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Viacom: The Beatles: Rock Band sales strong, overall RB growth slow

by David Hinkle { Nov 4th 2009 at 8:29PM }

Even though John, Paul, George and Ringo have been rocking the disc tray of your favorite console with The Beatles: Rock Band, its expectation-exceeding sales haven't helped boost overall Rock Band sales. Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman told USA Today the "economics of our Rock Band franchise are improving, though not as quickly as we'd like." There's still hope that Rock Band could at least break even or show a small profit, though Viacom CFO Tom Dooley said that will depend entirely on the franchise's performance this holiday season.

Despite tanking sales, the music genre still remains one of the best in the industry and The Beatles: Rock Band shows us that the right approach could still determine financial success in the space. Its September debut was very fortuitous and it even managed to best Guitar Hero 5 in the US -- which not only came with a free game, but is also one of the most recognizable brands to the mainstream.

Source - USA Today
Source - Viacom earnings report

Beatles: Rock Band sales exceeding expectations, Viacom says

by Justin McElroy { Sep 16th 2009 at 8:00PM }

When Viacom's CEO, Philippe Dauman, says that The Beatles: Rock Band sales have "exceeded internal expectations," we have to imagine that he doesn't have his top expectations men on the job. If we had been asked for our expectations of a game featuring the most popular band of all time, we would have simply pointed toward www.mythirdyacht.com and been on our way.

What's actually a surprise from an IndustryGamers report on the matter is that even in our crummy economy, it's the $250 version of the game -- bundled with all the instruments -- that's performing so well that Dauman says he expects a sellout by November.

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

by Alexander Sliwinski { Aug 31st 2009 at 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."

Rock Band slump leads to lower Viacom profits

by Richard Mitchell { Jul 28th 2009 at 3:30PM }

Remember how Rock Band sales declined 67 percent since last year? It looks like the sales slump has taken its toll on Viacom's Media Networks division, which houses MTV Games. According to Gamasutra, the division reported revenues of $1.97 billion in its fiscal quarter ending June 30, an 8 percent drop, dubbed the result of "a 41 percent decline in ancillary revenues driven by lower sales of the music video game Rock Band." The Media Networks division also reported profits of $671 million, down 12 percent, which was again attributed to the performance of Rock Band at retail.

Overall, Viacom reported a 14 percent drop in revenues to $3.3 billion and a 26 percent drop in profits to $586 million, though executive chairman Sumner Redstone says that Viacom has "the right portfolio of assets and the right vision to manage through this challenging climate."

Will The Beatles: Rock Band get economically strapped, music-loving gamers back in stores? We'll find out in September.

Konami counter-sued by Viacom over Rock Revolution

by Randy Nelson { Feb 13th 2009 at 2:00AM }

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: Rock Band 2 sales less than expected, but still solid

by Alexander Sliwinski { Feb 12th 2009 at 8:45PM }

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]

Viacom: Rock Band attracts more talent

by Richard Mitchell { Dec 10th 2008 at 5:45PM }

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 none too pleased with Rock Band, files patent suit

by David Hinkle { Jul 11th 2008 at 12:30PM }

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.

Gallery: Rock Band

[Via Joystiq]

Man drops lawsuit over Rock Band instrument bundling

by Kyle Orland { Jun 12th 2008 at 12:55PM }

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 ...

Rock Band ships 3 million 'bundled' units, 10 million songs downloaded

by Alexander Sliwinski { May 2nd 2008 at 7:00PM }

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.

MCV: Midway could become part of Viacom

by Christopher Grant { Apr 25th 2008 at 5:59PM }

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.

Departing Midway CEO bullish on company outlook

by Kyle Orland { Mar 21st 2008 at 11:45AM }

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 'very, very, excited' about games space

by Alexander Sliwinski { Mar 4th 2008 at 7:55PM }

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 may receive $209 million from Viacom

by Alexander Sliwinski { Mar 3rd 2008 at 2:00PM }

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.

Rumor: Viacom bidding $1.5 billion to take over Take-Two

by Scott Jon Siegel { Feb 7th 2008 at 11:55AM }

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 ...