Viacom hits Harmonix stockholders with $131 million suit

THAT'S WHAT YOU GET VIACOM FOR PULLING DOWN OUR VIDEOS ON YOUTUBE YOU BASTARDS!

Oh here we go again, another lawsuit against a gaming industry.

People may hate on the rhythm genre, but I will be very upset if Harmonix ever stop making rhythm games. Rock Band, Amplitude and Frequency are among my favourite games of all time! If the rhythm genre is dead then I'm a necrophile. DON'T JUDGE ME!

Viacom looks a scammer to me. The force is with you, Harmonix.

The wonderful world of lawyer-craft.

Taking those numbers, a $17.9 million payout would correspond to $37.1 million gross profits for 2007, while the $149.7 million payout would correspond to $74.8 million gross. So Viacom is trying to claim that they overestimated the gross profits by a factor of two. That seems quite hard to believe: gross profits don't include any of the expenses in production, so getting the estimate that wrong seems a bit suss (especially since the estimate was made after the close of that period).

So Viacom mistakenly gave $131 million in bonuses? Who in their company looked at this before hand and gave it the green light? If I were you I'd pull my stock from a company who mishandles $131Mill.

I hope this doesn't sink Harmonix. They seem like a great company to work with/for.

@evilbanana7 probably, Scientologists are the worlds biggest idiots.

Viacom should pair up with Activision, that way I can consolidate my hatred.

i wonder if everyone at viacom is a scientologist :P

no one told viacom to pay them that much for a successful game. if that was so, activision would have paid infinity ward.... WAIT.... they did, then fired them.

That's money has probably been spent already. They aren't going to get that back. Why would you pay our bonuses before the profits rolled in? Dumb*****!! They should have researched the market better. They definitely overpaid for Harmonix. It's an expensive lesson learned by Viacom.

Viacom is nothing but a bunch of d**ks anyways.

Well, best of luck to Harmonix. Screw Viacom.

Please, Viacom. Any two-bit blogger on the Internet could've told you that the rhythm genre was a fad bubble waiting to pop, but you got on board anyhow. You don't get to demand your money back because you spent it poorly. Harmonix held up their end of the bargain (if MetaCritic is to be believed) and delivered good solid rhythm games; the demand simply dried up. How many plastic guitars did you think people were willing to buy?

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What Viacom is doing is just simply pathetic. I am not surprised they have pulled moves like this in the past.

This is almost as stupid as Viacom suing Youtube for showing more music videos than MTV....

Well if Viacom wins, I say we start pulling this at gas stations... "Yeah... I see gas is currently $4.00/gallon... when it should really be $1.50 - so if you don't mind. I'll take that back in cash please. No? SEE YOU IN COURT!!!"

That's so cruel that I almost enjoy it. Those stockholders think that the buyout meant they run away with the money. Yeah, Viacom should sue them for it and get the money back!

Viacom is a shifty company, they do a lot of crap that isn't right and pass themselves off like they are angels all the while suing anyone they don't agree with...or that they lable as copyright infringers like they've done with Youtube members. Honestly when Viacom dropped Harmonix their stake in the developer is meaningless, "oh we wanna su cus we didn't make enough money off Harmonix boo hoo" Grow up D-bags life isn't all fuzzy happy rainbows and a pot of gold at the other side, you have to work for what you get and honestly you guys always take the low road and fail......Your just as bad as Activision.

So if i buy a Paramount movie (which is owned by Viacom) for $30, watch it and decide that it is only worth $20, could I demand that Viacom give me my $10 back?

I wish it was easier to find the bad guy in these court battles.

So.... they are suing because Harmonix didn't make them... ENOUGH money?

This is so stupid I won't comment about it... Oops I just did it!!!! ;)

Man. I really hope they make it through this bull. I swear I'm tired of all of these lawsuits... They should have pulled the Sony move. Good luck Harmonix. I enjoyed Rock Band with my friends.

Greed is an ugly thing.

do you have a receipt for that?

So Viacom wanted a quick cash-in and ended up buying a worm infested apple, looks good on the outside but give a week. Tough luck guys but you get what you pay for.

Wait... Viacom sold Harmonix for 50 dollars?! I knew I should have taken that 30 dollar-and-a-pack-of-gum offer they were giving me.

What happened to the phrase "Buyer beware"...? They paid it, they regret it, but they have no recourse. Viacom is being silly. Did the Vikings sue Brett Favre for his mediocre season last year? Nope. They knew the risk, they paid the price. Move on, Viacom.

That happens when you get mixed with these clowns they are the greediest group around the TV.

Pfff, Viacom. You dumb beasts, you.

$131 million dollar suit? That's really expensive. If I paid that much for a suit I wouldn't be trying to hit people with it, I'd be wearing it on very special occasions and getting it dry cleaned.

Hah Buyer beware Viacom you bet on the wrong horse and lost don't get all whiney and expect the court to line your pockets because you messed up... last I check being stupid and overpaying for something wasnt a crime

Gnarl said it all for me (Overlord 2) "Couldnt happen to a nicer chap !" . Viacom is grabbing a straws and is now trying to bully them outta their cash, you bought the company knowing the risks and now you wanna reclaim the cash you paid....dont you know its not refundable :P ?

this is the ultimate sore loser move. nothing but disgust towards these guys now.

lmao

You played the market, Viacom, and you lost. Get over it.

Sounds like seller's remorse to me. Viacom dropped Harmonix like a sack of potatoes and only after the success of Dance Central do they scramble around and look for excuses as to why they got screwed? Pretty low...