Activision
For many gamers, February 9th, 2011 is a day that will live in infamy. That was the day on which the highly criticized Activision killed one of the most popular party games of all time, Guitar Hero. For those of you whom haven’t heard yet, on that day Activision announced that they would no longer be developing the Guitar Hero title that was set to be released this year. Activision COO Thomas Tippl wrote, “Because of significant declines in the music genre for the second year in a row, we have made the decision to close the stand-alone Guitar Hero Business Unit and discontinue development on the previously announced 2011 game.” Tippl also stated that, "Despite our very high-quality releases last year, including the 90+ [Metacritic] rated DJ Hero 2, the innovative Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock, as well as a 90+ rated release from our competitor [Harmonix's Rock Band 3], demand for peripheral-based music games has continued to decline at a dramatic pace. Given the considerable licensing and manufacturing costs, we simply cannot continue to profitably make these games based on current consumer demand." Many people thought that the series would be going away for good; however, a press release a few days later indicated that Guitar Hero was just ‘resting’.
Today an internal memo from Activision to its employees was leaked explaining why Activision was ‘walking away from Guitar Hero’ and what their future plans were. Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg said that, "The most compelling reason for this decision is the fact that so many high-quality games have suffered the same fate in the marketplace. DJ Hero 2 received a remarkable 92 rating, Guitar Hero, Warriors of Rock was a great game with several innovations for the category. Our key competitor, Rock Band 3, also achieved a 90+ rating and yet none of these games succeeded in finding an audience. This is not a matter of lack of quality or poor execution. This is simply a matter of the market running out of appetite for this genre." Although many diehard fans of the series are upset to see it go, even they know that sales have been gradually declining. All hope is not lost though, as Hirshberg indicates that a future title is definitely possible, “Perhaps after a cooling period we will revisit the franchise with fresh innovation. But innovation will take time and a deep reconsideration.”
Most fans and critics would argue that the biggest problem was simply oversaturation of the Guitar Hero brand. Since its original release in 2005, there have been 11 new titles released for consoles. That averages out to more than two games a year! Although not having the latest songs to jam out to with your friends seems like a bummer, it actually does seem like Activision is taking the right steps here to save the brand. If you really need something else from the music genre to sink your teeth into, EA currently seems to have no plans to discontinue their support for Rock Band 3, and there are quite a few other titles out there that are worth a try. If pretend plastic instruments aren’t your thing, you could try a little karaoke with the Xbox exclusive title Lips or the Playstation exclusive SingStar; both of those are sure to get your party going, assuming your friends aren’t afraid to step up to the mic.
Original Article: Giant Bomb via Google Docs
