"The Beatles: Rock Band," Viacom Inc.'s latest challenge to the "Guitar Hero" video games, will test whether the company can attract new players and revive sales with the band's 1960s hits.
The game, tracing the Beatles' career from Liverpool in 1963 to their final rooftop performance in 1969 on Apple Corps' headquarters in London, will be released on Sept. 9 by New York- based Viacom, the owner of MTV and VH1. The band's label, EMI Group Ltd., will issue remastered CDs the same day and collect royalties from game sales.
"Rock Band" is the backbone of Viacom's MTV Games, and the franchise needs a hit to reverse slumping sales and stem projected losses through 2010. Falling purchases of earlier versions led to a 41 percent drop in second-quarter revenue at the division that includes games. Jesse Divnich, an analyst with Electronic Entertainment Design & Research, said the entire music category is running out of ways to attract new players.
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