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MTV admits higher sales of Beatles: Rock Band were expected in Europe
The Beatles: Rock Band may have been a critical success, but it never achieved the levels of commercial success MTV 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?
Green Day: Rock Band more familiar to 'core audience' than The Beatles, MTV Games says
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. %Gallery-87997%
The Beatles: Rock Band value bundle for 360 just $51 on Amazon
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]
Deja Vu: The Beatles: Rock Band only $29 on Amazon
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 pokes fun at The Beatles: Rock Band with a little help from a friend
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]
GDC: The UI of The Beatles Rock Band
Most UI panels at the Game Developers' Conference tend to be full of dry technical information, all about how the team developed their own font kerning tool and organized menu elements in a data-driven fashion. The Harmonix UI panel this morning hosted by Senior Artist Kevin McGinnis did have that stuff (McGinnis is a self-diagnosed font geek, and did sound overly excited about formatting bitmaps), but it was also full of art -- beautiful The Beatles: Rock Band inspired art. McGinnis talked about the different concepts the team had tried -- they first attempted to do a very clean, serene respectful version of the menus, but then decided to go much more colorful. They hired a few artists to build the menus up into actual 3D spaces (after accidentally telling Apple Corps that yes, the menus would all be animated), and McGinnis even showed off the 3D model that the camera zooms around in to guide the player into the game. You can see all of the art in the gallery below, from the various pieces of flair to the menu designs and concept work. %Gallery-88131%
Amazon Deal of the Day: Beatles: Rock Band for under $30
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.
BAFTA people's choice GOTY voting now open
Do you live in the UK and dream every night about the possibility of one day voting on a people's choice game of the year award? Right, us neither, but if you're into that kinda thing, UK retailer GAME is holding the second annual GAME British Academy Video Games Awards at the London Hilton on March 19 and you can vote for the awards show's top "honour." Sure, you can't actually buy tickets and attend or anything crazy like that (the event is live-streamed online, in fairness), but you still have just over a month to put in your vote for one of the 10 games in the running -- games that were chosen from a list comprising "the top selling games of the year sold in GAME stores." At the very least, voters will automatically be entered into a contest to win a "Sony Home Entertainment Package," so, if nothing else, there's always the possibility of winning a Sony ... something (or somethings). Click through or glance a few inches up for the people's choice award contestant list.
The Beatles: Rock Band DLC 'All You Need is Love' coming to PS3, Wii
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. %Gallery-75971%
The Beatles: Rock Band raises $217,780 for charity (so far)
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.
The Beatles: Rock Band does 1.7M as music games continue slide
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]
The Beatles: Rock Band limited edition for Xbox just $200 [update]
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. 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. [Via Cheap College Gamers]
Best of the Rest: Chris' picks of 2009
Secret of Monkey Island: Special EditionA high-definition update – with high-quality voice work to boot! – of the adventure gaming classic, Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition represents a sea change in how LucasArts treats its adventure gaming roots. Instead of squirelling them away in a vault while development continues on Star Wars title after Star Wars title, LucasArts is putting them up on Steam, and remastering them for a whole new audience, with the first Monkey Island adventure leading the charge.
Best of the Rest: Justin's Picks of 2009
Time Gentlemen, Please This was hands-down the funniest game released in 2009, and 2009 was a year in which we got a new Tim Schafer game and the return of the Monkey Island series, so that's saying something. If you missed out, please go buy it, it's cheap as can be and a true delight.
European PSN releases for December 17
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.)
Rock Band Weekly: Green Day, 30 Seconds to Mars, All-American Rejects, Beatles: Rubber Soul album
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. Update: MTV Games/Harmonix has corrected the pricing for Rubber Soul.
Walmart offering $50 gift card with Wii purchase next week, cheaper games now
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.
Toys R Us announces pre-Black Friday game deals
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. .nounderline a { text-decoration: none; } Check out Joystiq's Black Friday Game Deals Hub or jump to a retailer guide below: Best Buy | GameStop | Kmart & Sears | Target | Toys"R"Us | Walmart For more Black Friday coverage, check out Black Friday Deals, Cyber Monday Sales, And other Black Friday 2009 stories today from Walletpop.com
Video: Beatles: Rock Band's 'Sgt. Pepper's' DLC
The Beatles: Rock Band will get a hot DLC injection tomorrow when Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band releases as downloadable content. In preparation for the arrival of these new tracks, MTV has passed along the above trailer which offers a brief sample of new tracks in the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club album mixed together with some found on the disc. In the end, the video saves us all precious time we would've had to use sampling tracks on YouTube and, inevitably, watching Pomplamoose videos.
Beatles: Rock Band 'Sgt. Pepper's' DLC debuts Nov. 17
In a move no doubt inspired by the Movember Movement, Harmonix and MTV Games have revealed that the second DLC album for The Beatles: Rock Band, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, will release the week of November 17. Tracks from the British sensation's eighth studio album, as featured in the DLC release, include: "Fixing A Hole" "She's Leaving Home" "Being For The Benefit of Mr. Kite!" "Within You Without You" "When I'm Sixty-Four" "Lovely Rita" "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)" "A Day In The Life." Xbox 360 and Wii owners can purchase the DLC on Tuesday, November 17. The tracks will be available as a complete Track Pack for 1080 ($13.50) or 160 ($2.00) individually on Xbox 360; and 200 Wii Points ($2.00) per track on Wii. PlayStation 3 players get a few extra days to grow out their glorious mustaches when the pack lands on PSN on Thursday, November 19 for $13.49 (or $1.99 per track).As previously revealed, Beatles fans can look forward to next month when 1965's Rubber Soul will become available as the game's third full-album DLC.
