Last July, Konami filed a lawsuit against Viacom, parent company of Rock Band developer Harmonix, claiming the game infringed on patents it held for music titles utilizing guitar controllers. After six months of silence, Harmonix has decided to sue back, claiming Rock Band actually improved on Konami's patents -- and Rock Revolution is, in fact, infringing on Viacom patents. Confused yet?

The gist of Harmonix's counter-suit involves a claim Rock Revolution is actually more like Rock Band than Konami's GuitarFreak franchise, the design of which is likely the basis of the original suit. We naturally picture all of this unfolding Phoenix Wright style, but the reality is most likely far, far less interesting. We'll let you know if any sparks begin to fly.

[Via Shacknews]

Viacom is content with the two million units sold of Rock Band 2 since launch, but expected more from the series. PaidContent reports that the media conglomerate sees the Rock Band franchise as a bright spot in what it otherwise expects to be a very difficult year, particularly with ad revenues getting "worse before it gets better."

Harmonix may not have a new Rock Band this year, but it's certainly continuing its streak of DLC content for the platform and will release the The Beatles game (for the benefit of Mr. Kite) later this year.

[Via Gamasutra]

According to Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman (Via Edge Online), Rock Band has an easier time of attracting musicians than its competitor, Guitar Hero. Dauman said that he believes artists see that Viacom has a "music orientation" (the company owns MTV, you see), adding that the company has "the opportunity to attract talent to [Rock Band] in a way that our competitors have greater difficulty doing." Dauman cited the upcoming Beatles game in particular, saying that the deal to create the game "is something that we probably got because we're Viacom--we're MTV Networks."

The Edge Online piece states that Rock Band has officially surpassed the 500 song mark with the release of the most recent No Doubt tracks, which compares rather favorably with approximately 150 songs available for Guitar Hero: World Tour. As for Viacom's future in the video game industry, Dauman said that the company likely won't be making any more "big acquisitions" like its purchase of Harmonix in 2008.

Finally, Dauman dropped a few more details on the Beatles game, saying that "it will just blow you away." He added that the game will feature "never-before-heard dialog" from the group's recording sessions.

Konami is pretty upset. They recently filed a patent suit against Harmonix, MTV and their parent company, Viacom. Apparently, a little game called Rock Band (you've probably never heard of it) violated patents Konami had filed in 2002 and 2003. The suit seeks to block Harmonix from using Konami's "inventions" and also get compensation in the form of lots of money from the company. With Konami having introduced GuitarFreaks (a game utilizing a guitar controller) to Japanese arcades nearly a decade ago, it seems likely that this is what it's all about.


[Via Joystiq]

With all the rhythm game-related lawsuits flying around in recent months, it seems we totally missed a class-action lawsuit filed back in March by one Michael Antonelli against Rock Band makers Harmonix, Electronic Arts and Viacom (owner of MTV). It seems Antonelli was upset that the companies weren't offering a standalone guitar for the game, requiring PS3 owners to buy two full, $170 bundles in order to play with the full four-player setup (Xbox 360 owners could use Guitar Hero II's USB guitar).

Well, we're not too broken out about missing this news the first time around, because Next Gen is reporting that Antonelli dropped the suit as of June 6. We can't say we blame him, as the standalone guitar he wanted has been announced since February and available since April.

While it's always nice to see a frivolous lawsuit drop to the side of the road, it's also a little sad. Just think of all those hours spent preparing those pointless legal briefs -- those are hours that could have been spent rocking out! It's a shame, really ...

Harmonix's grand-parent company, Viacom, announced today as part of its Q1 earnings that Rock Band has shipped three million "bundled units." GameDaily reports that the company also stated that Harmonix has had over 10 million songs downloaded for the game.

The last report we had was that Harmonix hit the six million DLC song mark in mid-March, which means the new music store apparently did help accelerate sales. Viacom's CEO said that Rock Band is emerging as a valuable long-term franchise and he expects further success from the Wii and European launches.

Midway's newly minted CEO Matt Booty recently kicked open a treasure chest full of speculation telling MCV that the storied video game publisher "strategically fits in with [Viacom's] overall plan." This got MCV speculating that "Midway could soon officially become part of the Viacom family" joining other Viacom properties like MTV Networks (who already own MTV Games, Harmonix, GameTrailers, etc.), and Paramount, which recently announced that it too would get on the video game publishing bandwagon.

Why Viacom, you ask? Because Viacom bigwig Sumer Redstone is a majority shareholder in Midway and his daughter, Shari Redstone, is its Chair. With all the red ink at Midway, Redstone may be ready to introduce his two corporate families and realize some of that corporate synergy the suits are always going on about.

Having to fire a CEO is never a good sign for a company, especially when that company has recently seen massive losses and a board restructuring. But there's still one person willing to defend Midway's business strategy, and that person is, surprisingly enough, departing CEO David Zucker.

To be fair, Zucker was interviewed before his replacement by an interim CEO yesterday, but if he saw the writing on the wall he didn't let it show. "We expect to significantly grow our revenues in 2008," Zucker told GamesIndustry.biz last week, adding that naysayers have been predicting the company's demise for "for five years or so." Zucker emphasized that a combination of investment in new technology and established franchises like Mortal Kombat and NFL Blitz will provide the company's saving grace. That might well be true, but any turnaround will unfortunately come too late to be the saving grace for Mr. Zucker.

Paramount tells MCV that the studio would like to increase its presence in video games and even establish a publishing division. Paramount Digital's General Manager of Worldwide Distribution, Alex Carloss, says being part of Viacom gives Paramount inroads into many worlds and the studio is "very, very excited" about growth into the "interactive entertainment market." He concludes, "You're going to see an awful lot more from Paramount in the space."

When asked if Paramount would follow Warner Brothers into third-party games publishing, Carloss replied it would be "imprudent" to give "guidance" on that. Being a part of a behemoth like Viacom certainly has its advantages. Another Viacom child, MTV, is set to spend $500 million over the next two years, and initial investments seem to be paying off.

[Via GameDaily]

Former Harmonix shareholders are looking to split a pot of $209 million courtesy of current owner MTV Games' parent company Viacom. A recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission states that because "financial results exceed specific contractual targets" that the former shareholders may receive a nice payday in the near future.

Rock Band may not be at Guitar Hero's level of sales yet, but its ninja operation of consistent DLC has paid off heavily (not only in sales, but in keeping gamer mindshare). Even at its initial high retail price, Rock Band has marched to a steady drumbeat and displayed staying power.

For those interested in crunching the numbers, Newsweek's Level Up looks at the devil down in Georgia in the details of this bonus.

Take-Two Interactive has seen its fair share of ups and downs, and with stocks on the slow rise following the announced release date of GTA IV, it's rumored that media conglomerate Viacom might be moving in to make a bid on the company, to the tune of $1.5 billion USD.

MCV reports that Viacom is looking to buy majority ownership of the publisher and developer, with a reputed bid of $23 USD per share; Take-Two's current stock value was at around $16 as of last night. At this premium, majority shareholders could be convinced to sell their stock, giving Viacom an opportunity to seize control of the company.

True or not, the value of Take-Two is expected to rise tremendously following the release of Grand Theft Auto IV, making these early months the best time for a company like Viacom to make a move.

Update: Reuters says that "a source familiar with the matter" has disputed reports of Viacom's offer. The plot thickens ...

With the absolute flood of third-party guitars for the Guitar Hero series, it's not that surprising that accessory-makers are jumping on the Rock Band-wagon, too. Well, at least one is. Mad Catz today announced a "multi-year licensing agreement" with MTV Games to produce "both wired and wireless bass guitars, a drum percussion set bundled with professional quality wooden drum sticks, and a wired microphone."

While having extra options for drum kits and microphones is nice, the addition of officially licensed, wireless, third-party guitars will be welcome news to PS3 owners tired of not being able to use their Guitar Hero III guitars with Rock Band and Xbox 360 owners tired of tripping over wires -- not to mention general Rock Band owners tired of replacing their broken bundled guitars. The instruments will be available in the "first half of 2008," according to the release.

While the release specifically addresses Rock Band instruments, it also leaves the door open for other applicable "game accessories." We personally can't wait for the inevitable pyrotechnics launcher that goes off every time you nail a tough solo. Just, er, be careful with it, OK?

Microsoft and media conglomerate Viacom have just entered a long-term partnership to provide content on each other's properties. The collaboration will bring more video and audio content to Xbox Live Marketplace, as well as casual games to Windows Live and MSN.com, with Microsoft purchasing ad content on Viacom's broadcast and online networks.

The partnership, which starts with an initial five-year contract, will bring audio and video content to MSN.com and Xbox Live Marketplace from Viacom-owned companies like MTV Networks, Paramount, and BET. Viacom will also provide casual games on MSN.com and Windows (Xbox Live Arcade was not specifically mentioned).

In return, Microsoft will purchase substantial amounts of ad content through Viacom over the next five years, with the two companies collaborating to run promotions during major events aired on MTV and BET, such as award shows. The deal is worth an estimated $500 million in business services over the initial contract period.

Everyone knows that Microsoft is aggressively seeking digital content for its MSN and Xbox 360 Video Marketplace services. So aggressive, that they've forced Viacom to succumb to their will. Well, not exactly ... but Microsoft is known for their tough business practices.

Both Microsoft and Viacom announced today that they've entered into a partnership (both willingly, of course) that'll give Microsoft unprecedented access to Viacom's MTV, BET and Paramount Pictures content stockpile for five years. The deal is estimated to be worth $500 million and will give Microsoft the rights to distribute certain content while Viacom benefits by getting Microsoft to jump on board with advertising. We have a feeling the US Video Marketplace is about to get a little bigger ...

[Via AMN Xbox 360]

After months of reports proving that Blu-ray sells more movies than HD-DVD, Paramount's parent company Viacom has announced that they are dropping Blu-ray support and going HD-DVD exclusive. According to Viacom, they made this decision based on researching the benefits of HD-DVD, which "confirmed the clear benefits of HD DVD." Some of the benefits of HD-DVD that they mentioned included lower sales, a much smaller user base, and limited storage space (okay okay, they actually said 'market ready technology' and 'lower manufacturing costs').

There are rumors of a 150 million dollar payout by the HD-DVD consortium to nab the Viacom exclusivity, which sure would help explain the move more than the officially given reasons. Regardless, we now can look at the format-war that nobody wanted getting strung out even longer. Yay -- thanks Viacom.

[Thanks to everybody who sent this in]