DrumMania and Guitar Freaks publisher Konami today filed suit against Harmonix parent company Viacom over patent violations related to Harmonix's rhythm title Rock Band.

Konami claims that the company's patent for a "musical-rhythm matching game," filed in the United States circa 1999, predates and supersedes Harmonix's 2007 patent filing for a "game controller simulating a musical instrument."

According to Bloomberg, Konami seeks cash compensation and an order to block the use of Harmonix's inventions. Viacom is waiting to receive the complaint before responding to the allegations.

Konami released the Japanese rhythm arcade games DrumMania and Guitar Freaks in 1999, with Guitar Freaks being initially ported to the United States later that year. The company is now planning to release its own Rock Band-style game titled Rock Revolution.

Ok maybe it's not really much of a surprise. In any case, IGN reports that Rock Band 2 is in fact in development, and will be released this September for Xbox 360. Other platforms will follow later in the year.

Improvements in Rock Band 2 include a tracklist comprised entirely of master recordings, easier party-play setup, better quality instruments, and an expanded World Tour campaign mode among other things.

DLC released for Rock Band 1 will be compatible with Rock Band 2, and DLC released after Rock Band 2 comes out will continue to work with the original game. Downloadable songs do work differently in Rock Band 2 however, with lead designer Dan Teasdale teasing that Harmonix has "added some cool new features that let you play your DLC in different ways".

So why would you want Rock Band 2? According to Teasdale, "Rock Band 2 takes all the lessons we've learned from making a multi-instrument music game, addresses them, then adds some amazing new ways for you to experience your music library that have never been seen in a music game before. We've been scouring forums and parties everywhere for what people liked and didn't like, and I'm pretty confident we've addressed everything I've heard people ask for."

Rock Band developer Harmonix said that the absence of downloadable content on the Wii version of Rock Band is due to a lack of viable storage space, CVG reports.

The developer had confirmed that the Wii version of its rhythm party opus would not support downloadable content when the port was announced late last month.

"Come on Nintendo, we need a hard drive," said Rock Band design director Rob Kay. "That's what we want. The whole problem is there's nowhere to store it."

The Wii currently offers 512 megabytes of internal flash memory for storage, expandable via SD flash cards. Rock Band downloadable tracks range roughly between 20 and 40 megabytes per song.

"If the platform could do it, we'd jump on it," added Kay. "It's something that we championed to Nintendo, that we'd like to do it. Who knows what will happen down the line, I don't know what's coming down the line, but that's the reason there's no DLC in Wii Rock Band."

Despite pending litigation, MTV-owned developer Harmonix has announced that its music-based multi-instrument title Rock Band will hit the Wii on June 22 in North America.

The Wii version will come with a total of 63 songs, five of which are bonus songs. A full list of the 63 tracks was not provided, though the initial 58 are expected to mirror the 45 main songs and 13 bonus tracks of the previously-released PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 editions.

A Special Edition bundle--containing a wireless guitar, drum kit, and microphone--will sell for $169.99. Stand alone instruments and software will also be available at release, allowing Special Edition buyers to pick up the extra guitar needed for a four-person band.

The Wii edition of Rock Band will not include online multiplayer or support for downloadable content, a Harmonix representative confirmed to Shacknews.

Such online functionality was a highly-touted feature of the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 releases, having sold over six million song downloads since the two... Read more

Update: Rock Band developer Harmonix has issued a response to the lawsuit, labeling guitar maker Gibson's claims of patent infringement "completely without merit."

"It is unfortunate that Gibson unfairly desires to share in the tremendous success enjoyed by the developers of Rock Band and Guitar Hero," a Harmonix spokesperson told Shacknews. "This lawsuit is completely without merit and we intend to defend it vigorously.

"Gibson's patent, filed nearly 10 years ago, required a 3D display, a real musical instrument and a recording of a concert," Harmonix's statement continued. "Rock Band and Guitar Hero are completely different: among other things they are games, require no headset and use a controller only shaped like a real instrument."

Original Story: Continuing its recent legal activity, guitar manufacturer Gibson has sued Rock Band developer Harmonix, along with owner MTV Networks and publisher Electronic Arts, for infringing on one of its patents.

According to Gibson, Harmonix--which developed the multi-instrument music title Rock Band (PS2, PS3, X360) and created the Guitar Hero series--violated a 1999 patent for technology that simulates a concert performance via pre-recorded audio and a musical instrument.

The guitar maker sued six retailers--GameStop, Amazon.com, Wal-Mart... Read more

The strong performance of Harmonix's multiplayer rhythm game Rock Band (PS2, PS3, X360) may have earned its former shareholders upwards of $208 million, reports Gamasutra.

Going by Viacom's annual report to the SEC, the company's acquisition of Harmonix in 2005 included a clause that stipulated performance-based incentives for the former sharholders if Rock Band exceeded expectations.

The report notes that some $208.7 million in bonuses has been set aside, to be paid out over the 2008 calendar year.

According to Newsweek's N'Gai Croal, this brings Viacom's total Harmonix-related spendings to over $380 million, despite Rock Band and all of its DLC amounting to roughly $190 million in gross revenue. The game has sold over 1.5 million units and 2.5 million downloadable songs since its November 20 debut.