Konador says:

They’ve been sold and bought before, haven’t they? Just the way business works… Hopefully nothing to worry about

Jonathan Reply:
November 11th, 2010 at 8:11 am

Depends who HMX is sold too, this sucks If they are sold to someone who would ruin Rock Band…..Dare I say, Activision. God I hope not. Would we lose MTV aswell, that would not be good.

killer_roach Reply:
November 11th, 2010 at 8:40 am

Rather Activision than Microsoft, who has also been rumored to be interested… after all, first order of business of a Microsoft-owned Harmonix would be to make all their titles 360-exclusive.

BravoGangUS Reply:
November 11th, 2010 at 9:11 am

I don’t even want to THINK of Microsoft buying Harmonix. That would be worse than Activision buying them, imo.

KB Reply:
November 11th, 2010 at 9:15 am

I don’t think that’s a fair assumption. Despite being sales/business oriented, Microsoft is generally known for having good relations with third party developers (their relationship with Bungie is a great example).

Microsoft is also a much bigger name than Viacom, I’m sure having their resources, Harmonix would basically have whatever music they wanted at their disposal.

Max Reply:
November 11th, 2010 at 11:28 am

Aside from Harmonix games becoming 360 exclusives, I don’t see a downside to Microsoft purchasing them. As a 360 owner, that wouldn’t bother me but it would suck for everyone playing Rock Band on the PS3 and Wii.

Whizzer Reply:
November 11th, 2010 at 9:11 am

Rather good quality games and content on one console than crap on all of them. That’s what Guitar Hero is here for after all!

killer_roach Reply:
November 11th, 2010 at 9:33 am

Tell that to people with a 1600-song library on the PS3.

Bishop Reply:
November 11th, 2010 at 10:03 am

Or the Wii :,(

Aw Reply:
November 11th, 2010 at 9:55 am

If Activision buys them, I’m not buying any more Harmonix games. If Microsoft buys them, I’m not buying any more Harmonix games.

I hope EA buys them. Apparently Rock Band 3/an upcoming Harmonix game will be the last EA-distributed title for the developer. I just hope that means EA is thinking about changing roles and becoming the publisher instead of EA is losing interest in Harmonix.

Without MTV or EA, things don’t exactly look optimistic for Harmonix/Rock Band. I’m hoping for the best, but I won’t be surprised with the worst.

rodz Reply:
November 11th, 2010 at 12:47 pm

Please be Sony, just for the laugh

Ben Reply:
November 11th, 2010 at 1:39 pm

yeah, shows it’s a joke, Sony is so severely in financial crisis that there would be no way they could think of buying into HMX

killer_roach Reply:
November 11th, 2010 at 2:15 pm

Financial crisis? They’re currently profitable!

That being said, their market cap has been decimated in recent years (as has been pointed out elsewhere, Apple has more corporate cash on hand than Sony is worth). Sony has more than enough ability to borrow to make most any acquisition happen if they wanted to, but I think Sony probably considers Harmonix as unappealing to hold on to as Viacom does (namely, the fact that they are extremely capital-intensive).

Ben Reply:
November 11th, 2010 at 5:51 pm

maybe the playstation branch is, but i have heard that other ventures (like movies) have been severely cut back due to financial troubles. The biggest movie franchise that i’ve heard taken the cut (and the reason for which the next installment is going to be a reboot) is “Spider-man”. that’s just what i’ve read though.

killer_roach Reply:
November 11th, 2010 at 6:11 pm

@Ben: Keep in mind that underperforming != losing money. Film studios perpetually juggle releases, largely due to the incredible cash outlays that blockbuster titles require. In Sony’s case, it’s not so much that they can’t pull them off from their financial position, but that it’s unwise to, considering how their bottom line has been hit by the global economic downturn, put that much top-line financial risk on the table all at once.

SteveMightSay says:

WTF No ;_; if Activision buys them….;_______________;

Jonathan Reply:
November 11th, 2010 at 8:11 am

Lets just hope and pray that doesn’t happen

Ben Reply:
November 11th, 2010 at 1:41 pm

you know i dislike Activision as much as the next guy, but i don’t necessarily think it would be all that bad, it would open the door to some DLC that has been exclusive, and might also give Activision a reason to put GH to rest.

Chew13acca says:

Well if they aren’t ALSO SELLING MTV…

Harmonix is going to have a MUCH worse time licensing music, I’m afraid. Or at least, getting access to that MTV pipeline (I can’t imagine that MTV Games/MTV as parent companies wasn’t helping out with that).

This sucks.

Jonathan says:

Damn IT!!! They couldn’t even wait until next year to do this. This could be really bad for DLC.

toymachine says:

lol I like how people’s first priority is “NOOO NOT ACTIVISION”

LoopyChew Reply:
November 11th, 2010 at 8:30 am

Then again, Activision hasn’t had a sterling reputation when it comes to treating developers or franchises well. Look at Neversoft and RedOctane, the closest thing we have to a precedent we have for Activision’s treatment of their music game developers.

KB Reply:
November 11th, 2010 at 9:18 am

I think Neversoft is the best example. They’ve been making games for Activision for years and years. And though they’ve never exactly been a darling with the critics, they’re usually pretty successful. Activision sort of threw the Guitar Hero franchise at them and now the studio is being downsized with the very good likelihood that their doors will be closed forever soon.

FrankieB Reply:
November 11th, 2010 at 12:34 pm

Where do people get the idea that Neversoft is shutting down? They downsized their charters because they weren’t needed anymore, you know, the people who put circles to notes. They didn’t do anything else so they’re gone. Neversoft is making a new game now and is not shutting down. I have no idea where people get this insane news from.

comp Reply:
November 11th, 2010 at 1:54 pm

I think it’s because they still want good games.

Adam says:

There was another update at http://paidcontent.org/article/419-viacoms-dauman-harmonix-sale-is-about-focus-digital-dollars-not-dimes/

“Viacom (NYSE: VIA) is currently in talks with several buyers for game developer Harmonix, said Philippe Dauman, Viacom’s president and CEO, at the start of the company’s Q3 earnings call. He didn’t say anything about the poor sales that have plagued the unit, since hitting a high with its release of its Beatles Rock Band game late last year. “Our decision to exit this business strategy is to focus on what we do best, and that’s creating world class entertainment,” he said. “The console games business requires expertise we don’t have. For us, this is all about focus.” ”

. . .

“That said, he expects the sale of Harmonix to be completed “expeditiously,” though Dauman offered no specifics on price or the prospective buyers the company is in negotiations with. “

Valhalla Reply:
November 11th, 2010 at 9:06 am

I can’t even believe this. Hello? The game JUST came out. The asking price is basically $130 + tax. People will be a little less inclined to run out and buy it the first week, but rest assured, IT’S numero uno on their Christmas list!
Maybe they think Christmas sales will flop and they want to sell before that happens, but I am willing to bet that they are dead wrong.
Every kid and adult in America who likes rhythm games is clamoring for this thing, I assure you.

Do I have it yet? Nope. Can’t afford it until my birthday (next week). After that I WILL be getting the real guitar, and a keyboard stand, and a crapload of DLC (Doors, Bon Jovi, Billy Joel for sure)

VERY dumb move, Viacom. Morons…

Adam Reply:
November 11th, 2010 at 9:15 am

I can’t imagine it’s a kneejerk reaction to first week sales of Rock Band 3. Something like this takes a while to get in motion, so Viacom has to have been heading down this road for some time now. I’m sure they were going to sell off Harmonix no matter what.

Valhalla Reply:
November 11th, 2010 at 11:27 am

You are of course, right.
However, did anybody realize that RB3 was going to be as awesome as it is? Every single one of my gaming friends is planning on buying this, and if there’s anybody who doesn’t have a game system yet that I talk to, I evangelize the crap out of it, such that after we’re done talking, they feel compelled to get a game system (Xbox 360… shameless plug), and get Rock Band 3 for Christmas.
If the sale isn’t completed by Christmas, I have a feeling Viacom might say, “Um, guys, let’s wait awhile before we do anything hasty here.”
With the existing new DLC and The BeeGees next week, it’s the first time I’ve wanted several songs EVERY week…

argyle Reply:
November 13th, 2010 at 11:47 am

I don’t think it’s awesome and I bought it day one. I’d call this the worst game they ever released. It’s not just full of bugs but they changed so many things that weren’t broken. Pro mode and a keyboard can’t save it. The only reason I play it is because I can’t use the new dlc with RB2. And why are you evangelizing something you don’t even own?

It wasn’t hard to see this coming. Viacom had to stop the bleeding.

Il Pupazzo Gnawd says:

I just hope that, if they realy sell it, Harmonix will keep the rights to the Rock Band platform. If not they would have to start over with a new franchise, new DLC and given the state of the videogame music business I don’t see much investment thrown in a new incarnation of Guitar Hero.

Plutarch says:

This may be heresy, but I really don’t think Rock Band will suddenly become retarded if Activison does buy HMX. Maybe they would just let Harmonix continue to do their thing, since it’s got to be obvious to them now that HMX is better at it than they are. I mean, imagine a scenario where some Activision big shot comes into their office and is like “Hey, we want a fantasy storyline, a disproportinate amount of metal (and not good metal) and playable characters based off dead musicians!” HMX will be just like “Right, because that worked out so well for you guys last time.” I think it would be like a Disney/Pixar situation. Disney may own them, but Pixar calls the shots cause they bring in the money and acclaim.

One bright side of Activision purchasing HMX would be that we might have access to some groups that have previously been all over Guitar Hero but not Rock Band, such as Metallica, Black Sabbath (masters) and even…gasp…MUSE.

But we don’t know if this will even happen, so let’s not get too worked up. *watches as community has a collective heart attack*

KB Reply:
November 11th, 2010 at 9:13 am

There’s a lot wrong with what your saying, and we have precedent here.

Not sure if you’re aware how Blizzard has coped with becoming an Activision subsidiary, but it’s actually not all sunshine and lollipops there.

Regardless of people’s personal feelings about World of Warcraft, Blizzard is a dynamic, powerful studio. They are masters of storytelling and gameplay innovation (for the most part). When Activision acquired them, they told Blizzard it was basically an acquisition in name only, and that they wouldn’t interfere with daily operations.

A year later, Blizzard is actually faced with deadlines set by Activision. Blizzard isn’t exactly the speediest game development studio, and that’s because they take their time and release (usually) finished, polished products – putting a fire under their ass is setting them up to fail. Saying, “We want Diablo 3 in 2011, Starcraft expansion in 2012, WoW expansion in 2013, etc.” is forcing Blizzard to follow timelines and business models. The stress of this hasn’t become obvious yet, but I’m rather cautious about Diablo 3, something I feel, if released in 2011, may not have had the same time, attention, and polish as Starcraft 2.

Also, Bobby Kotick is notoriously hostile towards Rock Band and Activision’s past with Harmonix. He would probably dismantle the Rock Band platform on day one.

Plutarch Reply:
November 11th, 2010 at 9:21 am

Wasn’t their some quote where Kotick more or less apologized for being an asshole about Harmonix and Rock Band? I thought I read that somewhere.

I can see the potential drawbacks, but I don’t know if the Blizzard thing is entirely a fair comparison. Blizzard is being asked to release a game each year…so this would be bad for Harmonix how? There were already two Rock Band games in 2010.

I personally prefer the scenario someone else mentioned where they are just bought by EA. But I still don’t think it’s an apocalypse if Activision winds up getting them. But it wouldn’t be the Rock Band community if people didn’t lose their shit over everything.

cbarrentos Reply:
November 11th, 2010 at 10:19 am

anytime Kotick apologizes, it’s just PR spin.

developers and creators who have worked with him have painted a pretty clear picture about the kinda guy he really is.

RockBandAide Reply:
November 11th, 2010 at 11:34 am

Yes, here: http://www.rockbandaide.com/3494/good-thing-harmonix-is-a-failed-developer/

Aw Reply:
November 11th, 2010 at 11:16 am

Infinity Ward, developers of the more acclaimed Call of Duty games (1, 2, Modern Warfare 1 and 2) are owned by Activision. Shortly after Modern Warfare 2 was released, two of the senior employees at Infinity Ward (the president and the co-founder) were fired. Half the staff of Infinity Ward then quit, including lead designers and programmers. And they all filed lawsuits against Activision claiming that the Infinity Ward heads weren’t paid royalties for Modern Warfare 2, and that Activision was withholding overtime bonuses from Modern Warfare 2 in order to keep them working on Modern Warfare 3.

Activision pulled out from publishing Tim Schafer’s Brutal Legend, and then tried to sue when EA took over the publishing rights to the game.

They’re running several successful franchises (Guitar Hero, Tony Hawk, Call of Duty) straight into the ground. They treat their developers like shit and milk popular titles dry as quickly as possible.

Activision’s involvement with Harmonix would be bad for Harmonix and bad for Rock Band. No question.

T says:

Some big notes:

1) If Activision buys Harmonix, it doesn’t mean that the game would suddenly turn into Guitar Hero. Keep in mind that half the reason GH went down the crapper was because Activison brought in companies like Neversoft and Beenox that completely missed the point behind why these games were fun/successful in the first place. With Harmonix back under the helm, the game would remain essentially the same, as Harmonix would still be the guys putting it together,

2) Activision already has a money maker in Guitar Hero, a name that (despite critical distaste) still carries a lot of weight in the public eye. The biggest reason they’d aquire Harmonix would be to essentially get the monopoly on the music game genre. Rock Band may go away, but HMX would likely take over Gutiar Hero. That’s not exactly a bad thing.

3) Despite fear of the contrary, HMX losing its direct ties to MTV doesn’t mean they suddenly won’t be able to gain access to artists. The Rock Band/Harmonix name is established enough in the music industry that they’ll still have that relationship with labels/artists to work with their content. The bigger problem with losing their ties to MTV is instead going to be the built in promotional avenues that come with MTV/VH1/CMT etc.

4) I really hope that they don’t get bought by Microsoft. More because it would make the forums unbearable. HMX is about to be sold from their parent company. Should (god forbid) nobody pick them up, that’s it. HMX is left to basically run on its own or go under. So if they end up being picked up by a console dev, there’s going to be a lot of stupid people arguing that they sold out…failing to realize that for them it was either get bought or go under and lose their jobs.

Rick says:

An interesting move by Viacom.

Personally I’m not concerned at the moment. I’m sure Harmonix learned from their past and set themselves up well enough legally to avoid Rock Band ever falling out of their possession.

Depending on who they get bought by there could be a lot of positive effects to this.

Dorkmaster Flek Reply:
November 11th, 2010 at 9:25 am

There could be some, yes. If they ended up getting in with EA’s Partner Program like the former Infinite Ward guys did when Activision kicked them out the door, this could actually end up being good for them. I’m concerned about losing the MTV connection, but surely Viacom would still see the inherent business sense in giving them access to the music for the game. They just don’t want to fund all the development costs.

Rick Reply:
November 11th, 2010 at 9:55 am

I think losing the MTV connection would put a damper on operations, but I don’t think it’ll be too serous. Yes the connection is great on both a music and marketing stand point. But when I think RB, I don’t necessarily think MTV. It’s not branded that way. Artists will want to get there songs into the game (i.e. Billy Joel) simply because the game itself is huge.

The advertising and marketing they’ll lose will be tough but I’m sure other avenues will present themselves when a final sale is made. Also, since RB3 is still an MTV game, I’m sure MTV will want to do some advertising via their channels until it becomes obsolete.

Dorkmaster Flek says:

Regardless of how this turns out, that’s pretty crappy news for Harmonix. It’s so disheartening to see this after how much they’ve done to truly innovate in the music game space. Say what you will about the high price and niche appeal, but you can’t look at something like pro keys and especially pro guitar and tell me that they aren’t innovating. Ideally, such innovation would be rewarded, but it seems people are content to run out and buy the new Call of Duty game. Seriously, what possible innovation could that franchise have possibly undergone to justify $360 million in sales on day one? That’s bloody depressing…

RockBandAide Reply:
November 11th, 2010 at 11:32 am

THEY HAVE TOY CARS!!!

I want to ask how ANYONE that bitches about the rhythm gaming franchise to justify to me WHY we need multiple iterations of the same tired Call of Duty/Medal of Honor/Battlefied/Halo/etc/etc/etc game.

Shmoo Reply:
November 11th, 2010 at 11:52 am

Yeah, no answer here. I got tired of FPS games after the first Halo. I played COD 2 a few times and just didn’t see the point after the first couple stages.

rodz Reply:
November 11th, 2010 at 1:10 pm

I usually don’t like shooters but Battlefield is awesome

Chuck says:

How about Apple?

They’re sitting on $50 billion in cash right now and looking for something to buy. They clearly have a good working relationship with record labels…

Alex Reply:
November 11th, 2010 at 9:44 am

That’s interesting.

Apple has been angling for gaming revenue since the release of the iPod touch. I wouldn’t call their relationship with the record labels as “good” necessarily. Random thoughts:
DLC purchase and playlist sharing via iTMS?
Online multiplayer via GameCenter?
Ping integration into RB.com?
GarageBand authoring of DLC?
Gameplay recording and sharing in iMovie?

Delibird444 Reply:
November 11th, 2010 at 10:06 am

I don’t think Apple would be an ideal solution…

Apple would take any “openness” about the Rock Band platform (ex: Rock Band Network) and close it tight. I could also foresee Apple bringing the entire Rock Band series into their “walled garden”, and forcing people to play it on iDevices, or the inevitable Apple gaming machine. You could say goodbye to Kinect games like Dance Central too…

rodz Reply:
November 11th, 2010 at 1:15 pm

And all our DLC would become obsolete too. We expect it to happen by the end of this console generation but it doesn’t need to be so soon

RBGHfam says:

This is very odd timing, right before Black Friday/Christmas sales. I wonder if Apple could be a potential buyer?

Adam says:

From http://www.rockband.com/forums/showthread.php?208088-Response-to-Questions-about-Viacom-Selling-Harmonix :

“Hi Guys:

We’ve seen a lot of questions pop up in response to Viacom’s statements this morning regarding their intention to sell Harmonix. We’ve posted this thread to respond to those questions. Please keep your forum conversations regarding this matter in this thread. We’ll check in throughout the day as we’re able.

This morning’s announcement does not affect the ongoing work at the studio as we continue to support our existing franchises, Rock Band and Dance Central. As stated earlier, Viacom is in discussions with several potential buyers and will continue to fully support the business until a sale is completed.

If you have additional questions or concerns, please post them in this thread. If you’re a member of the media with inquiry, you can reach out to us at press@harmonixmusic.com. (Please don’t email this address if you’re not from a press outlet).”

Bryan Reply:
November 11th, 2010 at 9:59 am

UNTIL the sale is completed? Does this mean they won’t be working on these series afterwards?

Adam Reply:
November 11th, 2010 at 10:11 am

I’m sure all it means is that Viacom isn’t pulling the plug right now…it’s business as usual until Harmonix is sold. After that, the responsibility is handed off to whoever buys Harmonix.

T Reply:
November 11th, 2010 at 11:47 am

Viacom owns HMX. Thus they are going to continue work on HMX related projects until they no longer own the company. At which point (logically) Viacom no longer has any interest in HMX or its projects.

Skydog says:

No console should buy them, idc what you xboxers say.

killer_roach Reply:
November 11th, 2010 at 11:36 am

Agreed. (Of the three console makers, the one that makes the most business sense to do so would be Sony, seeing as they own one of the major labels, but they’ve got other things on their plate at the moment, namely fending off the possibility of Apple buying them out.)

Max Reply:
November 11th, 2010 at 12:43 pm

I am an Xbox player and while I’d rather see a publisher purchase them that will allow them to continue making multiplatform releases, I’d rather see Microsoft buy them then say, Activision.

killer_roach Reply:
November 11th, 2010 at 6:12 pm

You say that because you’re an Xbox player. For those that don’t play on the 360, Microsoft buying Harmonix is tantamount to them disappearing off the face of the earth.

D00k13 says:

Fingers crossed on EA. That’s my hopes at least. No activision though…

D00k13 Reply:
November 11th, 2010 at 11:35 am

Also don’t forget Harmonix is tight with Dhani Harrison, of course THE BEATLES, and also Green Day. I don’t think itll be a challenge for Harmonix to get the stuff they want.

Polite Reply:
November 11th, 2010 at 8:09 pm

Dhani Harrison and Green Day make all the decisions in the world of business.

argyle Reply:
November 13th, 2010 at 11:55 am

LOL The Beatles was the beginning of the end.

Michael Prachar says:

One thing is for sure. If Viacom wants out of this particular business, that was a decision made way back. Now is the perfect time to for them to announce this with sucessful launches of two games. I would never think that this move has anything to do with HMX’ success or profitablility.

gladiatory2k Reply:
November 11th, 2010 at 11:42 am

does that mean Green Day:RB tanked?

T Reply:
November 11th, 2010 at 12:22 pm

I think it’s foolish to look at any one game and call that the reason for this sale. It could very well be that sales are what Viacom expected but they just don’t want to focus on videogames at large anymore.

soup567 says:

Not good news at all. Let’s hope that activision is not one of the potential buyers

Dylan Pritchard says:

-pats the internet-
Everything is going to be alright.

Polite Reply:
November 11th, 2010 at 8:07 pm

I just don’t know sometimes. *sniff*

Rick says:

I also wouldn’t rule out that Viacom might be in need of some quick capital and RB & Harmonix are the easiest things to sell.

Polite says:

I hope that somehow they manage to buy themselves and stay independent, and just continue to publish through EA.