Monday, November 23, 2009
EA Announces A New Marketing Campaign For The Beatles Rock Band
Press Release
Guildford, UK., – November 23rd 2009 – Harmonix Music Systems Inc., the leading developer of music-based games, and MTV Games, a part of Viacom’s MTV Networks, today unveiled a new marketing campaign for The Beatles™: Rock Band™ targeted to families this holiday season and complementary to the award-winning launch campaign. The new TV commercial can be viewed at www.thebeatlesrockband.com/press and will begin on-air rotations on Saturday, November 21st.
Celebrating the massive development effort behind The Beatles: Rock Band, VH1 has created a special look at how the game was created, including never-before-seen footage of Sir Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr at Abbey Road Studios being presented with work in progress by the Harmonix creative team. “The Making of The Beatles: Rock Band” is a 30-minute special that features interviews from Giles Martin, co-producer of The Beatles innovative LOVE album project and Music Supervisor for The Beatles: Rock Band, and Alex Rigopulos, co-founder and CEO or Harmonix Music Systems, as well as additional interviews with the development team. The special reveals the origins of the game and a behind-the-scenes look at the creation of the music video game that the New York Times called “the most important video game yet made.” “The Making of The Beatles: Rock Band” will premiere Friday, November 27th on VH1 Classic at 7:30 PM ET/PT.
"The Beatles: Rock Band is the perfect family gift this holiday, and our new TV creative, featuring the song ‘Day Tripper,’ really demonstrates how the game crosses generations to bring the whole family together,” said Paul DeGooyer, Senior Vice President of Electronic Games and Music for the MTV Networks Music Group. “We are also very excited that VH1 documented the making of The Beatles: Rock Band. Whether you are a Beatles fan, music game fan, or both, this VH1 special is a fascinating behind-the-scenes at look at this exciting project.”
The Beatles: Rock Band has been a hit with fans and critics alike, with USA Today calling the game "A superb, vibrant presentation," and the New York Times proclaiming that "The Beatles: Rock Band is sheer pleasure." Additionally, the game was recently awarded the honor of being one of the "Top Brands of the Year" by Ad Age.
The Beatles: Rock Band allows players to take an experiential journey through the storied career of the world's biggest band. Now you can play along with the Fab Four on guitar, drums, bass, and on vocals using 3-part vocal harmonies for the first time ever. Play through story mode to experience the many stages of the band's career, and collect rare and never-before-seen Beatles photos and videos.
Play along to 45 of The Beatles' biggest hits, including classics such as "I Want to Hold Your Hand," "Can't Buy Me Love," "Eight Days a Week," "Day Tripper," "Paperback Writer," "Get Back," "Come Together," "A Hard Day's Night," and much more.
Additionally, players can complete The Beatles albums via downloadable content. Abbey Road, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, and the single track "All You Need is Love" are all available for download now! The complete album of Rubber Soul will be available in December.
The Beatles: Rock Band is available for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and Wii™ console from Nintendo.
SKUs available include:
• The Beatles: Rock Band Limited Edition Bundle: UK MSRP £149.00
• The Beatles: Rock Band Software for Xbox 360/PS3: UK MSRP £29.99
• The Beatles: Rock Band Software for Wii: UK MSRP £19.99
Additional peripherals available include:
• Rickenbacker 325 Standalone Guitar Controller – MSRP £89.99
• Gretsch Duo Jet Standalone Guitar Controller – UK MSRP £89.99
In addition to The Beatles: Rock Band, MTV Games and Harmonix are proud to bring you the 2009 holiday lineup for the best-selling Rock Band™ franchise that delivers a fun and exciting way to interact with your favorite music, whether you're an old school Beatles fan, a hardcore metal-head, a pop music lover, or someone who loves it all!
ROCK BAND™2
For true music fans, Rock Band 2 is the ultimate holiday gift. Between on-disc tracks and downloadable content, over one thousand songs are currently available for the Rock Band platform. Spanning genres from classic rock to heavy metal, punk to country, and including tons of huge artists, such as Queen, The Who, Green Day, The White Stripes, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Iron Maiden, AC/DC, Guns 'N Roses, Foo Fighters, and No Doubt, no other music game franchise can even come close to matching the sheer breadth and variety of music you'll find in Rock Band.
And if you've ever thought about trying Rock Band before but worried about the price, have we got a deal for you! Now you can pick up the Rock Band 2 bundle for reduced prices at all major retailers for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system! Rock Band is also available for the Wii™ console from Nintendo.
ROCK BAND UNPLUGGED™ for PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) System
Put Rock Band in the palm of your hand with Rock Band Unplugged for the PSP! Rock Band Unplugged combines the Rock Band look and feel with classic beatmatching gameplay. You are a one-man band as you juggle all four instruments throughout the song. No clumsy miniaturized instruments required! Just tap the corresponding buttons on the PSP. Take your band on tour through 24 different venues and over 40 songs, and add new songs via the online music store! Rock Band Unplugged is the perfect present for a rocker on-the-go!
Available exclusively for the PSP system for UK MSRP £29.99.
Rock Band, Rock Band 2, Rock Band Unplugged and The Beatles: Rock Band is developed by Harmonix Music Systems and published by MTV Games. Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) serves as distribution partner.
For more information on Rock Band and Harmonix Music Systems please visitwww.rockband.com and www.harmonixmusic.com.
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About MTV Networks
MTV Networks, a unit of Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), is one of the world’s leading creators of entertainment content, with brands that engage and connect diverse audiences across television, online, mobile, games, virtual worlds and consumer products. The company’s portfolio spans more than 150 television channels and 350 digital media properties worldwide, and includes MTV, VH1, CMT, Logo, Harmonix, Nickelodeon, Nick at Nite, Noggin, The N, AddictingGames, Neopets, COMEDY CENTRAL, Spike TV, TV Land, Atom, Gametrailers and Xfire.
About MTV Games
MTV Games is dedicated to creating, marketing and publishing high-quality, innovative interactive products that are relevant to the MTV audience and complement the core values of the MTV Networks brands.
About Harmonix Music Systems, Inc
Harmonix Music Systems, Inc., based in Cambridge, MA, and established in 1995, is the leading developer of groundbreaking music-oriented videogames. Harmonix was founded by Alex Rigopulos and Eran Egozy, who formed the company to invent new ways for non-musicians to experience the unique joy that comes from making music and have pioneered music and rhythm gaming in the US. For more information please visitwww.harmonixmusic.com.
About Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA), headquartered in Redwood City, California, is a leading global interactive entertainment software company. Founded in 1982, the Company develops, publishes, and distributes interactive software worldwide for video game systems, personal computers, wireless devices and the Internet. Electronic Arts markets its products under four brand names: EATM, EA SPORTSTM, EA MobileTM and POGOTM. In fiscal 2009, EA posted GAAP net revenue of $4.2 billion and had 31 titles that sold more than one million copies. EA's homepage and online game site iswww.eagames.co.uk. More information about EA's products and full text of press releases can be found on the Internet at www.eagames.co.uk/press.
© 2009 Harmonix Music Systems, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Harmonix, Rock Band and all related titles and logos are trademarks of Harmonix Music Systems, Inc., a MTV Networks company. Rock Band developed by Harmonix Music Systems, Inc. MTV: Music Television, MTV Games and all related titles and logos are trademarks of MTV Networks, a division of Viacom International Inc., EA, , EA SPORTS, EA Mobile and POGO are trademarks or registered trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. Microsoft, Xbox, Xbox 360 and Xbox LIVE are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies. “PlayStation” and “PLAYSTATION” are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Wii is a trademarksof Nintendo. Guitar Hero is a registered trademark of Activision Publishing, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
Nintendo Announces Two DSi Bundles For Black Friday
The white DSi Bundle is called the "Brain Age Collection". As well as having a white DSi, the DSi comes pre-loaded with:
- Brain Age Express: Arts & Letters
- Brian Age Express: Sudoku
- Brain Age Express: Math
- Clubhouse Games
- Photo Clock
The Metallic Blue DSi is called the "Mario Collection". The Bundle consists of the Metallic Blue DSi which has the following software installed:
- Mario vs. Donkey Kong:Minis March Again
- Dr. Mario Express
- WarioWare Snapped!
- Mario Calculator
- Mario Clock
Press Release
REDMOND, Wash., Nov. 23, 2009 – Two extraordinary releases from Nintendo are about to give Black Friday holiday shoppers an incredible value – but they won't last long. Starting Nov. 27, U.S. consumers can purchase Metallic Blue or White Nintendo DSi™ systems that come pre-installed with more than $20 in software value. These Nintendo DSi bundles are priced for the holidays and will be available while supplies last at participating retailers nationwide.
“These limited-edition bundles come packed with some of the great Nintendo DSiWare games and applications that have made Nintendo DSi such a big hit with shoppers young and old,” said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America's executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. “The special price and pre-installed titles make the bundles a huge value for the holidays.”
Fans of global gaming superstar Mario™ will be especially eager to get their hands on the Metallic Blue Nintendo DSi, which comes pre-installed with five Mario-themed Nintendo DSiWare™ titles, including:
Mario vs. Donkey Kong™: Minis March Again: Can Mario and his Mini Marios rescue Pauline from Donkey Kong's clutches yet again?
Dr. Mario™ Express: Mario once again dons his stethoscope to battle the forces of illness in this downloadable version of the classic puzzle game.
WarioWare™: Snapped!: Wario™ returns with more manic action made especially for the Nintendo DSi system. WarioWare: Snapped! uses the built-in Nintendo DSi Camera to make players the star of the show by placing them right into fast-paced mini-games.
Mario™ Calculator: Mario and Luigi™ take a break from their normal adventures to dedicate their heroic talents to working with numbers.
Mario™ Clock: Mario Clock includes both analog and digital clocks that use the system's internal clock or allow you to offset the time however you like.
The White Nintendo DSi bundle is designed for anyone who has a passion for brain teasers. The special White system bundle comes pre-installed with the following Nintendo DSiWare title:
Brain Age™ Express: Arts & Letters: Test your spelling in Word Attack, enjoy literary classics in Reading Aloud and tune your musical skills in Piano Player.
Brain Age™ Express: Sudoku: Solve a variety of puzzles at three different skill levels using the touch screen and an intuitive interface.
Brain Age™ Express: Math: Players can enjoy a mix of new and familiar exercises, including Change Maker, Triangle Math, Sum Totaled and Multi Tasker.
Clubhouse Games™ Express: Card Classics: Play familiar favorites like Blackjack and Five Card Draw, or test your ability in the fast-paced Last Card, Last Card Plus and President.
Photo Clock: Experience all the enjoyment of a photo album while ensuring you won't lose track of the time.
Beyond the pre-installed titles, Nintendo DSi owners also have access to a wealth of additional games and applications in the Nintendo DSi Shop. Owners with wireless broadband Internet access can exchange Nintendo DSi Points™ for the titles and wirelessly download them directly to their Nintendo DSi systems. A Nintendo Points Card™ can be purchased at retail locations, or Nintendo DSi Points can be purchased online directly through the Nintendo DSi Shop.
Nintendo DSi is the latest iteration of the world's top-selling portable game system. Its unique features include dual screens, a touch screen and wireless networking capabilities to let friends near or far play together. Two built-in cameras and audio-manipulation functions let users create customized content and share it with others. Through the end of September, total worldwide sales of the Nintendo DS and Nintendo DSi game systems have reached more than 113 million, according to Nintendo's financial statement. Of those, more than 33.4 million have sold in the United States through the end of September, according to the NPD Group.
For more information about Nintendo DSi, visit www.NintendoDSi.com.
About Nintendo: The worldwide pioneer in the creation of interactive entertainment, Nintendo Co., Ltd., of Kyoto, Japan, manufactures and markets hardware and software for its Wii™, Nintendo DS™ and Nintendo DSi™ systems. Since 1983, when it launched the Nintendo Entertainment System™, Nintendo has sold more than 3.2 billion video games and more than 535 million hardware units globally, including the current-generation Wii, Nintendo DS and Nintendo DSi, as well as the Game Boy™, Game Boy Advance, Super NES™, Nintendo 64™ and Nintendo GameCube™ systems. It has also created industry icons that have become well-known, household names such as Mario™, Donkey Kong™, Metroid™, Zelda™ and Pokémon™. A wholly owned subsidiary, Nintendo of America Inc., based in Redmond, Wash., serves as headquarters for Nintendo's operations in the Western Hemisphere. For more information about Nintendo, visit the company's Web site at www.Nintendo.com.
Xbox Live Deals Of The Week
Fable II - See the Future DLC: Was 560 points, Now 400 points Peggle: Was 800 points Now 400 points
Death Tank: Was 1200 points, now 800 points
These deals are for this week only, their prices will increase back to their normal prices.
From Major Nelson Blog
Audio Re-Cap of The Weekends News (oldest to newest)
Don't forget, you can subscribe to the Audio Re-Cap Podcast on iTunes. if you do, it would be great if you can review and rate the podcast.
A podcast is available on iTunes from:
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=328547861
A RSS Feed from Podbean:
http://qtegamers.podbean.com/feed
And on qtegamers.blogspot.com:
http://qtegamers.blogspot.com/search/label/Audio Re-Cap
Re-Cap of The Weekends News (oldest to newest)
QTE Blog: Re-Cap of Yesterdays News (oldest to newest) http://ow.ly/163nlt
QTE Blog: Audio Re-Cap of Yesterdays News (oldest to newest) http://ow.ly/163nLK
iPhone: its being reported that Sega will release Super Monkey Ball 2 before the years out. it'll have 115 new levels http://ow.ly/EjDA
PC: Modern Warfare 2 has outsold Call Of Duty 4 in just 1 week. http://ow.ly/EjEq
360: Microsoft denies that it was 1 Million consoles that got banned. they don't provide the actual number http://ow.ly/Elsr
DSi: Nintendo Everything have pictures from the DSi LL launch event in Japan and many comparison pictures http://ow.ly/ElsT
The Banned PSN Gamer is now suing Microsoft and Nintendo, for a Red Ring 360 and Nintendo Blocking Wii Homebrew http://ow.ly/EltH
PS3: it appears that Cross Game Invites are working with Modern Warfare 2. its speculated that this came with 3.0. http://ow.ly/EnbS
QTE Blog: Konami Have Released New Screenshots For The Nintendo DSi Only Game, Foto Showdown http://ow.ly/163qOg
2K's VGA mystery Game has been revealed as the Spec Ops reboot. http://ow.ly/Eo3d
PS3: Noby Noby Girl, from Noby Noby Boy, has now reached jupiter. this has unlocked a new level. http://ow.ly/EAHS
PC: LEft 4 Dead 2 has been patched. many bug fixes, Linux fixes, menu fixes,graphic fixes, etc. http://ow.ly/EAJR
PC: Games For Windows Live has been updated to 3.1. its bought cosmetic changes and redesigns. http://ow.ly/EAL0
PS3: Ratchet & Clank Future A Crack in Time is the fastest selling Ratchet & Clank game in the series. http://ow.ly/EANr
QTE Blog: Android Game Of The Week – Jewels http://ow.ly/163Bdt
QTE Blog: What Have You Played This Week? http://ow.ly/163BKS
360: Microsoft has said that its "well within its legal rights" to ban consoles and users from its service. http://ow.ly/EGOZ
360: the Xbox 360 is 4 years old today http://ow.ly/EGPA
QTE Blog: QTE Tweets Of The Week http://ow.ly/163CT5
Sunday, November 22, 2009
QTE Tweets Of The Week
10 PC: The Steam Unlock times for Left 4 Dead Have Been Released. Tuesday 5AM (GMT), Monday 9PM (PST), Tuesday 2PM (Japan) http://ow.ly/CSdw
9 Wii: Pro Evolution Soccer 2010 will be patched when it comes out in the UK this Friday. the patch updates player stats http://ow.ly/DqAI
8 QTE Blog: Sega has Released New Character Art For Mario & Sonic At The Winter Olympic Games http://ow.ly/1629cf
7 Gearbox Rejected a Blade Runner game for business reasons. they wanted it but didn't think it could make money http://ow.ly/COu5
6 QTE Blog: EA Has Released A New Trailer For Command & Conquer 4 On The PC http://ow.ly/162BIj
5 QTE Blog: EA Has Released A New Video For The Sims 3 World Adventures On The PC http://ow.ly/1626H9
4 QTE Blog: Sony Has Released A Walkthrough Video of adhocParty For The PSP http://ow.ly/163bHi
3 Robomodo have said they are working on something that will use the RIDE Skate Board, but they can't talk about it. http://ow.ly/Dd0L
2 Namco Bandai have applied for a trademark for Ridge Racer Accelerated. nothing else is known as yet http://ow.ly/Dn2m
1 PSP: Sony has said that there will be a delay in the Digital Release of Little Big Planet http://ow.ly/Dtzs
What Have You Played This Week?
Wow, writing it down it's shocking how little I played. The site kept me busy for sure...must make time for more games, lol.
Football Manager 09 – PC – I decided to go back to a favourite team in the game, FC bayern Munchen. They are not my favourite team, that's Ipswich Town, but they are one of the easiest teams to play as, which enables me to look for other players, tactics and such. Would love to get the new game, but unfortunately I can't afford it, but what is great about the Football Manager games is that you can play them for a long time, even if a new version has come out (typically as the newest Football Manager needs 1 patch for it to get great.)
Fat Princess – PS3 – Still disappointed with how few people are playing. At least Bots are fairly intelligent. Still surprising how few people don't understand what needs to be done to win. It feels like me and maybe a couple struggle to keep the team going sometimes.
Tokobot – PSP – this game is hard. No two ways about it. I'm near the end now and it just keeps getting harder. In particular i'm at a point where I have 6 minutes to escape. And it throws many difficult levels at you. At This point of the game many of the small slight issues with Tokobot become very apparent and become an issue. It is a shame, the story isn't that great, but the graphics, the universe that been created, and the Tokobots themselves are all great. I feel that this game hasn't been balanced right and that a sequel would have addressed issues like this. I'll try to finish it, but it's really hard.
Critter Crunch Demo – PS3 – i've been hooked on the art since it was revealed. And the art really is beautiful. It makes full use of 1080p and its not just backgrounds. Menus, characters, enemies...everything looks great and has a cute feel about it. The game play isn't bad either. The demo gives you a good idea as to what the game is about. If your not sure I fully recommend downloading the demo. I'm sure it'll help make up your mind.
What have you been playing this week? feel free to add your weeks gaming selection in the comments, or comment on my selection for this week