Harmonix Completes Sale From Viacom
Well, that was quick! Viacom’s surprise announcement at the beginning of November that Harmonix was being sold is still fresh in many people’s minds, and a tweet from @RockBand just let us know that the sale has already been completed. Viacom’s CEO mentioned originally that the sale was to be completed “expeditiously,” and he definitely wasn’t kidding. There were less than 45 days between the announcement and the completed sale, meaning that probably both the sale was already in process, as well as many people were looking to get this process completed prior to the end of the fiscal quarter.
John Drake posted an announcement on the official forums thanking Viacom for their efforts in allowing Harmonix to work with some amazing artists. He also mentioned that Harmonix is returning to its roots in being an independent and privately owned game developer. In Viacom’s official announcement, they tell us that Harmonix has been sold to “Harmonix-SBE Holdings LLC, an affiliate of Columbus Nova, LLC.”
What impact will this have on the suit Harmonix has leveled against Viacom? Not entirely sure, but I originally envisioned the suit as part of a ploy to leverage the unpaid bonus payment as capital towards an independent buy-out, which may or may not have actually played in to the transaction.
UPDATE 1: To those who may be concerned about the future of their Rock Band (and Dance Central) franchise, do not worry. Harmonix continues to own the rights to the franchises, and is free to make DLC and future sequels for each. News of this comes from MTV Multiplayer, a Viacom-owned company.
UPDATE 2: Gamasutra is reporting that a rep from Columbus Nova will not be inheriting the recent lawsuit. ”The lawsuit is driven by a group of former Harmonix shareholders, not Harmonix management, Harmonix-SBE Holdings LLC or Columbus Nova,” he stated.
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So…Harmonix owns Harmonix? That sounds pretty great at least when it comes to creative freedoms.
cbarrentos Reply:
December 23rd, 2010 at 11:30 am
http://geekspodcast.com/geekpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/yo_dawg-230×300.jpg
Geez that only took you like 8 whole minutes to post. I mean how long do you think you should wait to report the news. Gosh.
i’m REALLY excited that HMX is 100% free to do their own thing as an indie studio.
IT’S A FESTIVUS MIRACLE
Game!Ov3r Reply:
December 23rd, 2010 at 11:33 am
LOL, Seinfeld rules!
So will this mean we’re going back to covers for DLC? Or we won’t get the same amount of DLC? Surely being an indie developer of a huge franchise is an awful idea? Maybe I’m wrong though (it does happen often)
Oliver Reply:
December 23rd, 2010 at 11:47 am
I don’t see why this would mean the reintroduction of covers.
Harmonix used to lack credibility with labels, which is why they struggled to get the masters. Their credibility is now firmly established, whether Vacom is their parent company is not, and labels generally like to receive money.
Headcase Reply:
December 25th, 2010 at 9:45 am
Labels now realize the money they can make off Rock Band.
The only real fears I can see from a basic standpoint is that they’ll no longer have access to Viacom’s negotiators and lawyers, which might have helped them get better deals with labels.
Maybe they might have more trouble borrowing money if they can’t keep in the black too.
Hard to say what the real story is behind the scenes, but I’m pretty optimistic. If they can overcome those hurdles, indie sounds like the best situation otherwise.
Well the good news for us Wii/PS3 guys is that Microsoft isnt taking over. Now hopefully HMNX can make it big on their own. This is either a make it or break it move for them. Either that or they can now go and shop themselves around to buyers rather than having Viacom shop them out. And independent hooker makes more money than one with a pimp.
Skydog Reply:
December 23rd, 2010 at 11:47 am
I would have went to Guitar Failure if Microsoft would have bought Harmonix.
toymachine Reply:
December 23rd, 2010 at 11:56 am
Wouldn’t that have been a joy for you to make idiotic comments about Guitar Hero instead of Rock Band!
Skydog Reply:
December 23rd, 2010 at 12:00 pm
Same to you but the opposite viewing!
toymachine Reply:
December 23rd, 2010 at 12:03 pm
be a bit less mad next year
Skydog Reply:
December 23rd, 2010 at 12:04 pm
When Guitar Hero is in it’s grave?
toymachine Reply:
December 23rd, 2010 at 12:07 pm
keep your sick fantasies to yourself
Skydog Reply:
December 23rd, 2010 at 12:27 pm
Yes that’s such a horrific thought… not really… it’s sales just prove my point. Especially DLC sales.
toymachine Reply:
December 23rd, 2010 at 12:30 pm
Rock Band will soon be in it’s grave also then.
ALL HAIL JUST DANCE 2
NPD \m/
Skydog Reply:
December 23rd, 2010 at 1:11 pm
Schofie9x Reply:
December 23rd, 2010 at 6:35 pm
Do you really think Microsoft would’ve made an exclusivity deal with Harmonix?
Yeah, Harmonix going independent will most likely effect DLC unfortunately. I wonder how long it will be until the DLC that Viacom/MTV had gotten for HMX will run out? HMX has siad they plan DLC many, many months ahead, so there should still be some great DLc coming through most of 2011.
smacd Reply:
December 23rd, 2010 at 11:43 am
I really doubt it will affect DLC. Harmonix has shown already that they can do it right, they have RBN, and I think there are a lot of bands out there that are scrambling to get into Rock Band, onto RBN, or even get their own stand-alone. We’re not going to be seeing covers again- the genre has moved beyond that anyway. I’m really not seeing any reason that would happen anyway. And I’m not seeing any reason we’d start seeing fewer songs either- Harmonix is fully capable of signing the deals they need to.
24Fan Reply:
December 23rd, 2010 at 11:51 am
Yeah, thats what I’m hoping. Harmonix has now made a name for themselves, and it was probably in their best interest to go independent. It just sucks that they’ll lose out on publicity from Viacom owned channels like Comedy Central, VH1, Nickelodeon etc…, We’ll see how this plays out in 2011.
cbarrentos Reply:
December 23rd, 2010 at 12:04 pm
well, here’s the thing. they already released the RB3 platform through Viacom.
now they are free to produce DLC on their own, and reap 100% of the profits from DLC sales. i’m sure this includes RBN, too.
24Fan Reply:
December 23rd, 2010 at 12:42 pm
Well, not 100%, there is still Microsoft/Sony/Nintendo getting some of the cut. But yeah, HMX will make more money now on DLC sales.
Whizzer Reply:
December 23rd, 2010 at 1:14 pm
Even PowerGig got lots of good artists and songs in there. I don’t think we have anything to worry about. We all know Rock Band Pro knocks PowerGig out of the water!
Jason2087 Reply:
December 25th, 2010 at 1:40 pm
You are correct I think. It’s been well documented that HMX used their relationship with MTV to acquire very hard to get licenses that other wise may not be attainable, which is why RB DLC is way better than GH for that reason. Also Viacomm has deep pockets and that helped as well. I also fear that DLC quality will decrease over time because of this. Unfortunately we won’t be able to tell until 7-8 months from now, because DLC coming out today was licensed months ago.
This is a great Christmas present!
Harmonix now has the freedom to pursue the directions and ideas they want, and they’ve developed clout in the community. They wont be brought down like GH was with Activision. And they don’t have to follow the whims of their MTV masters anymore like shoveling out a game based on Green Day (and even though they did, at least they did it well).
I honestly can see no downside to this, other than that they now have to probably create a few new departments at Harmonix that their former parent company dealt with (HR, PR, etc). Which just means more jobs.
In the end, I can’t think of any better company to own Harmonix other than the one that got them.
this may be a stupid question:
Is EA still their publisher?
smacd Reply:
December 23rd, 2010 at 2:15 pm
that would probably be a good move on their part, let EA handle the publishing. Although I haven’t heard either way.
Mcmax3000 Reply:
December 23rd, 2010 at 6:18 pm
I imagine they still will be, at least for the near future, when it comes to Rock Band. Wouldn’t shock me to see Microsoft pick up publishing rights to a a Dance Central sequel to keep it a 360 exclusive.
And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make.
Polite Reply:
December 23rd, 2010 at 9:47 pm
In that case, I’m taking all the love.
Plainclothes Man Reply:
December 24th, 2010 at 1:54 am
Speaking for Chris Farley…. Is that true?
Awesome! Such a good end to this story.
I’m hoping that not going through MTV/Viacom means that we can finally start seeing some Muse DLC.
Origin of Symmetry album download with pro keys/guitar!
CameoAppearance Reply:
December 27th, 2010 at 6:41 am
Really? That’s why they haven’t put any Muse in since “Hysteria”? (That kinda makes sense, since “Hysteria” was back in the RB1 era…)
Sometimes on the way to a dream,you get lost and find a better one.way to go Harmonix……
Good news. They may not have the financial support and access to bands that Viacom allowed them, but remember why Viacom worked with HMX in the first place was because of their success individually. Now they’ve got a ton more experience, credibility, and respect within the music industry to boot.
Heh sounds like the management buyout i predicted (guessed at) in the previous thread came through
It’s not Activision, it’s not Microsoft. I’m happy.