The Beatles: Rock Band = Financial Disaster Waiting to Happen.

[willdabeast21]

I would be surprised if this isn't the best selling rhythm game ever
That's just my prediction though

[LeCH24]

No thanks on the Beatles. Just too early rock to really be 'rock.'

Most ridiculous statement ever.

[screwtop]

My Les Paul is starting to act up, so it might be time to replace it. However, I'll probably just grab a RB2 strat (or another Les Paul for like $20).

As for TB:RB being financial disaster? Probably not. I honestly thought that Rock Band looked horrible, and that it would fail miserably because it didn't have Guitar Hero in the name. Obviously I was mistaken, and now I can't stand the way that GH looks. Go figure.

While GH sells like gangbusters, the market has shown that there's room for two franchises, each with its spin-off games. Harmonix will do just fine; The Beatles are the biggest band ever.

[Unknownsage]

This is the band that pretty much invented pop, punk, psychedlic, progressive, and anything else that starts with a p. I'm sure it'll sell.

[JackBNimble]

With the popularity of rhythm games growing I have a very hard time believing TB:RB will be a financial disaster.

[Betelgeuse]

A couple different things could happen here. 1) People who have heard all the hoopla about the "music games", but who have yet to invest in one, may find this to be to their liking, and buy the whole bundle. 2) A percentage of those already playing a "music game", may just buy the game itself. Either way, you are going to have the "GHer's" and "RBer's" complaining about something. We happen to prefer RockBand and am THRILLED that "The Beatles" decided to go with Harmonix. Even in a "tough economy" people are willing to spend money on things that make them feel good. And "The Beatles" have always been able to do that. It's good family entertainment, with a one-time expense, as long as the kids don't smash the equipment.

[DerTommissar]

This is the band that pretty much invented pop, punk, psychedlic, progressive, and anything else that starts with a p. I'm sure it'll sell.

pornocore?

[karaokefreak]

Well, here in europe HMX does not have a good stand. HMX did not have a good start with core gamers over here since Rock Band 1 was so damn expensive (instrument bundle and game came seperately for about 300 Euro together).

Then Rock Band 2 got lost in the confusion, since RB 2 came out not even six month later - for X360 only. PS3 Players had to wait almost half a year for their copy and wii rockers are STILL waiting for Rock Band 2, although the first announcements said they'd be coming in Febuary and March.

Second Edition Instruments were announced, even reviewed in magazines, but never made it on european soil.

So, you can imagine how bad some ppl think about HMX in Europe. Well there are some RB Fans of course, but GH really owns the place. GHWT was cheaper and available for every plattform, so it sold like hell.

On top of that, many people, gamers and non-gamers, mix up the names. So when they see a game with note-highways and gems they will automatically say: That's Guitar Hero. While the biggest problem is that Activision oversaturated the market with countless spin offs and more announcements, and even if The Beatles Rock band sells, many ppl will give credit to Guitar Hero for it, since theys just don't know.

Well, actually even non-music-gamers over here seem to be fed up with readig guitar hero every three moth and that is why they might not buy TBRB although they like the beatles. They count it to the GH series and don't want to support further industry-milking.

Call me a pessimist, but yeah, selling TB:RB in Europe, specially in Germany is not going to be easy. I am sure that some people will get it, since it is about the Beatles, but HMX needs to get closer to the public if they really want it to be a big seller.

I'm not exaggerating, but Activision has given the genre a bad name. Dunno if HMX can wash it clean by releasing ANOTHER band game, no matter how much I like it.

Imho, HMX needs to get more aggressive, needs to make the name Rock Band better known. They better do it before Activision releases "Band Hero" because then confusion will be complete!

Maybe I am wrong, and I'll be the happiest guy in the world when I am wrong (in this case ;) ) But, oh well, it does not look like it.

[chrth_rb]

pornocore?

Why Don't We Do It in the Road?

[Dirt008]

I heard a lot of people really didn't like GH: Aerosmith, I mean my friend bought and played it and he loves Aerosmith like he did projects for school about the band and he had to sell the game to Gamestop because he found to be a crappy game.
It was utterly boring. While Aerosmith is good none of the songs are as fun to play as previous gh games it had a much smaller setlist and was basically just gh3 without ttfatf

[TheRollingBones]

Haha, wow, I didn't realize it had so few songs! No wonder nobody bought it!

I wouldn't say nobody bought it. I read that Aerosmith made more money because of that game than they ever did from any album. And there are WAAAAAAY more Beatles fans than Aerosmith, Metallica, or Van Halen fans. TBRB is getting so much more coverage than any of those games ever did, because it's not just a game with The Beatles in it, like those other games are, it is a full blown experience of the music.

[Elegy]

I wouldn't say nobody bought it. I read that Aerosmith made more money because of that game than they ever did from any album. And there are WAAAAAAY more Beatles fans than Aerosmith, Metallica, or Van Halen fans. TBRB is getting so much more coverage than any of those games ever did, because it's not just a game with The Beatles in it, like those other games are, it is a full blown experience of the music.

This.

It's the fact that It's not "Rock Band with all Beatles songs", it's going to be a great, immersive experience, with the most influential, and arguably creative, band ever formed.

And it's that idea, making a full band experience type of game, that would lead me to support HMX if they decided, in 2011, to make a Pink Floyd Rock Band, or a Led zep Rock Band, or even a Queen Rock Band. Pick a great influential band, get some historical stuff going and Voila.

[chrth_rb]

The word on GH:A from Wiki (it does cite real articles):

Guitar Hero: Aerosmith sold more than 567,000 copies in its first week and grossed more than $25 million.[33] The game has seen more than $50 million in sales in the first three months following its release,[34] with over one million copies sold.[35] The band itself saw a 40% increase in their catalog sales in the weeks following the game's release.[36] According to Activision CEO Bobby Kotick, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith has made more money for the band than any sales of their previous albums.[37] The game surged in sales in April 2009, with 110,000 copies for the Xbox 360 sold in North America, due to retails discounts on the title following the release of Guitar Hero: Metallica, and actually outsold the newer title.[38]

[vcalzone]

It's the fact that It's not "Rock Band with all Beatles songs", it's going to be a great, immersive experience, with the most influential, and arguably creative, band ever formed.

People were wetting themselves over Guitar Hero Metallica. "OMG, they look like the members of Metallica! They have movements similar to the real players!" This game makes that look extremely lazy and uncreative. Reminds them of what they could have if they'd just TRIED to animate a little bit of the One video.

[Sayburr]

People were wetting themselves over Guitar Hero Metallica. "OMG, they look like the members of Metallica! They have movements similar to the real players!" This game makes that look extremely lazy and uncreative. Reminds them of what they could have if they'd just TRIED to animate a little bit of the One video.
They also ignored the history of Metallica by using the current line-up and look for every song. The Beatles shows them from the clean shaven mop tops to the long-hair bearded members.

[AthenaBast]

They also ignored the history of Metallica by using the current line-up and look for every song. The Beatles shows them from the clean shaven mop tops to the long-hair bearded members.

No Newsted? No Burton? :mad::rolleyes:

[dabrry0523]

The word on GH:A from Wiki (it does cite real articles):

Guitar Hero: Aerosmith sold more than 567,000 copies in its first week and grossed more than $25 million.[33] The game has seen more than $50 million in sales in the first three months following its release,[34] with over one million copies sold.[35] The band itself saw a 40% increase in their catalog sales in the weeks following the game's release.[36] According to Activision CEO Bobby Kotick, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith has made more money for the band than any sales of their previous albums.[37] The game surged in sales in April 2009, with 110,000 copies for the Xbox 360 sold in North America, due to retails discounts on the title following the release of Guitar Hero: Metallica, and actually outsold the newer title.[38]

does this include all of those people who returned the game after they saw it wasn't as good as they thought

[chrth_rb]

does this include all of those people who returned the game after they saw it wasn't as good as they thought

can't return open software to most (all?) vendors

[vcalzone]

can't return open software to most (all?) vendors
I've returned it before. Some retailers have relatively loose restrictions on that.

[Ledgo2]

No Newsted? No Burton? :mad::rolleyes:

They mention Cliff once (In Orion in Metallifacts or W/E) and I've yet to see a Mustaine or Newsted reference.

[Backbeat60-62]

No Newsted? No Burton? :mad::rolleyes:

Metallica still being together it made sense for it to be them now. Maybe in the future there'll be a retrospective.

I like the game based on them. This new Beatles game, though, is going to be a work of art.

[OrgasmicOrange]

I like the Beatles, but I'm not a huge Beatles fan (more of a Stones fan) - but after seeing the video and some game play from E3, I'm really excited about this game. I will be picking up the game and maybe one guitar. Sold my RB 1 guitar - was never happy with it.

I'm not sure if the game will be a hit because I do think GH is flooding the market with too much product & that may hurt RB: Beatles - but I think The Beatles game looks amazing compared to the GH games that have come out recently.

I will say that I did enjoy the Metallica game - but I found the format of the career a little tired after a while, plus I think they should have added more tunes by Metallica - HMX has it right by only putting Beatles songs on the game disc. If you are going to do a game disc for people then do it - don't try to please everyone with songs from other artists.

Can't wait for September!

[WIIBARON]

If you add up these votes, it's nearly 100k right there, on 600 people. So, I say KACHING! for HMX!

[DeadPhoenix223]

i'm more happy that they're maing cool looking guitars than the game itself. so i'm gonna by the guitars and rent the game. i dont really like the idea of ONLY songs by the beatles. i mean at least Activision added other bands to make it more... idk... fun? and by the looks of it you have no character customization so... your just stuck with the songs. it was a great idea, but i'm not all "OMG TBRB!!!!" about it.

[miche.cs]

Colour me cynical but by adding in other bands rather than just a set list from the main game band just smacks of marketing. It's not for more fun man, it's to sell the game to a wider audience, which is the smart thing to do. There's no need to do that with The Beatles because they are so HUGE.

[Neonstar]

I have to say that although I voted "Game only" I may well land up getting some of the instruments at a later date, since we don't have easily available RB2 instruments in Europe, and my RB1 instruments will inevitably break at some point.

[Julio_Strikes_Back]

They also ignored the history of Metallica by using the current line-up and look for every song. The Beatles shows them from the clean shaven mop tops to the long-hair bearded members.

But they also left out Pete Best and Stuart Sutcliffe.

[Backbeat60-62]

But they also left out Pete Best and Stuart Sutcliffe.

There was a definite start and end to the Beatles. The Beatles as the world first knew them was with Ringo, the suits, and the haircuts. It ended with the four of them. They went through a lot of drummers in the early days. Pete was just the most steadiest drummer they had. Plus his mom didn't mind them practicing at his house, never complained. Stuart Sutcliffe was an inspiration - his German artist girlfriend came up with the haircuts, which Pete didn't want to switch to. He wasn't a good studio drummer either, which is why they went with Ringo, already known as a famous rock drummer in Liverpool. Ringo shaved his beard and got the haircut, after playing with them long enough at places like the Cavern Club, which got him in good. They were already at the top of their live playing abilities, just got a recording contract, snagged the best well-known drummer plus were finally getting known on TV and radio instead of just word of mouth. Then it got crazy, yo. Start up the game.

[Ledgo2]

I've honestly never had interest in The Beatles, but after watching some videos, I am convinced to buy it. I am more convinced for content, however.

Whoever said Rock Band:Megadeth, I laugh profusely at you.

[dabrry0523]

Same

have you guys been reading the forums about all of this first time video gamers???? asking which console to buy???

[Julio_Strikes_Back]

There was a definite start and end to the Beatles. The Beatles as the world first knew them was with Ringo, the suits, and the haircuts. It ended with the four of them. They went through a lot of drummers in the early days. Pete was just the most steadiest drummer they had. Plus his mom didn't mind them practicing at his house, never complained. Stuart Sutcliffe was an inspiration - his German artist girlfriend came up with the haircuts, which Pete didn't want to switch to. He wasn't a good studio drummer either, which is why they went with Ringo, already known as a famous rock drummer in Liverpool. Ringo shaved his beard and got the haircut, after playing with them long enough at places like the Cavern Club, which got him in good. They were already at the top of their live playing abilities, just got a recording contract, snagged the best well-known drummer plus were finally getting known on TV and radio instead of just word of mouth. Then it got crazy, yo. Start up the game.
You're blabbing on like I haven't heard all of this before. The Beatles started when they changed their named to The Beatles. It's as simple as that. And there's a definite start to Metallica to, and that was with Dave Mustaine and Cliff Burton.

[Backbeat60-62]

So, are you upset the game picks up at the Cavern Club instead of years before?

[Tego1in]

Comparing GH:A to TB:RB.
GH:A used the same ugly looking character skins, throughout their entire career.
GH:A was a guitar game.
GH:A had a 31 song setlist half of them not actually their songs.
If a game like that selled like hot cakes, imagaine what TB:RB would sell.
But TB:RB needs ads! Lots of them.

[osteofight]

Since this is the high blood pressure thread I'll mention that the game is rewriting Beatles history so it looks like all four Beatles participated in playing every song together in the studio. Also, no Billy Preston.

[John_S]

Two bands can justify games like this, The Beatles and Led Zeppelin.

Other bands that could pull off similar games (just not the same pricing) are Pink Floyd and Iron Maiden.

I intend to get the game and one guitar (the guitars are freakin sweet.)

[CrazyFoxyFox]

I have no income, so I will be purchasing the game only. I really hope TB:RB is successful.

[Sargehalo51]

Alright, before we begin, I'd like to point out I'M A HUGE BEATLES FAN. I'm also a huge Rock Band fan. Naturally, I'm psyched about The Beatles: Rock Band.
That being said, I'm thinkin' it's gonna be a financial disaster for HMX.

Think about it: Activision has run the Guitar Hero franchise into the ground, with 8 games*, released or to be released, in 2009 alone. That's a little much. Let's face it, music game popularity is going down.

Now, let's take in account the much higher price and (rumored) relatively small setlist. Who wants to pay more for a smaller setlist?

Not to mention, we're in a recession. People don't have a ton of money to throw around these days.

Maybe I'm just being negative. There are probably still a lot of Beatles fans out there willing to shell out that much money, or Rock Band fans willing to sell it out to something that could be justified as a replacement for RB3. It could also turn out to have more songs than even RB2! Hey, who knows?

Your thoughts?

*this includes the mobile games, arcade games, unconfirmed Van Halen game, and DJ Hero.
EDIT: Van Halen HAS Been announced.

EDITEDIT: "Financial Disaster" and all that is just an exaggeration for "it'll sell badly." I'm not predicting "the end of harmonix."

Hmmm...are you eating your words yet or would you like to be served a piece of humble pie?

[Rock_Starman]

Necro'd but still kinda useful I guess.
I only bought 1 guitar and rented the game. They would've had to make the DLC or full game compatible with RB 2/3 to get any other money out of me.

[osteofight]

Oh hi old thread. I forgot all about you. Once real numbers of game sales show up I'd very much like a follow up.

[mva5580]

oohhhhhhh was I looking for this thread to be resurrected. I think it should be moved back over to the main Rock Band forum personally for a few special people in particular to chew on a massive piece of crow.

[Kazoo]

The Rb2 engine doesn't support the three-part harmonics. So, DLC/Import is unlikely.

[manofice]

I bought the game only and got it for only 43 bux

[Robondacob]

Cool story bro

[davidshek]

Oh hi old thread. I forgot all about you. Once real numbers of game sales show up I'd very much like a follow up.

Real numbers like the fact that there were over 500,000 pre-sales of the game?

That kind of real number? :)

[osteofight]

Real numbers like the fact that there were over 500,000 pre-sales of the game?

That kind of real number? :)

Oh alright, once more real numbers show up :).

[Sargehalo51]

Oh alright, once more real numbers show up :).

Well, the pre-sales of TB:RB outsold the first week of GH5...so I think those are pretty good numbers.

Funny how the OP hasn't come back to eat his humble pie!

[aspiring]

I will probably get flamed for this but i have ZERO interest in this. And in all honestly i expect the genral public to also not have much interest. Sure The Beales are classic and all, but can you see the majority of the music game market, Teens to 20s or so wanting to buy this? I cant


I also dont see the people who really love the Beatles, like my mum, going out and buying it. Im sure it will sell, but not as great as some may think. Metallica IMO would of been the better licence.


Oh man this pie tastes soooo good. Not only did i buy it, I am in love with it. Also it seem sto be selling AND my mum DID buy it. The whole band kit as well. Oh and its sooo much better than Metallica as well. HMX i will never not trust you again.

[osteofight]

Yay for pie! Now I want some.

[ArothmanMusic]

There are plenty of people like me who would never have bought RB at all until the Beatles version. I've played the regular RB2 at my buds' house but didn't think I wanted my own setup. But when they said "Beatles version... $250 with plastic Höfner!" was sold. HMX wins.

[Sprite]

I haven't heard of anyone buying consoles just to play this.
I would have said the same, but oddly enough, my parents are considering it.

[RampantFrenzy]

so I guess the financial disaster angle is a total fail huh?

its selling like hotcakes in every form..

[hmxsean]

See what happens when you overstate with hyperbole?

[Weeksy77]

Finally got my PS3 back tonight after 5 weeks - first game in was "Beatles" - played the living s**t out of it, now I'm sad because I'm not too far from the end (literally) - roll on DLC!

[T-Hybrid]

Boy. Whodathunk that one of the biggest bands of all time combined with a best selling video game would've turned into a hugely successful game? I'm assuming this link (http://www.joystiq.com/2009/09/16/beatles-rock-band-sales-exceeding-expectations-viacom-says/) has already been posted in some form.

I would suggest changing the thread title, but I think the OP deserves the crow they'll be served for a while after posting such an overreaction.

[Apples]

See what happens when you overstate with hyperbole?

The user didn't specify in the thread title what type of financial disaster.


Rock Band 2 launched last fall and the world went into economic crisis. (The two events were obviously linked)

Maybe he's afraid the same thing happening again. :p

[Bosco32]

See what happens when you overstate with hyperbole?

Hyperbole is the worst thing ever.

[RockBandoleer]

Got the value edition, which isn't in the Poll, I see...

Best music game on the market, great family band edition?

Mook post.

[k-mac]

The OP certainly got served big time. I wouldn't be surprised if this becomes the best selling music game of the year.

[LoopyChew]

Hyperbole is the worst thing ever.

If people don't stop talking in hyperbole, I'm going to explode into a million billion pieces.

[onidragon]

Wow, I'd like this guy to come back to the forum, just to see what he thinks of Beatles RB getting in the top 5 selling games for 2 weeks now?

[Branr]

Ooh, he's online here! Any comments XXXela?

[DerTommissar]

"Financial Disaster" and all that is just an exaggeration for "it'll sell badly." I'm not predicting "the end of harmonix."

How's the new gig working out for ya, Nostradamus?

[MysteryMan]

Someone was wrong on the Internet?!

[Moiread]

Hyperbole is the worst thing ever.

But what if you found a racoon in your dresser chewing on your underwear? Wouldn't that be worse? By like...a lot!?

[jl8e]

so I guess the financial disaster angle is a total fail huh?

Breaking News!

Top staff at Harmonix drown while swimming in their money bin!

[DerTommissar]

Also, no Billy Preston.

Hi, I'm Billy Preston. You may know me from the unlockable photo in TB:RB which mentions the high regard with which I was held by the Fab 4.

[Aldex]

Hyperbole is the worst thing ever.Nicely done. Most likely the best post in the universe.

[T-Hybrid]

But what if you found a racoon in your dresser chewing on your underwear? Wouldn't that be worse? By like...a lot!?
I would be far more concerned if I was in the underwear said racoon was chewing.

[elitemastersam]

What a financial disaster indeed.

[RockBandoleer]

Oh man this pie tastes soooo good. Not only did i buy it, I am in love with it. Also it seem sto be selling AND my mum DID buy it. The whole band kit as well. Oh and its sooo much better than Metallica as well. HMX i will never not trust you again.

I say it, now, you're a true gentleman, sir!

[timmay9]

While the OP might have gotten "served", he wasn't using his own personal bias against the Beatles as reasoning, and didn't seem like a troll. Maybe I'm just looking at the OP though.

[RoboEnigma]

When you have the title that this thread does, the reaction shouldn't be all that surprising.

I'd like to think that the topic starter would at least come in here, but the fact that he seems to be ignoring this huge topic just leads more weight to the idea that he feels 'BONED!"

[KBelanger]

From all accounts, the success has been driven by sales of the bundle. That tells me that there are a lot of new users that got brought in by the Beatles' name which means it probably was an older crowd that drove sales up. That was one of their admitted goals: get older fans to experience the Beatles music with another new medium (the second goal was to get younger fans to discover the Beatles).

[vcalzone]

From all accounts, the success has been driven by sales of the bundle. That tells me that there are a lot of new users that got brought in by the Beatles' name which means it probably was an older crowd that drove sales up. That was one of their admitted goals: get older fans to experience the Beatles music with another new medium (the second goal was to get younger fans to discover the Beatles).

Well, that was the goal of The Beatles, and I bet they couldn't be happier. I suspect the goal of Harmonix was to make money, but also to draw in an older crowd to build their potential customer base for future platforms and DLC. Whether they meet that goal will be determined if RB2 and DLC sales pick up or if they pull ahead of the next GH platform next year.

[HeadHunter67]

I think that the edge is all going to come down to business approach.
Harmonix seeks to develop their franchise, while Activision seeks to exploit theirs - in their very own words.