# Beatles Rock Band Announced **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [March 6, 2009, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beatles-rock-band-announced/488474 "2009-03-06T02:25:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2009, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beatles-rock-band-announced/488474/1 "2009-03-06T02:25:42Z")
as per imdb the widows of former Beatles and Paul himself have approved the making of “Rock Band: Beatles Edition” I don’t totally know how fun it will be. I’m not the biggest Beatles fan by any stretch of the imagination so I don’t know their songs that well, but do their songs have the guitar coolness to merit a Rock Band edition? ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Some\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ad7895/32.png) [@Just\_Some\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Some_Guy)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2009, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beatles-rock-band-announced/488474/2 "2009-03-06T02:36:47Z")
Actually it was announced about six months ago. They just finally gave us a release date and let us know that there would be instruments specific for the Beatles edition. (Sorry guys, no pictures of what the new instruments will look like yet.) As for having enough “coolness”? Not just yes, but **hell yes**. ---
**Author:** ![busterbloodvessel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e9c0ed/32.png) [@busterbloodvessel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/busterbloodvessel)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2009, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beatles-rock-band-announced/488474/3 "2009-03-06T02:55:58Z")
> [@Just\_Some\_Guy](#): > > Actually it was announced about six months ago. They just finally gave us a release date and let us know that there would be instruments specific for the Beatles edition. (Sorry guys, no pictures of what the new instruments will look like yet.) > > As for having enough “coolness”? Not just yes, but **hell yes**. The Beatles had some great guitar songs (“Day Tripper”!), but I imagine a lot of my favorite songs will get left out of this game.. It’s hard to imagine playing along to “I Am The Walrus” or “Strawberry Fields Forever”.. ---
**Author:** ![Ferd\_Burfel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecccb3/32.png) [@Ferd\_Burfel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferd_Burfel)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2009, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beatles-rock-band-announced/488474/4 "2009-03-06T03:18:27Z")
Please tell me that “Helter Skelter” is included, if only so that I can scream… “I’ve got blisters on my fingers!” ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2009, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beatles-rock-band-announced/488474/5 "2009-03-06T03:20:45Z")
Crap crap crap. I opted for Guitar Hero World Tour instead of Rock Band ☹ ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Sunshine\_and\_Smiles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@Sunshine\_and\_Smiles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunshine_and_Smiles)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2009, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beatles-rock-band-announced/488474/6 "2009-03-06T03:58:03Z")
As much as I love the Beatles, the idea of a game featuring solely them is just off-putting. Aerosmith did it (with Guitar Hero, right?) and I didn’t understand, and now the Beatles are doing it. Maybe it’s just me, but I prefer to get a good mix of songs and styles to keep the gameplay fresh and interesting. I’m also worried about the guitar strength of the songs. Especially since Blackbird, my personal Beatles jam, would likely be impossible to render on the video game guitar. ---
**Author:** ![PetW](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d2c977/32.png) [@PetW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PetW)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2009, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beatles-rock-band-announced/488474/7 "2009-03-06T04:33:15Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > Crap crap crap. I opted for Guitar Hero World Tour instead of Rock Band ☹ ☹ Shouldn’t be a problem, since it’s a stand-alone game and I believe that the GHWT instruments work just fine with Rock Band (for the 360 at least.. not completely sure) ---
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2009, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beatles-rock-band-announced/488474/8 "2009-03-06T13:36:40Z")
> [@Just\_Some\_Guy](#): > > Actually it was announced about six months ago. They just finally gave us a release date and let us know that there would be instruments specific for the Beatles edition. (Sorry guys, no pictures of what the new instruments will look like yet.) Will you have to play the new bass left handed? That would be cool. (as a bonus, you can also go into ‘Real Beatles’ mode, first you simulate an early concert, where the music is completely drowned out by the sound of screaming girls. Then you try and play songs from Sergeant Peppers and the White Album, while the sounds and screen stretch and distort and melt.) ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2009, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beatles-rock-band-announced/488474/9 "2009-03-06T15:48:21Z")
> [@PetW](#): > > Shouldn’t be a problem, since it’s a stand-alone game and I believe that the GHWT instruments work just fine with Rock Band (for the 360 at least.. not completely sure) I was told this is not true for the Wii ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Some\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ad7895/32.png) [@Just\_Some\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Some_Guy)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2009, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beatles-rock-band-announced/488474/10 "2009-03-06T21:00:08Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > I was told this is not true for the Wii ☹ That’s the case for Rock Band on the Wii. Rock Band 2 on the Wii supports Guitar Hero instruments (though I don’t know about the drum set). ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Barchetta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/da6949/32.png) [@Red\_Barchetta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Barchetta)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2009, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beatles-rock-band-announced/488474/11 "2009-03-06T21:07:44Z")
> [@Just\_Some\_Guy](#): > > Actually it was announced about six months ago. They just finally gave us a release date and let us know that there would be instruments specific for the Beatles edition. (Sorry guys, no pictures of what the new instruments will look like yet.)\*\*. Not quite. They essentially announced that it _wouldn’t_ be a Rock Band game 6-months ago, which makes this new announcement all the more disappointing. Great–another Rock Band with the Beatles…which could, and should have been just DLC. I was much more excited when they promised it would be a new musical experience. Something new that would actually make clever use of the Beatle’s IP and music. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2009, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beatles-rock-band-announced/488474/12 "2009-03-06T21:12:35Z")
> **[Beatles Tunes Join Rock Band Game - WSJ](https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB122531701276881747)** ---
**Author:** ![kenner116](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecb155/32.png) [@kenner116](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenner116)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2009, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beatles-rock-band-announced/488474/13 "2009-03-06T21:25:18Z")
> [@Just\_Some\_Guy](#): > > Actually it was announced about six months ago. They just finally gave us a release date and let us know that there would be instruments specific for the Beatles edition. (Sorry guys, no pictures of what the new instruments will look like yet.) They seriously need to make a sitar. [http://www.metalmartyr.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/gh\_sitar\_hero.jpg](http://www.metalmartyr.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/gh_sitar_hero.jpg) [http://damiandodd.com/Images2/Sitar\_Hero.jpg](http://damiandodd.com/Images2/Sitar_Hero.jpg) Not sure how many Beatles songs use one, but they could always be gratuitously added to any song. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2009, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beatles-rock-band-announced/488474/14 "2009-03-06T21:51:33Z")
> [@Quercus](#): > > (as a bonus, you can also go into ‘Real Beatles’ mode, first you simulate an early concert, where the music is completely drowned out by the sound of screaming girls. Then you try and play songs from Sergeant Peppers and the White Album, while the sounds and screen stretch and distort and melt.) You laugh, but there’s a very real chance something like that could work it’s way into the game. Harmonix has said they want to capture “the spirit of the Beatles” and minigames/on screen graphics like that have been floated as rumors. > [@Red\_Barchetta](#): > > Not quite. They essentially announced that it _wouldn’t_ be a Rock Band game 6-months ago, which makes this new announcement all the more disappointing. Great–another Rock Band with the Beatles…which could, and should have been just DLC. > > I was much more excited when they promised it would be a new musical experience. Something new that would actually make clever use of the Beatle’s IP and music. That announcement has baffled me for the last six months. There’s only so many ways to make a music game and I just can’t imagine how they could make it so different that it wouldn’t be Rock Band: The Beatles. I still think they’re put some Beatles-specific touches/minigames in there, but “a completely new musical experience”? That was never a realistic option. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Some\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ad7895/32.png) [@Just\_Some\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Some_Guy)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2009, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beatles-rock-band-announced/488474/15 "2009-03-06T22:00:34Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > You laugh, but there’s a very real chance something like that could work it’s way into the game. Harmonix has said they want to capture “the spirit of the Beatles” and minigames/on screen graphics like that have been floated as rumors. I can already see my girl friend breaking up the band. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Barchetta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/da6949/32.png) [@Red\_Barchetta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Barchetta)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2009, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beatles-rock-band-announced/488474/16 "2009-03-06T22:15:01Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > That announcement has baffled me for the last six months. There’s only so many ways to make a music game and I just can’t imagine how they could make it so different that it wouldn’t be Rock Band: The Beatles. I still think they’re put some Beatles-specific touches/minigames in there, but “a completely new musical experience”? That was never a realistic option. You haven’t played their pre-Guitar Hero games, I take it? Such as FreQuency or Amplitude? Or hell, they could have taken an even more abstract route with something along the lines of Elite Beat Agents or Rhythm Heaven. I’m sure there’s a lot more that could be done with the Beatles license, and that’s what I was excited for. Instead we get an old car with a new paint job. Uber-Meh. ---
**Author:** ![Cubsfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Cubsfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cubsfan)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2009, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beatles-rock-band-announced/488474/17 "2009-03-06T22:58:46Z")
Wow. That sounds boring as hell. I think that genre of game is going to sink itself in the next few years when everyone gets the “been there done that” feeling. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2009, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beatles-rock-band-announced/488474/18 "2009-03-07T05:42:33Z")
> [@Just\_Some\_Guy](#): > > That’s the case for Rock Band on the Wii. Rock Band 2 on the Wii supports Guitar Hero instruments (though I don’t know about the drum set). Oh sweeeet! I looked it up, and according to [this article](http://www.joystiq.com/2008/12/16/wii-want-rock-band-2-harmonix-apologizes-for-delay-confirms-in?icid=sphere_blogsmith_inpage_joystiq) the World Tour drums work too. Happy days! ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tof](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cdc98d/32.png) [@The\_Tof](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tof)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2009, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beatles-rock-band-announced/488474/19 "2009-03-07T06:19:15Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > Oh sweeeet! I looked it up, and according to [this article](http://www.joystiq.com/2008/12/16/wii-want-rock-band-2-harmonix-apologizes-for-delay-confirms-in?icid=sphere_blogsmith_inpage_joystiq) the World Tour drums work too. Happy days! I’m glad you found it. I was trying to find the link somebody posted awhile ago. All the GH: WT Wii instruments should work for RB2, and I would presume this Beatles game. (It is one of the reasons I got WT also. That and the RB2 guitar in the store had the same issues that all the RB Guitars I’ve played with have had- which is the strummer gets wonky. The GH Instruments just seem more solidly built. Though- that is another thread) I am not entirely sure exactly how I’m going to take to this game. I have to admit- right now I’m more excited about the Metallica game coming out in a month or so. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2009, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beatles-rock-band-announced/488474/20 "2009-03-07T06:28:03Z")
Honestly, I bought GH:WT because I was nursing a broken heart and needed to spend my money foolishly one weekend, and Best Buy was out of Rock Band 🙂 Also, I know more people with GH series games than RB series, so I thought maybe we could hook up and play online (we don’t). Now I know why my gaming friends are always broke - so many games to buy! I have to pinch myself to keep myself from running out to Best Buy tomorrow to buy a bunch of games. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beatles-rock-band-announced/488474.md?page=2)