The Beatles: Rock Band is a music video game (a game that is almost entirely oriented around a player’s interaction with a musical score or individual songs) produced by Harmonix Music Systems, published by MTV games, and distributed by Electronic Arts. It is the third major installment in the Rock Band series. The Beatles: Rock Band is based, respectively, on the world-famous, English rock group The Beatles, as made obvious by the title of the game. The game includes 45 songs from twelve of The Beatles albums recorded during their 1962-1969 tenure with EMI Records. The game is designed for Xbox (360) and PlayStation (2, 3) game consoles

            The game was released internationally on 9 September 2009, along with the release of The Beatles’ remastered albums. It possesses many of the gameplay features of the Rock Band series. During gameplay, players are able to perform as members of the Beatles, depending on which instrument he or she is using (John Lennon, for lead guitar and vocals; Paul McCartney, for bass and vocals; Ringo Starr, for drums; and George Harrison for guitar and vocals). An interesting feature found in the game is called “Beatlemania”. By successfully completing specially-marked phrases, a player who is still participating in the song can save another player who has failed and has consequently “dropped out” of the song. This feature would otherwise be known as “Overdrive” in the other respective Rock Band games.

            The Beatles: Rock Band was very well-received by many media outlets. It was especially well-received at the 2009 E3 Convention. It was there that it was named the Best Music/Rhythm game by Gamespot, Gamespy, 1UP.com, and X-Play. However, the Game Critics Awards only nominated it for the Best Music or Rhythm Game. By simply playing the songs, the game shows its players the complexity and the genius of The Beatles’ music. It is very effective in giving people a first-hand Beatles experience that many of its younger players were unfamiliar with. According to Viacom CEO Philipe Dauman, one quarter of The Beatles: Rock Band games and instruments was sold during its first week of release, exceeding their expectations. In the United Kingdom, The Beatles: Rock Band was the fourth highest-selling game in its first week of release. Eventually, its sales fell behind Guitar Hero 5, which was also released that same week.