The Beatles: Rock Band is a 2009 music video game developed by Harmonix, published by MTV Games and distributed by Electronic Arts, in association with Apple Corps. It is the third major console release in the Rock Band music video game series and is available on the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Wii consoles. The game allows one to six players to simulate the performance of songs by the Beatles by providing the players with peripherals modelled after musical instruments (a guitar peripheral for lead guitar and bass gameplay, a drum peripheral, and a microphone). The gameplay mechanics of the game are similar to those found in other Rock Band games, in which players use the instrument controllers to match scrolling on-screen notes in time to the music to score points.
The 45-song selection of the Beatles' music on the game's disc was praised by critics, considering the list to be emotional, sentimental and a good cross-section of the band's catalogue.[1][2][3] Compared to other music video games released previously, the number of tracks in The Beatles: Rock Band was considered small,[4][5] and the inclusion of certain lesser-known songs, and the exclusion of more popular ones, was considered confusing.[2][6] In addition to the on-disc songs, The Beatles: Rock Band featured downloadable content, in the form of both singles and full albums (excluding those songs already on disc), allowing players to play through the album in a single session, once the album has been obtained.[7]