The Beatles In The Arcade

The Beatles’ song catalogue and master recordings are some of the most admired and discussed songs in contemporary music. Anytime a song is used for a commercial purpose, it makes the headlines. The announcement that the band’s catalogue is now going to be part of an exclusive interactive videogame through MTV Networks and Harmonix (the developer behind the “Rock Band” franchise) is clearly making headlines.

This is an interesting development on many levels. For the past few years, there have been constant discussions, articles and hints by the band that remastered and digital versions of The Beatles’ recordings are forthcoming. Yet, to this day, nothing has appeared.

The Beatles have a large fan-base that spans many generations, but clearly this development is aimed at a younger demographic. This is a great move in the sense that it creates a unique and exclusive vehicle for the band to showcase its work and legacy in a very contemporary and popular format.

Music producer Giles Martin has stated that the music associated with this videogame will not be remixed or remastered. What is the band waiting for? One would think that optimum sound quality would be criteria for maximizing the potential of this new endeavor.

The Beatles’ core fan-base has been waiting for years for access to upgraded sound quality. The band has a very important and influential body of work and it is strange that the catalogue is solely available to the masses on CD pressings from the 1980’s. Even ABKCO finally remastered and reissued The Rolling Stones’ early catalogue in 2002. In an era of upgraded CDs and an increase in downloads as a viable option for consumers, one has to wonder why The Beatles continue to only offer their music in sub-par sound quality.

Time is ticking away. Instead of offering The Beatles’ fan-base and the holiday consumer a chance at acquiring this famous catalogue in remastered deluxe form, the world gets an announcement of a future videogame. It is big news, but really not that interesting for the fan concerned with the actual music. Rumors again persist that the remasters are coming. Will it be in 2009?