By Katie Byrne

I think they made "The Beatles: Rock Band" specifically for me, because the only video game I'm any good at is "Rock Band," and the Beatles are the band that made me a music fan. So when we had the chance to play the game today, I was first in line.

The "Rock Band" creators, MTV-owned Harmonix, hosted a party for MTV employees in Santa Monica, California, to show off the new game. The game's opening sequence makes for an epic introduction to the game, with sweeping animation that highlights the band's floppy early years all the way to their rainbow-colored psychedelic era.

But what you really care about is playing the game. Well, a Harmonix quintet (yes, five players ... we'll call the fifth member "Pete Best") showed off the game, playing instruments custom-made for the game, including John Lennon's Rickenbacker 325 guitar, Paul McCartney's Höfner bass, George Harrison's Gretsch Duo Jet guitar and Ringo Starr's drums with Ludwig kick-drum head. Five people were used because it's the first "Rock Band" game to include three-part harmonies, and you can actually play with up to a Fab Sextet. Read more...

by Adam Rosenberg

We've known for some time that MTV and Jerry Bruckheimer have been ambling down the road together towards a video games-related partnership. MTV has seen a world of success with their "Rock Band" rhythm game/platform and mega-producer Bruckheimer... well... he's good at making explosions look awesome. It's a natural pairing then; MTV gets to expand their games lineup while Bruck inserts himself into a fast-growing entertainment industry with a well-established partner to back him.

Late last night, Variety reported that there's finally been some serious movement with regards to this partnership. The newly-minted Jerry Bruckheimer Games Studio will be run by the powerhouse gaming tag team of Jim Veevaert and Jay Cohen. The Variety piece also reveals that Cohen and Veevaert will handle development and production, respectively. Read more...