Rumors started floating around last night that Harmonix would be announcing something big today regarding the use of Beatles music and a new game. Many gamers jumped to the natural conclusion that this would mean Rock Band: The Beatles, but after listening in on the Harmonix/Apple Corps conference call this morning, it appears that Harmonix and MTV Games have something much bigger in mind: a whole new interactive game experience that will feature music from throughout the Beatles’ career. Here are some notes from the call:

•    This will not ship under the Rock Band name; it was built from the ground up and will be an entirely new product.
•    It will, however, use Rock Band peripherals.
•    This will be the first time The Beatles have ever been used in a video game.
•    The game was made with the cooperation and approval of Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Olivia Harrison, and Yoko Ono Lennon.
•    It is expected to release next holiday season.
•    It will include music samples from Please Please Me to Abbey Road, and all tracks will be based on the UK releases.
•    Harmonix would not discuss much about gameplay, or whether or not the players actually play as members of The Beatles.
•    It was described as an interactive, music-making performance game, with immersive imagery and visual exploration of the music of The Beatles.
•    As for why Harmonix was able to wrangle The Beatles and Activision was not, Harmonix stated that they have been the innovator in this game genre, and Apple Corps was really impressed with their work. (FACE, Activision!)
•    No word on which platforms the game will appear on (my guess: everything ever).

So, the bottom line is that we don’t really know what this game is all about right now, since Harmonix wasn’t saying much other than “Beatles! We got ‘em!” However, as a huge Beatles fan, I am being cautiously optimistic. I trust Harmonix not to screw up this franchise and put out a half-assed game, and it really sounds like they’re taking the time to make something different and great. Whether or not that will happen remains to be seen.

I know the last time these rumors were floating around, some people were quick to say that a Beatles music game would be lame and their songs wouldn’t be fun to play, but let’s wait and see before we throw out the judgment. Harmonix has promised that we will find out more in months to come, so be ready.

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