At a press conference today, Harmonix and MTV Games, the makers of the Rock Band franchise, announced that they had reached an agreement with Apple Corps and The Beatles to create an videogame utilizing The Beatles catalog.

Obviously, this is huge news. The Beatles, who are still refusing come-ons from iTunes, are finally getting in on the new generation of music distribution, but through a videogame. This also makes Rock Band the top dog in music videogames, as they’ve taken the biggest band ever into their stable of artists, and signed an exclusive contract that keeps The Beatles off of Guitar Hero for the foreseeable future.

But the most enticing news at the press conference was that the Beatles-Rock Band partnership wouldn’t just be a track pack expansion for Rock Band 2, instead, it will be an entirely new game that traces the ascension of the Beatles, starting with their beginnings in Liverpool, and up to their world-conquering latter days (kind of like Guitar Hero Aerosmith).

No word on what songs will be featured on the game (please, oh please, include “I Want You (She’s So Heavy)”), but Harmonix says the game will go through the Beatles’ entire career, and every album will be represented in some fashion. Harmonix is aiming to get the game out by holiday season 2009.