MTV to acquire Guitar Hero developer
Harmonix Music Systems to become latest member of the Viacom media empire; price set at $175 million in cash.
Guitar Hero has made a lot of people very, very rich. In May, Activision announced that it had purchased the publisher of the game, RedOctane; a pickup that cost the company $100 million. Today, MTV Networks announced that it has reached an agreement to acquire Guitar Hero's development studio, Harmonix Music Systems, for $175 million in cash.
The move represents another step into gaming for MTV parent company Viacom. The media giant has previously been rumored as contemplating takeovers of Electronic Arts and Midway (of which Viacom CEO Sumner Redstone owns a considerable amount of stock). As for steps it has actually taken into the gaming sector, the company acquired Xfire earlier this year for $102 million.
This is not the first time MTV has involved itself with the Guitar Hero brand. Last November, it announced an agreement with RedOctane to feature Guitar Hero (as well as future installments of the series) in original programming, creative promotions, and competitions on its array of cable channels and Web sites.
While the Harmonix hit du jour may be Guitar Hero, the studio has developed a number of successes, including the cult PlayStation 2 rhythm games Frequency and Amplitude, as well as Konami's Karaoke Revolution series. Harmonix's next game to hit the market, Guitar Hero 2 for the PS2, is expected to arrive in stores this November.
Content you might like…
Users who looked at this article also looked at these content items.
Hot Stories
Newsmakers
-
The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks Eiji Aonuma Interview
GameSpot UK interviews Nintendo's Eiji Aonuma about the latest Zelda adventure. Full Story
- Posted Nov 20, 2009 6:47 am PT
-
Tony Hawk talks Ride sequels
Q&A: Pro skater indicates work on next installment has begun at Robomodo; hints at snowboarding, surfing titles in the pipeline for skateboarding controller. Full Story
- Posted Nov 23, 2009 11:28 am PT
- 114 Comments
Featured Stories
-
ESA, Sony, Microsoft partner on science, math push
Trade organization, console makers back President Obama's Educate to Innovate initiative with Little Big Planet, Web game design challenges. Full Story
- Posted Nov 23, 2009 5:25 pm PT
- 174 Comments
-
DSi bundled in metallic blue, white for holidays
Nintendo's popular handheld gains $170 limited-edition hardware package beginning Nov. 27; preloaded software valued at $20. Full Story
- Posted Nov 23, 2009 10:59 am PT
- 105 Comments
-
US Air Force orders 2,200 PS3s
Government's aviation arm to expand its current console-based cluster powered by Sony's Cell processor to broaden supercomputer research. Full Story
- Posted Nov 23, 2009 3:35 pm PT
-
Shippin' Out Nov. 22-27: Tekken 6 PSP, Madden Arcade
Gaming retailers give thanks for Black Friday sales as Namco Bandai's portable brawler and EA's downloadable football spin-off lead the holiday week's new releases. Full Story
- Posted Nov 23, 2009 9:26 am PT
- 42 Comments
-
Sony planning paid PSN subscriptions for 2010
[UPDATE] Kaz Hirai confirms premium level will be added on top of PS3 and PSP's online service, which will remain free to play online; PSN revenue expected to hit $563 million this fiscal year. Full Story
- Posted Nov 20, 2009 12:26 pm PT
- 1009 Comments




96 Comments
Sign in / Sign up