Rock Band(R) Franchise Officially Surpasses $1 Billion in North American Retail Sales, According to the NPD Group(1)
NEW YORK, March 26 -- MTV Games, a part of Viacom's MTV
Networks, (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), Harmonix, the leading developer of music-based
games, and distribution partner Electronic Arts Inc. (Nasdaq: ERTS), today
announced that the Rock Band® franchise has officially surpassed $1 billion
dollars in North American retail sales in 15 months, according to the NPD
Group. In addition, over 40 million paid individual songs have been sold via
download through the Rock Band® platform furthering its position as the
music video game leader in paid song sales and downloadable content with over
600 songs available to date in the Rock Band catalogue.
Originally launched on November 20, 2007, Rock Band is the multi-million
unit selling, genre-defining music game platform that allowed music fans and
gamers to interact with and discover music like never before by choosing
guitar, drums, vocals, or bass to start a band and rock the world. Developed
by Harmonix, the world's premier music video game development company, and
published by MTV Games, the Rock Band platform has had a positive impact on
the overall promotion and sales of music, benefiting artists included in the
game both directly through royalties associated with game sales and indirectly
by causing the sale of more songs and albums.
Key Stats for the Rock Band Franchise
Sales
-- Rock Band(R) franchise has officially surpassed $1 billion dollars in
North American retail sales in 15 months, according to the NPD Group
-- Rock Band was the #1 title of 2008 by revenue across all game genres
(NPD)
Music / Downloadable Content
-- 614 songs offered via the Rock Band platform, both on-disc and in-game
music store, as of March 24, 2009
-- 269 different artists / bands offered via Rock Band franchise as of
March 24, 2009
-- Over 40 million paid songs have been sold via download since Rock Band
launched on November 20, 2007
-- 11 albums released to date via the Rock Band platform including AC/DC
Live, The Cars, Judas Priest, Pixies, Motley Crue, Foo Fighters, Red
Hot Chili Peppers, Megadeth, Rush, No Doubt and Stevie Ray Vaughan, as
well as special compilations from The Who, Nirvana, The Grateful Dead,
Boston and more
Critical Acclaim
-- Average Metacritic score of 92(2) for both Rock Band and Rock Band 2
-- Rock Band and Rock Band 2 have garnered more than 50 industry awards
including:
-- IGN's "Best Music/Rhythm Game of 2008"
-- Gamespot.com's Editor's Choice Winner for "Best Rhythm / Music
Game of 2008"
-- Spike TV's 2008 Video Game Award Winner for "Best Music Game" and
"Best Soundtrack in a Game"
-- Gametrailers.com "Best Music and Rhythm Game 2008"
-- PlayStation: The Official Magazine's "Best Rhythm Game of 2008"
-- Yahoo's "Best Party Game of the Year - 2008" and named one of
Yahoo's "Best Tech Products of 2008"
-- G4 TV's X-Play "Best Music Game of 2008"
-- Named as one of Entertainment Weekly's "Entertainers of the Year
2008"
-- Called "Best party game of the year" by the Associated Press
-- Named as one of USA Today's "Top Video Games of 2008"
-- Cited as one of MSNBC.com's Top Video Games of 2008 and one of the
Best Xbox 360 Games of 2008
-- Heralded as "hands down the best party game ever" by Time magazine
and named as one of Time's Top Video Games of 2008
Rock Band Franchise Innovations
-- First full band music video game to hit consoles
-- First music video game to offer export of content library from disc
and cross compatibility of downloadable content (DLC) in sequel games.
-- First music video game to offer weekly downloadable content (averaging
more than 3 songs per week since its launch on November 20, 2007)
-- Lead the way for full compatibility and interoperability between
competing peripherals
-- First music video game to allow for export of avatars and other game
data to create real life merchandise
-- First music video game to offer full albums as downloadable content:
Judas Priest's "Screaming for Vengeance," released in June 2008
-- First music game to offer a new song day-and-date with its release to
radio, with Motley Crue's "Saints of Los Angeles"
For more information about Rock Band, please visit www.rockband.com
About MTV Networks
MTV Networks, a unit of Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), is one of the world's
leading creators of entertainment content, with brands that engage and connect
diverse audiences across television, online, mobile, games, virtual worlds and
consumer products. The company's portfolio spans more than 150 television
channels and 350 digital media properties worldwide, and includes MTV, VH1,
CMT, Logo, Harmonix, Nickelodeon, Nick at Nite, Noggin, The N, AddictingGames,
Neopets, COMEDY CENTRAL, Spike TV, TV Land, Atom, Gametrailers and Xfire.
About MTV Games
MTV Games is dedicated to creating, marketing and publishing high-quality,
innovative interactive products that are relevant to the MTV audience and
complement the core values of the MTV Networks brands.
About Harmonix Music Systems, Inc.
Harmonix Music Systems, Inc., based in Cambridge, MA, and established in
1995, is the leading developer of groundbreaking music-oriented videogames.
Harmonix was founded by Alex Rigopulos and Eran Egozy, who formed the company
to invent new ways for non-musicians to experience the unique joy that comes
from making music and have pioneered music and rhythm gaming in the US. For
more information please visit www.harmonixmusic.com.
About Electronic Arts Inc.
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA), headquartered in Redwood City, California, is
the world's leading interactive entertainment software company. Founded in
1982, the Company develops, publishes, and distributes interactive software
worldwide for video game systems, personal computers, cellular handsets and
the Internet. Electronic Arts markets its products under four brand names: EA
SPORTSTM, EATM, EA SPORTS Freestyle TM and POGOTM. In fiscal 2008, EA posted
GAAP net revenue of $3.67 billion and had 27 titles that sold more than one
million copies. EA's homepage and online game site is www.ea.com. More
information about EA's products and full text of press releases can be found
on the Internet at http://info.ea.com.
© 2009 Harmonix Music Systems, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Harmonix, Rock
Band and all related titles and logos are trademarks of Harmonix Music
Systems, Inc., a MTV Networks company. Rock Band developed by Harmonix Music
Systems, Inc. MTV: Music Television, MTV Games and all related titles and
logos are trademarks of MTV Networks, a division of Viacom International Inc.
All other marks are the property of their respective owners. EA, EA SPORTS,
EA SPORTS Freestyle and POGO are trademarks or registered trademarks of
Electronic Arts Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. Microsoft, Xbox. Xbox
360 and Xbox Live are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies. All
other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. "PlayStation"
and "PLAYSTATION" are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment
Inc. Wii is a trademark of Nintendo. All other trademarks are the property of
their respective owners.
(1) Includes Video Games Software sales in the US and Canada and Video
Game Accessory sales in the US
(2) Reflects average metacritic scores for the Xbox 360 and PLAYSTATION3
versions of Rock Band and Rock Band 2
SOURCE MTV Games
CONTACT: MTV Contact
Jeff Castaneda of MTV Communications
jeff.castaneda@mtvstaff.com
+1-212-846-6774
or
Harmonix Media Contact
Tracie Snitker of Reverb Communications
Tracie@reverbinc.com
+1-209-586-1495, x104
or
EA Contact
Bryce Baer of Electronic Arts
bbaer@ea.com
+1-650-628-5102
/Web Site: http://www.rockband.com