Not to date ourselves too much, but remember how exciting it was when MTV World Premiered videos for new songs? (Um, do you even remember videos?) Well, since the channel has gotten out of the music video business, it has looked and apparently found a way to showcase new music—video games! They’re going release a track off the most anticipated album in a decade—Guns N’ Roses’ Chinese Democracy—by packaging it with a bunch of other songs on the setlist for Rock Band 2, which they release via their gaming division. Of course, this was done to capture that segment of the population that aren’t intimately familiar with G N’ R—namely, those who weren’t born when Appetite For Destruction was released, or roughly 80% of Rock Band players.

MTV expects to announce on Monday that the sequel to its popular Rock Band game will include “Shackler’s Revenge,” a track from the Guns N’ Roses album that has been in the works for more than a decade, said people familiar with the deal who spoke on condition of anonymity because the arrangement has yet to be announced.

…Rock Band is introducing young listeners to older bands they might not know… Mötley Crüe’s exposure in the game helped it sell more albums because gamers spend significant time with the band’s music. “I credit Rock Band for bringing in the younger audience,” [Crüe manager Allen Kovac] said. “The people who downloaded that song aren’t just listening to it, they’re interacting with it.”

Excellent. We can just imagine an 8-year-old rocking out to “Dr. Feelgood” somewhere in the great nation of ours. He is definitely the king of the barrio streets in his friends’ eyes.

Earlier: Madden 09 Soundtrack Revealed: Mainstream Rock And Hip-Hop Ahoy

Planned Guns N’ Roses Deal Underscores Power of Video Games to Sell Songs [NY Times]
Image [fuseblog]