“The Beatles: Rock Band,” Viacom’s latest challenge to the “Guitar Hero” video games, will test whether the company can attract new players and revive sales with the band’s 1960s hits.
The game, tracing the Beatles’ career from Liverpool in 1963 to their final rooftop performance in 1969 on Apple Corps’ headquarters in London, will be released Sept. 9 by New York-based Viacom, the owner of MTV and VH1. The band’s label, EMI Group, will issue remastered CDs the same day and collect royalties from game sales.
“Rock Band” is the backbone of Viacom’s MTV Games, and the franchise needs a hit to reverse slumping sales and stem projected losses through 2010. Falling purchases of earlier versions led to a 41 percent drop in second-quarter revenue at the division that includes games. Jesse Divnich, an analyst with Electronic Entertainment Design & Research, said the entire music category is running out of ways to attract new players.
“The genre has peaked,” Divnich said in an interview. “This genre has seen explosive growth over the past two years, so it would be wrong to assume that would continue.”
The analyst projects the game will sell at least 1.7 million copies this year, fewer than half the 4 million-plus he estimates for Activision Blizzard’s “Guitar Hero 5,” which comes out Tuesday. Activision, based in Santa Monica, said Aug. 5 that “Guitar Hero” had 53 percent of the music category in North America and Europe.
“The Beatles: Rock Band” faces a crowded field in a shrinking market. Through July, U.S. sales of music and rhythm games have declined 46 percent this year to $452 million, after an 11-fold surge from 2005 to 2008. Publishers plan 29 releases this year, up 20 percent, according to San Diego-based research firm EEDAR.
Rhythm and music game sales are dropping faster than the overall market, which has also seen years of growth. U.S. video game sales through July have fallen 14 percent to $8.16 billion, according to NPD Group, based in Port Washington, N.Y.
“The Beatles: Rock Band” comes with 45 remastered songs, including tracks from the Fab Four’s “Ed Sullivan Show” appearances. Players tap buttons on plastic guitars or drum to on-screen cues and the actions of animated Beatles. They can also sing along, trying to harmonize on favorites such as “I Want to Hold Your Hand.”
Replicas of John Lennon’s Rickenbacker 325 guitar, Paul McCartney’s Hofner bass, George Harrison’s Gretsch duo jet guitar and Ringo Starr’s Ludwig drums are for sale as well. Prices for “Rock Band” will range from $60 to $250, depending on the accessories. The Beatles have sold more than 1 billion albums worldwide, according to London-based EMI.
“I’m totally going to buy it, but I don’t think it’s going to be big with those who aren’t as into the Beatles,” said Ken Ball, co-owner of Game Over, operator of three stores in Florida and Georgia. “Teenage kids and preteens are the audience that they are trying to appeal to, and the Beatles just aren’t as recognizable a band to them.”
Viacom, controlled by Chairman Sumner Redstone, rose 15 cents to $25.23 Wednesday. The Class B shares have gained 32 percent this year. Kelly McAndrew, a spokeswoman, declined to provide Viacom’s financial projections for the game.
Activision, which is targeting a young audience with the “DJ Hero” title scheduled for release later this year, fell 10 cents to $11.77. The stock is up 36 percent this year.
“Rock Band” and “Guitar Hero” were created by Harmonix, a studio now owned by Viacom’s MTV Networks. To help promote the game, VH1 is airing three weeks of Beatles-related programming.
Designers at Cambridge, Mass.-based Harmonix gained access to the Beatles’ studio and live recordings, as well as input from McCartney, Starr, and their bandmates’ widows, Olivia Harrison and Yoko Ono. Giles Martin, son of producer George Martin, assisted with sound work, said Harmonix CEO Alex Rigopulos.
“They were actively involved in most of the high-level craftsmanship,” Rigopulos, 39, said in an interview. “They were interested in how they appeared in the game. They were involved in the selection of songs.”
Talks to create “The Beatles: Rock Band” started in late 2006, when MTV executive Van Toffler learned that Harrison’s son Dhani was a fan of “Guitar Hero.” Toffler introduced Harrison to Rigopulos.
Discussions with Apple Corps, which manages the Beatles’ affairs, went on for about a year until the game was announced in October, Rigopulos said.
