sellout, and she's totally fine with it. As long as they share the profit.

    3. Re:john lennon would never allow this by Dogtanian · · Score: 1

      John Lennon (or rather, his reputation) had the "benefit" of being shot dead before he got old and did all the sell-outy and trading-on-their-past things that musicians do when they get older.

      Wasn't his final (and "comeback" album that ironically probably led to his death) considered the rather drippy and MORish work of a contended family man? (Yes, it's often said that settling down and being happy ruins an artist's work).

      Would he have sold out? Who knows.

      --
      "Slashdot - News and Chat Sites Deviant". (Click "homepage" link above for details).
  3. Gotten? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    When did "gotten" become a word?

    Editors? What are those?

    1. Re:Gotten? by 4D6963 · · Score: 0, Flamebait

      Are you on crack or just trolling?

      --
      You just got troll'd!
    2. Re:Gotten? by buswolley · · Score: 0, Flamebait

      Has trolling gotten you high?

      --

      A Good Troll is better than a Bad Human.

    3. Re:Gotten? by buswolley · · Score: 1

      http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/gotten FOr all those who troll about vocabulary, I ask: How can you be Freedom Fuckin Luving Indie Geniuses if you can't accept that it ourselves that contribute and construct a language. Language is more a people's right than anything in the constitution. The emergence of language comes about upon an organic self-organizing set of processes that act, survive, and change within and with sets of dynamic and chaotic constraining principles of human communication. Simply put, you cannot capture that dynamicism in a dictionary and grammatical guide.

      --

      A Good Troll is better than a Bad Human.

    4. Re:Gotten? by meringuoid · · Score: 1
      When did "gotten" become a word?

      When Captain Morgan buried his ill-gotten gains on an island?

      --
      Real Daleks don't climb stairs - they level the building.
    5. Re:Gotten? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      it ourselves that contribute and construct a language

      Sounds like you're constructing your own language in this very post.

    6. Re:Gotten? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "Rock Band has gotten a release date"

      has gotten = 3rd person perfect tense of the verb to get. It was used correctly in the above sentence

  4. Don't expect too much early stuff by djupedal · · Score: 1

    FTFA: "Giles Martin, co-producer of The Beatles LOVE album project (2006), is providing his expertise and serving as Music Producer for the game..."

  5. Who says games don't target old people! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Sounds like this game will be a real hit with the over 60 crowd!

  6. Bring on the Beatles! by SkeezerDoodle · · Score: 1

    If I have to roll through the early 60's to get to some of their better stuff, I'll do it, so long as it's not 50/50 in terms of boy band and "experimental" music. Are they going to release a sitar style controller to document their time with Ravi Shankar? Some of those tunes were extremely "inspiring." I am honestly very pumped about this...now only if they release the Dead on a track pack for those of us with a PS2...

  7. Will it be fun? by Canazza · · Score: 2, Interesting

    As much as I love the Beatles they weren't really known for their Raging Guitar solos or 8 minute Drum twatting sessions, and for me the best bits in both GH and RB were the difficult but rewarding sections that I really just don't seem to remember the Beatles having.

    --
    It pays to be obvious, especially if you have a reputation for being subtle.
    1. Re:Will it be fun? by cowscows · · Score: 3, Interesting

      For me the best bits in RB is having some friends over to play, and going through all the fun songs that everybody knows. I think the Beatles have plenty of those.

      --

      One time I threw a brick at a duck.

    2. Re:Will it be fun? by Canazza · · Score: 1

      I just keep thinking about how boring it'd be to play through 'hey jude' with the drummer just hitting the same pad over and over again in time with the tambourine at the start, doing a small flurry, then hitting a different pad for the cymbal for the rest of the track...

      --
      It pays to be obvious, especially if you have a reputation for being subtle.
    3. Re:Will it be fun? by SkeezerDoodle · · Score: 1

      Have you actually listened to the drums on that song? They're not John Bonham-esque by any means, but there is more to it than what you've described. (John Bonham is hands down the best drum to have ever lived, Neil Pert a close second.) Most of the appeal to this game won't be thrashing guitars and wearing out your calf muscle using the kick pedal, it's about nostalgia. I'm only 30 but I've listened to the Beatles my entire life. I'll tell you what, play the game, and if Hey Jude is included, go ahead and play it on expert if you feel it is so simple. Post your score and let your actions do the talking. Or just make your own game.

    4. Re:Will it be fun? by SkeezerDoodle · · Score: 1

      Whoops...I meant #1 Pert, #2 Bonham...my apologies for any Rush fans who were angered by this. Cool your flappy heads!

    5. Re:Will it be fun? by multisync · · Score: 1

      Cool your flappy heads!

      That's it. We're bombing the Baldwins.

      --
      I don't care why you're posting AC
    6. Re:Will it be fun? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No fear in angering the Zeppelin fans?

  8. FFS! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Troll

    Why? Like they are some kind of saviour of music. Does anyone actaully like them? Yes they were stunning for their time, yes they set some good standard at the time, yes they really help push popular music, but the same could be said of 8 bit micros and I don't queues around the block everytime Sir Clive Sinclair or Nolan Bushnell appear in the media!

    For flip's sake, most people my age ( I am pushing 39 ) or younger couldn't give a monkey's wotnot!

    1. Re:FFS! by Chabil+Ha' · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Must...not...feed...the...trolls...

      So I'm not even pushing my 30s yet, but I grew up on this stuff. As a kid I would go through my dad's vinyl collection and dub them to tape (yar, I be a pirate at a young age!). It's interesting that in my teenage years I still listened to them and noticed a lot of influences from the Beatles in some of the more contemporary music of the day.

      Billy Corgan of The Smashing Pumpkins, for example, attempted a Sgt. Pepper's-esque album with Machina, and though I don't think it had the same effect, you could see him trying to take the band in a new direction by being this fictional psuedo-band like the Beatles did to get a refresh thirty years earlier.

      And that's what makes them culturally significant--that thirty years after their disbandment and half of quartet are dead, their music still has a major impact.

      --
      We're all hypocrites. We all have hidden parts, it's the contrast between them that make us more a hypocrite than others
    2. Re:FFS! by meringuoid · · Score: 1
      Does anyone actaully like them?

      Does anyone actually like the Beatles?

      I'm torn between a smartarse comment about bears, and another smartarse comment about the Pope...

      --
      Real Daleks don't climb stairs - they level the building.
    3. Re:FFS! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Does Pope Bear XII crap in the Catholic woods?

  9. But can I use them with the other one? by Draeconix · · Score: 1

    This is all well and good but why should we have to shell out sixty dollars a game for each artist especially when the basic game already exists? Sure following in a band's footsteps might be nice but it is really a once and done thing whereas the general game (GH or RB) has much better replay value. Also, if one version of the game has certain songs and the next one doesn't, then you have to switch discs just to play certain songs. Rock Band did well when it allowed gamers to transfer RB1 songs to RB2 and for that and many other reasons RB will have my loyalty for a long time. What I would like to see is all the songs on this new game as DLC. That way I can still play the songs without having to switch discs in between. Why can't we just have one game that plays all the songs?

    1. Re:But can I use them with the other one? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      AMEN brother. And seeing how this is hamonix, there is actually a small chance of your noble wish coming true.

    2. Re:But can I use them with the other one? by LordKronos · · Score: 1

      I read the rockband.com forums, and at one point a Harmonix employee suggested (but wouldn't commit by giving specific details) that there will be some sort of interaction with the other games. Whether that means you will be able to import RB1/2 songs into this game, export Beatles songs to RB2, or something completely different, it isn't clear.

  10. A proper left-handed controller... by ciderVisor · · Score: 1

    ...shaped like a Hofner violin bass for those authentic McCartney riffs ?

    --
    Squirrel!
  11. The release date by Zephyn · · Score: 1

    It just can't be a coincidence.

    Month: Number nine...
    Day: Number nine...
    Year: Number nine...

    1. Re:The release date by Whyte+Panther · · Score: 1

      Right, it's the 10 year anniversary of the Dreamcast! Didn't they use some Beatles recording to promote that release too? How did that commercial go again?

  12. Yes but by dagurp · · Score: 1

    does it come with a sitar controller?

    1. Re:Yes but by multisync · · Score: 1

      does it come with a sitar controller?

      Not to mention a string quartet for Eleanor Rigby.

      That's the problem I see with a Beatles version of Guitar Hero. Once the band stopped touring, it gave them the freedom to record songs that would have been tough to play live, especially with a couple of guitars, bass and drums. They weren't really a "riff-oriented" band, but I guess we'll see when the game comes out.

      --
      I don't care why you're posting AC
    2. Re:Yes but by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Tabla for "Love You Too" off of Revolver (at least that's what I think it was...) :)

  13. Individual Instrument Pricing. by hal2814 · · Score: 0

    The pricing right now for the whole package, can we divide it up any way we want? If I want to give less for the drum set, is that up to me?

  14. Today/Yesterday by trb · · Score: 1

    I was amused that on the Slashdot home page, the Today/Yesterday links were right under the title for this story.

  15. I give em another 2000 years by ZirbMonkey · · Score: 2, Funny

    They're bigger than Jesus you know.

  16. Thats not news by usualbeingsdotcom · · Score: 1

    what complete and udder waste of slashdot