In the competitive world of video games, consumers are usually quick to move on to something new, especially if the old one delivers sequel after sequel without many changes. While music-based games were a huge cash cow for a while, it looks like the sales have started to drop dramatically. Therefore, it wasn’t too surprising when game company Activision announced yesterday that the Guitar Hero franchise has been canceled.
The end of Guitar Hero also spell the end of their other music series, DJ Hero. According to Eurogamer, DJ Hero developer Freestyle Games has suffered “severe layoffs” as well. The news arrived as the company revealed its quarterly earnings. Although their yearly net revenue rose from $4.28 billion in 2009 to $4.45 billion this past year, Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg revealed that the music side of sales was heading downhill.
“Despite a remarkable 92 rating on DJ Hero 2, a widely well-regarded Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock, as well as a 90-plus rated release from our most direct competitor [Rock Band 3], demand for peripheral-based music games declined at a dramatic pace. Given the considerable licensing and manufacturing costs associated with this genre, we simply cannot make these games profitably based on current economics and demand,” he said during an investor call.
For fans of these series, there is still something to look forward to. Activision has stated that it plans to continue making downloadable content for both Guitar Hero and DJ Hero into the near future. The latest entry in both series was DJ Hero 2 and Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock, respectively.
