Not too long ago, Viacom were singing the praises of their rhythm-based game franchise. Now the MTV parent company is looking at an eight percent drop in revenues, thanks to declining sales of Rock Band, and a generally dismal economic climate.
Despite this, Viacom have stated they remain confident in the franchise, and expect the upcoming Beatles: Rock Band to renew interest in the game. This new title is due in early September, and features a catalog of more than 40 tracks that span the entirety of the Fab Four's career.
As well as MTV, Viacom owns the Paramount Pictures movie studio, whose recent releases include Star Trek and that awful movie about robots and Megan Fox's ass. Some have cited Viacom's inability to adapt to new models of digital distribution as a possible contributing factor to their decline in profits. If this is true, they'd better learn to adapt, lest this latest decline starts a trend.
It's missing a vital component if you can't send the drummer to the shop while getting a session player to fill in, just like the real Beatles did.
The pearl finish on the Beatles, Ludwig branded drum kit is pretty cool. Pretty cool for a dust-gatherer, which my kit is these days.
Sure The Beatles have a huge audience, but an audience who likes gaming and The Beatles? Not many I'd say; not nearly as much as the metalheads.
Yeah, Metallica is the perfect band for a rhythm game. The Beatles have their audience, but I really wonder how much crossover there is. Also, the Hofner violin bass controller isn't exactly appealing.
Doesn't help that GH World Tour is now less than half price in Australia, with no sign of Rock Band 2 here at all. So it's about $170 for the band set. Rock Band have been pretty amazing when it comes to downloadable content though, compared to GH they have a massive library of tracks you can download. Maybe Rock Band has just peaked. As Colm said, the staggered distribution can't have helped.
Rock Band instrument packs have dropped from €200 here to €70 in the last few months. However, one of the biggest reasons I reckon for the decline is the terrible worldwide release schedule. RB2 still isn't available in Australia, and activision have managed to get their franchise ahead in the interim. Who wants old drums when drums with cymbals are out for ages. Also, I reckon the appeal of Metallica over the Beatles is going to further increase the lead Activision have got.