Some of the team that worked on The Beatles Rock Band game got together to demonstrate what fun the game will be. Unfortunately, they look so unbelievably nerdy that any ‘cool’ quality the game potentially had is completely obliterated. On top of that, Paul’s Hofner bass has a tremolo arm on it. WHAT IDIOT THOUGHT THAT WAS A GOOD IDEA? It’s a bass guitar dammit, and if you’re going to painstaking lengths to ensure a Beatles game is as accurate as it can be – don’t stick a bloody wang bar on the bass!
Anyway, is this really the future of gaming? A bunch of saps stood round in a room playing plastic instruments, copulating to their fabbest hits? I admit it’s probably fun for a couple of days, but are we likely to tire of the rhythm game concept anytime soon? Probably not.
An ideal way to increase band income generation, rhythm games must be a top priority for labels, because games are officially outselling CDs. Released earlier this year, look at the statistics for horror game Resident Evil 5.
Resident Evil 5 outsold every item in the UK Singles Chart (Based on physical and digital sales of UK Top 200)
Resident Evil 5 outsold U2′s chart-topping new album’s total sales since release in one weekend (in the UK)
Resident Evil 5 grossed more than the top 5 movies in the UK combined - March 19th (Source: IMDB.com)
The Resident Evil franchise as a whole has sold 40 MILLION COPIES WORLD WIDE – that’s 1 copy for every 170 people in the world (based on a global population of 6,707 Million)
Last year, Verdict Research predicted “UK sales of games will outstrip music and video for the first time in 2008″. It’s a new trend, but it’s hugely significant. “In the last five years the video games market has more than doubled in value, while music sales have stagnated.” (Source: BBC News).
So it’s obvious why Apple decided to create a Beatles game, it’s a massive cash-in and one that’ll send the registers ringing all the way into Christmas. I wonder which will sell most: Beatles Rock Band (£40 – game only / £110 – value edition / £180 – ‘limited’ edition), The Beatles Stereo Box Set (£170) or The Beatles Mono Box Set (£200)?
Is it too much of a stretch to predict Rock band outselling both? Not really. If you wanted to buy each one of those on the auspicious 09.09.09, you’d be paying out just under £500. Of course, if you want the John Lennon Rickenbacker or the George Harrison Gretsch, you’re looking at an extra £85 a piece - and I bet you all that good money that they’re anything but authentic replicas!