New York - Viacom's (NYSE: VIA) MTV Games and Harmonix game studio announced on Thursday that the forthcoming Beatles-themed version of its popular "Rock Band" music video game will ship worldwide on Sept. 9, 2009. The company had been in talks with Apple Corps, the Beatles' record label, and surviving members of the band or their widows, and the game will mark the first time the music of the Beatles has been released in any digital format.

Los Angeles - Pearl Jam will include a redemption code in the reissued version of its debut album "Ten" that allows users to download versions of the band's tracks for MTV's "Rock Band" music video game, Billboard reports. The promotion will be limited to those who purchase the "Ten" reissue at Best Buy stores.

Denver - Viacom's (NYSE: VIA) MTV Networks hopes to expand the 500-song catalog available for its "Rock Band" music game franchise to as many as 5,000 by year's end, Billboard reports. By contrast, Activision's (NASD: ATVI) "Guitar Hero" currently offers fewer than 100 songs, but publisher Red Octane told Billboard that weekly music additions are planned this year. The latest version of Guitar Hero sold twice as many copies as Rock Band 2 last year, according to NPD data.

Los Angeles - Activision's (NASD: ATVI) "Guitar Hero III" is the first video game to surpass $1 billion in sales, but the current iterations of both that franchise and MTV's (NYSE: VIA) "Rock Band" sold fewer copies last year in the U.S. than their predecessors, according to market research firm NPD Group.

New York - Viacom's (NYSE: VIA) Harmonix game studio, the unit of MTV Networks that developed "Rock Band," said on Monday that Pearl Jam will offer the reissue of its debut album "Ten" as a download for the game on the same day as its physical release on Mar. 24. Initially released in 1991, the album has since sold 12 million copies worldwide.

Los Angeles - Viacom's (NYSE: VIA) Harmonix game studio, a unit of MTV Networks, disclosed recently in its Rock Band Community Zine that players have to date purchased over 28 million song download add-ons to the music game, Shacknews reported. The "Rock Band" store features just 345 tracks from 239 artists.

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.

London - Microsoft (NASD: MSFT) is selling 3.8 million downloadable songs a month for the Xbox 360 versions of music video games "Guitar Hero" and "Rock Band," GamesIndustry.biz reports. In a statement, the company said that Xbox Live has "delivered more than 80% of the downloadable songs for music games."

New York - Viacom's (NYSE: VIA) MTV Games said on Tuesday that veteran rock band AC/DC will offer a downloadable full album of live tracks in its upcoming "Rock Band 2" game. The AC/DC LIVE: Rock Band Track Pack will include 18 tracks, making for a total of more than 99 minutes of gameplay for each instrument.

New York - Viacom's (NYSE: VIA) MTV on Wednesday announced that Panic At The Disco and Dashboard Confessional will headline its "Rock Band Live" tour, a fall promotional tour for its "Rock Band" video game from Harmonix. The tour will also feature performances from "Rock Band" bands, who will compete for the chance to play on the main stage in between the headline acts' sets in each of the 28 cities on the tour schedule. MTV has secured Hot Topic and Pepsi Stuff as sponsors for the tour.

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.

I'm the first to admit that the whole Guitar Hero thing took me off guard. Play music on a plastic toy guitar - come on! But then I went to Guitar Hero night at my local waterhole, Hyperion Tavern, in trendy Silver Lake (Thursdays for those of you that care, see picture to the right). It was so much fun that I was converted on the spot. Now in its third incarnation, Activision's (NASD: ATVI) "Guitar Hero" game franchise is still the most popular entry in the music-based gaming genre that includes the newer hit "Rock Band" by Harmonix. Not only has the games sold millions of copies and is now available on other platforms such as mobile phones, the games have also become an invaluable marketing tools for bands (rock band Motley Crue was the first group to release a new single, "Saints of Los Angeles," for sale through the video game "Rock Band.") as well as increased interest in real guitar playing. And the trend of interactive music games that Guitar Hero started is just in its infancy.