14 DAY TRIAL // MTV ratings are plummeting as more teenagers listen to music on the go or online. Paramount branded movies are not doing great at the box office. But MTV Games and Harmonix are going strong and making money for all the involved parties.
Viacom's profit went down by 37% this year. But the weirdly named “ancillary revenue”, that also includes revenue from games, saw a revenue increase of 36% that translates into more than 313 million dollars earned. Most of this was generated by music games coming from Harmonix. The Rock Band franchise, which now includes two games, has seen strong sales. The latest installment, Rock Band 2, has launched for a wide variety of platforms, but there's still room for growth, as the Nintendo Wii and the PlayStation 2 versions of the game are still expected by potential customers.
Rock Band was the first music simulation game which supported a full band lineup, while Guitar Hero only dealt with guitar players. Rock Band 2 extends the possibilities of the peripherals and allows players to enjoy more tracks than the initial game, while also allowing those who have the first release in the series to import tracks into Rock Band 2.
Recently, MTV Games and Harmonix announced having entered into an agreement with Apple Corps, the company which is in charge of the Beatles back catalog of songs, aimed at creating a new music game, which would not bear the Rock Band label, that is set to showcase the music of the band while allowing people to play their best known tracks.
The biggest competitor of Rock Band 2, Guitar Hero World Tour was also released this fall. At the moment, there are some issues with the drum kits. The Christmas period will likely see both games jockeying for sales and recognition.