New York - Viacom's (NYSE: VIA) MTV Networks on Thursday announced a deal with the Beatles' record label, Apple Corps, to create a Beatles-branded music video game. The game -- which apparently will not be part of MTV's "Rock Band" franchise -- was conceived with input from Sir Paul McCartney and Ringo Star, approved by Yoko Ono Lennon and Olivia Harrison, and will feature "LOVE" project co-producer Giles Martin as Music Producer.

San Francisco - Viacom's (NYSE: VIA) Harmonix game studio has partnered with on-demand 3D printing firm Z Corporation to offer players of its upcoming "Rock Band 2" the ability to order six-inch tall figurine versions of their customized musician avatars from the game, Wired.com reports. The $75 figurines will feature all of the customizations to body styles, faces, makeup options, hair styles and tattoos that users apply to their Rock Band avatars.

Tokyo - Japanese video game developer and publisher Konami has filed suit against Viacom-owned (NYSE: VIA) "Rock Band" game developer Harmonix, alleging the popular music game infringes on several of Konami's patents, Bloomberg reported.

New York - Viacom's (NYSE: VIA) MTV Games and Harmonix studio on Tuesday announced that it will add a dozen songs from The Who to the tracks available for download for its "Rock Band" game via the Xbox Live Marketplace and PlayStation Store. The tracks -- which include three from The Who's "Live at Leeds" album, the first live tracks to be featured in the game -- will sell for $1.99 each or $19.99 for the entire collection when they are released on July 15.

New York - Viacom's (NYSE: VIA) MTV Games and Harmonix studio said on Monday that "Rock Band 2," the sequel to their 15 million unit-selling music game with vocal, guitar and drum accessories, will be released to retailers in September. The game will initially be exclusive to the Xbox 360, but then launch on other platforms before the end of the year.

New York - Viacom's (NYSE: VIA) MTV Networks said this week that it will begin offering owners of its "Rock Band" video game to download full albums compatible with the game beginning next week, to include records from Judas Priest, the Cars and the Pixies.

Cambridge, Mass. - Video game developer Harmonix, a unit of Viacom's (NYSE: VIA) MTV Networks, announced on Tuesday that its version of "Rock Band" for the Nintendo Wii will ship to retailers on June 22. Published by Electronic Arts (NASD: ERTS), the $169 bundle will include guitar, microphone and drums accessories for the Wii.

Nashville, Tenn. - Guitar manufacturer Gibson has filed a second patent infringement lawsuit over guitar-replica controllers used in the video games "Guitar Hero" and "Rock Band," this time suing "Rock Band" makers Harmonix, Viacom's (NYSE: VIA) MTV Networks and Electronic Arts (NASD: ERTS). Gibson also last week filed suit against a number of retailers, including Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT), for selling Activision's (NASD: ATVI) "Guitar Hero" in violation of its 1999 patent.

Cambridge, Mass. - Harmonix, the video game studio unit of Viacom's (NYSE: VIA) MTV Networks that created the "Rock Band" music game, announced on Thursday that more than 6 million song downloads have been purchased for the game since its launch just over three months ago. Over 70 songs are currently available for purchase and download for the game, priced at $0.99 to $2.99 per track, with the vast majority selling for $1.99. "The success of Rock Band downloadable content to date firmly reinforces our vision and its potential as a platform for music discovery," said Paul DeGooyer, SVP DVD, Gaming and Audio, MTV.

San Diego - Mad Catz Interactive, a maker of video game accessories, said on Friday that it has signed a multi-year licensing agreement with Viacom's (NYSE: VIA) MTV Networks, to create and distribute accessories for MTV-owned Harmonix Music Systems' "Rock Band" video game in North America and other territories. The music-based game features wired and wireless guitars, a drum percussion set and microphone accessories.

New York - Members of the Romantics have sued Activision (NASD: ATVI), publisher of the popular "Guitar Hero" game, over a "sound-alike" version of their song "What I Like About You" featured in the game that the band says sounds too much like their original recording, Billboard reports.

Cambridge, Mass. - Viacom's (NYSE: VIA) MTV Games and Harmonix game studio, and distribution partner Electronic Arts (NASD: ERTS) on Tuesday announced the release of their "Rock Band" game for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in the U.S. The $170 game includes guitar, microphone and drum accessories and allows gamers to play along with popular songs, similar to Activision's "Guitar Hero." In addition to the 58 tracks included with "Rock Band," the companies plan to sell downloadable tracks that can be added to the game.

New York - Harmonix, the music-based game studio unit of Viacom's (NYSE: VIA) MTV Networks, on Thursday announced the lineup of weekly song downloads it will offer through the end of the year for its forthcoming "Rock Band" game. Gamers will be able to purchase 3-song packs for $5.49 from artists including Metallica, the Police, David Bowie and Black Sabbath, or individual tracks for $1.99 each from a wider selection of artists. "Rock Band," which features drum, guitar and microphone peripherals, is slated for release on Nov. 20 for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

Cambridge, Mass. - MTV Games' Harmonix video game studio has announced the list of tracks that will be included in its "Rock Band" music-themed video game, which will include guitar, drum and voice accessories and sell for $170 when released on Nov. 20. The 58-song tracklist, which spans the 60s through today, will be augmented with additional tracks made available for download over time.

New York - Viacom's MTV Games and its Harmonix Music studio have partnered with Mekanism to create an online social network for their upcoming "Rockband" music-themed game. Rockband.com will feature virtual band pages, classifieds, leaderboards and other typical social network features. "Rockband" is slated for release on Nov. 20 for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360; the title is similar to "Guitar Hero," but includes voice and percussion accessories in addition to guitar.

Sunnyvale, Calif. - Video game publisher Activision on Wednesday announced the release of "Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s," the latest installment in the popular franchise. Developed by Harmonix and published by RedOctane, the game is available exclusively for PlayStation 2.

Santa Monica, Calif. - Harmonix, the game developer unit of MTV Networks, announced this week that The Who's album "Who's Next" will be the first full-length album available as a digitally-distributed game level for its "Rock Band" interactive music game. The company also announced that it hired actor and producer Steven Van Zandt to head a music advisory board for the game, which will also feature tracks from The Ramones, Black Sabbath, Rush, Nirvana, Metallica and The Strokes. "Rock Band" is slated for release in the fall for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

Cambridge, Mass. - Video game developer Harmonix, creator of the "Guitar Hero" franchise and a unit of MTV Networks, on Tuesday announced that Fender Musical Instruments, the electric guitar and amplifier maker, will have its instruments exclusively featured in the upcoming Harmonix title, "Rock Band." In addition, Roland Corp. and BOSS have entered into agreements to have their brands featured within "Rock Band." The game is slated for release for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 system in the fall.

Cambridge, Mass. - Video game developer Harmonix, creators of the "Guitar Hero" franchise and a recent acquisition of MTV Networks, announced on Monday that it has partnered with publisher Electronic Arts on a new music-based title that will allow gamers to form virtual bands and perform chart-topping songs. Slated for release on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in the fall, "Rock Band" will feature virtual drum, bass/lead guitar and microphone peripherals, and songs licensed from publishers EMI and Warner/Chappell, and labels EMI, Hollywood Records, Sony BMG, Universal Music Enterprises and Warner's Rhino Entertainment.

San Francisco - Electronic Arts announced on Wednesday that it has partnered with MTV Networks' Harmonix games studio to develop a new music-themed game to be distributed by EA. Harmonix has created titles including "Amplitude" and the top-selling "Guitar Hero" franchise.