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Rock Band 3

A Critical Look at Rhythm Gaming

Jason analyzes the recent sale of Harmonix, and what it means for the future of rhythm game sales.

A few months ago, Viacom sold off rhythm game developer Harmonix for a reported amount of fifty dollars. The most shocking aspect of this trade is that Viacom originally bought Harmonix for $175 million. Apparently the trade gives Viacom about $150 million in tax benefits, which is quite a hefty number, itself, but still, it seems like this is a major failure on Viacom's part, which reflects as a failure on the part of Harmonix, itself. A little while later, Activision reported that they will not publish a new Guitar Hero or DJ Hero game in 2011 after disappointing sales of the previous entry, simultaneously halting future DLC for the two franchises. The once-popular music gaming genre appears to have come to a screeching halt after oversaturation and the companies' failure to understand the market.

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PixlTalk Episode 30: A Potato Sack of Topics

Nate and Stanton talk Portal 2, Rock Band's top songs, PSN Security and Dragon Ball Z. Nate also mangles metaphors and analogies while Stanton has an Epiphany.

Nate and Stanton hold the fort down this week. First on the agenda is a conversation about Portal 2 and the 'Potato Sack'. Indie developers were given unprecedented full use of Valve IP that will hopefully set a standard for future projects across the industry.

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Harmonix Goes Through Layoffs, Guitar Hero 2011 Title Canceled

The guitar/band music genre has seen better days. Update: No new GH DLC beyond February.

Earlier this week, Harmonix reported they was undergoing layoffs of 12-15% of their approximately 240-person staff in order to restructure themselves to fit current projects underway. The move follows the sale of Harmonix to Columbus Nova, but there was no word of whether the layoffs were influenced by the music-gaming studio's new owners.

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Viacom Sold Harmonix for Fifty Dollars

Reports have emerged that the company was sold on the cheap, though debt was also transferred in Columbus Nova's acquisition.

In the month following Rock Band developer Harmonix's sale from Viacom to Columbus Nova, more details of the purchase have been released to the public. Harmonix was sold for $49.99, but along with the transfer of ownership of the developer came transfer of ownership of debt and costly assets. These costs include music licenses and the warehouse space unsold games and instruments take.

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Rock Band 3 Review

Harmonix has officially left the Guitar Hero series in the dust.

Harmonix continues to impress with their latest mainline entry of the Rock Band series. Rather than revolutionizing the genre through complete and total change, they have managed to keep the same general structure while adding the brand new Pro mode that brings players closer than ever to truly playing the instrument they are emulating. As a matter of fact, if players choose to take on the Expert variant of Pro mode, they will actually be truly playing the exact notes that comprise the song. Couple this with keyboard support and an eclectic set list and you have the best rhythm game available on the market.

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PB & Jason Issue 16: PB & NBA Jam

It's that time again, kids!

Time for PB & Jason! This issue is devoted to just a few things, most notably Keiji Inafune's Capcom departure, NBA Jam, and Rock Band 3.

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Swag Report for Day One of E3

There's bags, t-shirts, little trinkets, and more bags.

Hello, my name is Chessa DiMola, and I'm a swag addict. I'm also guilty of creating several new swag addicts, for which there is little hope of ever recovering from the horrible addition.

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Rock Band 3 Squire Stratocaster in Action

We get to see the new peripheral in action, working as both a real guitar and a controller for the game.

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Rock Band 3 Hands On Preview

Who knew Rock Band 3 was headed to the DS? I didn't.

A surprise for me at Harmonix's/MTV's area was Rock Band 3 on the DS. I actually had no idea it was being made for the platform, and had very little idea of what to expect, though I had a hunch it would be like Amplitude or the iPhone Rock Band, both games I've never played.

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Harmonix Details Rock Band 3

Keyboards, real instruments, and Pro mode define the latest in the Rock Band series.

Last night, USA Today unveiled a massive amount of new information about the upcoming title, Rock Band 3.

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