Activision Confirms Death of Guitar Hero
Yesterday we reported rumors that Activision Blizzard was in the process of killing Guitar Hero and dismembering its carcass for hunting trophies. Now, following the publisher’s latest financial conference call, we have confirmation that the original king of rhythm gaming is dead, its bloated, pallid corpse slumped in a public restroom cubicle, its face forever etched with the contortions of a terminal bowel movement.
Activision also confirmed the cancellation of the True Crime series and said that this, combined with the demise of Guitar Hero, would cost 500 jobs. COO Eric Hirshberg said that Guitar Hero had been put out of its misery because the music gaming genre was declining at a “considerable pace”, while True Crime: Hong Kong was canned for “quality reasons”. Of both series, Hirshberg said Activision “simply cannot make these games profitable based on current market and demands”.
If you’re interested in reading more big numbers, you can do so over at VG247, which has a rundown of exactly how many bazillion dollars Activision made in 2010.
![Rumor: Activision Shuts Down Bizarre Creations [Update]](http://pikigeek.com/files/2011/01/bc_thumb-150x150.png "Rumor: Activision Shuts Down Bizarre Creations [Update]")
And CFO Thomas Tippl said “We will release no new music or skateboarding games” (for this calendar year). So no new DJ Hero or Tony Hawk games either. The DJ Hero website says that GH and DJ Hero will no longer be getting DLC after February.
I remember talking to my friends right when Rock Band Beatles came out and said “This is it, they’re not going to top this, this is going to be the end of the music genre.” And then DJ Hero came out, and I was totally right.
Honestly I think DJ hero was a decent idea that was cannibalized by Activision’s archaic business practices. I tried it a few times, and what I liked about it was clearly overshadowed by the “formulaic” -music- hero game design that I’m sure Activision forced on the DJ hero developers. If they had just given it a non-”hero” name and made it a game all it’s own, I think it would’ve been better off for it.
The music gaming genre is declining? This decision must have nothing to do with the fact that Rock Band did more things to innovate the genre and left Guitar Hero twisting in the wind.
its like your beloved dog you had as a child, but then it got rabies and after its bloody killing spree, you put it down with your rifle