Harmonix is up to “something”
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So, here’s a few things that I’ve come across:
PAX East is coming up, there’s a “pin” thing where people collect pins…Harmonix’s pin design is a surprise:
Then this was posted on the HMX forums by one of the forum regulars:
"Wire: Bloomberg News (BN) Date: Feb 18 2015 17:30:16
New Rock Band Game Said to Be Developed for Latest Consoles
********************************************************************************
BFW 02/18 17:35 New Rock Band Game Said to Be Developed for Latest Consoles
********************************************************************************
By Danielle Burger
(Bloomberg) -- Rock Band, the video-game series where
players jam along to recorded music, is developing a new title,
the first since 2012, according to a person familiar with the
plan.
Harmonix Music Systems Inc. is creating the new game for
the latest generation of consoles, such as Sony Corp.’s
PlayStation 4 and Microsoft Corp.’s Xbox One, said the person,
who asked not to be named because the matter is private.
Rock Band, along with similar titles such as Guitar Hero,
grew in popularity in last decade, leading Viacom Inc.’s MTV
unit to buy Harmonix for $175 million in 2006. Trends in casual
gaming have since shifted toward digital and mobile play and
Harmonix was sold to investment firm Columbus Nova LLC in 2010.
The band genre, once a significant part of software and
hardware sales, has been silent for the past few years.
Activision Blizzard Inc. last released a Guitar Hero game in
2010 and disbanded the unit a year later. The genre was a three-
year fad largely driven by casual gamers, said Doug Creutz, an
analyst at Cowen & Co.
“After a while, people got tired of it,†Creutz said in a
phone interview. “I don’t think they stopped gaming -- a lot
went to Facebook and mobile.â€
Losing Money
Rock Band became the top-selling title in 2008, Viacom
President and Chief Executive Officer Philippe Dauman said in a
earnings call at the time. But within a few years, the unit
began to lose money, prompting New York-based Viacom to seek a
buyer.
Before 2005, instrumental music video-games represented 2
percent of all U.S. software sales, according to Creutz. The
genre reached its peak in 2008 at 18 percent. After a steady
decline, the genre is now less than 1 percent, he said.
At retailers, floor space for the plastic instruments is
shrinking as the industry trends toward digital. Publishers of
instrumental games have to fight for space with toy games like
Activision’s Skylanders and Nintendo Co.’s Amiibo. Still, Creutz
says casual gamers like the idea of a rhythm game timed to a
song.
“I really don’t think we’ll see any big revival of the
plastic instrument trend,†said Creutz.
The last title in the series, Rock Band Blitz, was released
in August 2012. Speculation regarding another Rock Band title
began after Harmonix released two add-on songs for Rock Band 3
on Tuesday. The game maker also sent out a poll in January,
surveying consumer interest in an updated Rock Band for
PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
For Related News and Information:
Sony Sells Online Game Unit to Investment Firm
Viacom Ordered to Give Up Claims to Harmonix Deal Funds
Top Media Stories: TOP MED
To contact the reporter on this story:
Danielle Burger in New York at +1-212-617-9370 or
dburger7@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Anthony Palazzo at +1-323-782-4228 or
apalazzo@bloomberg.net
James Callan, Stephen West
[TAGINFO]
NI US
NI TEC
NI TEL
NI GAMES
NI EXCLUSIVE
-0- Feb/18/2015 22:30 GMT
====================
Copyright (c) 2015, Bloomberg, L. P.
################################ END OF STORY 1 ##############################
Article:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/ … t-consoles
Then, perhaps more interestingly, all these new job postings are currently up on
http://www.harmonixmusic.com/jobs/
Job Listings
Art
UI Artist
UI Technical Artist
Engineering
Software Engineer - Animation
Software Engineer - Gameplay
Software Engineer - Graphics
Publishing
Director of Marketing
Intern
Web Developer
Let’s take a look at some of the job details:
Software Engineer – Gameplay:
Responsibilities:
– Invent, prototype, iterate on, and deliver novel gameplay mechanics.
Preferred Additional Qualifications:
– Regularly exercised strong applied math skills (discrete math, simulation, or signal processing).
Special attention will be given to candidates with experience in audio programming, including:
– General Game Audio Integration: triggering/event handling, parameter/state updates, occlusion calculation, ambient simulation, etc.
– Midi: parsing/processing standard midi file formats.
– Synthesis: wavetable synthesis, sample rate conversion, pitch shifting, envelope generation, oscillators, DSP, etc.
– Audio Streaming: multithreaded, compressed audio pipeline (disk -> memory -> decompression system -> software mixer -> platform audio system)
UI Artist
Desired Qualifications:
– Understanding of when to sacrifice quantity or quality to adhere to schedules and milestone deliveries
– Ability and willingness to create games that do not follow traditional game-art styles
– A love of music and an openness to new music
All of the above seems to hint at something interesting. This next position makes me wonder what exactly though, since there’s no way they’re going to let go of their existing rock band engine and create a new one.
Software Engineer – Graphics
Preferred Additional Experience:
– Built and implemented own engine
Might be nothing. Might be something. Discuss?
It kinda looks like we might be able to go on a vacation in a little bit.
” src=”/wp-content/uploads/invision_emoticons/default_SA_smile.gif”>So have they found a web programmer they said they were looking for 12 centuries ago, yet? It was there excuse for trashing the old website (rockband.com) and not keeping any of the features; most notably the friggin leaderboards.
This is where I wish that I had spent another year or two and school and gotten at least a minor in Game Design / Programming along with my CS degree. Tragic ha
On this French video games related website, they say Harmonix is working on a new Rock Band for PS4/One…
Well that’s nothing more than a quick mention of the Bloomberg article listed in the OP.
If the Bloomberg story is a hoax, which it seems to be, then so is this other site’s story.
No doubt Harmonix is up to something, as I said in the OP. But I’m not saying it’s RB4. I don’t believe it until I see an official announcement.
I think it’s safe to say that shenanigans are afoot, and there’s a pretty good chance they’re Rock Band related. Not 100% sure, but enough to make me really excited
” src=”/wp-content/uploads/invision_emoticons/default_SA_emot-3.gif” />It kinda looks like we might be able to go on a vacation in a little bit.” src=”/wp-content/uploads/invision_emoticons/default_SA_smile.gif” />There’ll always be a place for C3.
Gamespot is also reporting on it. The way they are talking about it seems like it can’t be anything other than a new RB. Details like what platforms, DLC transfer, instruments, and release dates are all obviously unknown but the constant Wink Nudge Nudge Wink from HMX and some their employees really makes it hard to think it’s something else. I peed a little when I saw it.
Hey now. Blitz wasn’t all that bad. We did get a nice track pack on the cheap thanks to it.
If there’s another shitty* game accompanied by a nice track pack on the cheap, I’m all for that.
* subjective opinion. deal with it.
Hey now. Blitz wasn’t all that bad. We did get a nice track pack on the cheap thanks to it.If there’s another shitty* game accompanied by a nice track pack on the cheap, I’m all for that.
* subjective opinion. deal with it.
Yeah who am I kidding I’d love it too, but anything other than a RB4 announcement would be a let down.
Blitz was the only music game I could ever get high leaderboard scores on, that is, until they fixed the glitches.
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