Rock band up for sale??

Viacom announced yesterday that they are to sell Harmonix, developer of the Rock Band game series and the new title for Kinect, Dance Central.

The reaons being is that by their own admission they have not been able to sucessfully break into the videogames industry.

As reported on gamesindustry.biz, Viacom state that their decision is down to a change in focus, and that "The console games business requires an expertise and scale that we don't have".

What this means for Harmonix is that they are in need of being snapped up. Who this will be is not yet known. The important this is that for the time being, Harmonix will still be supporting both Rock Band and Dance Central. A statement released yesterday on the Rock band forums by John Drake states "This morning's announcement does not affect the ongoing work at the studio as we continue to support our existing franchises, Rock Band and Dance Central. As stated earlier, Viacom is in discussions with several potential buyers and will continue to fully support the business until a sale is completed."

So there we go. Just after bothe Dance Central and Rock Band arrive to ctitical acclaim (see my upcoming Rock band review), the rug seems to have been pulled out from under them.

No doubt publishers are alreading lining up, with rumours that EA, Microsoft and indeed Activision are having a proverbial "sniff about". And still no word on what this means with the deal with MTV. But i'll be keeping you all informed as to the goings on.

But if you're reading this Harmonix, please....stay away from Activision.