Explain Electronic Art's role in Rock Band

[Oblong]

Everything I have heard and read is that EA is serving in a publisher capacity role only, just their name on the game after buying out Harmonix.

But I have some friends who are going to avoid Rock Band completely because of their hatred for EA stemming from all their past failures, most notably their burgeoning issues with online play.

Can anyone provide proof whether anyone at EA has wrote even 1 line of code for Rock Band? Will EA be responsible for the online servers? Behind the future of any needed patches or DLC?

Thanks!

[tf5_bassist]

EA didn't even buy out Harmonix, MTV Games did.

EA is basically providing some money (I think), and generally getting the units to the stores while attempting to quietly steal some of the press and good publicity for themselves. THey have nothing to do with the game.

Except that Peter Moore has asked repeatedly to move the Start Button to a spot on the guitar less prone to accidental pausing.

[Spraynwipe]

Harmonix is the developer. We made the game and the instruments.

MTV Games is the publisher. They pay our checks, do advertising, help us get music, that kind of stuff.

EA Partners are the distributors. They get boxes into stores for us, help us with localization for different territories, and helped our QA team a bit.

All three are staffed with awesome people.

[Eman311]

They're the distributors of the game. All they do is make and ship out the product.

I'm sure they got paid some nice sum by MTV, as well as the honor of putting their logo on the box.

edit: and by make i mean "manufacture", not develop.

[army_of_me]

Everything I have heard and read is that EA is serving in a publisher capacity role only, just their name on the game after buying out Harmonix.

Supposedly they're barely even a publisher, more like just distributor. Harmonix said they've had to fulfill roles usually done by publishers somewhat on their own, since MTV didn't know what they were doing either.


Can anyone provide proof whether anyone at EA has wrote even 1 line of code for Rock Band?
No proof exists; they didn't.


Will EA be responsible for the online servers?
No, Harmonix will use their own.


Behind the future of any needed patches or DLC?
No, also all Harmonix.

Your friends are making much ado about nothing.

[Electric_Zen]

EA is the distributor, MTV is the publisher, Harmonix is the developer.

EA did not write 1 line of code for Rock Band.

Alex Rigopolous stated in a podcast interview that EA would not be responsible for the online servers.

I suppose it is possible that EA could help out in the deployment/distribution of patches or DLC, but they would not be involved in designing or implementing them.

Edit: Sorry, I'm late to the party.

[hankmallon]

As long as they aren't the developer I could really care less what they do.

[seafisch]

MTV didn't know what they were doing either

Why do I find that so easy to believe? :p

[JimNasium]

EA is here to rip us off on DLC

[Bakkster]

Harmonix is the developer. We made the game and the instruments.

MTV Games is the publisher. They pay our checks, do advertising, help us get music, that kind of stuff.

EA Partners are the distributors. They get boxes into stores for us, help us with localization for different territories, and helped our QA team a bit.

All three are staffed with awesome people.

FYI - This guy knows what he's talking about. Notice the use of first-person when referring to HMX.

Thread over :cool:

[Arreck]

Ah I see, so EA is, indeed, pure evil, since they're behind the Canadian delay :)