Less Than Expected Sales Of Beatles Rockband Shows It's Not Just About The Music
from the the-best-things-in-life-are-free... dept
You may recall last year that the head of Warner Music Group, Edgar Bronfman Jr., demanded that music video games like Guitar Hero and Rock Band weren't paying enough for the music they used in the games, saying that the success of such games was "entirely dependent on the content we own and control." As we mentioned at the time, this is the usual fallacy of the entertainment industry, to assume that the entire value of the product is in the content itself, rather than other aspects of it -- such as the gameplay. It looks like the initial sales results of the massively overhyped Beatles Rockband is helping to prove this point. Despite all the attention and press and the fact that this was the Beatles' music being offered in such a game for the first time, reader Eric alerts us to the news that sales of the game have massively underperformed expectations. Sales were less than 60% of what most analysts expected, and some of the quotes from people suggest why:"[It] felt like an expansion to me, not a full release... [It was] cool, but not quite enough to be a stand alone game ($60) purchase."That's just one quote, but others have expressed a similar sentiment. The music... that's nice, but you can get Beatles' music all over. It's the game that makes this worth buying -- or not worth buying. And just adding new music to an old game wasn't nearly as exciting as many people hoped it would be. This isn't to say the music is "worthless." But it does suggest -- yet again -- that the entertainment industry overvalues the contribution of the content itself.
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Typo...
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Am I the only one?
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Re: Am I the only one?
They're more of a vocal group anyway. How many Beatles songs do you play air-guitar to? I thought it was a stupid idea from the start.
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That's why..
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Re:
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Re:
Wrong
http://pewsocialtrends.org/pubs/739/woodstock-gentler-generation-gap-music-by-age
http://pewsocialtrends.org/assets/images/739-20.gif
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Re:
Beatles fans: 40s to 70s.
Gamers: 10s to 20s.
Not enough overlap here for a huge market.
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Re: Re:
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Gamer demographics
http://www.library.illinois.edu/blog/gaming/2009/05/interesting_stats_on_gamer_dem.html
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Tragic
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Re: Tragic
Yes, the music added SOME value because there are already a billion rock band games out. There is obvious incentive to want to apply that gameplay to a classic collection of music. However, as the article above stated, it wasn't all that worth it.
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Overpriced
Since the Beatles are no longer producing, how is the cost of these CDs and Rock Band through copyright justified????
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Re: Overpriced
The Beatles, as a band, stop producing content 30 years ago.
Acutally, they broke up as a band about 40 years ago now.
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Wrong http://pewsocialtrends.org/pubs/739/woodstock-gentler-generation-gap-music-by-age http://p ewsocialtrends.org/assets/images/739-20.gif
You may of missed this at the bottom:6. Twenty was the practical limit we could test in a pair of national telephone surveys; this meant that many great performers could not be included in the list.
And:Differences less that 11 percent may not be statistically significant.
I don't think these numbers can be used to determine that the popularity of the Beatles is high for the age group that buys these games.[ link to this | view in chronology ]
This game is about the music though
This is a case of overinflated forecast. If you substitute any other company that sells strictly tangible goods you would say that their marketing and sales force really screwed this one up. Not that the addition of some new feature just wasn't that good and is overvalued.
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Re: This game is about the music though
The music industry people are demanding huge payments because songs they own are being used. They think its THEIR songs that are making the game successful.
What Mike is saying is that the game is successful because it has addictive gameplay, and people want to play the game. You could insert ANY band and ANY music into the game with the exact same effect, because people are buying the game for the game.
The boost in sales for bands featured in games is proof enough of that, because they're fairly solid evidence that most people buying the game never heard those songs before.
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Re: Re: This game is about the music though
When I say "ANY band and ANY music", it of course has to be music that players can stand listening to for long periods of time.
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Re: Re: Re: This game is about the music though
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Re: Re: This game is about the music though
Also, When you see a commercial for a new version what do they pitch to you. "Now with brighter colors and a new crowd meter" No, they pitch Matalica and Beatles, They pitch the music that is in the game, not game play. Why do they keep coming out with Metalica and AC DC instead of Joe Blow from the garage band down the block? because they know that if they put out something that nobody knows sales will drop and quick.
A couple days ago Mike posted a story about a clerk that was singing in a grocery store and asked if you take the music away does it change the effect of the store, in that case it does not. That is why I ask if you take away the music for this game does it change the effect? I would have to say that gameplay is a small part of it, but the music in the game is the driving force of the game.
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Re: Re: Re: This game is about the music though
"Why do they keep coming out with Metalica and AC DC instead of Joe Blow from the garage band down the block? because they know that if they put out something that nobody knows sales will drop and quick."
And your proof is? Sequels to games like Guitar Hero had plenty of bands and songs that the demographic had never heard before (once again, look to the boosted music sales for those bands). I can't even remember the commercials and ads for it right now, but I'm almost certain that the music itself wasn't the major hype focus.
The first few versions of these games relied on the gameplay to sell - and they sold very well using that. What you see now is an attempt to milk the franchise further...to varying degrees of success.
And by the way...Madden is a very poor example to use. Most sport franchise games literally are just slightly modified graphics, gameplay and AI.
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Too much.
I look at Guitar Hero V on the shelf, and think... sure, some good tracks there... but what about GH III, GH Aerosmith, World Tour, Metallica? And Ive got some Rock Band titles too.
the more I have, sadly, the less I play. Because now when I put a disk in I set myself up for dissapointment. "Oh - this game doesnt have *that* song - the one I really wanted to play"
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Beatles music isn't that great
My kids: Meh...again. Why can't they play something good?
Randy: That's a great song, but it just didn't do anything for me...
Lather. Rinse. Repeat.
Maybe it's because it's really NOT a great song. It's a supremely overhyped song because people were caught up in the free love and drugs message that went along with it.
Young people miss all that and just hear the music, which isn't really that good except that everyone keeps telling you how good it is...
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Beatles who?
What made the Metallica and Aerosmith Guitar Hero games worth buying (to me at least) was that they included many other songs by other artists. With the Beatles, I know maybe 4 or 5 of their songs, and playing through their entire set lists would probably drive me nuts. Iconic or not, they are last century's news. Either add other content, or change SOMETHING about the game. Otherwise, what's the point?
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Win.
I am already mad that I can't purchase mp3s. Now they want me to ditch my character, my bands, and my stands, and spend a ton of money on an entirely new game? Yeah, I don't think so. That's just another way to tell me that you don't value me as a customer.
If you don't care enough to sell what I want, then I don't care enough to buy what you sell.
Even if you are the remaining Beatles.
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I bought this, but it's way too much effort to stop everything and insert a disc and put the band back together just to play a Beatles song.
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Re:
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Well
I hope these numbers don't affect the DLC that was planned for these coming months, because they were going to release the whole Sgt. pepper and Abbey road albums. I want "When I'm 64"
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umm demographics?
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Industry Crutch
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The music is a significant part of the guitar hero and rock band products. Without decent music that people enjoy, the games would likely not be anywhere near as popular. I don't think it is hard to imagine that players would rather rock out to popular or well known tunes rather than gaming elevator music.
So using this as some twisted way to say the music has less value just isn't anything other than a horrible sort of shilling.
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Re:
Actually, according to the ESA, most gamers are of the age that tends to rock out to The Beatles.
"The music is a significant part of the guitar hero and rock band products. Without decent music that people enjoy, the games would likely not be anywhere near as popular."
True, and nobody has said otherwise.
"I don't think it is hard to imagine that players would rather rock out to popular or well known tunes rather than gaming elevator music."
Well, ignoring the weak "elevator music" jab, you are correct. But that effect is relatively minor. The important part is excellent music you can rock out to -- and that can be obtained without labels being involved.
The games would probably be no less popular is they included music of equal quality that was performed and written by complete unknowns.
Mike's point is that the industry (meaning the traditional collection of businesses) grossly overvalues its music, something that is plainly true but which the industry can't seem to see.
His point is not that the music isn't an important part of the game or that it has no value.
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Re: Re:
You will very rarely at this point (aka never) find widely popular and well known music that isn't under contract somewhere. You could get some dude nobody knows to bang out some rocking tunes and buy them as work for hire, but the reality is that the tunes people know are known because of the wide distribution that record labels provide. Shocking, isn't it?
Beatles Rockband sold more than half a million copies, over and above the normal sales of rockband. Mike's conclusion is wishful speculation from a guy trying to pee all over the record companies and rights holders. It isn't based in fact, just wishful thinking.
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Re: How do you overvalue music?
So remind me how much value the music is by itself?
That said...
Truth is "value" is what next idiot on the street is willing to pay. I like listening to the Beetles, but not $60+ much. I'd consider the game for $10. The console, controllers and original RB games cost enough. The additional investment in the Beetles' version game just does not seem to be to myself worth the payoff. Bad ROI.
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Re: Re: How do you overvalue music?
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Try it with Led Zeppelin
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Re: Try it with Led Zeppelin
Closer, I think, but still too narrow IMO. What you COULD do, especially for thos of us 18-35 year olds that grew up in part listening to and LOVING some of the true classic rock with our parents (Hint: The Beatles ain't in that category, they are oldies, plain and simple), would be to release Rock Band: Classic Rock. Band listing would be easy to create AND extremely impressive:
1. Led Zepplin
2. The Doors
3. Jimi Hendrix
4. The Who
5. ZZ Top
6. George Thoroughgood (sp?)
7. The Rolling Stones
8. Kansas
9. Boston
10. Pink Floyd
11. Jethro Tull
12. Rush
13. Lynrd Skynrd
14. AC/DC
15. The Clash
16. Deep Purple
17. Blue Oyster Cult (and not Don't Fear The Reaper, dammit, but a GOOD song, like Godzilla!)
18. Styxx
19. Queen
10. And maybe mix in a little Jazz Fusion and/or Urban genre music like Sly and the Family Stone, James Brown, Steely Dan, etc.
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Re: Re: Try it with Led Zeppelin
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All the other bands...
I recall reading a statement along the lines that the whole point of the Beatles Rock Band was "to protect the integrity of the music." Translated into English: "We're too vain to become just another bunch of tracks in the core game."
The joy of Rock Band is in (a) gameplay and (b) the broad selection of music. Rock Band is loaded with great music. I personally have lost count of how many songs I have in my library - songs from great artists spanning 4 decades of music.
So now the promoters of the Beatles come along and DEMAND that users swap disks to play just them. Vanity is what killed sales.
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Who's fault is this?
Would these be some of the same analysts claiming the Wii would never sell?
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Thousands of downloadable songs are available for them, with new tracks released weekly on X-box live at least.
Why the fudge do they actually need to re-package anything and split it across several discs? The games get a slight face-lift but otherwise remain identical. Put the albums on the DL content rather than another disc - you can charge less, sell more and keep your customers happy!
Daft buggers
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Late to the party but....
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A step in the right direction
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