Rock Band jams 3M bundles, 10M downloads

Media giant Viacom calls out MTV Games and Harmonix's rhythm game as driving the company's 33 percent upswing in profit.

Earlier today, American media conglomerate Viacom reported a solid first quarter. The MTV parent company posted revenues up 15 percent year over year to $3.1 billion, with net income spiking a significant 33 percent to $270 million, up from $203 million for a year prior. Although Viacom has its hand in all manner of media, including film, TV, and radio, the company specifically called out the Harmonix-developed Rock Band as a particular contributor to growth.

Reporting on its earnings, Viacom said that since Rock Band launched in North America last November, MTV Games has shipped more than 3 million bundled units. Viacom will undoubtedly soon have more cause to celebrate MTV Games and Harmonix's rhythm game. In April, the game's publisher said that the Xbox 360 version would finally arrive in Europe on May 23, with other editions slated to follow later in the summer. Harmonix also said that a Wii version of the game will be released in North America on June 22 for $169.99, complementing the already available Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PlayStation 2 editions.

Additionally, the media conglomerate said that more than 10 million songs have been downloaded across the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 editions of the game. In March, MTV and Harmonix played to fans' wishes, opening up an in-game Rock Band Music Store for downloading new and existing bonus tracks. At that time, the game's makers also said that more than 6 million pieces of content had thus far been downloaded.

68 Comments

  • marklovesbaseba

    Posted May 18, 2008 9:43 am GMT

    i hope they have some nirvana downloads....i would also like to seee some korn and or slipknot becuase there instrumentals are great id love to play that....but i love this game and i plan on playin it for years to come

  • ctg867

    Posted May 6, 2008 3:26 pm GMT

    I like Rock Band, but it got more praise then it deserved. And the hardware is still crap. And the 10 million song thing is just a bunch of hardcore fans who are buying 10-20 songs. Most people who bought the bundles haven't bought any songs, and a lot aren't even on Live/PSN.

  • Pete5506

    Posted May 5, 2008 7:14 pm GMT

    Rock band partys are so much fun, Go Rock Band

  • tophat666

    Posted May 5, 2008 3:12 pm GMT

    wow

  • holenjd

    Posted May 5, 2008 2:53 pm GMT

    Good Party game, but I prefer Guitar Hero myself.

  • Lucas-Kane

    Posted May 5, 2008 2:40 pm GMT

    Can't Wait to Play it .. Unfortunately its not available here ...

  • JohnnyNeat

    Posted May 5, 2008 12:54 pm GMT

    To MTV and Harmonix

    Now go buy some Led Zeppelin, The Beatles and Pink Floyd songs already. ..it's not like you guys can't afford it.

  • BigDaddy973

    Posted May 5, 2008 10:11 am GMT

    Nice! Glad people like it!

  • LittleYoshi

    Posted May 5, 2008 6:55 am GMT

    I just got RockBand.....It's so awesome!

  • dmish82

    Posted May 5, 2008 6:02 am GMT

    Actually, I also had my guitar break. It's the way the strum bar was designed. Fortunately EA replaced it rather quickly and the new one works well for the most part. Also had my Yellow Drum pad break and the bass pedal. Fortunately again they replaced the set with a new and improved model.

  • SlikNik27

    Posted May 5, 2008 5:07 am GMT

    @DSfanatic: I've yet to have a problem with my Rock Band guitar and I've had the game since Christmas. Perhaps you and your friends are rocking a little too hard for your own good.

  • DSfanatic5

    Posted May 4, 2008 9:17 pm GMT

    Rock Band also jams 2.9 million defective guitar controllers. Seriously, everyone I know, including myself, has had these cheap guitars break within moments of playing. It's a conspiracy.

  • hleflore

    Posted May 4, 2008 8:10 pm GMT

    Wii may have a problem with storage. True the songs arent very big but it will be a problem for people out there if awesome content they want is available for there platform of choice.

  • VenomRitual

    Posted May 4, 2008 7:56 pm GMT

    dang so thats 3 million just on the ps3 and 360. with the wii its bound to sell even more.

  • 1upMushroomX6

    Posted May 4, 2008 2:58 pm GMT

    thats going to be interesting for wii

  • CUDDIE

    Posted May 4, 2008 2:23 pm GMT

    i gladly say me and all my friend and famly love rock band. got it the day after launch and it works great to this day. bass pedal has survived drunken weekend parties . medium. its like christmas every tuesday. wondering what harmonix is giving me this week. lol PROPZ harmonix

  • wlcm2atl

    Posted May 4, 2008 2:04 pm GMT

    DLC for Rock Band is amazing (and with the addition of the music store quite easy to get) so props Harmonix =)

    But I would really like to see some newer/heavier music...

  • KaizerChief

    Posted May 4, 2008 9:37 am GMT

    i would gladly pay 1200 for Nevermind since Nirvana are awesome!!

  • Thornscar

    Posted May 4, 2008 8:13 am GMT

    My bass pedal works great and I've had it since launch. You only ever here about the bad ones and thats why it sounds like a big problem when it isnt.

  • teexxrecks

    Posted May 4, 2008 7:15 am GMT

    I'm still waiting for "Who's Next" to at least get a release date.. That's an album I would pay 1,200 MS points for.

  • rockstar_88

    Posted May 4, 2008 6:32 am GMT

    @ Coviehunter

    It depends on WHEN you bought your bundle of the game. I bought mine at launch, and just about all my equipment save my mic was faulty and had to be gradually replaced. The EA Support line was really good about getting them replaced for me, even though it was well beyond my 60 day hardware warranty limit, and when I received them, the drum set sported much better pads (they were noticeably higher and more sensitive), the bass pedal had a much more durable plastic underneath (the orange thing on the bottom is the primary cause of the pedals to break, so they lengthened it along the pedal to make it sturdier), and the guitar strum bar was a tad bit firmer (although still not as responsive). So there you have it, if you have the older pieces of hardware like I did for a while, you should call up tech support and ask to get the newer models.

  • Coviehunter

    Posted May 4, 2008 5:22 am GMT

    I have to ask, what the hell are you people doing with the bass pedal? Or did I just get lucky and get a durable one?

    Anyways, good news, it's a good game, hopefully this means more DLC (not saying there isn't enough).

  • evil_guy44

    Posted May 4, 2008 2:09 am GMT

    Well, that's great! You're all complaining about a shoddy bass pedal, while the game isn't even out here.

  • chrissp7

    Posted May 3, 2008 8:39 pm GMT

    Maybe Rock Band should step it up even more in the listening department and make a bass pedal that doesn't break after two months of no-shoes medium-hard difficulty playing. And I'm not really that violent with the drums either.

  • MexRoy10

    Posted May 3, 2008 6:18 pm GMT

    i don't like the drums for rock band
    at least try to make it a little bit more real, for example:
    snare next to your feet high hat on top of the snare
    then a real looking cymbal (2 at least) (experts)
    and the two toms and bass pedal is fine( could add double pedal also)
    Be smart

  • xchiefmegadethx

    Posted May 3, 2008 5:53 pm GMT

    Why is it taking so long to come out in australia?
    When the time comes,i don't know if i will care anymore!

  • DaSlyOne

    Posted May 3, 2008 4:32 pm GMT

    Great! Now how about giving us some peripherals that don't break so easily!

  • drumbreak1

    Posted May 3, 2008 4:10 pm GMT

    they need to come out with add-ons for the drums, and then songs where you will need that add-on, such as a double bass pedal or another pad

  • megamega777

    Posted May 3, 2008 3:29 pm GMT

    Although Judas Priest was okay, I REALLY want a Black Tide album in there. Atfer they released "Shockwave", I loved them. They should also release Foo Fighters and (for those who are insane) Dragonforce (foot pedals will be breaking in half if you play on expert)!!!

  • AsianGammer94

    Posted May 3, 2008 11:46 am GMT

    Go Rock Band!

  • dmish82

    Posted May 3, 2008 11:09 am GMT

    I'm glad Rock Band is playing this right and listening to the consumers unlike GH. Weekly add-on content is really keeping the game fresh and keeping replay value high and keeps me from getting tired of the same songs. Also, I must admit pricing is very fair, especially when compared to GH.

  • fishnpeas1

    Posted May 3, 2008 10:38 am GMT

    I really can't see them selling that many copies in Europe - You can buy an xbox 360 with a copy of GTA IV for that price!! (£129 and I'd buy it - £169, you're avin a larf)

  • French023

    Posted May 3, 2008 9:52 am GMT

    See this is what happens when develupers listen to thier playing gamers. They made an in game store and guess what? They have made way more money

  • ItsEvolution

    Posted May 3, 2008 9:49 am GMT

    Would it be crazy to suggest releasing one song for each genre a week? Or month? It seems like some parts of the rock world get ignored week in and week out. Also, Harmonix needs to get their heads out of the 70's and 80's with DLC (Boston, The Cars, Judas Priest) and give us some more newer bands and songs.

  • nobdow

    Posted May 3, 2008 9:14 am GMT

    34th comment ya! Europe can go with out rock band they have call of duty 4. More songs MTV/Harmonics!

  • Skreb-Masters

    Posted May 3, 2008 7:42 am GMT

    Brilliant. Now if you just release it over here already you might have more revenue coming in (granted if people swallow the rather large price tag).

  • chibi-acer

    Posted May 3, 2008 7:22 am GMT

    I agree with Anziano32. The great thing about DLC is that I can pick my song selection. People tend to have different tastes in music, so it's tough (impossible?) to create a disc based selection that people will like 100%.

    Plus DLC songs mean I can play more songs without having to swap discs. If I play the Aerosmith version of GH coming out, I can't play other songs unless I pop the disc out and put GH3 back in. I'd rather be able to mix it up on the fly.

  • Anziano32

    Posted May 3, 2008 6:12 am GMT

    @ Pashok:

    Yeah, $1 per song, but most people seem to only really like about half the songs that come in the setlist on any of these music games. If Harmonix makes the entire setlist for RB2 available to download as individual tracks, you might pay a little more per song, but you'll only be getting the songs you really want to play anyway. I'm willing to pay more for great songs than get stuck with some of the junk RB and GH include on the in-game setlists.

  • kkee

    Posted May 3, 2008 4:36 am GMT

    I hope Rock Band doesn't sell in Europe until they sort about the price differences between North America and Europe

  • Pashok

    Posted May 3, 2008 4:15 am GMT

    "I just hope Harmonix expands upon Rockband through DLC instead of going for Rock Band 2." - I hope you realize that if they make Rock Band 2, they will make game CD available separately, thus you're actually investing 60$ at max for 64 songs? that's less than a 1$ per song...Don't tell me DLC is cheaper...

  • Mutarotation

    Posted May 3, 2008 4:07 am GMT

    Perhaps I'll just run home and download some songs... No wait I'm in Europe so the games not coming home untill the fall. But then I'm going to pick it up... No wait I'm a student so I have to sell my kidney to scrape together 500 USD first...

  • MilkyJoe1

    Posted May 3, 2008 3:15 am GMT

    LOL you lot are moaning about the Wii version selling for $170, here the Xbox version is selling for $355!!!!!!!

  • bropie

    Posted May 3, 2008 12:37 am GMT

    HURRY UP AND RELEASE IN AUS......god damn it.

  • football_legend

    Posted May 3, 2008 12:29 am GMT

    I just hope Harmonix expands upon Rockband through DLC instead of going for Rock Band 2. As all of us invested huge amount on he game aready, enough to buy a wii in some cases.

  • RaiDK

    Posted May 2, 2008 11:19 pm GMT

    Now all they need to do is port it to PC and make it moddable xD

    Homebrew ftw.

  • Azwethinkweiz89

    Posted May 2, 2008 10:00 pm GMT

    Proud Rock Band owner, over 4800 points into new songs and counting.

  • OmegaOrtega

    Posted May 2, 2008 9:26 pm GMT

    I love Rock Band. I would say its a tad overpriced but GH3 cost $100... 70 bucks less and all you get is a guitar and game. (not talking about the Wii version, it simply is overpriced). Would be nice if they were a good $20 each.

  • wmc540

    Posted May 2, 2008 8:28 pm GMT

    170 only seem like a lot because you are realizing you got ripped off in buying a Wii.

  • wooooode

    Posted May 2, 2008 8:15 pm GMT

    $170 is to much for a Wii version it wont sell well.

  • raahsnavj

    Posted May 2, 2008 8:08 pm GMT

    Now can we get a way to do rock band world tour in online mode... Thanks.

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