Beatlemania is set to return -- in digital form at least - when The Beatles: Rock Band game is released this week.
The format may not be unique, but the content is. It will be the first time that music by the Fab Four has appeared in a video game.
And as a newcomer to music gaming, it was astonishing how quick and easy it was to step from the 21st Century into the Swinging Sixties.
For the uninitiated, Rock Band is a karaoke-style game that uses adapted game controllers -- lead guitar, bass guitar and drums -- to play along to various songs.
The game is all about keeping in time with colour-coded blobs that scroll along the on-screen fretboard. It works in a similar way if you are Ringo on the drum pads.
And it's curiously addictive.
If one of the band is not up to scratch, you'll get kicked off stage -- though there's a family-friendly override setting.
The Beatles: Rock Band game is part of a wider marketing campaign that also sees the release of newly-remastered versions of the band's back catalogue on CD.
It comes at a time when the music industry is looking for new ways to recover some of its dwindling revenue as CD sales decline.
Of course, music video games are nothing new -- Guitar Hero 5 was released last week in the US featuring tracks by Nirvana, Muse and Iron Maiden.
But getting a brand like The Beatles is a significant step in an industry worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
The game, which goes on sale on September 9, will feature 45 songs, along with a bonus track -- "All You Need is Love" -- that can be bought online.
The albums "Abbey Road," "Sgt Pepper" and "Rubber Soul" will be released for download later in the year.
The game allows players to follow The Beatles through their career in environments such as The Cavern Club and the Shea Stadium. It also features "imaginative environments" known as Dreamscapes.
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