Rock Band Indeed: Beatles Pursuing Game Deals

Now at Christie's; may fetch $11K

(NEWSER) - Looks like the stars were aligned for Ringo. A 1960 letter written by Paul McCartney sought a drummer for the Beatles two years before Starr joined the Fab Four. The note was discovered folded into a book at a Liverpool yard sale, the AP reports. It was a response to an ad placed by a drummer looking for a band. In the missive, McCartney offered the drummer—whose identity remains unknown—an audition. More»

Gig is over for former hit game

(NEWSER) - Activision's former smash hit has gone from hero to zero. The company says Guitar Hero—which earned it more than $1 billion just 2 years ago—is being discontinued. Members of the Guitar Hero team will be among some 500 Activision employees to be laid off, the Los Angeles Times reports. Activision is also axing the True Crime: Hong Kong game that was in development. The company plans to focus on World of Warcraft and future Call of Duty titles. More»

Popular video game makes its debut as iPhone, iPod Touch app

(NEWSER) - Rock Band has arrived on the iPhone, complete with a Bluetooth multi-player mode that allows four people to jam together. The $9.99 app, also available on the iPod Touch, includes 20 tracks, among them the Pixies' "Debaser" and two Foo Fighters songs; of course, more can be purchased via an in-game store, TechCrunch reports. All four parts of the popular video game—drums, bass, guitar, and even singing—are played by tapping on the screen. More»

(NEWSER) - The album is dead. Touring is on the fade. File-sharing is killing download profits. Adieu, music biz? Not so fast, reports The Wrap, which offers five fixes:

• Drop the price. Ninety-nine cents for a song? Try 10. "Lower the price point, and you undercut the very foundation of illegal downloading."

Nirvana frontman's widow threatens to sue Activision

(NEWSER) - Kurt Cobain's widow, Courtney Love, says she plans to sue Activision for allegedly including the Nirvana frontman’s image in its Guitar Hero 5 without permission, MTV reports. “For the record this Guitar Hero shit is breach of contract on a Bullys part and there will be a proper addressing of this and retraction," she tweets. "WE are going to sue the shit out of ACtivision we being the Trust the Estate the LLC the various LLCs Cobain Enterprises." More»