Surviving Beatles Had Impact On Beatles: Rock Band

25 Jun 2009 at 12:05:08 by Tim McDonald

The Beatles: Rock Band lead designer Chris Foster has stated that the surviving Beatles "were really creative partners throughout the project."

Speaking to Crispy Gamer, Foster responded candidly to a question about whether or not the surviving Beatles and the Beatle widows simply lent their name to the game.

"No," he responded, putting paid to that theory. "The shareholders, as we call them -- Paul and Ringo, Olivia and Yoko -- were really creative partners throughout the project. They were involved in picking and approving the song list, the venues we went into. With the dreamscapes, they saw storyboards of all the material, and gave feedback on whether or not they felt like those interpretations supported the songs in the way they wanted."

That wasn't all, though. "They really kept us honest on whether we were capturing the spirit of the band," continued Foster. "When you know who the Beatles are, and you know the joy in their faces when they play, you have to capture that on-screen. [...] They were really good at keeping the standard high."

Foster finished his response by reaffirming that the project is Beatles-approved. "I'm not going to put words in their mouth, but seeing all four of them at the Microsoft press event is about as validating as everything. They don't get together for almost anything... it has to be something important, something they believe in."

The Beatles: Rock Band is due out on 9 September of this year, or 09/09/09 if you prefer. Check out our hands-on preview that took place back on the E3 showfloor.