Activision Unplugs Guitar Hero

It's a sad day for living room rock stars. Gaming juggernaut Activision (also known as Activision Blizzard since its 2007-2008 buyout by Vivendi) has decided to shut down its Guitar Hero division, laying off some 500 employees and stopping production of a planned Guitar Hero 2011 game. The Guitar Hero series was originally produced by indie publisher RedOctane, who were acquired by Activision to the tune of nearly $100 million in 2006. Activision's RedOctane division was subsequently closed almost exactly one year ago, on February 11, 2010.

Things started out great for Guitar Hero. This series blew the lid off rhythm gaming, with a simple yet skill-based playstyle that gamers quickly latched onto. The Guitar Hero games have become fixtures in homes and gaming centers, and have also become popular for tournament play. Critics gave the series an almost unanimous thumbs-up, and cited it as one of the greatest examples of innovation in gaming seen so far this century. Guitar Hero games have also been notably popular among music fans, who enjoy the opportunity to "play" songs made famous by their favorite bands. The franchise was a runaway success, and surpassed $1 billion in North American retail sales alone by the time it was 26 months old.

6 "main" Guitar Hero games have been released so far, for both gaming consoles and PC/Mac. These are Guitar Hero, Guitar Hero II, Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock, Guitar Hero World Tour (also known as Guitar Hero IV), Guitar Hero 5 and Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock. There have also been several expansion packs for these games, including Guitar Hero: Metallica. Other versions of Guitar Hero have also been produced for the Nintendo DS platform as well as mobile phones.

In addition to its various games and expansions, the Guitar Hero franchise has also made plenty of extra revenue in add-ons, such as downloadable songs, the guitar-shaped controllers needed to play the game, and other related merchandise. The popularity of Guitar Hero also ushered in spin-offs Band Hero (which is similar to competing title Rock Band) and DJ Hero, where gamers play with a turntable instead of a guitar. Its sequel, DJ Hero 2, was released in mid-2010 and a 3D version for the new Nintendo 3DS (aptly titled DJ Hero 3D) was announced at E3 2010.

So why get rid of Guitar Hero now? In a press release, Activision Blizzard blamed "continued declines in the music genre" for their decision to disband the Guitar Hero division. The most recent offerings in the franchise, Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock and DJ Hero 2, were both released in 2010. These games are reported to have underperformed during the 2010 holiday season, and to have greatly undersold their projections and 2009 series comparisons.

Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock's lack of success is certainly a factor in Activision Blizzard's decision. This game received a mixed critical reception, with some feeling that the franchise's style has just become too repetitive. It's also worth considering that there are only so many songs that will be of interest to the Guitar Hero consumer base. Titles like Guitar Hero: 12-Bar Blues might be interesting to true guitar enthusiasts, but probably wouldn't sell too many copies. Add this to the fact that Guitar Hero now has far more competitors for rhythm and motion-based gaming, and it's easy to see where Activision might want to pull the plug.

That said, there's no question that the Guitar Hero franchise has become a household name. Between its overwhelming popularity and brand recognition, shelving the series may wind up being a bad idea for Activision Blizzard. Even for the company behind Call of Duty and World of Warcraft, billion-dollar franchises don't grow on trees. Gamers have shown their interest in both the Guitar Hero series and its game style, and will be spending their rhythm gaming dollar on competing games like Rock Band with Guitar Hero gone.

Giving up on a billion-dollar division over one bad Christmas season seems a little hasty, especially when no apparent efforts have been taken to rejuvenate the flagging franchise. The Xbox 360's Kinect platform would have offered a prime opportunity for a true "air guitar" game, among other potential applications for the franchise's strong points. The Guitar Hero division took a hit when RedOctane was closed in early 2010 - well before the 2010 holiday season sales troubles. Both Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock and DJ Hero 2 seem to have used far less holiday season advertising than their earlier counterparts. There have also been no expansions announced or released for the latest Guitar Hero title, despite their positive reception (and sales boosts) for earlier releases.

According to Joystiq, Activision Blizzard has suspended production for all music games this year. This means no DJ Hero 3D , and presumably no more DJ Hero or Band Hero games of any kind, in addition to the cancellation of Guitar Hero . Joystiq also reports that Activision Blizzard will produce no new DLC (downloadable content) for their existing titles, though existing DLC songs and packs will remain for sale indefinitely. Whether Guitar Hero will resurface is anyone's guess, but perhaps the lack of new content will be enough to make the franchise's flagging audience beg for an encore.

Sources:

"Activision Blizzard Reports December Quarter and Calendar Year 2010 Financial Results." Activision Blizzard.

"Activision Buys RedOctane for $99.9M." Kotaku.

Chris Pereira. "Original Guitar Hero Publisher RedOctane Shut Down ." 1UP.

Chris Taylor. "Guitar Hero : What Went Wrong? " Mashable (via CNN).

Christopher Grant. "Guitar Hero and DJ Hero DLC Supply Over After February." Joystiq.

Mark Wilson. "Guitar Hero Goes $1 Billion." Kotaku.