With Harmonix shying away from the troublesome MTV Networks and essentially becoming its own entity, it was free to do whatever it pleased.  And with that, it continued to support Rock Band 3, its latest rock machine, with a number of great new songs, including offerings from Rick Astley, Huey Lewis and the News and, recently, Shinedown and Evanescence.  But who knew that it would also be feeding a different rock monster than the one it’s already created?  Silly us.

The bitter break-up between Rock Band developer Harmonix and the game's publishing arm at Viacom has been a messy one.  Following the somewhat expensive development of The Beatles Rock Band (due to licensing) and the release of Rock Band 3, Viacom unceremoniously dumped the developer, who purchased themselves back for $50.  Ever since, the companies have been battling back and forth over payments due over the series' release and royalties.  But it looks like the final decision could be leaning in Harmonix's favor...

When MTV Games selfishly dumped Harmonix from its game line-up (despite the millions of copies of Rock Band and Dance Central that were solid), many thought that the developer would be in trouble, like most other shuttered developers as of late.  But they bought their own rights back, hunkered in and went back to work on thriving with their products.  Now, months after being let go, the team is doing better than expected, thanks to some quality Rock Band 3 content and a promising Dance Central sequel.  The party's not over for them, not by a long shot.

The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) welcomed the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark ruling that underscored constitutional protections for video games, developers, and video game industry artists. At issue was a 2005 California statute restricting the sale and rental of computer and video games. The ESA, the lead party in the case Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Association/Entertainment Software Association, argued that the statute presented unconstitutional limitations on expression, and the U.S. Supreme Court agreed, holding the California law unconstitutional under the First Amendment.

 

This year at E3, Microsoft’s focus was clearly on Kinect. Be it Kinect integration with controller-based games or a slew of new Kinect games, the wildly successful controller-free peripheral had a massive showing. Unfortunately, it failed to impress.

While Activision saw record sales of over $1 billion for its Call of Duty: Black Ops game, the publishing giant had little success in the once-booming music genre. Just months after original Guitar Hero developer Harmonix was unloaded by MTV Games to a group of investors, Activision has pulled the plug on the next Guitar Hero game and also killed DJ Hero. Non-music game True Crime: Hong Kong was also canceled. And the publisher laid off 500 employees. Not even Gene Simmons could save Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock from failure.

CHICAGO (Reuters) - The success of video games for wannabe rockers has prompted a new wave of music games -- ones that actually teach players how to really play music.

The New Orleans Saints are Super Bowl XLIV Champions. With the memorable Super Bowl ads now available online, MTV Games and Harmonix are allowing gamers to relive The Who half-time show with new downloadable content for Rock Band. A special recording of the performance The Who from the Bridgestone Super Bowl XLIV Halftime Show is now available for purchase for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Wii.

We are coming to you live from SpikeTV's Video Game Awards 2009 in Los Angeles with host Jo Garcia, Playboy's 2008 Cybergirl of the Year. She's hot and our coverage will be hot so stay tuned here as we beam to you live video reports from the VGAs as we interview the top developers and, of course, celebrities on the Red Carpet, Backstage and in the Green Room. It all starts at 8pm Eastern Time.

The Fab Four are back -- in virtual form. Reunited by publisher MTV Games and developer Harmonix, The Beatles: Rock Band, celebrates the journey the world’s most famous band took by allowing up to four gamers at a time to step into their shoes.

The game, which is available across Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Wii, comes packed with 45 songs, including “A Hard Day’s Night,” “If I Needed Someone,” and “Ticket to Ride.” Fans can extend the gaming experience by downloading new singles like “All You Need Is Love” (available exclusively on Xbox 360) and entire albums like Abbey Road (October 20th), Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Heart’s Club Band (coming in November), and Rubber Soul (available in December).