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Harmonix

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Harmonix-SBE Holdings LLC
Company typeLimited liability company
IndustrySoftware & Programming
Founded1995
FounderAlex Rigopulos, Eran Egozy
HeadquartersCambridge, Massachusetts, USA
ParentColumbus Nova
Websitehttp://www.harmonixmusic.com

Harmonix Music Systems (or simply Harmonix) is an American video game development company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts in the United States. It is known for its many music video games.

Harmonix is perhaps best known as being the developer of Dance Central and Rock Band, as well as being the original developer of the Guitar Hero series before development moved to Neversoft and Vicarious Visions.

History

Formation

Harmonix was founded in 1995 by Alex Rigopulos and Eran Egozy who met while attending MIT.[1] Egozy was an electrical/computer engineer with an interest in music, while Rigopulos was a music composition major with an interest in programming; both met while working in the MIT Media Lab. After seeing a computer music generation system that could algorithmically create music on the fly, the two considered how one could use a joystick to control the system, and set up a demonstration of the unit for the Lab, which gained interest from others in the Lab. The two realized that after graduation they would not be able to construct such niche systems in the industry, and chose to start their own company.[2] The company was built on the premise that the experience of performing music could become accessible to those who would otherwise have trouble learning a traditional instrument.[2]

The company was funded with about $100,000, and for the first five years, had nearly zero revenue.[2] The company's earliest product was The Axe: Titans of Classic Rock on PC CD-ROM. The Axe enabled consumers to easily perform unique instrumental solos by using a PC joystick. This product only sold about 300 copies, with Rigopulos and Egozy realizing that people, while initially entranced by the game, lost interest after 15 minutes of playing with it.[2] Harmonix then designed "CamJam", which performed similar functions, this time using simple body gestures to trigger music sequences.[1] CamJam was utilized at Disney theme parks.[2][3] This led the two consider approaching entertainment businesses like Dave & Buster's to include their products, but they soon realized that this would be a year to a year-and-a-half effort, too long for their needs.[2] They then considered the entertainment industry in Japan, where in 1997, was taking off with the introduction of karaoke bars and music video games such as PaRappa the Rapper, Beatmania, and Dance Dance Revolution. They attempted to sell their CamJam equipment to these entertainment centers but found little interest for it. They came to a realization that games like karaoke were popular not due through personal expression, but because they encouraged players to try to accurately recreate the songs through their actions.[2] These games also focused on bringing musical experiences to gamers through simple, understandable interfaces commonly found in games.[1] With this realization, the two returned to the United States and regrouped their company as a video game developer, though they had to let about 40% of their current staff go.[2]

Early titles

Harmonix' first major video game was FreQuency, with its development funded by Sony Computer Entertainment along with about $2 million in investments in the company. A key factor of Harmonix' contract with Sony was that it was allowed to keep its intellectual property, which allowed for Harmonix to build on the game for its future endeavours.[2] The game's development began in 1999,[1][4] backed by a larger team at Harmonix, many of whom were musicians.[4] Featuring songs by a number of underground electronica artists, FreQuency allowed players to perform and remix a variety of music. The game was backed by SCEA Vice President of Product Development, Shuhei Yoshida. Released in 2001 on the PlayStation 2, FreQuency was critically acclaimed and won numerous awards,[5] though it failed to become a mainstream success. Harmonix developed a sequel to FreQuency, Amplitude, released in 2003. Several changes were made from its predecessor to broaden the game's appeal, from gameplay tweaks to a more mainstream soundtrack. And again, Amplitude achieved awards, critical praise,[6] and a small cult following, but it was not a financial hit.[1] The two attributed the poor response to the games due in part to the lack of a mainstream soundtrack and that the gameplay was difficult to connect to if one was not playing the game.[2]

After Amplitude, Harmonix was approached by Konami to create the Karaoke Revolution franchise. Konami, known for their Bemani line of music games, wanted to distribute their games in the United States, and Harmonix was the only music game developer in the country at the time.[2] Konami was responsible for publishing the Karaoke Revolution titles, of which Harmonix developed and released three "volumes" between 2003 and 2004. The series was much more successful due to its mainstream music and its marketability.[2]

Also in 2004, Sony Computer Entertainment released the Harmonix project EyeToy: AntiGrav. A departure from music games, the title used the PlayStation 2 EyeToy camera peripheral to enable one's body to perform as a controller for a futuristic extreme sports game. However, the game was poorly received by critics, despite selling four times as many copies as FreQuency or Amplitude.[2] These results left Rigopulos and Egozy depressed about the prospects for the company.[2]

At this time, RedOctane, a peripheral manufacturing company and who had enjoyed Harmonix' previous games, approached Harmonix about developing the software for a game that would be based on a guitar-shaped controller, inspired by the GuitarFreaks which was popular in Japan. This relationship led to the creation of Guitar Hero, published by RedOctane in 2005.[2] The game features similar gameplay elements to FreQuency and Amplitude. Guitar Hero uses a guitar-shaped controller designed uniquely for the game. Specifically, the Guitar Hero controller was designed with five color-coded "fret" buttons and a "strum bar". Guitar Hero became largely successful, both critically and commercially, resulting in the well-received 2006 sequel Guitar Hero II, also developed by Harmonix.[7]

Purchase by Viacom

In the early part of 2006, Activision acquired RedOctane, causing several publishers to become interested in acquiring Harmonix.[2] In September 2006, MTV Networks, a division of media conglomerate Viacom, announced that it was acquiring Harmonix on behalf of MTV for $175 million.[8] Harmonix's last Guitar Hero game for RedOctane, Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s, was released in July 2007, thus fulfilling their contractual obligations with the publisher. Before they left the series, Harmonix had already envisioned expanding the gameplay of Guitar Hero to multiple instruments, a concept that would eventually lead to Rock Band that would develop under MTV.[9] Shortly after the acquisition by MTV in December 2006, the initial discussion between Dhani Harrison, son of George Harrison, and MTV President Van Toffler occurred that would eventually lead to meetings between Harmonix and Apple Corps, Ltd., leading to the creation of The Beatles: Rock Band, though this was not publicly revealed until late 2008.[2]

Harmonix released Rock Band in November 2007. As Harmonix's first game as a part of MTV, Rock Band expanded upon the design of Guitar Hero by incorporating three different peripherals: guitar/bass, microphone, and drums. Harmonix continued to support the game after its initial release by offering a variety of downloadable songs to PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 players on a weekly basis. As of December, 2008, over 500 songs have been made available as downloadable content, with over 28 million songs sold.[10][11] Rock Band 2, released on the PlayStation 3, Wii, PlayStation 2, and Xbox 360 in 2008, features improved instrument peripherals and updated features while still being compatible with all original Rock Band peripherals and downloadable songs.[11]

In October 2008, Harmonix, along with MTV Games, announced an exclusive agreement with Apple Corps, Ltd. to produce a standalone title based on the Rock Band premise and featuring the music of The Beatles, to be released late in 2009. The Beatles: Rock Band features a visual and musical history of the Beatles, and includes 45 songs from their 1962-69 tenure with EMI, using United Kingdom-released versions of their albums Please Please Me through Abbey Road.[12] The developers have worked with Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr to gain input on the game, and are using Giles Martin, son of Sir George Martin who produced most of the Beatles albums, as music director for the game.[13] Harmonix stated, despite building on the Rock Band gameplay, this will not be a Rock Band branded title, and that the songs will not be available as downloadable content for the Rock Band series.[14] The agreement had been in discussion for more than 17 months before the announcement.[15]

In November 2008, Viacom paid Harmonix a $300 million bonus as part of the terms of the company's 2006 acquisition. The previous quarter's bonus was $150 million.[16] In a 2009 survey of the best places to work in the Boston area, the Boston Globe ranked Harmonix as the 3rd best workplace overall, and the top mid-size business in its poll.[17]

On December 10, 2009, Harmonix laid off 39 of its employees, primarily in the QA department.[18]

Sale by Viacom

On November 11, 2010, Viacom stated that it was in talks with potential buyers for Harmonix, having already marked the unit as a discontinued operation to write off a $299 million loss for its 2010 third-quarter earnings statement.[19] Such talks had been in place since September 2010, before the release of either Rock Band 3 or Dance Central.[20] Viacom president and CEO, Philippe Dauman, stated the reason they were selling the company was to refocus Viacom as an entertainment creator, and that "the console games business requires expertise [Viacom doesn't] have".[21] Viacom also recognized that without dedicated resources to support video game development, the company suffers from inefficiencies that video game publishers do not have.[22] Martin Peers of the Wall Street Journal noted that Viacom lacked the physical distribution channels that other entertainment companies like Time Warner have, and instead were forced to rely on Electronic Arts to distribute the game and cut into their potential profits.[23] Industry analyst Michael Pachter suggested that while Rock Band 3 and Dance Central would generate significant revenue in 2010 holiday sales, Viacom likely made the move to sell Harmonix while the developers were doing well and in the news.[24] Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello, commenting on the potential purchase of Harmonix by his company, called Harmonix a "falling knife" in regards to the diminishing size of the rhythm game market since 2009, and stated that "more people have been cut trying to catch falling knives than have benefited from getting the timing exactly right".[25] John Drake of Harmonix affirmed that Viacom will continue to support Harmonix until the sale is complete, and the developer will still continue their normal operations for their games which is unaffected by the sale.[26]

In late December, Viacom announced that it had sold Harmonix to Harmonix-SBE Holdings LLC, an affiliate of investment firm Columbus Nova, LLC; the terms of the sale were undisclosed, though estimated at $200 million.[27] This sale to shareholders of Harmonix, backed by the investment firm, returned Harmonix to an independent developer. The resulting sale will not affect current and future support plans for Harmonix' games; the sales includes the intellectual property rights for Rock Band and Dance Central, letting Harmonix Music Systems to continue to develop these series.[28][29] According to Peter Kafka of the Wall Street Journal, the sale of Harmonix to Columbus Nova was heavily discounted, possibly as low as fifty dollars, the equivalent of a fire sale and allowing Viacom to claim certain tax benefits; meanwhile, Columbus Nova would assume all ongoing liability for Harmonix' projects, including music licensing fees and unsold inventory.[30] Viacom later affirmed that they received nearly $115 million in tax benefits from the Harmonix sale.[31] In February 2011, MTV Games, a division of MTV that had helped to publish Rock Band and Dance Central, was closed by Viacom, as Harmonix was the only client they provided publishing services for. Prior to its closer, MTV Games did converse with Columbus Nova and Harmonix to determine if they would be able to help publish future games in the European market, but no further deals were forthcoming.[32] Following the purchase, Harmonix underwent a restructuring in February 2011, laying off about 12-15% of the 240-person staff.[33] Shortly after this, Activision announced it was shuttering its Guitar Hero division and cancelling planned games for 2011, which many journalists considered to mark the end of the rhythm game genre; Harmonix's community manager, John Drake, in response to this closure, called the news "discouraging", but affirmed that Harmonix will continue to invest itself in further Rock Band and Dance Central developments for the foreseeable future.[34]

While Viacom sought a buyer for Harmonix, shareholders of Harmonix, including founders Rigopulos and Egozy, filed a lawsuit against Viacom, alleging misconduct in providing performance payouts in line with the terms of the purchase of Harmonix by Viacom. Harmonix' suit contests that while Viacom had paid Harmonix $150 million for success of the Rock Band series in 2007, the shareholders are due a substantially larger sum for continued success in 2008, as determined by their proxy, Walter Winshall. Viacom countered the claims, stating that Winshall rejected various offers made by Viacom for the payout. The lawsuit also contends that Viacom has withheld $13 million in payouts from 2007, which Viacom had claimed at the time were to cover potential losses in patent lawsuits that were initiated against Harmonix by Activision and Gibson which have since been settled out of court.[35] Viacom has stated it will "vigorously" defend itself in this lawsuit,[31] and initiated a counter-suit in September 2011, suing Harmonix for $131 million believing the $150 million payout was overcalculated.[36]

MTV Games will return as a game publisher, but will not reacquire Harmonix, and will stay as an independent developer. Their first game in months will be The Age of Decadence for Windows & Linux.

As an independent developer

Approximately 6 to 9 months after its sale from Viacom, Harmonix started to grow again, boosted by sales of Dance Central which led to the development of its sequel Dance Central 2 in late 2011.[37] By mid-2011, the company began developing new IP in both the mobile and social game markets, and began rehiring to aid in the development of these games.[37] Continued support of the Rock Band franchise has remained a "meaningful source of profitability" to Harmonix through 2011, according to Rigopulos.[37]

Employee bands

Due to the nature of titles developed by Harmonix, a large percentage of staff members and alumni are well known in the Boston and US music scene. These include:

Current members

  • Ben Carr, manager and official Bosstone of The Mighty Mighty Bosstones
  • Sean Roche, member of the band Freezepop (also, Kasson Crooker is a former member).
  • Jason Kendall, lead singer of the band The Amazing Crowns.
  • Daniel Sussman, member of The Acro-Brats.
  • Eric Brosius, former member of Tribe and current members of The Vivs.
  • Greg LoPiccolo, former bass player/lyricist for Tribe.
  • Dan Schmidt, vocalist and guitarist in Honest Bob and the Factory-to-Dealer Incentives.
  • Helen McWilliams, member of Tijuana Sweetheart.
  • Izzy "Sparks" Maxwell, member of Count Zero and Death of the Cool.
  • Naoko Takamoto, also known as Plural and a member of That Handsome Devil.
  • Ryan Lesser, Jason Kendall, Brian Gibson and Paul Lyons, members of Megasus.
  • Brian Gibson of Lightning Bolt and Megasus.
  • Ryan Lesser, Dare Matheson, Matt Gilpin, and Jason Warburg, members of The Gert Jonnys.
  • Chris Foster, member of Speck.
  • Pete Maguire, is a member of inter:sect and Death of the Cool.
  • Dan Brakeley, Mike Fitzgerald, and John Eskew, members of Father Octopus.
  • Geoff Pitsch, member of Death of the Cool and Father Octopus
  • Aaron DeMuth, member of Libyans.
  • Jeff Allen, part of Breaking Wheel (Artillery in Guitar Hero) and Death of the Cool
  • Adam Arrigo, John Drake, Jon Carter, Matt Boch and Matthew Levitt, members of Blanks. and The Main Drag [38][39]
  • Emeen Zarookian, frontman for Spirit Kid and former bassist in The Sterns
  • Kurt Davis, frontman for The Konks
  • Peter Moore, singer and guitarist of Count Zero
  • Chris Lynch, member of Choo Choo la Rouge
  • Adam Cardoza, co-vocalist and drummer for DnA's Evolution
  • Jason Arnone, former member of You Shriek
  • Chris Lynch, David Plante, Joe Kelly, Bill Whitney, Steve Pardo, Greg Capolino, members of Bismüth.
  • Kat Burke, member of Alchemilla [40]
  • Damian Boyar, member of The Cold Goodnight [40]
  • Steve Pardo and Jonathan Pardo, members of Hound Dog, Hello Ghost, and The Steve and Lindley Band [40]
  • Caleb Wheeler, Daniel Chace, and Phillip Hunt, members of Giant Target
  • Ben Currier, Alex Gold, Joe Kelly, and Jonathan Rubinger, members of Super Cousin.

Ex-Employee Bands

  • Bryn Bennett, co-founder and lead guitarist in Bang Camaro
  • Keith Smith, singer/ guitarist for Anarchy Club, and former singer for C60.
  • Phil Beaudreau and Johannes "Rash" Raasina, members of the band Shaimus.
  • Mallika Sundaramurthy, vocalist of Abnormality
  • Scott Sinclair, member of the Model Sons.
  • Jeremy Parker, member of Verse Verse Chorus [40]
  • Bill Whitney, guitar/trumpet for Milquetoast & Co, former bassist for Apathetiq and Debris.

Games

Patents portfolio

Harmonix has assembled a modest IP portfolio, which includes:

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Interview with Alex Rigopulos at GameCritics.com
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Overfelt, Maggie (2009-09-03). "How 'horrendous failure' led to Rock Band". CNNMoney. Retrieved 2009-09-03.
  3. ^ The Roar of IAAPA at livedesignonline.com
  4. ^ a b Behind the Scenes: Alex Rigopulos at GameSpot
  5. ^ FreQuency at Harmonix.com
  6. ^ Amplitude at Harmonix.com
  7. ^ Totilo, Stephen (2005-12-04). 'Guitar Hero': The Video Game That Literally Rocks (http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1518159/20051214/index.jhtml?headlines=true) Retrieved on 2008-02-06
  8. ^ Harmonix
  9. ^ "Harmonix Interview". Edge. 2008-10-20. Retrieved 2008-10-21. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  10. ^ "DLC Credits". RockBand.com. Archived from the original on 2008-01-13. Retrieved 2008-02-08.
  11. ^ a b Goldstein, Hilary (2008-06-30). "Rock Band 2: The Opening Act". IGN.com. Retrieved 2008-06-30.
  12. ^ Gallo, Phil (2008-10-30). "MTV cues up Beatles video game". Variety. Retrieved 2008-11-03. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  13. ^ Gibson, Ellie (2008-11-04). "Making Music". Eurogamer. Retrieved 2008-11-04.
  14. ^ Bruno, Antony (2008-10-31). "MTV and Activision face off in battle of the brands". Reuters. Retrieved 2008-11-03.
  15. ^ Kohler, Chris (2008-10-30). "Live Blog: Beatles, Rock Band Makers Team For New Game". Wired. Retrieved 2008-10-30. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  16. ^ http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a2SYAQng5w7U&refer=home
  17. ^ Bray, Hiawatha (2009-11-10). "When everyone's in tune". Boston Globe. Retrieved 2009-11-10.
  18. ^ Sliwinski, Alexander (2009-12-10). "Restructuring layoffs hit Harmonix, the band plays on". Joystiq.
  19. ^ Becker, Nathan (2010-11-11). "Viacom Net Falls 59%, Plans to Sell Harmonix". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2010-11-11.
  20. ^ Schechner, Sam (2010-11-12). "Viacom to Unload 'Rock Band' Unit". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2010-11-15.
  21. ^ Kaplan, David (2010-11-11). "Viacom's Dauman: Harmonix Sale Is About Focus; Digital Dollars, Not Dimes". Paid Content. Retrieved 2010-11-11.
  22. ^ Fritz, Ben (2010-11-11). "Viacom looks to sell Rock Band developer after years of losses [updated]". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-11-11.
  23. ^ Peers, Martin (2010-11-13). "Viacom Hits Wrong Note". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2010-11-13.
  24. ^ Bray, Hiawatha (2010-11-12). "A game they couldn't win". Boston Globe. Retrieved 2010-11-11.
  25. ^ Rabil, Sarah (2010-11-30). "Electronic Arts Hunts Video-Game Bargain Bin for Acquisitions". Bloomberg L.P. Retrieved 2010-11-30.
  26. ^ Drake, John (2010-11-11). "Response to Questions about Viacom Selling Harmonix". Harmonix Music Systems. Retrieved 2010-11-11.
  27. ^ Halliday, Josh (2010-12-24). "Viacom sells Rock Band game studio". The Guardian. Retrieved 2010-12-24.
  28. ^ Marie, Meagan (2010-12-23). "Viacom Sells Harmonix To Columbus Nova". Game Informer. Retrieved 2010-12-23.
  29. ^ Frushtick, Russ (2010-12-23). "Harmonix Leaves Viacom, Can Continue Making 'Rock Band' And 'Dance Central'". MTV. Retrieved 2010-12-23.
  30. ^ Kafka, Peter (2011-01-04). "Viacom Sold Rock Band for a Song. A Really, Really Cheap Song". Wall Street Journal. All Things Digital. Retrieved 2011-01-04.
  31. ^ a b Cifaldi, Frank (2011-04-29). "Viacom Confirms Major Tax Benefits From Harmonix Sale, Lawsuit Defense". Gamasutra. Retrieved 2011-04-29.
  32. ^ Dring, Christopher (2011-02-03). "MTV Games closed". Market for Home Computing and Video Games. Retrieved 2011-02-03.
  33. ^ Alexander, Leigh (2011-02-07). "Staff Cuts Hit Rock Band, Dance Central Creator Harmonix". Gamasutra. Retrieved 2011-02-07.
  34. ^ Rose, Mike (2011-02-11). "Harmonix: We Will Continue to Invest in Rock Band". Gamasutra. Retrieved 2011-02-011. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  35. ^ Fritz, Ben (2010-12-21). "Viacom, Harmonix former shareholders in fight over Rock Band payments worth hundreds of millions [updated]". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-12-22.
  36. ^ Dutton, Fred (2011-09-20). "Viacom sues Harmonix for $131m". Eurogamer. Retrieved 2011-09-20.
  37. ^ a b c Graft, Kris (2011-08-16). "Interview: Reinventing Harmonix". Gamasutra. Retrieved 2011-08-17.
  38. ^ The Harvard Crimson :: Arts :: Fill in the Blanks
  39. ^ Cokemachineglow Track Review
  40. ^ a b c d Harmonix Official Site
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