( CNN ) -- The fourth quarter of 2009 for the music and video game industries is shaping up to be all about the Beatles . And both could use some `` Help ! '' The video game industry has high hopes The Beatles 'Rock Band ' will pull it out of recession . The band , which released its last full album of original music in 1970 , is the focus of the simultaneous Wednesday release of `` The Beatles : Rock Band '' for the Rock Band video game franchise , as well as the digitally remastered box set of the Beatles 13-album discography by EMI . Analysts expect a spike in video game and CD sales , which have been declining through the year . For audiophiles the release of the remastered CDs in mono and stereo is the first re-release of the Beatles catalogue since 1987 . `` It 's probably the biggest catalogue remaster that has ever happened , '' said Paul Bromby , EMI 's senior marketing manager heading the re-release for the London-based company . Watch more about the 21st century Beatles » . Given the state of CD sales , it may also be the last major event of its kind : Sales of CDs in the United States last year dropped 19 percent , according to entertainment market researcher the NPD Group , while purchases of digital downloads increased by 29 percent . Forrester Research estimates digital downloads will outstrip CD sales by 2012 . Why do the Beatles mean so much to the music industry ? » . The remastered CDs are also a first step toward the Beatles catalogue eventual release for digital download . Allan Rouse , project coordinator on the reissue for EMI , told CNN the new masters are ready for digital download if and when EMI and Apple Corp. -- which represents surviving Beatles Paul McCartney and Ringo Star , and the estates of George Harrison and John Lennon -- make them available for release . Still , the increase in the release of digital music -- which now accounts for a third of all sales , according to NPD -- is n't enough to make up for the total loss of sales . In 2008 , there were 13 million fewer U.S. music buyers than the previous year . That is making video game releases by Rock Band and Guitar Hero , where players compete to strum in time on plastic guitars to original recordings , an increasingly important crossover player in the music industry . `` There 's a lot of excitement ( in the video game industry ) because this is the first game since the Wii Fit that is aimed for a mass market , '' said Michael Pachter , a video game analyst for Wedbush Morgan Securities , who first tried his hand at The Beatles game with George Harrison 's son , Dahni , at the E3 Expo , where the game debuted in June . Like the Wii Fit -- an exercise-along Nintendo game that was a breakout hit since its global release in 2008 -- `` The Beatles : Rock Band '' is expected to attract game buyers beyond `` hardcore gamers , '' Pachter said . `` Guitar Hero and Rock Band expanded gaming more to families , something that parents in their 40s could play along with their teenage girls , '' Pachter said . `` But most of these compilations have bands that probably half the parents never heard of . Everyone knows the Beatles . You ca n't say that about many bands . '' `` The Beatles : Rock Band '' will have 45 songs representing a cross-section of their career . Additional music from The Beatles catalogue will be made available for purchase and download including `` Abbey Road , '' `` Sgt . Pepper 's Lonely Hearts Club Band '' and `` Rubber Soul , '' to be released in October , November and December , respectively -- giving a boost to the sale of Beatles songs through the end of the year . See images of Abbey Road studios » . Pachter estimates the video game will sell 5 million units globally by the end of the year , with prices ranging from more than $ 50 to $ 250 for a limited-edition package with Beatles guitar and drum set controllers . Video games sales have dropped nearly 20 percent from last year . The Beatles release is expected to be a boon for music-based video games , which had U.S. revenues of $ 452 million the first half of this year , compared to $ 840 million during the same period last year , according to NPD . Console wars heat up » . Another industry closely watching the Beatles game release and the popularity of plastic fake guitars are the makers of real musical instruments . Sales of guitars exploded with the popularity of the Beatles in the 1960s . Will new Beatles fans via Rock Hero be inspired to buy the real thing ? While the guitar is still the most popular musical instrument , guitar sales in the U.S. -- which accounts for 42 percent of global sales -- dropped 6.6 percent to $ 1.6 billion last year , the largest drop in more than a decade , according to Music Trades . `` There has been some evidence of people crossing over to real guitars after playing the games , however , it 's not large enough to be measurable , '' said Brian Majeski , editor of Music Trades.. `` Most in the industry view it as a net positive -- making music is better than shooting bad guys . ''
`` The Beatles : Rock Band '' video game , digitally remastered box release Wednesday . Analysts expect spike in video game , CD sales , which have been on the decline . Comment: