Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Harmonix: Gods of all (social) media

The creators of Guitar Hero and Rock Band have revolutionized the gaming industry. The multi-trillion dollar business (and yes, I said trillion) of rhythm games has opened the world of video games, and perhaps as importantly; downloading add-ons to video games, to an audience never seen before. They made games fun for everyone!

While none of this is news, what Harmonix has been up to recently is. The upcoming launch of Rock Band: The Beatles, has the potential to be one of the highest grossing entertainment vehicles ever. They way harmonix is handling the release of information about this title is intriguing, and a lesson to anyone who dips their toes in the social media marketing world. Build a strong product, and an online-space with real content that will drive people back to your site, and you end up with the thriving community that is www.rockband.com. In this case, it is the weekly announcements of dowloadable content for the games that is a big draw.

The next evolution of this series is teaser site: www.thebeatlesrockband.com which allows people who have pre-ordered the game to view exclusive media releases and information about the forthcoming game. So far, it has been executed very well.

Keep on eye on these guys. Not only are their games clever and revolutionary, but their ability to create a real online community with emotional investement is too.

Check out @HarmonixSean to see what they are up to these days.

1 comment:

  1. The multi-trillion dollar business (and yes, I said trillion) of rhythm games has opened the world has most instagram followers of video games, and perhaps as importantly; downloading add-ons to video games,

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