Don't think that the success of "The Beatles: Rock Band" escaped the attention of rock legends U2. The Irish-born mega-band's tours ooze with computers and big-spectacle props like the cylindrical video screen on their 2009 360° tour. Syncing up a few songs with a guitar controller may seem antiquated by comparison to a few of the stages they've assembled, but U2 definitely want an in to music gaming.

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Today is 9/9/09. In case you hadn't heard, "The Beatles: Rock Band" is out. What am I saying? Of course you've heard. The release of "The Beatles: Rock Band" is the biggest thing since... well... since The Beatles! Bigger than Jesus? Hrm... no one's saying that. Not after all the trouble caused the the last time someone said that.

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At midnight, certain retailers started selling copies of "The Beatles: Rock Band" to the slavering masses. So, to see just how slavering the masses could be, I went over to GameStop's flagship location in New York City's Herald Square.

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"The Beatles: Rock Band" is more than just a game. It's also perfect for adding ambience to house parties, even if you're not willing to break out the miniature plastic instruments. By combining "Rock Band"'s Performance Mode (turns off the HUD) and No-Fail Mode (pretty self-explanatory) with the Make A Setlist option in Quickplay, you can essentially build your own Beatles video playlist.

This is especially appealing because of all of the work Harmonix put into crafting virtual counterparts for the legendary quartet. The Beatles stopped performing live concerts after their 1966 United States tour, focusing instead on studio work. A large chunk of their catalog, including classics like "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" and "The Beatles" (aka the "White" album, for its distinctive cover art), was never performed in front of a crowd. Since this was also before the age of the short-form music video, fans have never had a visual aid for the later psychedelic work and its evocative lyrics. Read more...

I have this weird thing with rhythm games. I love music and I have a blast playing them, but it's a rare day that I pick up my fake plastic instrument and play by myself. And microphones? Fuhgeddaboutit. Solo or in a group, I don't sing. It's just how things work.

A funny thing happened last week though. Frushtick sent me home with a copy of "The Beatles: Rock Band," a game I've been looking forward to tearing through as a long-time Beatles fan. I popped it in after work, fired it up and played through a couple of songs on guitar. When I got to the Ed Sullivan Theater, the game's second stage space, I quickly highlighted "A Hard Day's Night" as my next selection. That's when the funny thing happened-- I spied my "Rock Band" microphone, collecting dust in the corner, and suddenly felt inclined to use it. Read more...

UPDATE: Confirming earlier rumors, the final song has been revealed in "The Beatles: Rock Band." Alex Rigopulos, CEO of Harmonix, revealed the final song, "The End," at a GameStop managers convention in Las Vegas. This announcement rounds out the song list for "The Beatles: Rock Band." Check out the complete song list after the break:

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"Rock Band," "Guitar Hero" and Wii nights are already in effect at bars around the world. The folks at "Rock Band" want to give those events a little push, though, and their new "Rock Band" Bar Nights landing page comes with loads of incentives for participating venues, including access to all of the songs in the "Rock Band" DLC catalog, marketing materials, and a location finder to be available through RockBand.com.

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Wondering how "The Beatles: Rock Band" came to be? It's not as if Apple Core was just ready and willing to dole out their classic songs to the highest bidder (though it helps). No, it took a bit of a stroke of luck to pull this one off.

I spoke to Josh Randall, the creative director for Harmonix and "The Beatles: Rock Band," who described a pretty interesting tale of how the game came to be. As with many of the biggest deals in the entertainment industry, it all started at a cocktail party...

Read How 'The Beatles: Rock Band' Was Born (MTVNews.com)

You can check out the full "The Beatles: Rock Band" song list right here, but you'll notice that only 44 of the 45 songs are on there. What's the final song? I polled the audience to see what you'd like to see...

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Lets face it: Gameplay-wise the "The Beatles: Rock Band" isn't a huge departure from, say, "Rock Band 2." Apart from 3-part harmony and some new training modes, you're going to have a similar experience in the actual playing of it. But Harmonix is definitely trying to make this feel like a unique and very "Beatles" experience, so they've redesigned the game's story mode specifically for hardcore fans.

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