MCV/DEVELOP News, events, research and jobs from the games industry
The gamble that was Rock Band 4 has ended in the worst possible way for Mad Catz. Two years ago the video games world was taken by surprise when it was announced the longstanding peripherals specialist Mad Catz was to assume publishing duties on the rhythm action title’s comeback. Later …
Read More »Mad Catz needs to shift Rock Band inventory as losses rocket 470%
The Rock Band 4 gamble has not paid off for Mad Catz. The company suffered a $11.6m loss in the financial year ending March 31st, with operating losses growing up 470 per cent. CEO Karen McGinnis, who was put in place following an exodus of staff from the company, says …
Read More »Online multiplayer will be a paid expansion for Rock Band 4
Rock Band 4 owners will have to pay extra if they want to play the game online. Developer Harmonix has confirmed expansion plans for the game in place for later this year, part of which includes synchronous online multiplayer This is just one of the exciting features included as a …
Read More »Opinion: Guitar Hero and Rock Band struggles highlight PS4 and Xbox One’s biggest challenge
If you’re a fan of plastic instruments, the last week’s headlines haven’t made pleasant reading. First, Activision announced it would be ‘restructuring’ (read: making a lot of redundancies) its FreeStyleGames Studio – the makers of Guitar Hero Live. Then, yesterday, Harmonix’s crowd-funding effort for Rock Band 4 on PC failed. …
Read More »Harmonix cancels Rock Band 4 PC, ‘disappointed’ game missed crowdfunding goal
Developer Harmonix has ditched the PC version of Rock Band 4. The firm announced this on its Fig page for the project, observing that there isn’t a large enough audience to make developing for this platform viable. This follows Harmonix’s crowdfunding effort for Rock Band 4 and the Rock Band …
Read More »Rock Band 4’s PC crowdfunding push fails to reach target
The world of Rock Band has been hit with more bad news. Harmonix’s attempt to crowdfund a PC port of Rock Band 4 via Fig, which was to be developed by Sumo Digital, has ended in failure. The developer had looked for $1.5m. At the end of the campaign it …
Read More »Rock Band 4 parts ways with Mad Catz, signs PDP as co-publisher
The news just gets worse for Mad Catz. Harmonix has announced that PDP is its new co-publisher for Rock Band 4, seemingly replacing Mad Catz. The company isn’t formerly admitting that its former partner has been dropped, simply saying that Harmonix and Mad Catz are continuing to work together” and …
Read More »Harmonix opens $1.5m crowdfunding effort to launch Rock Band 4 on PC
Rock Band 4 developer and co-publisher Harmonix is asking for whopping $1.5m to bring Rock Band 4 on PC. The company has turned to crowdfunding platform Fig to raise money for the title. This new SKU is set to release on Steam at the end of 2016. The crowdfunding effort …
Read More »Mad Catz to lay off 37% of staff
Fears about the situation at Rock Band 4 co-publisher Mad Catz have been confirmed with news that over a third of the company’s workforce are losing their jobs. The changes are designed to "focus on lowering operating costs, increasing efficiencies and better aligning its workforce with the needs of the …
Read More »Harmonix admits its staff posted positive Rock Band 4 reviews on Amazon
Developer Harmonix has admitted that a number of its employees left positive reviews for its recent release Rock Band 4 on Amazon’s website. Reddit spotted a number of five-star reviews left by apparent employees of the studio. And now Harmonix has admitted that was indeed the case. "Harmonix has clarified …
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