Check out Polk's new TV Commercial for the Hitmaster!

RuSsMaN

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5IO-IavRzow

Do what it says, go to http://www.polkrocks.com and enter NOW.

polkfarmboy

This is truly a must have for any serious audiotard

punk-roc

who's Big John? lol

Systems

Ehhh, kinda dorky...am not feeling the love:) I guess its just geared toward one type of game: guitar hero, rock band, etc...

Toxis

Whatdo you expect it to be for? Clearly it's setup to be a guitar hero type speaker.

I like the commercial. When's it hit the channels? As if I'll see it as I pretty much only watch dvr an fast forward haha

kab

Toxis wrote: »

When's it hit the channels?...

Beginning next week. G4 (Attack of the Show & X Play), Fuse, Comedy Central, and Adult Swim.

danger boy

right on.. targeted to the correct consumer age group. I like it. WTG!

dorokusai

kab wrote: »

Beginning next week. G4 (Attack of the Show & X Play), Fuse, Comedy Central, and Adult Swim.

Perfect target audience.

kuntasensei

Way to hit the music game market when it's on its way out.

dorokusai

Way to be positive about the forum you're a member of....smooth.

kuntasensei

I wasn't being negative about the forum. Just saying... Polk's a little late to market on this one. Music games are on the downswing right now, mostly because they were beaten into the ground this past year. The market is fractured, and new titles aren't meeting sales expectations.

Kex

Interesting news, although I don't feel that I'm in the intended target audience (teenage Punk Rocky gamer stuff, with that big, bad and naughty Hitmaster logo thingy). Still, it's nice to see Polk Audio has a few more ideas to surprise us with. Maybe we'll see some nice 'puter speakers in the future, something between a Logitech 5.1 with plasticy rubbish and a couple of LSi 7's.

Horrendous choice of cables on pic #4 though! Ugh! (But the girlie connecting them up OTOH is very cute). Carry on!

RuSsMaN

Rockband finally passed $1 Billion dollars in sales (overall) last year, and there's a pretty big buzz about an upcoming Green Day release. The Beatles release is approaching 2 million copies sold. That is just Rockband, Guitar Hero anyone?

That's a lot of living rooms that might make use of a Hitmaster.

kuntasensei

RuSsMaN wrote: »

Rockband finally passed $1 Billion dollars in sales (overall) last year, and there's a pretty big buzz about an upcoming Green Day release. The Beatles release is approaching 2 million copies sold. That is just Rockband, Guitar Hero anyone?

That's a lot of living rooms that might make use of a Hitmaster.

Yeah, you have an existing install base you can market to. But you also have declining sales because the market was oversaturated. Guitar Hero: Van Halen, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, Band Hero, DJ Hero, Guitar Hero 5... all underperformed. In fact, music game sales were down 46% in 2009 according to the NPD numbers. Beatles Rock Band sold well... but realistically, this product doesn't skew toward the same demographic as Beatles fans. Rock Band is primarily selling DLC at this point (which is why they hit that dollar amount), and most people seem to think the upcoming Rock Band 3 is largely unnecessary. And of all the people I know who play the hell out of Rock Band (myself included), I don't see anyone sticking one of these in their living room.

You might be able to market it to Green Day fans... though even the people I know who like Green Day don't seem to have any interest in Green Day Rock Band so far and I haven't seen any real buzz about it other than people saying "Why did they pick Green Day?"

It'll be interesting to see how this thing sells. Seems like a solution to a problem that didn't exist to me, but hey, maybe I'm crazy and it'll sell like mad.

polkfarmboy

punk-roc wrote: »

who's Big John? lol

Thats big john mc carthy . he was on rock of love

Demiurge

Having actually used the Hitmaster it should sell very well. The price point is very good and the big market will be youth and college aged adults. It's portable, has MP3 hook ups making it versatile, and big sound for what it is. It eliminates the need for a receiver and gives infinitely better sound than any TV speakers will.

While the commercial and design certainly has all of the music games in mind, it is great for any game (I tried several), really.

I have a lot of money in Polk gear and other components in my system, but I could definitely see the value in it.

Anything can flop, but I trust they did their due diligence on this.

Sherardp

Nice commercial Polk. I think it should sell well. Not only for Rockband/Guitar Hero, but don't forget about DJ Hero also. Sweet game and some of the mixes are nice. Nice job Polk!

danger boy

i don't play games with a console.. not my thing, been there done that already... but i think game sales will continue to be strong for many years to come. every time a major game is released.. there are tons of people who can't wait for it. it's all about marketing.. hype your product enough and you could sell a video game to someone who doesn't even have electricity .

comfortablycurt

I like this commercial! It shows that Polk really knows how to party...lol


Seriously though, I think the Hitmaster's going to do really good. Whether or not sales are up or down on Rockband and Guitar Hero...there are still TONS of people out there who already own them. You can partially chalk the slowing sales up to the fact that a lot of people already have the games. I think a product like this would really appeal to a lot of people though, because it's a great way to add some new excitement to the games.

I've played a lot of Guitar Hero before...and it's WAY better when you've got it running through some good audio. The average Guitar Hero playing kid might not have the money to invest in a 1k+ audio setup though. Something like this is more affordable for this products target(younger) consumers.


It's also a great way to expose more people to the benefits of better audio. When these kids get a little older and can afford some better audio, they'll remember how sweet their Hitmasters sounded...and they'll come back to Polk for their developing audio needs.:)

Zitro

comfortablycurt wrote: »

It's also a great way to expose more people to the benefits of better audio. When these kids get a little older and can afford some better audio, they'll remember how sweet their Hitmasters sounded...and they'll come back to Polk for their developing audio needs.:)

Right on, brother! There is definitely long-term profit potential in this product. Good call on Polk, I want to try it out myself even though I usually just play my 360 through my 2 channel rig.

hearingimpared

My younger son is a big "Guitar Hero" player. I've not connected up his gaming stations to the humble rig I set up for him in his room so the Hitmaster is just what the doctor ordered. He also plays other games where there is a lot of music involved.

kab

kuntasensei wrote: »

Way to hit the music game market when it's on its way out.

You sure know how to make a guy feel better

dorokusai

kuntasensei wrote: »

I wasn't being negative about the forum. Just saying... Polk's a little late to market on this one. Music games are on the downswing right now, mostly because they were beaten into the ground this past year. The market is fractured, and new titles aren't meeting sales expectations.

I'll be sure to remove you from the goody list from now on.

kuntasensei

dorokusai wrote: »

I'll be sure to remove you from the goody list from now on.

No need to be that way (though I wasn't aware there was a "goody list"). I was just expressing my opinion on the product, and I thought a good conversation was had on its viability in the market. I love Polk products, but this one just seems like its a niche product in a niche market whose popularity is in decline. Could just be me. Regardless, hope it meets Polk's sales expectations.

polkfarmboy

Dude why do you keep talking about market decline? Theres like millions of people who own rock band etc....

I think curt makes a point about the audiotards buying this and getting a taste for the next level of audio . While my taste was tantalised with rti8 I am now a strung out audio junkie whom washed dishes, vacumes the carpet and folds the towels to make it easy'r to get my next fix

i may get one of these for my nephew

kuntasensei

polkfarmboy wrote: »

Dude why do you keep talking about market decline? Theres like millions of people who own rock band etc....

Exactly my point. Millions of people own Rock Band, Guitar Hero, etc. and have already played them about as much as they're going to play them, and bought whatever peripherals they needed to do so (audio included). That's why 2009 saw a 46% decline in sales of new music games. The majority of people interested in these games already own them, and interest in new titles and peripherals is flagging. I'm not just making that up - look at the NPD sales numbers. Plus, you have analysts like Wedbush Morgan's Michael Pachter forecasting a continued decline in music game sales. You have focused titles such as Beatles Rock Band that break out, but pretty much every other music game released since Rock Band 2 hasn't lived up to the sales forecast. Harmonix is still doing well as a company, primarily because of the amount of DLC they've sold on the Rock Band store (and now the Rock Band Network on the 360 will increase their profits even more, though that structure of DLC sales will also hurt sales of a new product like Rock Band 3).

Music game sales peaked in 2008, which is why I think this product is a little late to that particular party. Just my opinion. But if you deny that the music game market is in decline, then you're not paying attention. Today's announcement that Harmonix is farming out production of peripherals to MadCatz is yet another sign that the focus is shifting from new product to DLC. And while DLC may sustain the music game genre for a bit longer, its popularity peaked in 2008... as did interest in related peripherals.

TECHNOKID

Well done again Polk... I have forwarded the video to my nephew (matter of fact, we spoke about the HM yesterday evening). I checked with Future Shop (equivalent of BestBuy) here in Canada. The young salesmen heard about the product but was not too sure if they would carry it in their store. BestBuy in Canada doesn't carry any Polk. Maybe do a follow-up with the Canadian rep to do some pressure on Future Shop stores.

Lorthos wrote: »

Ehhh, kinda dorky...am not feeling the love:) I guess its just geared toward one type of game: guitar hero, rock band, etc...

Wrong, I've had the priviledge to demo the HM and over the last Xmas time it was demoded with PS3, 360 and many other types of games (wrestling, hockey etc...) with great success. My nephew is an addicted gamer and he was very impressed along with all the other family youngsters.

RuSsMaN wrote: »

Rockband finally passed $1 Billion dollars in sales (overall) last year, and there's a pretty big buzz about an upcoming Green Day release. The Beatles release is approaching 2 million copies sold. That is just Rockband, Guitar Hero anyone?

That's a lot of living rooms that might make use of a Hitmaster.

I fully agree and furthermore they are made for travelling and this is a plus for many gamers and therefore this will give the HM great exposure some like 'my friend owns one, it is :cool: and I want one, price is good!'

Demiurge wrote: »

Having actually used the Hitmaster it should sell very well. The price point is very good and the big market will be youth and college aged adults. It's portable, has MP3 hook ups making it versatile, and big sound for what it is. It eliminates the need for a receiver and gives infinitely better sound than any TV speakers will.

While the commercial and design certainly has all of the music games in mind, it is great for any game (I tried several), really.

I have a lot of money in Polk gear and other components in my system, but I could definitely see the value in it.

Anything can flop, but I trust they did their due diligence on this.

+1

kuntasensei wrote: »

No need to be that way (though I wasn't aware there was a "goody list"). I was just expressing my opinion on the product, and I thought a good conversation was had on its viability in the market. I love Polk products, but this one just seems like its a niche product in a niche market whose popularity is in decline. Could just be me. Regardless, hope it meets Polk's sales expectations.

You are somewhat a little negative about the product. Fact is, for many of us that have full HT or even 2 channels we might not have as much interest in such product but many gamers focus their money on the gamers gear and software and neglect the audio portion but at that price point, it surely will change their view on simply using TV speakers or crappy computer speakers since the price is right and they'll be able to afford better sound without breaking the bank. As far as I am concerned, the HM is now a welcomed part of my portable system and once both my grand son are old enough they'll have some gear awaiting for them to play with during their visit to grand pa

kuntasensei wrote: »

Exactly my point. Millions of people own Rock Band, Guitar Hero, etc. and have already played them about as much as they're going to play them, and bought whatever peripherals they needed to do so (audio included). That's why 2009 saw a 46% decline in sales of new music games. The majority of people interested in these games already own them, and interest in new titles and peripherals is flagging. I'm not just making that up - look at the NPD sales numbers. Plus, you have analysts like Wedbush Morgan's Michael Pachter forecasting a continued decline in music game sales. You have focused titles such as Beatles Rock Band that break out, but pretty much every other music game released since Rock Band 2 hasn't lived up to the sales forecast. Harmonix is still doing well as a company, primarily because of the amount of DLC they've sold on the Rock Band store (and now the Rock Band Network on the 360 will increase their profits even more, though that structure of DLC sales will also hurt sales of a new product like Rock Band 3).

Music game sales peaked in 2008, which is why I think this product is a little late to that particular party. Just my opinion. But if you deny that the music game market is in decline, then you're not paying attention. Today's announcement that Harmonix is farming out production of peripherals to MadCatz is yet another sign that the focus is shifting from new product to DLC. And while DLC may sustain the music game genre for a bit longer, its popularity peaked in 2008... as did interest in related peripherals.

Again, I think your view is negative on the market. I don't know about the US but for us here in Canada, we are getting out of the recession and the future looks bleeker. I think Polk has chosen the best time to market the product as gamers should be well aware of the HM by next Xmas and guess what...

It's also a great way to expose more people to the benefits of better audio. When these kids get a little older and can afford some better audio, they'll remember how sweet their Hitmasters sounded...and they'll come back to Polk for their developing audio needs.

Bang on Curt! I found this younger generation focus on the entertainment and since they don't know about quality audio the HM should give them a taste of better quality and slowly gear them toward good quality speakers upgrade.

Keep-up the good work-marketting Polk!

TK

dorokusai

kuntasensei wrote: »

Exactly my point. Millions of people own Rock Band, Guitar Hero, etc. and have already played them about as much as they're going to play them, and bought whatever peripherals they needed to do so (audio included). That's why 2009 saw a 46% decline in sales of new music games. The majority of people interested in these games already own them, and interest in new titles and peripherals is flagging. I'm not just making that up - look at the NPD sales numbers. Plus, you have analysts like Wedbush Morgan's Michael Pachter forecasting a continued decline in music game sales. You have focused titles such as Beatles Rock Band that break out, but pretty much every other music game released since Rock Band 2 hasn't lived up to the sales forecast. Harmonix is still doing well as a company, primarily because of the amount of DLC they've sold on the Rock Band store (and now the Rock Band Network on the 360 will increase their profits even more, though that structure of DLC sales will also hurt sales of a new product like Rock Band 3).

Music game sales peaked in 2008, which is why I think this product is a little late to that particular party. Just my opinion. But if you deny that the music game market is in decline, then you're not paying attention. Today's announcement that Harmonix is farming out production of peripherals to MadCatz is yet another sign that the focus is shifting from new product to DLC. And while DLC may sustain the music game genre for a bit longer, its popularity peaked in 2008... as did interest in related peripherals.

You should also post your bleak/negative views on other websites, just to keep it real....fair and balanced. The attention span of the popular public shifts all the time and it's certainly not something new or unprepared for. Is the Hitmaster a little late in hitting the market? Perhaps...and I agree in that respect but a lot of things happened at the same time that kinda threw a wrench in the product and it's debut, NOT the developement. Take a step back and realize that Polk Audio has rolled with a host of punches in regards to the market yet still brings something fresh to IT, as far as a product. They didn't just bake this up in a toy oven while laying around drunk on a weekend.

Do you want to try one? Why not sign up for the free demo that has been available for many months. I'm just not sure why you're so down on a product you've never heard....and it would be so easy to do so.

How about this deal Kuntasensei. I'll buy one for you personally and if you don't like it, give it away to a neighbor, friend, enemy or homeless person of your choosing. If you DO or DON'T like it, or even remotely think it's KINDA cool, write a review and get it posted on the homepage. It's not about the market, or the waning of the gaming culture that it supports...just you. Seriously.

mnestor@polkaudio.com

I don't believe you're out anything but a week or so of....I don't know....fun?

kuntasensei

dorokusai wrote: »

You should also post your bleak/negative views on other websites, just to keep it real....fair and balanced. The attention span of the popular public shifts all the time and it's certainly not something new or unprepared for. Is the Hitmaster a little late in hitting the market? Perhaps...and I agree in that respect but a lot of things happened at the same time that kinda threw a wrench in the product and it's debut, NOT the developement. Take a step back and realize that Polk Audio has rolled with a host of punches in regards to the market yet still brings something fresh to IT, as far as a product. They didn't just bake this up in a toy oven while laying around drunk on a weekend.

Do you want to try one? Why not sign up for the free demo that has been available for many months. I'm just not sure why you're so down on a product you've never heard....and it would be so easy to do so.

How about this deal Kuntasensei. I'll buy one for you personally and if you don't like it, give it away to a neighbor, friend, enemy or homeless person of your choosing. If you DO or DON'T like it, or even remotely think it's KINDA cool, write a review and get it posted on the homepage. It's not about the market, or the waning of the gaming culture that it supports...just you. Seriously.

mnestor@polkaudio.com

I don't believe you're out anything but a week or so of....I don't know....fun?

Well, I wasn't commenting on the quality of the product itself, as I haven't heard it. Being that Polk made it, I'm sure the sound is fantastic, so I'm not down on the product itself (nor would I ever presume to comment on the quality of something I haven't experienced for myself). I really wasn't being antagonistic here, and I'm sorry if it seemed that way. Just saying that it seems like an odd time to release something like this considering the current state of the music game market.

As far as trying one, it's clearly not a product for me, considering I play on my 9.2 Polk/SVS setup anyway. Audio quality isn't an issue on my setup, thanks to the great speakers that Polk makes. But then, I never questioned whether the Hitmaster was a capable speaker. I simply questioned the narrow focus of the product, whereas there's a massive market for low cost sound setups for gaming that aren't specifically tailored toward music games (like the Surroundbar SDA, though something at a lower price point would be ideal).

But as I said, I hope it sells well for them regardless.

dorokusai

OK, I have to move on, good luck with your 9.2 setup. I've done that as well, neat.

RuSsMaN

Really? I swear.