Analysis Details Massive Failure For Music Games

[Yog Sothoth]

Ok, let's get this out of the way first: I love the Rock Band games... Like really, really love them. I have over 200 downloaded tracks and play on a near daily basis. So this is coming from a bona fide fanboy.

I read with interest the article on Gamasutra. One thing to keep in mind with the declining sales numbers is that after the initial launch everyone had acquired their plastic instrument bundles of choice, which carry a much higher price point than the game disc alone. So I think that part of what we're seeing is gamers choosing not to upgrade their fake instruments, but maybe still buying the disc. There wasn't any possible way to sustain the momentum once the peripherals were in everyone's hands.

What I don't understand is why Harmonix has still not been profitable for Viacom. Sure, shipping bulky bundles all over the world must be an expensive endeavor, but here's where things don't add up: I've read in numerous sources that Harmonix sells more DLC (in terms of revenue) than anyone else. They were crowing about gross sales of over a billion(!) dollars a little more than a year after Rock Band was released. And they still can't turn a profit?

Something fishy is going on here, I think. I'm not saying that the market isn't saturated (it is) or that many gamers aren't sick of these kinds of games (they are). What I am saying is that Harmonix is inflating their DLC sales claims, those sales aren't being taken into account, or that their business model is seriously flawed.

Anyone else here care to weigh in on this apparent discrepancy?

 

[FallenTraveler]

well thats sad... I bought mine a couple weeks after launch, I love the damned thing, rb3 is awesome! I iz sad nao

 

[SageRuffin]

I'm not entirely sure sure how this works, but this makes me enjoy my DJ Hero games that much more.

I know, I'm baffled myself (and for the record, I fucking love DJ Hero, even before this article was even conceived).

 

[Warrior Irme]

At this point there is a massive library of songs for rock band, so each new iteration of that is going to be lacking a great set list because there is already a ton of content in the store. I think that if they want to make a great sell again, they need to just offer up a disc, $40 or something, that gives the user a 20-30 song set list of new stuff not yet on the store, and credit to allow the download of 40-50 other songs of the owner's choice off the store. Updated versions of peripherals could come out every now and then as single purchase items, and the main harmonix team could work on other projects like dance central or other new music/rhythm games.

 

[Andronicus]

I always thought Rock Band to be better than Guitar Hero anyway, although that may just be because they released the Beatles Rock Band, possibly the only rythm-based game I'll ever need.

That said, I wouldn't mind trying out Rock Band 3 with the keyboard; I've always been interested in learning how to play the piano, but I've never really had the time or inclination to sit down and learn all the ins and outs. Playing a keyboard through a videogame may just be the springboard I need.

 

[Yog Sothoth]

I always thought Rock Band to be better than Guitar Hero anyway...

Yes, the general consensus is that Rock Band is the superior game. Personally, I feel that the charting in RB is far better than GH.

That said, I wouldn't mind trying out Rock Band 3 with the keyboard;

It's loads of fun, I've hardly put mine down since I got it.

Also, sorry for the multi-quote. Deal with it...

 

[hansari]

Anyone else here care to weigh in on this apparent discrepancy?

How much of the DLC money for a song goes to the original artist?

See: How much money did the Beatles get paid for the Beatles Rock Band?

http://www.joystiq.com/2009/08/31/mtv-spent-big-for-the-beatles-slowly-backing-away-from-peripher/

 

[Yog Sothoth]

Anyone else here care to weigh in on this apparent discrepancy?

How much of the DLC money for a song goes to the original artist?

See: How much money did the Beatles get paid for the Beatles Rock Band?

http://www.joystiq.com/2009/08/31/mtv-spent-big-for-the-beatles-slowly-backing-away-from-peripher/

Ah, good point. Thanks for the link... I'd forgotten that they threw a giant pile pf money at the Beatles license holders. That certainly accounts for a significant chunk of change...

 

[Andronicus]

I always thought Rock Band to be better than Guitar Hero anyway...

Yes, the general consensus is that Rock Band is the superior game. Personally, I feel that the charting in RB is far better than GH.

That said, I wouldn't mind trying out Rock Band 3 with the keyboard;

It's loads of fun, I've hardly put mine down since I got it.

Also, sorry for the multi-quote. Deal with it...

Oh noes! He quoted me twice! I cannot possibly deal with the horror of having two excerpts from my previous post being used as quotational devices!! [/sarcasm]

If you mean being sent two notifications, then fear not, as only one was sent. The Escapist's site has accounted for your sick, devious dual-quoting fetishes.

Incidentally, have you tried using the proper guitar peripherals as well? If so, how well do they work?

 

[Notthatbright]

It sad because I want Rockband 3.. I want all the crazy instruments and download packs, I want DJ hero, I want the cool custom instruments from the Beatles and Metallica, etc.

But I can't justify paying top dollar for it. I can get them occasionally, but When the whole package costs more than a new Flatscreen, I'll wait.

I also can't justify the space. these things take up a ton of room. Guitars, Keyboards, DJ boards, Drums, etc. If I wasn't already going out with a beautiful girl who played video games, I'd be pretty hesitant to try and explain a room full of plastic instruments to any lady friends.. or otherwise.

 

[Yog Sothoth]

I always thought Rock Band to be better than Guitar Hero anyway...

Yes, the general consensus is that Rock Band is the superior game. Personally, I feel that the charting in RB is far better than GH.

That said, I wouldn't mind trying out Rock Band 3 with the keyboard;

It's loads of fun, I've hardly put mine down since I got it.

Also, sorry for the multi-quote. Deal with it...

Oh noes! He quoted me twice! I cannot possibly deal with the horror of having two excerpts from my previous post being used as quotational devices!! [/sarcasm]

If you mean being sent two notifications, then fear not, as only one was sent. The Escapist's site has accounted for your sick, devious dual-quoting fetishes.

Incidentally, have you tried using the proper guitar peripherals as well? If so, how well do they work?

Heh, wasn't worried about offending you; it's against Escapist forum protocol to do that...

I haven't tried the pro-guitar yet as I blew my spending money on the keyboard... I do want to try it, but at the same time it looks a little intimidating to me.

 

[Andronicus]

Heh, wasn't worried about offending you; it's against Escapist forum protocol to do that...

I haven't tried the pro-guitar yet as I blew my spending money on the keyboard... I do want to try it, but at the same time it looks a little intimidating to me.

Really? I didn't actually know that. I've seen lots of people do it without repercussion though, so I expect it's very lax on the minds of the mods. I don't see anything wrong with it personally.

I think it's a shame that it's taken this long for companies to expand more towards simulating the actual controller, and have elected to retain the same incredibly simplified mockery of the instrument, like with the guitar. It's great that people can feel like an awesome musician playing to a packed auditorium with just pressing coloured buttons and flicking a bar like they're actually strings, but each iteration should have been more and more demanding, in that the player should be learning key instrumental techniques, to the point where the difference between game controller and instrument, game-playing and music-making, is virtually non-existant. That's when you can say "this is both an excellent game and instrument-teaching tool".

Obviously a lot of people just wouldn't see the point, but as we can see, this evolution of the music games is required in order to keep the genre not only alive, but flourishing.

Anyway, sorry for the wall of text. TL;DR --> Games with real guitars would be awesome, make more of those.

 

[Yog Sothoth]

I think it's a shame that it's taken this long for companies to expand more towards simulating the actual controller, and have elected to retain the same incredibly simplified mockery of the instrument, like with the guitar. It's great that people can feel like an awesome musician playing to a packed auditorium with just pressing coloured buttons and flicking a bar like they're actually strings, but each iteration should have been more and more demanding, in that the player should be learning key instrumental techniques, to the point where the difference between game controller and instrument, game-playing and music-making, is virtually non-existant. That's when you can say "this is both an excellent game and instrument-teaching tool".

Obviously a lot of people just wouldn't see the point, but as we can see, this evolution of the music games is required in order to keep the genre not only alive, but flourishing.

Anyway, sorry for the wall of text. TL;DR --> Games with real guitars would be awesome, make more of those.

I think Harmonix has done a commendable job of doing just that. The first Rock Band introduced the drums which are quite close to their real world counterpart. And of course vocals can't exactly be faked... But as a fellow fan of the genre, I'm sure you know all that and would agree.

Now that we have authentic instruments, I think the next step will be some sort of system where players can use the software (it will cease to be a mere game at this point) to compose original songs and possibly sell them via the Rock Band Network. I'd be surprised if Harmonix is not already exploring this idea.

I really hope that RB3 proves to be something of a sleeper hit; it would be a tragedy to see them fall when things are just starting to get interesting...

 

[Canid117]

Ok, let's get this out of the way first: I love the Rock Band games... Like really, really love them. I have over 200 downloaded tracks and play on a near daily basis. So this is coming from a bona fide fanboy.

I read with interest the article on Gamasutra. One thing to keep in mind with the declining sales numbers is that after the initial launch everyone had acquired their plastic instrument bundles of choice, which carry a much higher price point than the game disc alone. So I think that part of what we're seeing is gamers choosing not to upgrade their fake instruments, but maybe still buying the disc. There wasn't any possible way to sustain the momentum once the peripherals were in everyone's hands.

What I don't understand is why Harmonix has still not been profitable for Viacom. Sure, shipping bulky bundles all over the world must be an expensive endeavor, but here's where things don't add up: I've read in numerous sources that Harmonix sells more DLC (in terms of revenue) than anyone else. They were crowing about gross sales of over a billion(!) dollars a little more than a year after Rock Band was released. And they still can't turn a profit?

Something fishy is going on here, I think. I'm not saying that the market isn't saturated (it is) or that many gamers aren't sick of these kinds of games (they are). What I am saying is that Harmonix is inflating their DLC sales claims, those sales aren't being taken into account, or that their business model is seriously flawed.

Anyone else here care to weigh in on this apparent discrepancy?

Earning a profit two years ago is not the same as earning a profit today.

 

[xyrafhoan]

People are still playing music games. It doesn't mean people are going to run out to buy a game a few months later for an expansion pack of songs they might not even like. Rock Band 3 was a step in the right direction, at least significantly changing up the game modes and adding support for more instruments, but they didn't start selling the keyboard in Canada until the game had been out for a week or so. But we only bought a single copy because we get together in the same room to play, because none of us want to play the game alone. I still hit up the arcade for games of Guitarfreaks because lo-and-behold, it has a drastically different track set from every other rock game. Music genre gamers just don't care about arbitrary updates to their track lists and shiny (and distracting) graphics. So stop releasing so many games and just run huge DLC libraries and thing about making an evergreen game instead.

 

[Sight Unseen]

I think it's a shame that it's taken this long for companies to expand more towards simulating the actual controller, and have elected to retain the same incredibly simplified mockery of the instrument, like with the guitar. It's great that people can feel like an awesome musician playing to a packed auditorium with just pressing coloured buttons and flicking a bar like they're actually strings, but each iteration should have been more and more demanding, in that the player should be learning key instrumental techniques, to the point where the difference between game controller and instrument, game-playing and music-making, is virtually non-existant. That's when you can say "this is both an excellent game and instrument-teaching tool".

Obviously a lot of people just wouldn't see the point, but as we can see, this evolution of the music games is required in order to keep the genre not only alive, but flourishing.

Anyway, sorry for the wall of text. TL;DR --> Games with real guitars would be awesome, make more of those.

I think Harmonix has done a commendable job of doing just that. The first Rock Band introduced the drums which are quite close to their real world counterpart. And of course vocals can't exactly be faked... But as a fellow fan of the genre, I'm sure you know all that and would agree.

Now that we have authentic instruments, I think the next step will be some sort of system where players can use the software (it will cease to be a mere game at this point) to compose original songs and possibly sell them via the Rock Band Network. I'd be surprised if Harmonix is not already exploring this idea.

I really hope that RB3 proves to be something of a sleeper hit; it would be a tragedy to see them fall when things are just starting to get interesting...

http://www.rockbandaide.com/9488/future-titles-to-include-composition-and-improvisation/




I think you're right.

I'm a HUGE Rock band fanboy and really really hope a decent company that can fully support HMX picks them up, and PRAY that Activision never gets their hands on them, or else the genre is officially dead.

 

[Naheal]

Microtransations would probably be the better bet for these games. Release a new peripheral if need be, include a patch to use it, and sell new songs for the game.