From IndustryGamers: {link no longer active}
Media giant Viacom has announced its fiscal results for the second quarter ended June 30. From a game industry perspective, the most interesting aspect of this of course ties into MTV Networks, which publishes the popular Rock Band franchise from Harmonix. Sales at the Media Networks division (home to MTV Networks) dropped 8 percent for the period to $1.97 billion. The cause Viacom put most of the blame on “a 41 percent decline in ancillary revenues driven by lower sales of the music video game Rock Band.”
If you thought music games were anything but a fad, you may want to think again.
Music games like Rock Band and Guitar Hero are already down over 30 percent worldwide, and companies like Viacom and Activision are scratching their heads wondering why their golden goose is feeling sick.
We have a couple of reasons:
– Rock Band 2 and Guitar Hero World Tour were just not that different from their originals, so why bother upgrading, especially if I can download all the same tunes anyway?
– Gamers are probably feeling a bit burned as they head to Gamestop to trade in their plastic instruments in hopes of upgrading to newer ones, only to find their $100+ purchases reduced to $2 prices.
Can anything stop the bleeding Activision is pinning its hopes on the upcoming hip-hop focused DJ Hero, complete with turntable, while MTV Games is hope The Beatles Rock Band makes the Harmonix deal well worth it.
Time will tell if gamers have already changed their tune. (See what I did there )
