Music genre revenue down, EA expects Rock Band to lose $400m in 2009

Kinda like your comment apparently

hehe, i guess so.
i didn't realize that was so offensive

How dare you dissent with popular opinion! For shame!

Agreed, 100%.

I'm also getting sick of all these Guitar Hero and Rock Band games. Then again, I also don't play online multiplayer games either.

music genre is for casual tards.

Agreed, the rhythm games can go away and never come back for all I care.

I don't think (or want) the genre will disappear outright, but I think we're just witnessing a fad passing. I couldn't get enough of it for two years. Now I'm more inclined to learn real guitar.

Death to Guitar Hero and Rockband!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mostly the all too expensive. I mean, if I don't want a game - I just don't buy it, though I hate when these games use lesser songs from certain bands just so that they have the "must have" songs for later games and can make people buy yet another entry. But the prices are insane. I'll grant them that Guitar Hero: Metallica was a much more worthwhile than Rocks the 80's, which I just found to be a waste of money - but it's the same game. You're not innovating. For the most part, you don't have any huge new development costs. Get musicians who will go in the game for less money - they should want to, it helps sell their songs - and cut the prices down already. I just can't see paying more than $30 for most of these things. For regular games as well, I want Mad World - but I won't buy it until it comes down into that range. Especially after getting burned buying NiGHTS 2 at full price when it came out and having it go down to $20 within a few months. That's one thing I have to give Valve (other than their games being great) - $10 Orange Box is absolutely fantastic, and I was tempted on the Left 4 Dead sale. I only didn't get it because I have too many games right now that are waiting to be played.

It's so very difficult for the average consumer to understand the current band format. Most people assume they have to get every instrument, and for those that don't there isn't always an easy option to get "X instrument + Game"

At my store, Guitar Hero III is selling a ton more than World Tour even now. You could argue it's the tracklist, but they don't list it on the box.

RB2 gives you 100 songs for 60 Dollars (Much cheaper if your looking for a deal)

Metallica gives you 49 Songs for 60 Dollars. (A better deal if you want Metallica but there are only 28 tracks)

Cost are getting higher to buy licenses for tracks now that it's proven profitable way to make money off music. There is a whole music lable that Harmonix refuses to buy from because the company demands more money for their songs. (The music label escapes me for now)

Your argument for wanting games for less isn't good enough to explain why these games aren't selling. I am buying more games then ever these days. They problem is I want way more games then I ever did and to get them all I am constantly bargain shopping.

Yes the Orange box is a nice game for 10 dollars but it's also is a game that came out Nov. 2004 and didn't see a Console release till 2007. Not only that but Portal was a relatively cheap game to make that became a huge success. I can't find the source but was a concept game that turned out to such a good concept that it became a hit. What I am trying to say is games like Mad world aren't even 3 months old yet and your comparing prices to a 5 year old blockbuster.

I'm not trying to be rude I just don't agree and wanted to say why I don't agree.

My main issue is game format. GH2 and GH3 had it right (GH2 more-so). The game actually gets progressively harder as you play. Instead of now, where it's like wow this song is kinda hard, then this next one is easy, then its like wtf hard.

I wasn't comparing Mad World's price to Orange Box's, not directly anyways, just saying that games overall are too expensive, that I have no plans of buying it until the price comes down, and that Valve has stumbled onto a really nice formula with their Steam sales. That's far from the only occasion I've gotten a good game deal. Also, Left 4 Dead is not that old (would I be wrong to say less than a year, I really don't remember - but not that old) and the price at my local Wal Mart is $30. And that is, if not Halo 3, a very notable title - probably more of a blockbuster than Mad World is.

A lot of friends who use to come over and play it haven't been over in months. I'd turn it on more if I had more Free DLC more often. I use to play like crazy but I got sick of setting up my iON to play by myself. I guess I should find some people online.

Maybe that's why this is news, because they've never lost money like...ever. So $400 loss is a HUGE deal.

or it could just be a typo and the real problem they have is the cross compatability. Either that or people are just tired of buying $250 bundles.

ya know you beat me to pointing that out so i guess i dont have too anymore, im sure if it was just 400 it would be missable

I for one blame the swine flu for these shocking numbers.

I'm sure that's definitely part of it, but I'd imagine you can also attribute some of that to the state of the economy and people being real johnny pinch pennies as of late. If you don't own RB or RB2, then you're up against something of a stiff price tag. Especially when you could buy a big pile of used games for the same cost.

Completely agree. They wanted Rock Band to be a platform and have been keeping up with their promises by releasing excellent weekly DLC to support it and not churning out disc after disc of 'new' tracks/content.

And I'm greatly appreciative of that.

I liked your old avatar better, however, now i can truthfully say that you are a jerk face.

Yeah I agree.

At almost $200 a pop, people are only going to buying one set of instruments most likely. They've done a great job with Rock Band, supplying the DLC and I love that. The problem though is that once someone has bought Rock Band...they wont be buying the whole set again.

Your explanation has completely confused me.

I agree. If they released better DLC, I would probably dust off my drum set and play again. But for me, every week is another disappointment.

If only they would realize that when they release a couple of songs a week that they were somehow, not going to be able to please every single person with different likes and dislikes in the world, everything would be okay.

Dude ... GH dlc sucks hairy ballz, Rock band dlc completely destroys GH dlc and is the better game all around.

First they should get them out in North America. I haven't seen 360 controllers in a long time.

When the market hit 14,000 Time-Warner never hit $25 like many had forecast. Now in the mire of a bear market it knocks at that door. I don't believe anymore.

No, it means you've lost the cost of buying the lottery ticket (say, $2).

Unfortunately the difference between the "prize" ($10 million) and the "lottery ticket" ($2) is actually the difference between "production cost" and "sale price", and since the profit isn't $10 million minus $2, it's more likely $250 minus $200, they're losing out on a lot of "lottery tickets" by having unsold inventory sitting around.

Frankly though I don't see this myself, it seems to sell pretty well around here.

I wonder what the cost of producing the DLC versus the revenue it brings in actually is (how many guys do you have to pay to turn the master tracks into a working Rock Band song?)

From one grammar nazi to another, I want to say thanks for pointing that out. ;)