Rock Band sales slow, but "improving" say Viacom

Viacom has said that its Harmonix and MTV game franchise, Rock Band, has been a a bit of a slow rummer, but that the series is finally picking up the pace.

It may possibly break even or become "slightly profitable" by the end of Q4 if Christmas sales are good, said CEO Philippe Daumann.

"The economics of our Rock Band franchise are improving, though not as quickly as we'd like," he said during Viacom's latest call to investors. "We had a great launch of The Beatles product but obviously at this time of year we await the holiday season to begin as the month of November unfolds. We will start putting in more marketing dollars together with our retail partners behind that product.

"We just have to be cautious given that we are entering, over the next several weeks, a retail season that will depend on how consumers spend their money generally. So we have to be cautious about how it is unfolding. Meanwhile we continue to manage that business with a close eye on inventory levels and with a greater focus on software."

Music game sales in general are down in part due to high-priced bundles which are slower to gain momentum compared to stand alone discs.

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