MTV spent big for The Beatles, slowly backing away from peripheral business

by Alexander Sliwinski on Aug 31st 2009 10:20AM

It appears that Viacom, parent company of MTV Games and Harmonix, guaranteed a minimum of $10 million, along with another potential $40 million in royalties, to its respective estates for the use of The Beatles in the upcoming Rock Band game. Sources familiar with the deal tell The LA Times that the "royalty rates on [the deal] are not even comparable to anything that has been done before." All this cash is being thrown around in the midst of a revenue decline in the rhythm genre.

MTV Games is seemingly taking even more steps away from producing and distributing peripherals. Paul DeGooyer, senior vice president at the company, explains that its "core competency is media" -- he'd rather let Activision "take on the burden of getting those super-tight margin instruments out there."

Source

Tags: business, ea, Electronic-Arts, harmonix, la-times, Microsoft, mtv-games, Nintendo, rock-band, the-beatles, the-beatles-rock-band, viacom, Wii, Xbox-360

Reader Comments (79)

Just keep releasing the DLC for Rock Band and I will be happy.

agreed! needs more green day!

I'm with you on the Green Day. I won't buy what they have there right now though. Not digging the last couple of albums. But if they get some from about a decade or so back and I'm down for it.

Yes, but can we have a song mapped to 5 drum pads please?

@rocketboy

dont you mean 8?

Nope, I'm not talking about the Ion kit, just the Guitar Hero kit.

That's a lot of royalties.. This game's gonna have to do pretty well to turn a profit methinks.

I hope the game is worth it for them! I plan to get the Beatles instruments and just hang onto those. They will most likely be my final fake instrument purchaces. I most certainly won't be spending any on DJ Hero that is for sure!

You've never heard of The Beatles?

Thanks for making me feel old. :p

Totally, dude.

Can somebody ban this troll already? He's as annoying as he was yesterday.

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=the+beatles&l=1

My cousin is four and regularly rocks out to "Yellow Submarine". Age is no excuse for not knowing who the Beatles are.

There's no way. $50 million in royalties?

I'm sorry, but Van Halen, AC/DC and Metallica are one thing. Two of those bands have released in album in the last 10 years. But to release a game based entirely on The Beatles (regardless of the number of hits or their impact on the music world) is destined to fail. Hell, they broke up like 40 years ago! Most kids today who play these games today probably couldn't give you one fact about The Beatles....

DLC is all profit. Most people who love the Beatles will be buying some DLC to go along with it.

You'd be surprised how many kids know who they are and recognize their music. I hate it when trolls use age as an excuse to generalize youth.

well that's just a damn shame

You're right Tem, I would be surprised. And I'm confused by your "age to generalize youth" statement. Do you mean you're only as old as you act? Because I agree with that. I also agree that everyone should know who The Beatles are and what they did. I'm a fan myself. I just don't can't bring myself to believe that the general audience of children who game are going to be interested in this game....other than the fact that it's another Rock Band title.

And maybe that will be enough...

The Beatles will be releasing 13 remastered albums next month. The grossly overpriced box sets have been completely sold out from Amazon for a while.

These albums will outsell anything that Van Halen, AC/DC, or Metallica has put out in the last 10 years by a very, very large margin.

These albums will make enough money to own the wives, girlfriends, and daughters, of every member of Van Halen, AC/DC, and Metallica.

These albums will be downloaded illegally many times, and yet they will still make so much money that they won't be screaming like a little Lars Ulrich bitch about Napster or whatever you kids call it.

These albums will make so much money that Yoko Ono will be able to hire David Lee Roth and Sammy Hagar to perform a live sex show for her. Seven nights a week. At the Mirage. And it will still get second billing to the Beatles' Love show.

@Copa

Average age of consumer: 35

No, I won't argue that there are 0 kids that know about the Beatles, that would be silly. But to think that there are enough Beatles fans within the Rhythm Game market to cover these ridiculous royalties is an entirely different thing.

We can argue all day as to the reason for the decline in rhythm game sales, but the fact is they have declined, and then you have this deal which was made at the height of the rhythm game craze.

Doomed to failure most likely.

"Average age of consumer: 35"

Yup, and last time I checked our US dollars are still valid currency. They must be, since little turds like you are always begging us for your allowance.

@Storm Eagle

I think there's a law that requires at least 50% of high school kids to like the Beatles. Or at least it seems that way with the number of HS age kids I see buying and wearing the shirts

hate to say it but this game aint for the kids.

this is for the people that actually have the money to spend and love the beatles. yea, theres this whole generation that was crazy over them. i know, hard to believe.

they were really the first 'boy-band' that all you kids used to love a few years back. except these guys could sing and create real music.

anywho, yea. this baby is going to sell very well. saying otherwise is just blatant ignorance of the market and music.

or atleast imo. :P

@copa: Yes your currency is valid, but you are missing the point. 35 year old Beatles fans are a pretty small slice of the Rhythm game market I'd wager. Unfortunately selling you the game will not make this a worthwhile venture.

Look, I hope it does good, I am just saying I don't think it will.

One fact about the Beatles:

They're bigger than Jesus.

+1 Michael T

Disclaimer: I AM NOT TROLLING HERE. I have a feeling that this game will bring more people to the rhythm genre that had not preciously been into it. For the 35+ age group its possible that this is the game that could bring them to the table if they weren't there already. There isn't a doubt in my mind that this game will sell well, better than GH5? That's a tough one strictly because GH5 has variety. When I tell people that Beatles Rock Band is all Beatles songs they look disappointed. GH5 on the other hand has that variety. But the people who LOVE the beatles will get BRB. Also, GH5 with the offer of a free copy of GH Van Halen with pre-order is a hell of a deal. Keep that in mind. I love the Beatles music and will likely pick this one up, but not right away.

@Young_Nastyman
I don't really know, No one wore a Beatles shirt or even spoke of them, but then again my high school was full, and I mean FULL, of preppy jocks and girls who prolly watched the Hills religiously.
but on that fact I really can't see those people playing The Beatles RB

@Coda

I'm 26, married, work at the #1 hospital in the country and live in my own house which my wife and I designed from the ground up ourselves.

So I don't see where any of that makes me one of the turds you're so gleefully referring to. And there's no need to make this a personal argument. I'm just stating opinion, which is what this comments section is for.

Just an anecdote, but worth noting:

I'm 22, and I've been obsessed with the Beatles for years. And while not all of my friends are not as huge fans as me, I definitely know a lot of people my age and a few years younger than me who love the Beatles and are interested in this game because of that.

My dad, who's in his 50s, bought his first plastic instrument a couple of months ago, despite not having Rock Band or Guitar Hero. He bought it in preparation of The Beatles: Rock Band. Even though he enjoys many of the bands in both RB and GH, he never would consider picking those up, as rhythm games aren't really his thing. But The Beatles: RB became a day one purchase for him.

Saying "Oh, but kids don't know about the Beatles" isn't exactly the best argument against this game. The Beatles, despite whatever you think about them, do have a WIDE reach and a diverse audience (at least in terms of age range). I think that ultimately, this game will pay off for MTV just because of that.

"These albums will make so much money that Yoko Ono will be able to hire David Lee Roth and Sammy Hagar to perform a live sex show for her."

I'd rather see that then Yoko Ono in any sort of live sex show.

And I don't want to see it with out a supply of bleach for my eyes.

StormEagle, you work at the Cleveland clinic?

My friend listens to absolutely nothing but stuff like that weird Marylin Manson stuff and nu-metal bands like KoRn and Disturbed as well as some tough metal guys, like Cannible Corpse and Slayer.

And she says The Beatles are the best band ever.

Actually, Activision is backing off of the peripherals as well. Brian Bright recently gave a rather bizarre interview to WorthPlaying:

"Well now, we found that guys don't always want to sing unless they're really drunk... Girls usually won't play the drums, only some guys who know how to play the drums normally will play the drums because it can be embarrassing. But everyone will step up and play the guitar."

Basically, retail outlets are telling Activision/MTV that they are not going to stock a bunch of full band kits that take up half their floor space. Mr. Bright is trying to offer an elaborate justification on why they will be going back mostly to disc-only, or game plus guitar.

Nice to see activision is spending their nice hard earned dollars to run such pivotal study's and surveys to find out girls don't like to play drums and guys only sing when their drunk.

stupid activision.

Demoed the game at BB yesterday and I must say, it's absolutely fantastic if you're a Beatles fan at all. I vowed not to buy another GH/RB game for a while (atleast until the storm of games slows down), but this one is too good to pass up.

Too moronic to be real.

If you're trying to troll, you fail at trolling.
If you're not a troll, then you fail at life.

yaknow what would be funny? if nobody bought this game. haha. serves them right for drowning us with a new rhythm game every two weeks.

*facepalm*

*two handed face palm*

No it would be funny if no one bought Guitar Hero 5.

Can't we just call it even and say he fails at everything? ever?

I am a huge Beatles fan, I like Rockband far more than Guitar Hero, this game looks amazing, and I have absolutely no intention of buying it.

The amount of enjoyment I get out of $60 spent on a rhythm game has steadily declined over the years. I would probably play through most of the songs once, and then put it away until a party.

With gaming hitting the mainstream, there are just so many great games. Even someone with a good bit of discretionary income has to choose how to spend their money, and games like Mass Effect 2, Modern Warfare 2, Final Fantasy XIII, etc. promise so much more value for the price.

Sorry, John, Paul, George, and Ringo.

Are you a musician? or did you ever dream of it even if you never got around to learning a instrument?

The reason I ask is because its THAT mentality that keeps people like myself coming back to play Rock Band even if weeks have gone by without a new track I want to buy.

Personally, I learned to play the drums as a kid and never really perfected the art, never took it further, but my love of music kept that dream of jamming with artists that I love. Cheesy and plastic as this medium is, it still feels real enough to be fun.
I personally dont want Rock Band to ever die. I dont care about new disks based on various bands, and the Beatles arent for me... all I want is what I have and awesome new tracks from time to time.

Oh and to that "Chief" guy who said he never heard of the Beatles... Bullshit. If you grew up with penguins you would know who the Beatles were. Kids who grew up in bushes with high hopes of a great hunt, a lip plate, and a wooden cock holster know who the Beatles were. I would say that even Beatles know who the Beatles were.
oh and its the "Black Eyed Peas" ... not Peace

RE: The Chief!: "How old are the beetles??????"
-
-
-
according to wikipedia: "While some authorities believe modern beetles began about 140 million years ago, research announced in 2007 showed that beetles may have entered the fossil record during the Lower Permian, about 265 to 300 million years ago"

So, MTV... the people who basically reinvented how we take in music in the 80s, the people who turned their music channel into 3 channels of reality programing and almost no music whatsoever; is taking another step away from music media?

Did they change the meaning of MTV too or do they actually think we believe they know a thing about music anymore?

I feel really old when I'm just changing channels and I pass MTV. Jonas Brothers, Miley Cirus or whatever her name is... they're just kids!!! I feel so old when I see the new MTV stars. I mean back in the 90's there was Hanson and Britney, and as sad as it is even their music was better than the crap they show on MTV today...

I can see the game doing ok sale-wise, but I don't feel as though it'll sell THAT much to cover the costs of those royalties. It's a shame but that's how it'll most likely turn out.

I'm ready for an update to RB2 as DLC. Not new songs, but new features and gameplay.

I'd drop $10-$15 to get new play modes, better score tracking (please!), heck, even new background music.

It could just use some spiffy new stuff beyond songs.

Totally agree: RB2 needs a multiplayer overhaul, and I'd be willing to drop some dimes on it (and $10-15 does sound reasonable). I'm tired of friends failing out on the fourth "make a setlist" song, and have them not be able to change the difficulty level--there goes 15 mins wasted!

And as for people having to work out who will play guitar and who will play bass, when they both want guitar? Why not let them both play the same part? Furthermore, it's tedious to add/remove/change instruments, and that process is in need of streamlining.

I dislike Guitar Hero's look and charting, but they definitely have some multiplayer options that I think RB needs to emulate.

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MTV spent big for The Beatles, slowly backing away from peripheral business

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