MTV’s Harmonix games studio and The Beatles’ *Apple* Corps label have confirmed they will develop “a music-making” video game that allows gamers to play some of the band’s songs from its UK back-catalog. The title has no scheduled release date but will be ready by Christmas of next year, the pair told reporters on a conference call. Digital downloads of Beatles’ songs is another matter — *Apple* Corps said it is still working on that and has nothing yet to announce.
The new game will not be an expansion pack for Harmonix’s Rock Band but “a new full-blown custom game title production built from the ground up,” Harmonix CEO Alex Rigopulos told reporters. The companies declined to give any details about likely gameplay features because, *Apple* Corps CEO Jeff Jones said, “the game is in development, which is why we don’t want to talk about how it’s going to turn out a year from now.” But it’s likely to come with musical game instruments and other features new from those already in Rock Band.
Rigopulos: “There will be interactive performance of The Beatles’ music as well as a number of new dimensions to how to experience this music and the artistry of The Beatles that you haven’t seen from us before. We have a unique opportunity for us to forge in a new creative (direction) in the music game genre and do things which have never been done. We want to take players on a sort of experiential journey through the band’s imagery and ideas and vision as they evolved over the course of their time together.” MTV