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Beatles Limited Edition Will Sell Out by November, says Viacom CEO
Poor Rock Band Sales Blamed For Declining Viacom Revenues
Screw Consumers, Actual Bands Prefer Rock Band
Rock Band Devs Getting $300 Million In Bonuses
Rock Band Sells 3 Million Games, 10 Million Songs
Rock Band Drives Viacom Profits Skyward
Harmonix Respond To Sue Happy Gibson
Harmonix Gets Bonus For Big Results
Relax, Viacom (Probably) Aren't Buying Take-Two
Viacom To Buy Take-Two?

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anabbeynormality
09/27/09

In reply to Beatles Limited Edition Will Sell Out by November, says Viacom CEO
You know what else would probably sell well? Extra microphones! They make a game that allows 3 microphones, and then I can't find them stocked anywhere.
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anabbeynormality was starred anabbeynormality was unstarred

laser beams
09/25/09

In reply to Beatles Limited Edition Will Sell Out by November, says Viacom CEO
or you can wait until february when all these old people are bored with it and want to unload it on ebay/craigslist.
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Paul_Is_Drunk promoted this comment laser beams was starred laser beams was unstarred

Paul_Is_Drunk
09/25/09

@laser beams: The old people will get bored with it, then sell it?

I had to repeat that myself just to make sure I got it right. My grandmother is still playing GH:WT on her Wii with friends that she bought last year. They haven't passed the two button difficulty yet.

These people are not you. They probably don't even know they can sell stuff back, are very likely not in the habit of doing so, and don't spend 4+ hours a day to beat a game as soon as possible. I'm pretty sure most of them won't even 'beat' their Beatles LE until some grandkid spends a weekend with them.
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Paul_Is_Drunk was starred Paul_Is_Drunk was unstarred

KaneRobot
09/25/09

@laser beams: Not likely. The hardcore gamers are the ones more likely to dump stuff in order to make room for new games. Non-gamers are going to see something this expensive as an "investment" rather than a "toy."

Not to mention 3 albums of DLC are coming and possibly even more cherry-picked tracks after that, which extends the longevity...if those same casuals know about downloadable content, anyway. The little flier about downloading more songs is the first thing you see when you open the game's case though, so I have a feeling people will be aware.
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KaneRobot was starred KaneRobot was unstarred

NeoAkira
09/25/09

@Paul_Is_Drunk:

To be fair though, his sentiment isn't completely wrong. Many people will be unloading their old bundles on craigslist/ebay in February.
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NeoAkira was starred NeoAkira was unstarred

laser beams
09/26/09

@Paul_Is_Drunk: you're also assuming that these people will even like the game to begin with. a lot of people buying this thing may not have even played rock band/guitar hero before. they could be buying this on a whim.

my parents bought guitar hero 2 a few years ago after they saw my cousins and aunts playing it at grandma and grandpa's house a couple christmases ago. but after a few days- they decided it was too hard, with songs they didn't like and decided it was more fun to watch than it was to play. they still play dance dance revolution once in a while- but they are no longer interested in these guitar games. they ended up selling guitar hero on craig's list, and i'm sure they aren't the only non-gamers who have had the same reaction to these games.

i know that hardcore gamers sell more games than casual gamers- but that doesn't mean that casual people don't sell their games- my parents didn't sell the game to get money- and they didn't trade it towards new games. they just considered it clutter and wanted it out of the house :)
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laser beams was starred laser beams was unstarred

KaneRobot
09/25/09

In reply to Beatles Limited Edition Will Sell Out by November, says Viacom CEO
No game is worth more than the console to play it on.

And this is coming from someone who likes the game a lot.
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KaneRobot was starred KaneRobot was unstarred

Matt0505
09/25/09

@KaneRobot: For roughly the 100 millionth time, THE GAME COSTS $60. If you are one of the "hardcore" people who truly wants The Beatles unique instruments, then yes it costs you significantly more. Please show me where buying this $250 bundle is required to play the game. If you want other instruments, you can easily find them for cheap.

Narrow minded people like you really drive me nuts.
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Matt0505 was starred Matt0505 was unstarred

dunetiger - he's up on the effin' roof!
09/25/09

@KaneRobot:

Then buy it for the PS3. Problem solllllllllllllved.
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tk.
09/25/09

@dunetiger - kotakuites.org - a Kotaku community!: Hilarious :)
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tk. was starred tk. was unstarred

t0ddd
09/25/09

@Matt0505: Easy big fella. Some of us don't own any music game peripherals, so no, it isn't JUST $60 for everyone.
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TRT-X promoted this comment t0ddd was starred t0ddd was unstarred

TRT-X
09/25/09

@t0ddd: So then buy the $60 game standalone and pick up a few cheap GHIII or GHWT wireless guitars and an $80 drum kit.
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TRT-X was starred TRT-X was unstarred

themightypig
09/25/09

In reply to Beatles Limited Edition Will Sell Out by November, says Viacom CEO
Hahah, what a crock. All my local Walmarts are overloaded with stock of the game and its many configurations, and it isn't going anywhere soon. The people who wanted Beatles Rock Band pretty much bought it the first week it was out, and regardless of what they're saying publicly, I'd wager those sales figures are far below MTV Games' expectations. Gamers who also happen to be fans of the Beatles may be an enthusiastic bunch, but they're a very small market.
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tk. promoted this comment Edited by themightypig at 09/25/09 8:29 AM themightypig was starred themightypig was unstarred

tk.
09/25/09

@themightypig: Well, I would disagree; the fact that "the Beatles' "All You Need is Love' [is] the fastest-sellin...", and it's a song that you can only buy through the game itself, implies to me that there actually a lot of copies sold.
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tk. was starred tk. was unstarred

BritBloke916
09/25/09

@tk.: The disk-only version sold just fine. What doesn't seem to be selling is the ludicrously overpriced "Limited Edition" with all the instruments. Hence the usual "quickly, before they run out!" BS intended to try an generate some kind of consumer interest.
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BritBloke916 was starred BritBloke916 was unstarred

tk.
09/25/09

@BritBloke916: Huh, well I can see that. I picked it up because, like someone else mentioned below, my RB2 drums are getting long in the tooth and I'll need a replacement when they inevitably die, and I can always use more mics and mic stands.

I like the idea of limited editions actually being limited, though, except for that mono mix Beatles box set which is now actually tough to find. I couldn't afford that and RB on the same day, no way.
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tk. was starred tk. was unstarred

themightypig
09/25/09

@tk.: I think it's a dubious achievement. MTV Games purposely held back a number of the most popular Beatles songs just so they could make a buck on song downloads. Coupled with the fact that the game, by all accounts, doesn't include enough songs... and you can see why people would want to download additional songs as soon as they're available. And, obviously, any Beatles fan is going to want "All You Need Is Love," and right away. It should have been in the game!
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Edited by themightypig at 09/25/09 9:31 AM themightypig was starred themightypig was unstarred

Spaceboy
09/25/09

In reply to Beatles Limited Edition Will Sell Out by November, says Viacom CEO
Sounds like a trap....
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Spaceboy was starred Spaceboy was unstarred

Nothing
09/25/09

@Spaceboy:
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BritBloke916 promoted this comment Nothing was starred Nothing was unstarred

BritBloke916
09/25/09

@Malboro: My wallet can't repel costs of that magnitude!
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BritBloke916 was starred BritBloke916 was unstarred

GoemonEbis
09/25/09

In reply to Beatles Limited Edition Will Sell Out by November, says Viacom CEO
If this is the case then it will be one of the first times in recent memory that a 'Limited Edition' of a game is actually, in fact, limited. The first time I remember noticing this was when there was still metal cased copies of Halo 2 at Gamestop 2 years after the game came out!
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Showmeyomoves! promoted this comment GoemonEbis was starred GoemonEbis was unstarred

Reil: Save Stars, Save Peach
09/25/09

@GoemonEbis: BlazBlue was limited. In fact, the limited was first, and normal price, before dying out(ish) and being replaced by the Normal one.
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icy_one
07/28/09

In reply to Poor Rock Band Sales Blamed For Declining Viacom Revenues
I opted not to upgrade my original Rock Band accessories to their RB2 equivalents when Beatles Rock Band was being floated about, and I'd like to think I'm not the only thrifty one.
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icy_one was starred icy_one was unstarred

Killa_Charlie
07/28/09

@icy_one: Bingo-bango. Exactly what I was doing.
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Killa_Charlie was starred Killa_Charlie was unstarred

masterdingo
07/28/09

In reply to Poor Rock Band Sales Blamed For Declining Viacom Revenues
That's a pretty hefty burden for one company under the Viacom umbrella to shoulder. Here are their holdings, to give a bigger picture of how much of a burden they're putting onto Harmonix:

* M2
* MTV
* MTV Asia (joint venture with Vivendi's PolyGram)
* MTV Australia (licensing agreement)
* MTV Brazil (joint venture with Abril SA)
* MTV Europe
* MTV India (joint venture)
* MTV Japan (licensing agreement)
* MTV Latin America
* MTV Mandarin (joint venture with PolyGram)
* MTV Productions
* MTV Ritmo
* MTV Rocks
* MTV Russia (launch fall 1998)
* Nick at Nite
* Nick at Nite's TV Land
* Nick Jr.
* Nickelodeon Books
* Nickelodeon Magazine
* Nickelodeon Movies
* Noggin
* VH1 Country
* VH1 Soul
* VH1 Germany (joint venture with Bear Stearns) and VH1 United Kingdom
* Showtime en Espanol
* Showtime Extreme
*Sundance Channel (joint venture with Robert Redford, and PolyGram)
*The Movie Channel
*FLIX
*All News Channel (50% joint venture with Hubbard Broadcasting)
* Paramount Pictures
* Paramount Television
* Paramount Home Video
* CIC Video (joint venture)
* Viacom Productions
* MTV Films
* MTV Productions
* Nickelodeon Studios
* Nickelodeon Movies
* Wilshire Court Productions
* Spelling Entertainment Group (80%)
* Spelling Films
* Spelling Television
* Republic Entertainment
* Big Ticket Television
* Worldvision Enterprises
* Hamilton Projects
*Theme parks in Charlotte, Santa Clara, Richmond, Cincinnati, San Jose, Las Vegas and Toronto are reported to attract upwards of 13 million visitors per year
* Viacom Interactive Services
* Star Trek Franchise
* Anne Schwartz Books
* Archway Paperbacks and Minstrel Books
* Lisa Drew Books
* Fireside
* The Free Press
* MTV Books
* Nickelodeon Books
* Simon & Schuster
Simon & Schuster Audio Books
Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
Simon & Schuster Editions
Simon & Schuster Interactive
Simon & Schuster Interactive Distribution
Simon & Schuster Libros en Espanol
* Pocket Books
* Scribner
* Star Trek
* Touchstone
* Washington Square Press
* Famous Music - music publisher dating from 1920s, has around 100,000 works in copyright
* Paramount Theaters
* Paramount (Europe)
* United Cinemas International (UCI) - cinema joint venture with Vivendi Universal - around 868 screens in 104 theaters in the EU and Latin America
* CBS.com
* CBSNews.com
* CBSSportsLine.Com (partial)
* CBSMarketWatch.com (joint venture with Data Broadcasting Corporation)
* CBSHealthWatch.com (partial)
* Office.com (33.3% with Winstar)
* ThirdAge (30%)
* Big Entertainment - Hollywood.com (30%)
* Contentville.com (35% with Brill Media Holdings 34%, Primedia, NBC, Ingram Book Group and EBSCO)
* StoreRunner.com (partial)
* Atlanta: 2 FM, 1 AM station
* Austin: 3 FM, 1 AM
* Baltimore: 4 FM, 1 AM
* Boston: 4 FM, 1 AM
* Buffalo: 4 FM, 1 AM
* Charlotte: 5 FM, 2 AM
* Chicago: 5 FM, 2 AM
* Cincinnati: 3 FM
* Columbus: 3 FM
* Dallas: 5 FM, 3 AM
* Detroit: 4 FM, 2 AM
* Fresno: 5 FM, 2 AM
* Hartford: 3 FM
* Houston: 2 AM/FM
* Kansas City: 4 FM
* Las Vegas:4 FM, 3 AM
* Los Angeles: 5 FM, 3 AM
* Minneapolis: 2 FM, 2 AM
* Monterey-Salinas: 1 FM
* New York: 2 FM, 3 AM
* Palm Springs: 1 AM
* Philadelphia: 3 FM, 2 AM
* Pittsburgh: 3 FM, 1 AM
* Portland: 5 FM, 1 AM
* Riverside: 2 FM
* Rochester: 4 FM
* Sacramento: 5 FM, 2 AM
* San Jose: 2 FM
* San Francisco: 2 FM, 2 AM/FM
* Seattle: 4 FM, 1 AM
* St. Louis: 2 FM, 1 AM
* Tampa: 1 AM/FM
* Washington: 4 FM
* West Palm Beach: 2 FM
* Westwood One (equity interest - radio network syndicated program/producer
* TDI Worldwide
* CBS Production
* EYEMARK - marketing and production of syndicated programming
* King World Productions - first run television syndication
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Phydeaux promoted this comment masterdingo was starred masterdingo was unstarred

Phydeaux
07/28/09

@masterdingo: Excellent. Very well compiled list.

Anyone else ready to call bullshit on Viacom? I want to come to the vocal aid of Harmonix if this is all exaggerated against them.
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spiderweb1986 promoted this comment Phydeaux was starred Phydeaux was unstarred

b.bear
07/28/09

@masterdingo: I blame the Archway Paperbacks and Minstrel Books division. Those guys are always slacking off.
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spiderweb1986 promoted this comment b.bear was starred b.bear was unstarred

masterdingo
07/28/09

@b.bear: Seriously, they're really weighing Viacom down. :P
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masterdingo was starred masterdingo was unstarred

Morning Toast
07/28/09

In reply to Poor Rock Band Sales Blamed For Declining Viacom Revenues
The game itself isn't selling because it's not "new" anymore. That doesn't mean we need a new Rock Band, but everyone that wanted it, has it.

What they need to focus on is keeping the DLC music coming. I have to believe they clean up on selling 20+ year old tracks for $2 a pop. It's like turning dirt into dollar bills.

And like the article says, if Viacom put that much weight on Rock Band's shoulders, that's their dumb decision.

I love my Rock Band and buy new tracks just about every week, but music games are about played out.
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tk. promoted this comment Morning Toast was starred Morning Toast was unstarred

AlienRopeBurn
07/28/09

In reply to Poor Rock Band Sales Blamed For Declining Viacom Revenues
Let's see if they're singing the same tune after Beatles. That being said, band games will start to settle down, I think, and become cash cows rather than a craze. I, for one, am glad RB is milking through DLC and track packs, rather than just asking you buy the game all over again every three months.
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spiderweb1986 promoted this comment AlienRopeBurn was starred AlienRopeBurn was unstarred

Noodle-Works
07/28/09

In reply to Poor Rock Band Sales Blamed For Declining Viacom Revenues
well, only 1 in four need to buy it, and of those 1 in four, they only need to buy the big box set once.

that said, i think Viacom's problems lie with MTV. the network has been suffering for years and it can't seem to figure out how to stay relivant.

Do artists even make music videos anymore?

what's the last muscic video that you, personally, were excited to see?

was it released in the last year?

THAT'S viacom's problem.
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Noodle-Works was starred Noodle-Works was unstarred

Corduroy Turtle
07/28/09

In reply to Poor Rock Band Sales Blamed For Declining Viacom Revenues
They have to be making a ton on DLC. Now that I think of it, the only songs I've gotten lately have been through the Pepsi cap promotion.
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spiderweb1986 promoted this comment Corduroy Turtle was starred Corduroy Turtle was unstarred

spiderweb1986
07/28/09

@Corduroy Turtle: I would assume that Viacom's still getting some money out of that promotion...it's Pepsi that's footing the bill, though.
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spiderweb1986 was starred spiderweb1986 was unstarred

Rockabully
07/28/09

In reply to Poor Rock Band Sales Blamed For Declining Viacom Revenues
I'd think the decline in revenue has more to do with the fact that MTV doesn't play music, and Comedy Central isn't funny. I'd say that would have more to do with it.
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Rockabully was starred Rockabully was unstarred

digiorgio21
07/28/09

@Rockabully:
This.... except comedy central has some funny shows, south park, the daily show, the colbert report. That is about all I like anymore.
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Phydeaux promoted this comment digiorgio21 was starred digiorgio21 was unstarred

theflux
07/28/09

In reply to Poor Rock Band Sales Blamed For Declining Viacom Revenues
Not surprising in the least. The market has hit saturation point, and largely by their own doing. Rock Band's draw was its huge tracklist, which it began to fragment with special editions (as did Guitar Hero). Furthermore, band games have gone the way of the Wii. Fun at parties, not much else.
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theflux was starred theflux was unstarred

Phydeaux
07/28/09

@theflux: what special editions of rock band are we talking about dear sir
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Phydeaux promoted this comment Phydeaux was starred Phydeaux was unstarred

spiderweb1986
07/28/09

@theflux: The only "special editions" I can think of for Rock Band are the Beatles game, and the AC/DC track pack (which came out well over a year ago). Every other release with the Rock Band name for the consoles has been track packs, which are literally DLC collected on a disc at a slightly lower price.
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spiderweb1986 was starred spiderweb1986 was unstarred

dinga6969
07/28/09

In reply to Poor Rock Band Sales Blamed For Declining Viacom Revenues
Viacom ran for a long time without Rock Band. If Rock Band is the reason for their overall success or failure then they are doomed. Who is their CEO Bobby Kotick?
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Phydeaux promoted this comment dinga6969 was starred dinga6969 was unstarred

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