Rock Band creators get USD 300m bonus

By Robert Purchese Published 11 November, 2008

For exceeding performance targets.

MTV parent company Viacom plans to dish out enormous USD 300 million (GBP 193 million) in bonuses to Rock Band creators Harmonix for exceeding performance targets.

This was part of the 2006 acquisition deal, you see, which now sees Harmonix founders Alex Rigopulos, 38, and Eran Egozy, 37, become very rich men.

Half of the sum was awarded last quarter, with a further USD 150 million to be awarded at the end of 2009. And the combined total could buy the Motor Yacht Dubai, which is the most expensive boat of its kind in the world, apparently. Dubai, or not Dubai?

"We may not have anticipated the payment would be that high, but it's based on what they have achieved," Viacom spokeswoman Kelly McAndrew told Bloomberg.

"If they are making more money for us and we have to give a little back, that's OK," she added.

Rock Band 1 has departed from the UK All-Formats top 40, while musical rival Guitar Hero World Tour enters the chart at 17 - as a guitar-and-game and solus game release. Instrument bundles go on sale from 14th November.

Rock Band 2 will launch in Europe as a solus Xbox 360 game release on 21st November. The new instruments will arrive in December.

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

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Comments (29) Latest comment 3 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • chrisjm #1 3 years ago

    paid for by huge european markup

  • dr_faulk #2 3 years ago

    God damn it...

  • TheBoyChris #3 3 years ago

    One wonders how much of that will actually filter down to the staff who wrote it...

  • syphaa #4 3 years ago

    Maybe they should dish out some of that cash to the consumers who bought it :)
    i.e: ME!

    Nice bonus though...doesn't surprise me considering how much they rip us off with the cost of the band in a box.

  • Physically_Insane #5 3 years ago

    Exceeding performance targets. That's because fucking idiots bought if for 180 cunting quid!

  • Les #6 3 years ago

    "If they are making more money for us and we have to give a little back, that's OK," she added."

    It better be otherwise they should have negotiated the acquisition deal differently...

  • bad #7 3 years ago

    It does make you wonder how much profit Viacom have made from it...

  • Dan234 #8 3 years ago

    Wonder what the European performance targets are and if they take into account that it costs a fecking fortune. Perhaps they can buy some of their own instruments from the 10 copies they'll sell.

  • Bealsy #9 3 years ago

    Looking at the US economy at the moment - won't that buy them about two loaves of bread?

  • stepneg #10 3 years ago

    The price gouging of Europe had to be for a reason and now we see it.

  • rudedudejude #11 3 years ago

    hahaha poor sheep

  • CHAZBIGPOTATO #12 3 years ago

    Lets hope their giant spread betting debts are paid off now then, poor people.

  • paulf #13 3 years ago

    great game and good for them

  • Eraysor #14 3 years ago

    Rock Band is one million times superior to GHWT, save for the instruments and Crazy Train.

  • rhubarbandcustard #15 3 years ago

    I make constant comments on this site regarding the scandalous price of games. I can guarantee that my comment will be flamed by people explaining to me in the most patronising mannner that games cost so much money to make that games are practically being given away at the £40 price point.

    When are people going to wake up and realise that game pricing is a scam?

    Games developers may be good guys (sometimes), but games publishers are money driven, greed obsessed cunts.

  • Tomo #16 3 years ago

    How the hell is that bonus even possible?!

    To make 193m quid, how many Rock Bands need to be sold? Lots, surely. I thought it sold pretty well, but no way near that well. I wouldn't have even expected the Halo or GTA founders to get a bonus that size! £10m max perhaps. This seems absolutely fucking bonkers.

  • rotmm #17 3 years ago

    @tomo,

    I'd guess a lot of the money made with Rock Band was on the downloadable content.

  • coojam #18 3 years ago

    Good to see the developers getting what they deserve though. When I say deserve, I mean relative to the amount of money devs normally get from publishers.

  • sneetch #19 3 years ago

    @Tomo
    "How the hell is that bonus even possible?!

    To make 193m quid, how many Rock Bands need to be sold? Lots, surely."

    Lots and lots, but there's also the overpriced DLC (which is almost pure profit for the publishers and the songwriters/record companies).

  • Thunderbolt #20 3 years ago

    I say enjoy it while you can because by this time next year this concept will be passe

    I mean how many rock/pop classics are they left that havent been included on either GH or RB?

    I'll be getting both GH:WT and RB solus but after I;ve finished them then I will be done with the concept having playing it out in full.

  • cyber_nicco #21 3 years ago

    "Looking at the US economy at the moment - won't that buy them about two loaves of bread? "

    What does that even fucking mean? Are you implying there is runaway inflation in the United States? If so, you are mistaken. I find it just so amazing how the un and ill-informed will take any chance to try to make a joke at the United States' expense.

  • Les #22 3 years ago

    "How the hell is that bonus even possible?!

    To make 193m quid, how many Rock Bands need to be sold? Lots, surely. I thought it sold pretty well, but no way near that well."

    A lot of people here miss the point. This isn't a regular performance bonus, it's part of an acquisition deal. When Viacom bought Harmonix, part of the purchase price was apparently tied to the performance of the first Rockband game. So the 300 million is not just a 'cost' of the first Rockband, it's part of the cost of purchasing the company that's going to make Rockband 2, 3, 4 and 5 as well as other games.

  • Les #23 3 years ago

    "What does that even fucking mean? Are you implying there is runaway inflation in the United States?"

    Probably referring to the low rate of the USD, though it's been getting stronger the last month or so in anticipation of the recent Euro interest drop. And probably Obama has something to do with it as well. Though why not more people seriously wonder how the US is ever going to pay back the 10 trillion dollar of debt is beyond me. But I'm glad, a crashing dollar would only be fun for a short period. After that, the world economy would be in even more serious trouble than it is in right now.

  • Rodafowa #24 3 years ago

    Physically_Insane: Exceeding performance targets. That's because f**king idiots bought if for 180 c**ting quid!

    I didn't buy it for 180 quid, I got it for considerably less than that. You quoting RRP's or something? Also, I am not an idiot.

    Exactly.

    Nobody bought it for £180. Most people bought it for closer to £130 (far cheaper than the whole-band version of GHWT will be available for, as it goes). Some people are determined not to let the facts get in the way of squealing outrage.

  • Nodebug #25 3 years ago

    Screw the negative comments, Harmonix are awesome and deserve to do so well. Hopefully they stick to their guns and create more innovative music based games with this cash :)

  • illusiondance #26 3 years ago

    Just announced! World economic situation to be bolstered by manufacture of plastic guitars!

    Whoop -_-

    (lets just hope a pleasant fraction goes to the regular developers and not the usual usual managers and executives)

  • Les #27 3 years ago

    "lets just hope a pleasant fraction goes to the regular developers and not the usual usual managers and executives"

    Highly unlikely. The founders sold their shares back in 2006 and this is a deferred partial payment for those shares, the amount of which was made dependant on actual performance of the bought business. So now they get 300 million USD. It might be that the regular staff would have a performance bonus as part of their renumeration package and in that way profit as well from the good performance of the work they created.

  • ED209 #28 3 years ago

    "When are people going to wake up and realise that game pricing is a scam?"

    It's not a scam, it is supply & demand and a free market. As long as people pay it, companies will charge it, and if people in the UK continue to pay more than people in the US, then they will continue to charge more.
    And there is nothing you can do about it. Except moan. Which gets you nowhere. Unless the government step in. Which they won't/shouldn't - as buying games is a purely optional endeavour. Much like buying petrol (controversial).

    /armchair economist

  • Dan234 #29 3 years ago

    Screw the negative comments, Harmonix are awesome and deserve to do so well. Hopefully they stick to their guns and create more innovative music based games with this cash :)

    Imagine, you work in Harmonix, you get your bonus, you think you're set up for life and stick it safely in the bank, and a few months later the bank disappears in a puff of smoke.