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.

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.

New York - Representatives of the Beatles are in talks with Activision (NASD: ATVI) and Viacom's (NYSE: VIA) MTV Games, makers of the "Guitar Hero" and "Rock Band" video games, respectively, on deals that would license Beatles songs for inclusion in future iterations of the games, the Financial Times reported on Monday. The deals are reported to be worth "several million dollars," sources told FT, and could be completed within weeks.

New York - Viacom's (NYSE: VIA) MTV Games division announced on Wednesday a partnership to develop original video games with movie and TV producer Jerry Bruckheimer ("Top Gun," "Pirates of the Caribbean," "CSI"). As part of the deal, Bruckheimer will build a game incubation studio with MTV Games, which will develop, distribute and market titles, and pursue potential opportunities for migration to other media like film and TV.

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 - 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.

Los Angeles - Video game publisher Red Mile Entertainment and MTV Games have announced plans to publish a title based on the MTV series and movie spin-off "Jackass," according to The Hollywood Reporter. The title, slated for release in September for PlayStation 2, PSP and Nintendo DS, will feature the voices and likenesses of Johnny Knoxville, Bam Margera, Steve-O and others from the property.