Pulse2 Technology and Social Media News » Harmonix

Viacom Ordered To Pay Rock Band Creator Harmonix $383 Million

Amit Chowdhry — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 16:57:30 +0000

Viacom has been ordered to pay Rock Band creators Harmonix Music Systems $383 million. This is a bit over half of the money that is being sought by former shareholders in Harmonix. Last year, former Harmonix CEO/co-founder Alex Rigopulos and co-founder Eran Egozy sued Viacom over unpaid bonuses. The bonuses are based on Rock Band sales goals that were met. In 2007, most of the payments were made but they stopped coming in 2008. According to arbitration accountants, Harmonix shareholders are owed $383 million as part of the 2006 acquisition. [Kotaku]

Viacom Sells Harmonix To Columbus Nova

Amit Chowdhry — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 20:39:20 +0000

Viacom, Inc. (NYSE:VIA.B) has sold Rock Band franchise company Harmonix for $200 million to Columbus Nova. Analysts of Viacom’s business strategy have questioned why a company known for cable networks is involved in the video game industry.

Viacom had announced this past November that they were putting Harmonix up for sale. Viacom will likely gain $100-$200 million in tax benefits and the buyer assumption of liabilities.

“Columbus Nova is really excited about backing the world-class team that has consistently produced such great games and helping them grow the company and its brands,” stated a company spokesperson.

[Reuters]

Viacom Wants To Sell Off Haromonix, Developer Of Rock Band

Amit Chowdhry — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 21:42:22 +0000

Viacom, the parent company of MT V announced today that they are in talks to sell off Harmonix. Harmonix is a Massachusetts based subsidiary that developed the popular music video game Rock Band. Viacom had recorded $260 million in write-offs on the value of Harmonix for the third quarter.

“Harmonix has and will continue to create terrific video games, but for us it is about focus,” stated Viacom’s CEO Philippe Dauman. “The console games business requires an expertise and scale that we don’t have.”

MTV bought Harmonix in 2006 for $175 million in cash plus a two-year earns-out. Although the games Harmonix sells have positive reviews, the company had a loss of $65 million EBITDA. Some of the potential buyers for Harmonix include Ubisoft, Electronic Arts, and Activision.

[DealBook]

Rock Band: The Beatles Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band Now On The 360, Wii, and PS3

Amit Chowdhry — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 07:41:42 +0000

The Beatles Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band edition has made its way to the Sony PlayStation 3 (starting later today), Microsoft Xbox 360, and Nintendo Wii. The game was developed by Harmonix Music Systems and published by MTV and EA.

LEGO Rock Band To Be Released On November 3 [Trailer Video]

Amit Chowdhry — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 21:03:32 +0000

Lego Rock Band is a music video game that is being put together through a partnership between Harmonix Music Systems, MTV Games, EA, and Warner Brothers Interactive Entertainment. This game will be released on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and the Wii on November 3.

The Beatles: Rock Band Gets An Official Trailer

Amit Chowdhry — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 20:45:49 +0000

Image: Engadget
Today is the Microsoft E3 keynote event and one of the highlights is the launching of The Beatles: Rock Band.

The tracks for the game are remastered Beatles songs and the game also has never before heard studio chat between the band. Below are some of the tracks that will be in the game:
1. I Saw Her Standing There
2. I Want to Hold Your hand
3. I Feel Fine
4. Day Tripper
5. Taxman
6. I Am The Walrus
7. Back In The USSR
8. Octopus’ Garden
9. Here Comes The Sun
10. Get Back

Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney even made an appearance at the event as the snapshot by Engadget above shows. And below is the official game trailer:

Party Like A LEGO Star: LEGO Rock Band

Amit Chowdhry — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 01:50:53 +0000

LEGOs have been used to make an oversized Nintendo DSi and now it is being used in rock and roll video games. The new game is a collaboration between Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, TT Games, Harmonix, and MTV Games.

Some of the songs included in the LEGO version of Rock Band will include Song 2 (Blur), Kung Fu Fighting (Carl Douglas), Boys and Girls (Good Charlotte), and So What (Pink).

“Players will be able to create their own Lego Rock Band style as they customize their minifigure avatars, band and entourage, including roadies, managers and crew,” stated the companies in a press release. The LEGO Rock Band game will work with music controllers and Rock Band instruments.

Rock Band Franchise Hits $1 Billion Sales

Amit Chowdhry — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 01:11:38 +0000

In 2007, MTV’s Rock Band franchise launched. Now the franchise as a whole has hit a major milestone, $1 billion in sales. These numbers are based on the North American market. The numbers were released in a press release this past Thursday. Rock Band players have also downloaded more than 40 million songs from the DLC selection.

Even though Rock Band 3 has not been announced yet, there will be a Beatles version of the game for the PSP coming out soon. Electronic Arts is the distribution company of the game and it was developed by Harmonix.

There are about 600 songs available for download to add to the game. It took Guitar Hero about 26 months to hit the same milestone whereas it took Rock Band about 15 months. The complete version of Rock Band costs almost $200.

[via Ars]