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Viacom to Sell Harmonix

11 Nov

Today, Viacom has confirmed it is looking to sell original-Guitar Hero and Rock Band-developer Harmonix Music Systems, following a year during which the sale of rhythm-games and their peripherals took a sharp dive. Reports indicated that the recently released Rock Band 3 failed to move more than 7000 units in the United Kingdom during the first week of release. The Wall Street Journal indicated that over the last several quarters, the performance of Harmonix has weighed down on Viacom’s overall company performance.

John Drake, head of PR at Harmonix has confirmed that the studio is indeed being sold, but was unable to specify any interested parties. He did indicate that several potential buyers are currently in negotiations, and that existing franchises, such as Rock Band and Dance Central, would remain unaffected. Viacom has indicated it intends to continue to support the studio until a sale is finalized. (more…)

Kotick Responds to Brutal Legend Debacle

10 Nov

The fallout between Brutal Legend‘s development studio Double Fine and its original Activision sparked months of off and on comments between studio heads, not to mention a legal battle for publishing rights between the two biggest names in the industry. A voice unexpectedly absent from the fray was the normally verbose Activision CEO Bobby Kotick. Speaking in a recent interview with Joystiq, Kotick set the record straight on his thoughts on the whole ‘debacle,’ claiming to be occupied with the Vivendi merger at the time.

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Rumor: SSX Franchise Coming Back?

10 Nov

The SSX snowboarding franchise has been a fan favorite ever since its inception as a PS2 launch title. On the back burner since 2007’s SSX Blur on the Wii, the series may be poised for a rebirth. Electronic Arts has registered new domain names with pretty specific titles, “SSX First Descent” and “SSX Deadly Descent”, leading some to believe the registration to be the first sign of the franchise returning. No confirmation has been received by EA or its partner studios, and Elder-Geek’s call for comments on the matter have not been returned as of yet.

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Mikami Assembles Old Friends for Zenimax Team

10 Nov

Shinji Mikami has been actively recruiting new members to his studio, Tango Gameworks, since its acquisition by Bethesda Softworks parent company Zenimax Media. In addition to himself and his prior staff, the game director has brought on ex-Grasshopper Manufacture composer Masafumi Takada (Killer 7, Vanquish), as well as environmental artist Naoki Katakai and programmer Shinichiro Ishikawa, both former Resident Evil collaborators with Mikami.

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