Beatles, MTV 'Come Together' For Video Game

Sam Gustin hums: It's been a long and winding road, but it looks like the Beatles -- the last, biggest holdout from the digital music scene -- are finally embracing Rock Band, the video game phenomenon.

Word broke late Wednesday that the Fab Four are joining forces with MTV Networks to incorporate the band's songs into the company's popular video game.

Speculation about such a pact had been mounting Wednesday, after MTV and Apple Corp., the company which manages the affairs of the Beatles, announced a Thursday morning press conference in which they will unveil what they called an "unprecedented global music project."

The Wall Street Journal reported the pact at 6 p.m. Wednesday, citing several people familiar with the matter, and noted that the deal is a major win for MTV's Harmonix unit, which develops Rock Band and had been battling rival Activision, which produces Guitar Hero, for access to the Beatles' songs.

It's unclear whether the announcement will be a stand alone Beatles-themed video game, or just the inclusion of Beatles songs in a new version of the game. The Beatles join Aerosmith, AC/DC and Metallica in licensing their songs for video game use.

Rumblings of a new Beatles-themed video game had been growing louder since earlier this year, which the Financial Times reported that such a game was in development.

At the time, the paper reported that the Beatles were in talk with both MTV and Activision.

The Beatles' decision to license their songs for Rock Band could be a prelude to a decision by the band to finally make songs available digitally, on iTunes or other internet retailers. To date, they remain the last, biggest musical act to refrain from doing so.