Few can question the legacy The Beatles left on the music world in the 20th century, but will millennial video gamers (most born long after the band’s split 40 years ago) be abuzz with Beatlemania?
Looking at Nielsen’s Video Game Tracking data 3 months prior to the release of The Beatles: Rock Band on September 9, consumers registered good awareness and modest purchase interest of the title at the time. However, during the week of its release, awareness and purchase interest numbers jumped substantially for The Beatles: Rock Band across almost all age ranges, most likely due to the mass media coverage of both the game and re-release of the band’s master recordings.
Purchase interest metrics for The Beatles: Rock Band within the 35 to 54 age bracket jumped higher this past week, perhaps due to widespread media coverage/buzz. The traditional audiences for The Beatles skew older than those of Aerosmith and Metallica, but so far purchase interest levels for The Beatles: Rock Band among this age range appear on-par with these two other band-themed games.
| % Aided Awareness | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Title | Time Frame | Age 13-17 | Age 18-24 | Age 25-34 | Age 35-54 |
| The Beatles: Rock Band | Releasing This Week | 72% | 70% | 72% | 60% |
| 1 Week Pre-Release | 62% | 56% | 56% | 50% | |
| 3 Months Pre-Release | 42% | 38% | 41% | 33% | |
| Guitar Hero: Metallica | Releasing This Week | 75% | 66% | 72% | 68% |
| 1 Week Pre-Release | 72% | 67% | 67% | 67% | |
| 3 Months Pre-Release | 65% | 59% | 59% | 57% | |
| Guitar Hero: Aerosmith | Releasing This Week | 78% | 81% | 72% | 71% |
| 1 Week Pre-Release | 70% | 70% | 72% | 72% | |
| 3 Months Pre-Release | 61% | 60% | 69% | 61% | |
| Guitar Hero 5 | Releasing This Week | 72% | 72% | 65% | 69% |
| 1 Week Pre-Release | 68% | 69% | 66% | 53% | |
| 3 Months Pre-Release | 63% | 59% | 55% | 50% | |
| Source: The Nielsen Company |
| % Definite Purchase Intent | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Title | Time Frame | Age 13-17 | Age 18-24 | Age 25-34 | Age 35-54 |
| The Beatles: Rock Band | Releasing This Week | 22% | 18% | 17% | 16% |
| 1 Week Pre-Release | 22% | 14% | 11% | 13% | |
| 3 Months Pre-Release | 15% | 13% | 13% | 12% | |
| Guitar Hero: Metallica | Releasing This Week | 24% | 14% | 15% | 11% |
| 1 Week Pre-Release | 25% | 19% | 17% | 16% | |
| 3 Months Pre-Release | 24% | 15% | 20% | 14% | |
| Guitar Hero: Aerosmith | Releasing This Week | 37% | 19% | 20% | 19% |
| 1 Week Pre-Release | 27% | 14% | 21% | 16% | |
| 3 Months Pre-Release | 25% | 14% | 16% | 17% | |
| Guitar Hero 5 | Releasing This Week | 27% | 22% | 15% | 14% |
| 1 Week Pre-Release | 25% | 18% | 16% | 13% | |
| 3 Months Pre-Release | 29% | 24% | 20% | 16% | |
| Source: The Nielsen Company |
Beatles still buzz
Online buzz and media coverage for The Beatles: Rock Band peaked the day of the video game release, which coincided with the release of remastered versions of The Beatles’ catalog (and false rumors the catalog would be available on iTunes). Buzz levels specific to The Beatles: Rock Band game soared to more than five times the levels of buzz generated by Guitar Hero 5 on its launch date.
| 78% |
| 70% |
| 61% |
