Beatles Rock Band tunes up Rubber Soul, Sgt. Pepper

By Brendan Sinclair, GameSpotPosted Aug 13, 2009 12:07 am GMT

Two more classic albums to join Abbey Road as downloadable content for Harmonix-developed rhythm game.

With The Beatles: Rock Band set to launch September 9, the game is just about ready for a mainstream media blitz. The inevitable flood of coverage kicked off in earnest today with an in-depth feature in The New York Times.

Sgt. Pepper features hits like "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds" and "A Day in the Life."

The feature primarily delves into the genesis of the game and how Harmonix is progressing under the strict oversight of the Fab Four's surviving members and widows. However, the Times also brought to light some news of the developer's downloadable content plans.

Previously, Harmonix had only confirmed that The Beatles' legendary Abbey Road would be released as a downloadable add-on to the game. According to The Times, the band's classics Rubber Soul and Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band would round out the first three full-album offerings.

Rubber Soul marked a turning point for the band with songs like "In My Life" and "Nowhere Man."

The article also goes into some detail about some of the changes made to the Rock Band formula in order to satisfy Beatles license-holder Apple Corps. For one thing, failing a song will no longer result in the player's character (in this game's case, The Beatles) being booed off stage. Poor performance will instead just bring up a failure screen. Additionally, the improvisational drum fill and big finish sections of previous Rock Band games have been done away with in order to faithfully re-create the songs as approved by Apple Corps.

When the game launches September 9, it will include 45 songs on the disc, from early tracks like "Twist and Shout" to Let It Be highlights like "Dig a Pony." Xbox 360 owners will be able to purchase "All You Need Is Love" on day one, with proceeds going to the Doctors Without Borders charity.

For more on the game, check out GameSpot's previous coverage of The Beatles: Rock Band.

50 Comments

  • taplok

    Posted Dec 14, 2009 9:49 pm GMT

    Metallica beating The Beatles on album sales... I don't think so...

  • Proobie44

    Posted Aug 14, 2009 11:12 am GMT

    Okay that's it I'm getting two jobs to get this game damn it.

  • Elvis4576

    Posted Aug 14, 2009 9:30 am GMT

    i doubt metallica can beat over a billion albums.

  • railroberto2007

    Posted Aug 13, 2009 7:21 pm GMT

    @ylwsubmarine

    you are wrong. metallica album sales passed up the beatles last year

  • Fanible

    Posted Aug 13, 2009 6:01 pm GMT

    Only 45 songs for a full price $60 game seems extremely underwhelming.

    And yet, I'll still be buying it. I was hoping for AT LEAST 60 songs on the main game though.

  • Skreb-Masters

    Posted Aug 13, 2009 4:37 pm GMT

    Will this DLC work with Rock Band? That's the question that determines whether I buy it or not.

  • ylwsubmarine

    Posted Aug 13, 2009 2:04 pm GMT

    @railroberto2007
    Because basing a game off the most successful band of all time is a horrible mistake?

  • railroberto2007

    Posted Aug 13, 2009 1:52 pm GMT

    not a guitar hero fanboy i have over 400 songs on rockband 2 atm i just think they are making a horrible mistake with the beatles game

  • Jamesp2005

    Posted Aug 13, 2009 10:27 am GMT

    Just for the record, it never says when the albums will be released. For all we know they are still working on them and we won't seem them for months.

  • Regisland

    Posted Aug 13, 2009 10:06 am GMT

    i hope this wins over GH 5 and Van Halen because i got sick of 100 ghs per year

  • Regisland

    Posted Aug 13, 2009 10:05 am GMT

    @railroberto2007
    *coughs* guitar hero fanboy

  • meleknaz

    Posted Aug 13, 2009 9:22 am GMT

    Bah, is this all a cunning ruse to get us to register with The New York Times? Just as well it's worth it.

    Despite the little niggles about the additional costs of DLC etc, I haven't anticipated a new game so much since KotoR2 (hmm, and we know how well that turned out). I'm quite reassured by the fact that Giles Martin is involved (particularly since his reinterpretation/remix of The Beatles' back catalogue for other new formats/media - eg the Cirque du Soleil Love stuff - has been utterly stunning) since I think it really shows how seriously this is being taken. Making it 'canon' and prepping it so tightly makes me hopeful this won't just be a shameless cash-in, rather a game filled with love for all the music (as well as, erm, cashing in). Either way, I feel slightly less aggrieved of being fleeced for all the DLC, the limited edition instruments and anything else they come up with along the way. It's certainly the first time I've ever taken a day off work for the launch of a game. Is that sad? Quite probably, but I actually don't care

  • railroberto2007 posted Aug 13, 2009 8:51 am GMT (does not meet display criteria. sign in to show)

    railroberto2007

    Posted Aug 13, 2009 8:51 am GMT (hide)

    i cant believe people are actually going to buy this game

  • steveguttenberg

    Posted Aug 13, 2009 8:08 am GMT

    No drum fills? And no animation showing the Beatles being booed? That reminds me of when car companies won't allow damage to appear on officially licensed cars in racing games.

  • Crazyguy105

    Posted Aug 13, 2009 7:57 am GMT

    I might not buy the DLC but it's good to know it's there.

    I can't wait for this!

  • ohjtbehaaave

    Posted Aug 13, 2009 6:02 am GMT

    It's getting ridiculous how games are purposely HOLDING BACK content to charge for the DLC. $60 bucks isn't enough anymore? A game like Beatles RB... Tiger 10(charging $7.50 a golf course) and a few others will run you $150 to get the full games experience! This greedy DLC scam type stuff will eventually kill the Gaming industry imo. I'm totally into this Beatles RB game.... but this holding back 2 classic albums to charge for later just makes me want to PUKE!!! Enough with the GREED!

  • zmbi_gmr

    Posted Aug 13, 2009 4:50 am GMT

    @capedbear
    i agree. the youth are still into great classic music, and that is just awesome imo. my wife is so excited for this that she has reserved the limited edition for the PS3. lets hope that album dl's of all their greats are released on all 3 systems. i don't want to to see Sony get one album while Xbox gets a different album, etc... regardless, the Beatles are just fantastic, and this is going to be very cool. very cool indeed!!!

  • poordude1089

    Posted Aug 13, 2009 2:11 am GMT

    If there are no fills then how is a drummer supposed to use star power?

  • atm0073

    Posted Aug 13, 2009 2:00 am GMT

    Sweet.

  • tomskews

    Posted Aug 13, 2009 1:56 am GMT

    Awesome. I'm still hoping for Revolver and The White Album, though. She Said, She Said, Sexy Sadie and Tomorrow Never Knows would be awesome.

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