Paul and Ringo unveil Beatles Rock Band video game at E3

By Stephen Withers
Tuesday, 02 June 2009 11:47

Entertainment

Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr turned up for the first public demo of The Beatles: Rock Band at the E3 trade show in Los Angeles. The successor to Rock Band and Rock Band 2, The Beatles: Rock Band has been produced by Harmonix with the full co-operation of The Beatles and Apple Corps.

John Lennon's widow Yoko Ono and George Harrison's widow Olivia also appeared at the event, but not alongside McCartney and Starr.

The game features 45 songs, including I Want To Hold Your Hand, Back In The USSR, Octopus's Garden, and Get Back.

A bonus song - All You Need Is Love - will be available for purchase via Xbox Live, with all proceeds going to the US branch of Médecins Sans Frontières.

Every song in the game has been digitised directly from the master tapes.

Optional instrument controllers are modelled on John's Rickenbacker 325, Paul's Höfner Bass, George's Gretsch Duo Jet, and Ringo's drum kit (though most of the resemblance comes from the Ludwig and The Beatles logos on the kick drum).

Backgrounds in the game include the Cavern Club, Shea Stadium, and the rooftop of the Apple Building on Savile Row.

Like other games in the genre, the objective is to sing and 'play' the controllers in time with the music

Beatles Rock Band for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 or Wii is scheduled to go on sale on September 9.