QUICK TAKES - March 6, 2009

The creators of Rock Band have chosen Sept. 9 -- or 09/09/09 -- as the North American release date for The Beatles: Rock Band, the first edition of the popular video game to be engineered around the music of a single act.

It is being described as an “experiential progression through and celebration of the music and artistry of the Beatles,” rather than simply a regular edition of Rock Band using the Fab Four’s music. It will be released in configurations for Sony PlayStation 3, Microsoft Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii units.

Part of the experience will come from game controllers that copy instruments played by the group. The complete package will carry a list price of $250, but owners of earlier versions of Rock Band will be able to purchase just the new guitar controllers in a stand-alone bundle for about $100 and the Beatle-centric software for $60.

There is still no word about which of the group’s 200-plus original studio recordings will be included, but given the release date, it wouldn’t be a stretch to anticipate at least one track from the “Let It Be” album: “One After 909.”

-- Randy Lewis