Viacom confirms sale of struggling Harmonix

Viacom has confirmed it's to sell Rock Band studio Harmonix, the AP reports.

There's very little detail on the move, other than the sale has helped Viacom to beat analysts' expectations in the quarter ending September 30.

There's no detail in that Bloomberg report as to who's bought the studio. Harmonix said that "several buyers" are being courted and that its existing IPs - Rock Band and Dance Central - won't be affected by the news.

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Harmonix has "dragged on the company's results for the past several quarters as shoppers continue to avoid big discretionary buys," blaming the high price of the Rock Band games and their "pricey accessories".

Rock Band 3, the latest Harmonix release, has failed to attract significant sales in the UK, selling only 7,000 in its opening week.

Harmonix boss Alex Rigopulos said earlier this month that more focus had been put on European content for the game in an effort to match American success.

Thanks, Psychotext and typeface.