Rock Band

"Rock Band" Game Released for iPhone, iPod touch

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 20, 2009 - 12:07pm.
Los Angeles - Electronic Arts (NASD: ERTS), along with Viacom's (NYSE: VIA) MTV Games and developer Harmonix, on Tuesday announced the release of "Rock Band" for Apple's iPhone and iPod touch. The $9.99 game includes a full-band Bluetooth multiplayer mode, 20 full-length songs, and the ability to purchase additional songs from within the game.

Electronic Arts Plans iPhone Version of "Rock Band" Game

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 8, 2009 - 11:38am.
Redwood City, Calif. - Electronic Arts (NASD: ERTS) is working on a version of its popular "Rock Band" karaoke console video game for Apple's (NASD: AAPL) iPhone and iPod touch, TechCrunch reports. Slated for release later this month, the game will feature a Bluetooth-enabled four-player multiplayer mode, and 20 on-board tracks from artists including Beastie Boys, Blondie, Pixies, Foo Fighters and Motorhead.

EMI to Sell Remastered Beatles at 7-11, Restoration Hardware

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 2, 2009 - 9:41am.
Los Angeles - Major record label EMI plans to expand distribution of its anticipated remastered Beatles CD catalog beyond traditional record stores, to include retailers such as Restoration Hardware, Starbucks, Whole Foods, Ralph's, Pathmark, 7-Eleven and Blockbuster, Brandweek reported. "It will allow us to reach the everyday places people shop," Bill Gagnon, senior vice president of catalog marketing for EMI Music North America, told Brandweek.

MTV to Let Artists Upload Own Songs to "Rock Band" Game

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on July 17, 2009 - 8:11am.
New York - Viacom's (NYSE: VIA) MTV Games plans later this year to launch a service that will let any musical artist upload and submit their songs for possible inclusion in its "Rock Band" music video game, Billboard reported.

"Rock Band" North American Game Sales Top $1 Billion

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 26, 2009 - 12:55pm.
New York - Viacom's (NYSE: VIA) MTV Games said on Thursday that its "Rock Band" franchise has surpassed $1 billion in North American retail sales in 15 months, according to NPD Group data. Over 40 million individual songs have additionally been sold as downloadable content for the game.

New Downloadable Songs Coming to "Guitar Hero," "Rock Band"

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 24, 2009 - 12:48pm.
Santa Monica, Calif. - Video game publishers Activision (NASD: ATVI) and Viacom's (NYSE: VIA) Harmonix on Tuesday announced that they are making available new tracks for download and use with their "Guitar Hero World Tour" and ""Rock Band" games, respectively. Activision will add new tracks from the Pixies, Silversun Pickups, Nirvana, Motorhead and Steely Dan, including two tracks from Silversun Pickups' forthcoming album, and new re-recorded versions of several songs from Motorhead. Harmonix's "Rock Band Track Pack: Classic Rock" will include 20 songs, from artists including Boston, The Who, Steve Miller Band and the Dead Kennedys.

"The Beatles: Rock Band" Video Game Set for Sept. 9 Release

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 5, 2009 - 11:40am.

New York - Viacom's (NYSE: VIA) MTV Games and Harmonix game studio announced on Thursday that the forthcoming Beatles-themed version of its popular "Rock Band" music video game will ship worldwide on Sept. 9, 2009. The company had been in talks with Apple Corps, the Beatles' record label, and surviving members of the band or their widows, and the game will mark the first time the music of the Beatles has been released in any digital format.

MTV Games, Harrah's Team on Casino "Rock Band" Tournaments

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 18, 2009 - 1:13pm.
Las Vegas - Viacom's (NYSE: VIA) MTV Games said on Wednesday that it has teamed with casino operator Harrah's Entertainment to launch the Total Rewards Rock Band Competition, which will see Harrah's casinos host weekly "Rock Band" game tournaments on "official and permanent, fully-equipped Rock Band entertainment stages." Four regional competitions will then offer the chance to win over $50,000 in prizes.

Pearl Jam Include Free "Rock Band" Downloads in "Ten" Reissue

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 5, 2009 - 10:03am.

Los Angeles - Pearl Jam will include a redemption code in the reissued version of its debut album "Ten" that allows users to download versions of the band's tracks for MTV's "Rock Band" music video game, Billboard reports. The promotion will be limited to those who purchase the "Ten" reissue at Best Buy stores.

MTV's "Rock Band" to Expand Catalog to 5,000 Songs

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 28, 2009 - 8:54am.

Denver - Viacom's (NYSE: VIA) MTV Networks hopes to expand the 500-song catalog available for its "Rock Band" music game franchise to as many as 5,000 by year's end, Billboard reports. By contrast, Activision's (NASD: ATVI) "Guitar Hero" currently offers fewer than 100 songs, but publisher Red Octane told Billboard that weekly music additions are planned this year. The latest version of Guitar Hero sold twice as many copies as Rock Band 2 last year, according to NPD data.

"Guitar Hero III" Sales Top $1 Billion as Genre Sales Slip

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 13, 2009 - 12:13pm.

Los Angeles - Activision's (NASD: ATVI) "Guitar Hero III" is the first video game to surpass $1 billion in sales, but the current iterations of both that franchise and MTV's (NYSE: VIA) "Rock Band" sold fewer copies last year in the U.S. than their predecessors, according to market research firm NPD Group.

"Rock Band" Game Gets Pearl Jam "Ten" Reissue Download

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on December 15, 2008 - 2:16pm.

New York - Viacom's (NYSE: VIA) Harmonix game studio, the unit of MTV Networks that developed "Rock Band," said on Monday that Pearl Jam will offer the reissue of its debut album "Ten" as a download for the game on the same day as its physical release on Mar. 24. Initially released in 1991, the album has since sold 12 million copies worldwide.

"Rock Band" Game Hits 28 Million Song Downloads

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on December 8, 2008 - 1:04pm.

Los Angeles - Viacom's (NYSE: VIA) Harmonix game studio, a unit of MTV Networks, disclosed recently in its Rock Band Community Zine that players have to date purchased over 28 million song download add-ons to the music game, Shacknews reported. The "Rock Band" store features just 345 tracks from 239 artists.

MTV, Beatles to Collaborate on New Music Video Game

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 30, 2008 - 8:58am.

New York - Viacom's (NYSE: VIA) MTV Networks on Thursday announced a deal with the Beatles' record label, Apple Corps, to create a Beatles-branded music video game. The game -- which apparently will not be part of MTV's "Rock Band" franchise -- was conceived with input from Sir Paul McCartney and Ringo Star, approved by Yoko Ono Lennon and Olivia Harrison, and will feature "LOVE" project co-producer Giles Martin as Music Producer.

Microsoft: 3.8M Songs Sold Monthly via Xbox for Music Games

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 20, 2008 - 1:01pm.

London - Microsoft (NASD: MSFT) is selling 3.8 million downloadable songs a month for the Xbox 360 versions of music video games "Guitar Hero" and "Rock Band," GamesIndustry.biz reports. In a statement, the company said that Xbox Live has "delivered more than 80% of the downloadable songs for music games."

AC/DC Offers Full Downloadable Live Album in "Rock Band 2"

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 30, 2008 - 12:51pm.

New York - Viacom's (NYSE: VIA) MTV Games said on Tuesday that veteran rock band AC/DC will offer a downloadable full album of live tracks in its upcoming "Rock Band 2" game. The AC/DC LIVE: Rock Band Track Pack will include 18 tracks, making for a total of more than 99 minutes of gameplay for each instrument.

tags: Games | Music | Viacom | Rock Band | AC/DC |

DMW Vlog: EA's Manny Anekal on In-Game Ads

Authored by Jay Baage on September 29, 2008 - 3:58pm.

New York - Manny Anekal, Global Dir, In-Game Ad Ops, Electronic Arts (NASD: ERTS) spoke on a panel entitled "Games as a Marketing Tool - Connecting Brands with the Favorite Medium of the Millennial Generation" at the NY Games Conference last week. DMW caught up with him afterwards and talked about opportunities for advertisers and brands to reach consumers through games, virtual worlds and social networks. Some of the take-aways include that in-game ads are still very much a nascent phenomena, but EA is seeing rapid growth in terms of in-game ad revenue with a very high profit margin.

Panic At The Disco, Dashboard Head "Rock Band Live" Tour

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on July 30, 2008 - 10:40am.

New York - Viacom's (NYSE: VIA) MTV on Wednesday announced that Panic At The Disco and Dashboard Confessional will headline its "Rock Band Live" tour, a fall promotional tour for its "Rock Band" video game from Harmonix. The tour will also feature performances from "Rock Band" bands, who will compete for the chance to play on the main stage in between the headline acts' sets in each of the 28 cities on the tour schedule. MTV has secured Hot Topic and Pepsi Stuff as sponsors for the tour.

Konami Sues "Rock Band" Maker Harmonix Over Game Patents

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on July 11, 2008 - 10:18am.

Tokyo - Japanese video game developer and publisher Konami has filed suit against Viacom-owned (NYSE: VIA) "Rock Band" game developer Harmonix, alleging the popular music game infringes on several of Konami's patents, Bloomberg reported.

Analysis: Will Guitar Hero Save The Music Industry?

Authored by Jay Baage on July 2, 2008 - 7:21am.

I'm the first to admit that the whole Guitar Hero thing took me off guard. Play music on a plastic toy guitar - come on! But then I went to Guitar Hero night at my local waterhole, Hyperion Tavern, in trendy Silver Lake (Thursdays for those of you that care, see picture to the right). It was so much fun that I was converted on the spot. Now in its third incarnation, Activision's (NASD: ATVI) "Guitar Hero" game franchise is still the most popular entry in the music-based gaming genre that includes the newer hit "Rock Band" by Harmonix. Not only has the games sold millions of copies and is now available on other platforms such as mobile phones, the games have also become an invaluable marketing tools for bands (rock band Motley Crue was the first group to release a new single, "Saints of Los Angeles," for sale through the video game "Rock Band.") as well as increased interest in real guitar playing. And the trend of interactive music games that Guitar Hero started is just in its infancy.