MCV/DEVELOP News, events, research and jobs from the games industry
US sales tracker NPD has finally revealed some good news for the struggling music genre. Music game sales are 38 per cent higher in November 2010 than they were during the same period the year before. But it’s not Rock Band 3 or Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock that did …
Read More »Activision silent over Harmonix buyout
Activision has spoken of its love for Rock Band developer Harmonix but refused to speak about a possible acquisition. Last month Viacom announced plans to sell off Harmonix, the studio which created the Guitar Hero franchise, following a third-quarter dip in earnings. When asked by Industry Gamers whether Activision would …
Read More »EntaTech ramps up games offer
IT distribution firm EntaTech wants to grow its share of the games business. The company has been supplying PC gaming products for a number of years, but is beginning to increase its presence in the sector – most recently with a range of Call of Duty peripherals. Furthermore, the company’s …
Read More »Harmonix unaffected by Viacom sell-off
Rock Band developer Harmonix is still hard at work on Rock Band 3 and Dance Central despite uncertainty over its future. Owner Viacom announced this afternoon that it is looking to sell the acclaimed Boston-based studio. Harmonix is now referred to as a ‘discontinued operation,’ but its owner has offered …
Read More »‘Harmonix is worth more to third-parties’ – Viacom
Media giant explains motivations for sell-off; says studio sale will be quick
Read More »Unhappy Viacom to sell off Harmonix
Just four years after it bought the studio for an amazing $175m, Viacom has said it wants to sell off music game studio Harmonix. The corporate parent that owns the likes of MTV and Paramount, said today in an earnings statement that it had seen a third-quarter dip in earnings. …
Read More »Rock Band DLC abandons older titles
Owners of either Rock Band or Rock Band 2 will not be able to download any future releases on the title’s in-game app store. Effective as of October 26th 2010, all DLC releases will work exclusively with Rock Band 3 only. Owners of the new game will be able to …
Read More »What Harmonix thinks of Guitar Hero
There’s no doubting that Guitar Hero and Rock Band are the two major players in the music games market. However, speaking to MCV Alex Rigopulos, the boss of current Rock Band developer and Guitar Hero creator Harmonix, has claimed that battling with the franchise his studio created doesn’t rouse him. …
Read More »Euro focus for Rock Band
Music game developer Harmonix wants to take a larger slice of the European market after selling 16.1m units of Rock Band worldwide. The MTV-owned studio says there will be a heavier proportion of UK and European artists in Rock Band 3’s track list than previous instalments. The music title, which …
Read More »Activision should acquire Rock Band
Publisher Activision’s only chance of prospering in the music genre is to attempt to acquire the Rock Band IP from MTV owner Viacom, one US analyst has claimed. Its recent release Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock has got off to a rocky start in the US, with opening weekend sales …
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