As the dust settles on Activision's decision to put an end to its world-famous peripheral-based music franchise Guitar Hero and the difficult work of sacking those who helped create it begins, one question remains: where did it all go wrong?
Only three years ago Guitar Hero shot through the $1 billion revenue mark – in the US alone.
Now, in what can only be described as a spectacular fall from grace, Guitar Hero is no more. Why? Why did Guitar Hero die?
To accuse Activision of milking the franchise dry with multiple games launched too close together may be an obvious start, but according to leading industry analysts it's a perfectly valid one.
"By 2007 Guitar Hero was available for most platforms and Activision continued to stripmine the franchise," M2 Research analyst Billy Pidgeon told Eurogamer.
"It is relatively easy to prepare iterative versions of a music and rhythm game once the formula has been set, and this dynamic facilitated the brand's over-exposure. In 2009 Activision released five separate SKUs of Guitar Hero and the brand essentially lost its relevance."
A damning verdict indeed – but it is one shared by many who are trying to make sense of Guitar Hero's demise.
"Guitar Hero was a victim of its success," said Wedbush Securities' Michael Pachter. "The game was incredibly well-conceived, the peripherals were great, and the music offering was deep and broad. All of those factors led to unprecedented success, and each contributed to its demise."
For Pachter, the fact gamers could play new Guitar Hero games with the peripherals they already owned proved to be the killer blow.
"Once people bought the band kit, for example, they didn't feel compelled to upgrade, as the one they bought was high quality and did the job well," he said. "Once people bought a game, they had 60 - 80 songs to master, and few mastered all of the songs offered.
"Thus, when a new version was released, most consumers did not feel the need to buy it, since they still had 40 – 50 songs remaining to play from last year's version."
One analyst who cast's Activision's role in a brighter light is EEDAR's Jesse Divnich. For him, "nothing went wrong with Guitar Hero" and there was nothing Activision could have done to prevent its decline.
"Much like most entertainment products, consumers tend to get their fill quickly. There is a reason why most successful movies rarely go past their third-iteration.
"When the first Guitar Hero was sold, the time clock of its success and ultimate demise started and there wasn't a single strategy Activision could have implemented to hinder it. If Activision hadn't flooded the market, someone else would have, and the state of the music genre in 2011 would have been unchanged.
"There is absolutely nothing Activision nor anyone could have done to save the music genre. We should remember Guitar Hero for what it was, not where it's at now."
Gaming Insights director Nick Williams is more pragmatic – Guitar Hero died because gamers stopped buying it. "Activision's decision to cancel Guitar Hero and DJ Hero is probably a surprise to many gamers, but the momentum shift away from music games has been in the works for a few years now," he said.
"Trended data from Ipsos OTX's GamePlan Insights tracking study support the idea that music related games are becoming increasingly risky investments. The percentage of active gamers who like to play music games 'a lot' has dropped steadily over the last two years (from 38 per cent in Q1 2009 to 28 per cent in Q1 2011), which corresponds to measurable decreases in purchase interest for each new Guitar Hero release.
"During the same time, the incidence of active gamers who like to play shooter games 'a lot' has increased from 40 per cent to 47 per cent, with Call of Duty leading the charge."
With the axe ready to fall on DJ Hero developer Freestyle Games and the promise of 500 job cuts across Activision's gargantuan network already biting, Guitar Hero's death feels final.
But, like with the best superheroes, dead doesn't always mean dead.
"I wouldn't classify Guitar Hero as 'dead', but rather hibernating'," Divnich said. "It may take three to five years, and likely a whole new generation of consoles, but I see a possibility of a short revival in the future."
Pidgeon agrees. "It is possible that Guitar Hero will return, but a re-launch would have to be managed on a far smaller scale. Production costs would have to be minimized to enable profits on unit sales in the hundreds of thousands rather than in the millions."
Pachter's conclusion? "The franchise can support sales at the $200 million level annually, so it will still generate profits, but with license fees and manufacturing costs, margins are not that great, and certainly not enough to keep 200 - 250 people employed working on a new version each year."
Hero developers across the world no doubt know that better than most.
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/20...itar-hero-died

MARVEL'S SUPER HEROES AND SUPER VILLAINS BATTLE ACROSS SPECIAL EDITION GAME CONTROLLER FROM PERFORMANCE DESIGNED PRODUCTS

Special Marvel-Themed Version of PDP's Patented Versus Fighting Pad Available in February

LOS ANGELES, CA – February 7, 2011 – Performance Designed Products LLC ("PDP"), a worldwide leader in the videogame accessory market, today announced the limited edition Marvel Edition Versus Fighting Pad for the Xbox 360. This new game pad has been designed specifically to appeal to both fighting gamers and fans of Marvel comics, with high-quality parts, unique design and explosive artwork taken from the pages of one of Marvel's biggest events of 2010: Siege. The Marvel Edition Versus Fighting Pad will be available at retail and on PDP.com for a suggested retail price of $39.99 beginning February 14, 2011.

"In the last few years, fighting games have re-emerged as an incredibly popular genre in the console gaming world, with a dedicated, serious audience that demands high-quality tools," said Tom Roberts, chief technical officer, Performance Designed Products. "We have designed the Versus Fighting Pad to be the ultimate game pad for fighting-game players while reflecting the super heroics of Marvel in this special-edition controller."

PDP has joined with Marvel to create the Marvel Edition Versus Fighting Pad, a patented, wired six-button controller specifically designed for AAA fighting games on the Xbox 360. As players would expect from an actual arcade machine, high quality micro-switch activators have been used for the thumb stick, which has been custom designed and constructed to feel like an arcade joystick but with the more comfortable and compact feel of a thumb pad.

The Marvel Edition Versus Fighting Pad buttons have been placed in the expected six-button configuration on the face of the pad to give the user true arcade feel and accuracy when playing fighting games. The thumb stick has a rubberized, over-tooled cap while the pad itself has a satin grip finish, which means that the controller moves exactly as players demand without slipping out of their hands.

Players can order the Marvel Edition Versus Fighting Pad from http://www.pdp.com

With the upcoming release of Marvel vs. Capcom 3, PDP has joined up with Marvel to create the Marvel Versus Fighting Pad. The Marvel Versus Fighting Pad is a wired six button face controller that is specifically designed for AAA fighting games on the Xbox 360 and classic games that are featured on Xbox Live. Just like an actual arcade machine, micro switch activators have been used for the thumb stick and the front 6 buttons to give the user that true arcade feel and accuracy when playing fighting games with this controller. The thumb stick is custom designed and constructed to act like a real arcade joystick but with the more comfortable and compact feel of a thumb pad. The 2 x 3 action button facing is ideal for all of the AAA fighting game titles out there, making the Versus Fighting Pad the ultimate choice for fighting games.

UPDATE: Reports are coming in that layoffs have also hit the Activision-owned developer Vicarious Visions. Developer Manveer Heir tweeted this evening to say, "Ugh sorry to hear about the Vicarious Visions layoffs today after Guitar Hero canceled. Shitty. Sounds like Freestyle (DJ Hero) got hit too."

ORIGINAL STORY: Activision has hit DJ Hero developer Freestyle Games with severe layoffs and axed the Guitar Hero series, Eurogamer understands.

United Front's open world game True Crime has been cancelled, sources have told Eurogamer.

An announcement is expected tonight ahead of the publication of Activision's financial results.

In December last year Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg said Guitar Hero, and the music genre, had a future following dismal sales of Warriors of Rock.

"It's no secret that not just Guitar Hero, but also Rock Band, and the music category in general, do not have the same mass appeal today that they did a few years ago," he said.

"That said, I think that we would be foolish to not try and build on the strength of the Guitar Hero brand, because as you said, it's a pretty strong brand with great recognition and great likeability, and there's a lot to work with there.

"I think the road to rejuvenating that category goes through innovation," he continued. "The premise of Guitar Hero - that everyone has an inner rock star - it's something that we've all done forever. Some version of singing into a hairbrush, or holding a tennis racket like a guitar, or singing karaoke, or singing into the bathroom mirror - we all do that.

"I think a lot of video game genres that have had tremendous staying power have a fantasy-fulfillment element at their core, whether it's driving the fast car, or participating in professional sports, or going into battle. People don't get to do this in everyday lives.

"So I think the core premise and the core insight at the heart of the Guitar Hero franchise is still very relevant. I just think we need to escalate the experience for people and innovate. I think the genre is still fairly new, and so I think it's probably time for us to really look at what the next level looks like for that genre."

The publisher had confirmed the return of the franchise in 2011.