Viacom, the company that controls both Nickelodeon and MTV, announced that operating profits have gone up by 33 percent to around $270 million in the first quarter of the year. A lot of this growth is due to the success that Rock Band, created by Harmonix, has enjoyed. The Media Networks division, which is responsible for the Rock Band franchise, has reported that revenue has risen 16 percent to $2.02 billion in the first quarter of 2008.

Rock Band was developed by Harmonix as the direct evolution of the concept behind previous creation Guitar Hero. The game allows players to experience all the sensations that a member of a rock band has when playing a song. It features a variety of instruments, including guitars, and a voice line. The game is best enjoyed when the full lineup of performers needed for a track is assembled and has taken the world of the music simulators by storm. The publisher states that Rock Band has shipped more than three million bundled units since it launched in November 2007. Viacom also says that some ten million songs have been downloaded to be played in the game in the same period.

Philippe Dauman, Viacom's president and CEO, said that "Our Rock Band video game is continuing its successful tour and is emerging as a valuable long-term franchise. We expect to further that success with the upcoming release of Rock Band on the Wii home video game system and our launch in Europe."

The game is also set to rock Europe in the coming months, even if prices are a bit higher here than for the United States version. There's also talk of more content for the game, mainly through song downloads, and it seems that there's a bit of a race on between Rock Band and Guitar Hero for exclusive rights to bring famous bands in to gamers. So far, Aerosmith has signed an exclusivity deal with Activision, as it is set to feature in Guitar Hero: Aerosmith.