hat was the action for selecting the songs acclimated in the game?

We formed carefully with [producer] Giles Martin, the son of [Beatles producer] Sir George Martin, and our capital focus was aggravating to aces songs that would be fun to comedy in the game. That was our aboriginal criteria, and from there we capital to get a antithesis of songs that would advance throughout their absolute career. We capital one of the modes in the bold to accept a beeline attack through the accomplished history of the Beatles starting at the Cavern Club [circa 1962] and activity up to the Apple Corps rooftop [in 1969], so we capital to analogously advance it out that way. Again we threw some of our admired songs in there, as well.

Were there any songs that you had to cut for that reason?

I can't anticipate of any specifics, but what we were aggravating to attending for was actuality that had the belief for a fun Rock Bandage akin with anniversary clue and apparatus accepting abundant agreeable for the absoluteness of the song. We tended to abstain songs that were heavily based in piano or strings, or didn't accept boom parts. That holds accurate for Rock Bandage songs in general.

What role did George Harrison' son, Dhani, accept in the authoritative of the game?

Well, Dhani was a fan of our antecedent games, so he had met Van Toffler, the arch of MTV, one day and it was appropriate aback MTV had acquired Harmonix. Dhani told him, "Hey, you should do a video bold that's affectionate of like a abounding band." At the time, Rock Bandage was a secret, so Van said, "Well, you should accommodated with Alex Rigopulos, the arch of Harmonix, because he's got article in the works." So, Dhani and Alex met and they talked about Rock Bandage and again the abstraction came up like, "We should do a Beatles Rock Band. That'd be hilarious." I anticipate they laughed it off in the alpha and again realized, "That's an amazing idea. We should go for it." Two years later, actuality we are.

At what point did you get complex with Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr to get their input?

Really aboriginal on, actually. The way that it formed is that MTV amateur and Harmonix had been accepting discussions with [the Beatles' corporation] Apple Corps, and again aback the time was appropriate we went and sat with anniversary of the shareholders, as they're referred to: Paul, Ringo, Yoko and Olivia. The aboriginal affair we did was accomplish a video of how the Beatles would attending as 3-D avatars on the date and we talked about our account and concepts. They all bought into the antecedent concept, and from there we would be talking with Apple Corps but again be aback in advanced of the shareholders to appearance them advance and get their ascribe maybe already a month.

What alterations did the Beatles accomplish or assert on?

Luckily, a lot of it was accustomed aboriginal on. I anticipate they were blessed and adequate with best of the accepted concepts. They absolutely helped accomplish things added accurate: One archetype is we had created a adaptation of George aboriginal on that wasn't absolutely up to snuff yet, so Olivia said, "Why don't you appear to my abode and attending through some photos and I'll accord you guys a agglomeration of references you can assignment with." With Paul and Ringo, they accept all these abundant belief because they were absolutely there and they'd action these air-conditioned tidbits we'd accept no way of knowing. A lot of it was this accessible fact-checking, this insider's adviser to how these guys looked and confused -- all the little things that, actuality an outsider, you aloof wouldn't aces up on.

There were adverse letters about Yoko's captivation with the game: Someone from MTV said she gave the designers hell and again Alex from Harmonix said she wasn't that difficult. What was your claimed acquaintance of alive with her?

I met Yoko abounding times over the advance of the project. In the end, she came to see our advance and it was such a huge advice because at the time our adaptation of John was not absolutely there. She's an artisan and she's absolutely with it, so she was able to amount it out absolutely quickly. She told us, "He doesn't move the appropriate way. His eyes aren't right. He needs to be added confident." She gave us a ton of alarming acknowledgment and it was delivered in a way that she absolutely capital to accomplish abiding she got her point across. At the aforementioned time, every artisan of abundance that she sat with, she array of patted them on the aback after or gave them a hug and said, "You're accomplishing an amazing job." So she's a absolute alone who has able opinions, but acknowledge God she had them because contrarily I absolutely anticipate the bold would accept suffered.

In agreement of the research, what did you do? I'm bold you had to go through bags of photos and video.

The aboriginal affair we did was watch 'The Beatles Anthology' [documentary] and again we were consistently acquisition footage from everywhere. We would account out an abstraction of apparel or scenes and again we'd go to Apple Corps and say, "Do you accept added good advertence actual in your athenaeum to accelerate us?" and they'd be like, "Yeah, we've got a abundant account of John's anorak from 'All You Need Is Love.'"

Did they comedy the bold every time you guys brought it to them? How did that work?

I haven't apparent them comedy it. I feel like they're activity to comedy it aback they're with their ancestors about Christmas. Usually what happens is we'll go over and comedy the [demo version] in advanced of them and they'll accomplish fun of us for not accepting the aerial score. Those guys are absolutely competitive. We played for Ringo already and again Paul came in and Ringo was still in the room. We started accomplishing the aforementioned audience for Paul and as we were ablution into it, Ringo said, "You played that already. Why don't you bang it up a notch?" So we all put it up on a harder adversity and again at that point I got jet lagged and I affectionate of fetor at these amateur anyway, so I fabricated a ton of bum notes. Paul after was like, "You did well, and you did well" and again he looks at me and says, "You? Not so well."

Is it nerve-wracking in a way to be ambidextrous with these agreeable legends and aggravating to re-create a adaptation of them?

Yeah, aggravating to comedy Paul McCartney's bass bandage in advanced of Paul McCartney is alarming [laughs].

What were your added impressions of them? What added affectionate of things did they accompany to the table?

I begin them to be absolutely candied and artistic and absolutely fun to assignment with. The big affair for me was affair them and actuality able to see these guys as humans, seeing they were absolutely these four guys that got calm and started a band. They basically took over the apple but they're still these four guys in a band. That absolutely fabricated a huge consequence on me. Seeing George Harrison's flat with all his guitars on the bank was absolutely a actual affective moment for me.

How abundant fan ascribe did you accept on this? I'm abiding you charge accept been inundated with requests and suggestions.

We were adequately far forth with the bold afore the apple knew about it. A lot of it was the 300 admirers who assignment actuality at Harmonix agreeable in. For the fans, we capital to get as abundant detail into the bold as accessible to accomplish them blessed but also, for bodies who don't apperceive the Beatles, to acquaint their news in a way that's not a history lesson.

We additionally accomplished that a huge allotment of the aboriginal shows was watching all the boyish girls lose their minds. We were like, "We accept to amount out how to do that," because in our added amateur you not often see a high-resolution crowd. For this, we said, "All right, we absolutely accept to go out of our way to accomplish freaking-out 13-year-old girls." One of our artists actuality is absolutely a huge Ringo fan, so she did motion abduction and affected she was agreeable for Ringo.

With this bold actuality so advancing and apparently activity to be huge, do you anticipate added archetypal bands will be lining up to do their own version?

We don't accept affairs now to do any added actuality like this, but I would achievement bodies would attending at it and feel it was a acquiescently crafted tribute. Allotment of our architecture ambition was to accomplish you feel like it was fabricated by the Beatles added than it was fabricated by Harmonix. I achievement added bands will admit that and say, "I appetite article like that for my band."

And there will apparently be Beatles admirers who wouldn't commonly aces up Rock Bandage or alike comedy video games. What added bands could you see accepting that array of agnate fan abject and appreciation?

I don't know. Accepting a berserk fan abject doesn't necessarily beggarly it would construe to a bold or bodies would shop for that game, so we'll delay and see. I appetite to accomplish a Devo game.