Video game creator Harmonix lays off 39
Strong sales of the video game The Beatles: Rock Band haven’t translated into job security at Harmonix Music Systems Inc., the Cambridge software company that created the game.
On Thursday, Harmonix let go 39 of its employees, or about 13 percent of its workforce. Most of the laid-off workers were assigned to the company’s quality assurance, or QA, department, which conducts intensive testing of games before they’re released. The Beatles game went on sale in September.
“Harmonix staffed up its QA department and support positions based on the 2009 worldwide release schedule,’’ according to a statement issued by the company. “At this time, Harmonix will shift to a combination of temporary/part-time help, outsourcing, and support from external partners, which is in line with how other game developers manage their QA departments.’’
The Rock Band game series lets players use simulated guitars and drum kits to perform popular songs. The first two versions of the game, which have sold about 13 million copies, feature tunes from a variety of bands. But Harmonix scored a major coup by persuading the two surviving members of The Beatles, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, to assist in developing a game devoted entirely to The Beatles’ music.
Even as it announced the job cuts, Harmonix said that The Beatles game has sold more than a million copies. Some industry analysts have said that sales of the game failed to meet expectations. But Jesse Divnich, industry analyst at Electronic Entertainment Design and Research in San Diego, said the game has been a solid success for Harmonix and its parent company, Viacom Inc.
“Selling over a million games puts you in the top 5 percent of all games,’’ Divnich said. He added that Harmonix’s reason for the layoffs made sense because there’s less need for quality assurance workers once a game has been released.
Still, it’s been a rough year for the video game industry. NPD Group, a research firm, reported that overall sales in the first 11 months of the year are down 12 percent from 2008. NPD also found that November video game sales are down 7.6 percent from last year.
Harmonix said the layoffs will not affect the development of products. The company is at work on the Rock Band Network, a system that will let real-world bands create songs that can be distributed over the Internet to players of the Rock Band games.
Hiawatha Bray can be reached at bray@globe.com. 
