Beatles music may soon be strumming a new tune via air guitar video games, according to a report in the Financial Times.
Apple Corps and EMI, which respectively represent The Beatles' business interests and ownership of its master recordings, have reportedly been in discussions with video game publishers Activision and MTV Games.
Under a possible deal that could be worth several million dollars, users could put their air guitar to use while listening to The Beatles and playing Activision's Guitar Hero or MTV's Rock Band games, according to the report.
The move to push The Beatles' music onto a new stage via video games could occur within the coming weeks, the Financial Times reported. Such a move would mark a change in embracing technology for The Beatles' music, given that digital-use licenses for Beatles recordings are not yet available.
The Beatles representatives, as well as the game publishers, declined to confirm whether a deal is on the horizon.
It's only rock 'n roll, but Wii like it. Harmonix, the game developer acquired by MTV Networks to create the Rock Band video game, announced Monday that the software will be available for Nintendo's Wii console on June 22. Currently, versions of Rock Band have been created for Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 2 and PlayStation 3.
(Credit:
Harmonix/MTV)
Rumors of a Wii edition of Rock Band first started to circulate early last month. The game was originally released in November amid the soaring popularity of Activision's Guitar Hero franchise, which had a Hollywood-worthy $115 million opening weekend for its most recent game, Guitar Hero III. MTV's Rock Band puts a spin on the concept by letting participants play bass, drums, and vocals in addition to guitar.
Despite the inherent similarities to Guitar Hero, Rock Band has been a huge hit, too.
But, just like a rerun of Behind the Music, the guitar-playing video game craze has been ridden with drama. Harmonix developed the original Guitar Hero, but MTV Networks acquired it in 2006 to create rival Rock Band and distribute it through gaming mega-publisher Electronic Arts. Meanwhile, guitar manufacturer Gibson Guitar has filed a lawsuit against the manufacturers of both Guitar Hero and Rock Band as well as six major retailers--according to Gibson, it's held a patent on a guitar-playing video game since 1999.
So far, none of the gaming console manufacturers--Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo--have been targeted by Gibson's suit.
The June 22 Rock Band Wii release will encompass the U.S. and Canada markets, and a core bundle (software, drums, microphone, and one guitar) will cost $169.99. Standalone instruments will also be sold. It'll feature a lineup of 63 songs, including five exclusive to the Wii.
Gibson is none too happy about Activision's 'Guitar Hero' pictured here.
(Credit: Activision)This post was updated at 4:12 AM on Monday to reflect the fact that Gibson has added MTV, Harmonix, and EA to the list of plaintiffs.
Legendary guitar manufacturer Gibson Guitar has sued six major retailers--Wal-Mart, K-Mart, Target, Amazon.com, Gamestop, and Toys-R-Us--for selling Activision's Guitar Hero video game series, MarketWatch reported Friday.
The decision was made "reluctantly," according to a statement from Gibson.
Earlier this month, Gibson sued Activision over Guitar Hero, claiming that the game violated a 1999 patent for a virtual-reality guitar-playing device that "simulate(s) participation in a concert by playing a musical instrument and wearing a head-mounted 3-D display that includes stereo speakers." A copy of the patent included in Gibson's original lawsuit is indeed dated November 23, 1999.
Activision filed for declaratory relief on March 11, claiming that Gibson's lawsuit came about after the video game publisher nixed a marketing deal with the guitar manufacturer. "Gibson waited three years to make its patent allegations, and only did so after it became clear that Activision was not interested in renewing its marketing and support agreement with Gibson," the Activision filing stated. "Activision continues to believe that Gibson's claims are disingenuous and lack any justification."
But in Gibson's latest move, filed Monday, the Nashville, Tenn.-based company has chosen to target retailers as well--a tactic that Activision quickly criticized.
"Our Guitar Hero retailing partners have done nothing wrong," Activision said in a statement. "We will confront this and any other efforts by Gibson to wrongfully interfere with Activision's relationship with its customers and its consumers."
On Friday, Gibson made it clear that it's after any guitar-playing game, as it added MTV, Harmonix, and Electronic Arts to the list of plaintiffs. MTV, which acquired Guitar Hero developer Harmonix in 2006, uses EA as the distributor for its Rock Band game. Rock Band, a Guitar Hero competitor that was released last November, allows players to team up on vocals, bass, and drums in addition to guitar.
Over the past decade, video game popularity has grown at an exponential rate. Instead of being the niche market that only a select few cared about, the industry is now worth billions of dollars and has become mainstream.
But as that has happened, video game developers like EA and Take-Two Interactive have become far more business-savvy and done their part in ensuring that they can maximize shareholder value and create an environment where video games are an extremely profitable product.
In the process, the video game industry has been damaged by a slew of mergers and acquisitions and in the process, some of the most profitable genres (first-person shooters and sports games, for example) have been copied and refreshed so many times over that gaming has quickly become derivative and bereft of innovation.
And although the main culprit for the lack of innovation is obviously the Almighty Dollar, another culprit is lurking in the shadows and quietly damaging the foundation of gaming as we know it--acquisitions.
... Read moreDon Reisinger is a technology columnist who has written about everything from HDTVs to computers to Flowbee Haircut Systems. Don is a member of the CNET Blog Network, and posts at The Digital Home. He is not an employee of CNET. Disclosure.
A partial track list for the long-awaited third installment of Guitar Hero was released by Activision today.
As usual, the 11-song list offers a nice blend of time-tested rock anthems by the Rolling Stones, Fog Hat, and Alice Cooper, as well as new classics by the likes of the Beastie Boys, Weezer, and Smashing Pumpkins.
In keeping with the inclusion of a Spinal Tap song in Guitar Hero II, the new game will include a song by Tenacious D.
Notable is the fact that seven of the songs on the list are original recordings. In previous versions of Guitar Hero, most songs were cover versions.
Guitar Hero III will be available for Xbox 360, PlayStation 2 and 3, and the Nintendo Wii. The game's release is slated for this fall.
Here's the 11-track Guitar Hero III track list released by Activision. Full coverage of the announcement is over at GameSpot. (By the way, be sure to check out our video of the Guitar Zeros, a San Francisco band that hacked Guitar Hero controllers to make them into real instruments.)
Original recordings
- Paint It Black (Rolling Stones)
- Cherub Rock (Smashing Pumpkins)
- Sabotage (Beastie Boys)
- The Metal (Tenacious D)
- My Name is Jonas (Weezer)
- Knights of Cydonia (Muse)
- Cult of Personality (Living Colour)
Cover versions
- Rock And Roll All Nite (made famous by Kiss)
- School's Out (made famous by Alice Cooper)
- Slow Ride (made famous by Fog Hat)
- Barracuda (made famous by Heart)
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