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'Rock Band' Creators Receive $300+ Million Bonus

by Kaiser Hwang on November 12, 2008 at 08:02 PM


You don't need to be Guitar Hero to make some money. Take, for instance, Electronic Arts' 'Rock Band' -- a game made by original 'Guitar Hero' creators, Harmonix Music Systems. According to Viacom's (parent of Harmonix's owner, MTV Networks) Securities and Exchanges filing, the Boston-based developer will be receiving a $300+ million dollar bonus. $150 million was already paid last quarter, and the remaining amount will be paid in early '09.

Is this insanity? Not really. Just do the math. A full 'Rock Band' set costs close to $200.00, and the game sold 7 million copies last year. Add in roughly 26 million downloaded -- and paid for -- songs, and you're talking numbers with lots and lots of zeroes. With 'Rock Band 2' out already, and an upcoming Beatles game on the way, Harmonix doesn't seem to be letting the pedal off the metal.

It's great to see Harmonix get their payday after years and years of consistently putting out quality music games, even before it was all the rage. We've been big fans since the Frequency and Amplitude days, and always appreciate when quality gets recognized.

Little known fact: A few years ago we had a noteworthy run in with Harmonix employee and 'Guitar Hero 2' producer, Daniel Sussman. Really. [From: Silicon Alley Insider]

Tags: business, guitar hero, GuitarHero, harmonix, paydays, rock band, RockBand

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