Comments on: Future of the Music Gaming Genre

By: cashOD

cashOD — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 20:31:11 +0000

My interest has only gone down some. I still play 2 days a week but I almost never play online anymore. I purchased and played the heck out of RB:Beatles and Lego RB. Going back to RB2 without some of the nice features of the newer games just shows that we need an RB3 to put it all together.

It is troubling when the ‘Star Patch’ for xbox needed you to beat the score and the patch for the PS3(that we waited months for )broke all reporting of scores to the leader boards. A lack of testing on their part.

I am waiting for the next RB release from Harmonix and I am excited about RBN and what its impact will be.

By: Joe Rybicki

Joe Rybicki — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 20:14:16 +0000

Very nice article, sir. One other thing to consider is that those NPD numbers not only don’t take DLC into account, they don’t take into account any other peripheral sales.

So let’s say that in 2008, I bought the Rock Band 2 bundle for $200; and in 2009, I bought the Beatles Rock Band disc, the Sgt. Pepper’s album, a bunch of miscellaneous DLC singles, and an Ion Drum Rocker. As far as NPD is concerned, I spent $200 on music games in ’08 and only $60 in ’09 — even though my total expenditure on music games in ’09 was closer to $400.

If nothing else, NPD really needs to start tracking digital sales; the PC numbers alone are making them look ridiculous.

By: Simon

Simon — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 18:49:50 +0000

Good article.

I’m getting pretty fed up with reporters who look at the current sales trends in decline and shout “Bombed” or “Failed” without taking into account the GLOBAL RECESSION that the planet is in the throes of. Most people don’t have the same level of disposable income as they did when Rock Band 1 came out.

I just have a hard time believing that selling 1.7 million copies of anything is a failure on some level.

By: Witticus

Witticus — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 18:25:59 +0000

I saw back in October, Harmonix announced that DLC sales were at 60 million downloads. I’ve never seen anything specifically announce whether that accounts for individual song downloads or all downloads including packs. But the fact that Harmonix still releases about 6-10 songs every week for a game released almost a year and a half ago is an amazing accomplishment and shows Harmonix might still be making a good amount from DLC.

By: Morning Toast

Morning Toast — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 18:14:50 +0000

I think the market for music *games* is saturated and pretty much done, but the market for *music* is not. Like you researched, the cash is flowing for DLC and that has to be easy money.

Lets face it. The *game* of Rock Band/Guitar Hero isn’t anything special. I don’t play these games for the graphics, special guests, or even the special modes – I play it for the songs I love.

This is why I can’t help but shake my head when I see a new separate box release of a RB/GH game. With the exception of Beatles, due to the nature of the beast, I don’t know why they don’t just make everything a DLC. Even if it’s a “full” DLC that costs $20, it would certainly get my attention more so than a $50-$60 retail box that a) costs more and b) requires me to switch disks.

I think Harmonix has been smart with RB2 because they seem to be focusing on music rather than trying to figure out the next gimmick for a box release. With the Green Day title though, they’re getting close to jumping the shark for me. DLC, DLC, DLC. Make a good base game like RB2 and then pump work into it. Don’t make me buy another full release.

As far as the RBN and user-gen goes. I don’t think that will take off like they hope it will. I don’t think the bulk of RBers care enough. But at least getting RBN doesn’t require a new RB3 title. Props for that.

By: MyGGGo

MyGGGo — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 17:58:55 +0000

Quick thought (without reading your entire article yet). No one put out a compelling music game in 2009. GH:VH was a joke for the masses (though I personally loved it). TB:RB was guaranteed to be limited in sales as a single band game. L:RB was just an extension of RB2 (more songs, little/no interface changes), GH5 was a leap forward but the soundtrack blows goats.

The real numbers is in HMX/MTV sales of downloadable content for the RB franchise. You mention RBN coming out soon. I’m hesitant to say that will be a huge success. I think it may be more of a niche thing for the hard core players.

As for retail games, the gaming industry was fairly flat in 2009 (had a some growth, but retail prices were down ~$4 per game). That’s in games in general, not just the music genre.

2010 will be an important year for HMX/MTV to prove what RB3 can do for retail sales. GD:RB will not be huge, again as a single band game. If RB3 only sells to the die hards (i.e. only 1,000,000 copies sold), then I will say the genre is screwed. And then we can say, http://www.RockBandAide.com is heading into a niche space and http://www.MyGGGo.com needs to find a new obsession. But I will hold out judgment until we get RB3 later this year and see some sales numbers in Q1 2011.

Now, time to go back and read your post.