Viacom (MTV) puts Harmonix up for sale

ongarite

Looks like the plastic instrument boom has finally ended and Viacom has finally had enough of the constant monetary losses from Harmonix and has put them up for sale.

Expect a statement from Harmonix later..

What will this mean for the Rock Band platform, past and future DLC, etc..

ongarite

This is looking very bad

The announcement was made in conjunction with Viacom’s Q3 earnings report, which apart from a $299 million writedown related to Harmonix, which is classified as a “discontinued operation,” the media company otherwise had pretty good performance.

D4RK ONION

Holy shit, that's awful

Keep us informed, will you Ongarite?

Konata

I was really surprised to hear that Harmonix were having sales difficulties. I always thought the Rock Band series was very successful - I've yet to meet a person who doesn't enjoy playing it.

Bad to hear

Nockz

They've put up a thread for questions in their "announcements" forum:

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).

http://www.rockband.com/forums/showt...lling-Harmonix

tman

Imagine if Activision bought them...

Konata

tman wrote: »

Imagine if Activision bought them...

It doesn't bear thinking of >_<

Helix

tman wrote: »

Imagine if Activision bought them...

theyre the front runners

id very much expect them to be the new owners soon, what with the big wedge of cash they made in the first 24 hours of black ops sales

Zeouterlimits

At least

HMX wrote:

Many of you have asked about DLC. To be clear, our earlier statement that we will continue to support our existing franchises holds true and work at the studio is not affected by this announcement. RB DLC will continue unabated. We’re excited to confirm that The BeeGees are our next DLC pack.

Some of you have been chiming in about our different partners and what this announcement means for [the Fender Squier/Mad Catz Hardware/EA Distribution]. Those partnerships are unaffected by this announcement with regards to existing titles.

Most importantly, the Rock Band and Dance Central will continue to be worked on at Harmonix for the foreseeable future. We’re not leaving them behind.

So not absolutely terrible, but still, shame for this to happen to the best music game platform in the business.

calex71

tman wrote: »

Imagine if Activision bought them...

With the sales of the last guitar hero, I'd say it's unlikely also given RB 3's poor sales.

calex71

According to HMXJohnD here

Regarding potential publishers, it’s premature to discuss specific publishers at this time, though we look forward to working with Viacom to find the best home for our studio. Please keep speculation about that to a minimum in this conversation.

Many of you have asked about DLC. To be clear, our earlier statement that we will continue to support our existing franchises holds true and work at the studio is not affected by this announcement. RB DLC will continue unabated. We’re excited to confirm that The BeeGees are our next DLC pack.

Some of you have been chiming in about our different partners and what this announcement means for [the Fender Squier/Mad Catz Hardware/EA Distribution]. Those partnerships are unaffected by this announcement with regards to existing titles.

Most importantly, the Rock Band and Dance Central will continue to be worked on at Harmonix for the foreseeable future. We’re not leaving them behind.

More to come!

You read correctly - Bee Gee's DLC :eek: That's just so unexpected and full of win I think I soiled myself

calex71

HMX sold........ to themselves , so they are in an indie studio once again.

details here http://www.rockband.com/forums/showthread.php?t=211766

Hey Guys:

We’re happy to confirm the news today that the sale of the company is complete. We appreciate all of your support, comments and warm wishes in the preceding few weeks.

Viacom and MTV Networks have been an amazing home for us over the past 4 years. It’s where we launched both Rock Band and Dance Central, worked with The Beatles, Green Day, AC/DC, The Who and thousands of other artists. We want to take a moment to thank everyone in that organization who helped make these awesome games possible.

We’re excited to be returning to our roots as an independent and privately owned studio. As for what it means for you, the DLC schedule marches on for Rock Band, we will continue our support of previously released titles and we’re hard at work on some unannounced projects that we think you’re going to be pumped about.

Thanks for your continued support and stay tuned for more information here on RockBand.com, over @RockBand on Twitter and at http://www.facebook.com/RockBand.

Yours,
Harmonix

kendragon

Hopefully this is a good thing. Do they have the resources to keep up with the demand?

K.O.Kiki

Hey, maybe they can now get back to making music games that don't require big stupid peripherals

D4RK ONION

K.O.Kiki wrote: »

Hey, maybe they can now get back to making music games that don't require big stupid peripherals

I must say, that's massively ironic coming from the guy who pays hundreds of euros for arcade sticks and the like

UberPrinny_Baal

I'm gonna go ahead and hope Kiki was being intentionally ironic.