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MTV admits higher sales of Beatles: Rock Band were expected in Europe
The Beatles: Rock Band may have been a critical success, but it never achieved the levels of commercial success MTV had hoped for in Europe. MTV general manager Scott Guthrie told MCV that a combination of the bad economy and competition contributed to the game's undesirable performance. "We got caught in a few things that happened last year. It was a tough economy; there was a lot of competitive products out there, and I think Beatles probably had softer sales than it would have if some of those things weren't in play," he said. "Overall we were pleased with the sales. I think that we underestimated the competition and they took mind share away from us." This shouldn't be an issue for MTV's next game, Green Day: Rock Band, the company hopes. The competition Guthrie talks about is Guitar Hero 5, which did gangbusters in Europe. But while Guitar Hero 5 was busy selfishly generating cash for Activision, The Beatles: Rock Band managed to generate a lot of cash for charity, so that has to help MTV get through those cold nights. Right?
Green Day: Rock Band more familiar to 'core audience' than The Beatles, MTV Games says
The Beatles are a tough act to follow. And so, several weeks from the release of Green Day: Rock Band, publisher MTV Games has some promoting to do. MTV Games GM Scott Gutherie recently explained the reasoning behind picking the younger, less "classic rock"–oriented band for its next single-act music game following The Beatles: Rock Band. "We were pleased with the performance of Beatles: Rock Band, but we were expecting higher sales," Guthrie said. "Our core audience of 16- to 34-year-old males are much more familiar with Green Day music than The Beatles." Targeting the core gaming audience with a band active during their lifetimes certainly seems like a sensible business move, though it does signal a move away from the kind of market expansion MTV and Harmonix were attempting with Beatles. However, Guthrie's suggestion that "Green Day probably has a much higher awareness than perhaps The Beatles did" seems like a stretch. Everyone knows The Beatles. The clear market advantage that the Green Day game does have is the benefit of being compatible with Rock Band's existing and ever-growing library, as its tracks are exportable (for a fee) to Xbox 360 and PS3 hard drives and playable in the main iterations of the series. Though Guthrie didn't say as much, it's possible Beatles sales suffered because the game was a standalone project, which didn't mesh well with the Rock Band ethos and its core demographic. %Gallery-87997%
Harmonix looking at Project Natal for 'Rock Band 3'
It's no surprise that Harmonix is working on expanding the Rock Band franchise in some way. This year brings The Beatles: Rock Band, but what will the future hold? MTV Games head Scott Guthrie talked to MCV about "what is effectively the next game, or 'Rock Band 3'." Guthrie doesn't deny that the next major release from Harmonix could be another artist collaboration a la The Beatles, but whatever the next project is will undoubtedly reflect a major change for the franchise."We aren't standing still," Guthrie notes. "We will keep moving into new areas and look at new technologies that our platform holder partners are also developing, such as Project Natal from Microsoft. We're working with them to pull some things together."Obviously, with Project Natal barely in its infancy, it's unlikely we'll see much of a Natal-enabled Harmonix project any time soon. It certainly is an interesting concept, one that has us wondering how exactly Natal could possibly enhance the plastic instrument experience. Certainly, Harmonix must be wondering the same thing.[Thanks, Nick!]
MTV Games hires former THQ and Sony execs in key positions
MTV Games has hired two new high-level execs to manage its growth. First up is former senior Sony sales and merchandising executive, David Cox, who'll become the company's senior vice president of sales. At the same time, MTV Games has appointed Scott Guthrie as executive vice president and general manager to lead the "fast-growing video game publishing group's management team."Guthrie's former position was that of executive vice president of publishing at embattled publisher THQ. You know, that company that had to do an executive overhaul and is currently altering its image to forget its past, along with last year's $431 million loss. Hopefully things will go a little better at MTV Games.
THQ publishing VP makes for the door
After a few choppy months, things seem to have leveled out for THQ, what with all the new game announcements and some solid releases on the horizon. But all that apparently wasn't enough to keep Scott Guthrie, executive VP of publishing for THQ, in his chair. Gutherie, charged with North American sales, distribution and marketing for the company, has left for an undisclosed opportunity.It's maybe not a huge deal, but we like to take a moment to recognize anyone who helped get 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand into our trembling, grateful hands.
