End of Road for Guitar Hero?
Thursday, February 10th, 2011 at 4:56:CST
Though the gaming realm has been more or less a place for recreational activities, companies developing these experiences do not always bask in glories or sway along a delightful wave. Call of Duty publisher Activision seems to be going through a rough patch as far as its popular music-based games are concerned. The company recently disclosed in its financial report for the calendar year 2010 that it will not produce another Guitar Hero title in the near future.
Unleashed in the year 2005, the Guitar Hero series was originally published by RedOctane alone before Activision boarded the slate in 2006. The latter managed to establish complete control over the franchise in 2009. The apparent decline in the popularity of games based on the music genre has now allegedly propelled the publisher to halt it’s further extension. Besides, the report also unveiled that True Crime: Hong Kong, a new title in its basket, will no more see the light of day.
In a statement issued in the Activision Blizzard December quarter and calendar year 2010 financial results, the company has said that “Due to continued declines in the music genre, the company will disband Activision Publishing’s Guitar Hero business unit and discontinue development on its Guitar Hero game for 2011. The company also will stop development on True Crime: Hong Kong. These decisions are based on the desire to focus on the greatest opportunities that the company currently has to create the world’s ideal interactive entertainment experiences.”
“Activision Blizzard will continue to invest its capital and resources in the significant opportunities afforded by on-line gaming worldwide and will reduce its exposure to low-margin and low-potential businesses. In 2011, the company will allocate the majority of its resources and focus toward opportunities which we anticipate will afford us the greatest competitive advantages and the greatest potential for best-in-class quality, high-margin digital growth, and long-term success,” the report added.
It is not only the Guitar Hero series but also DJ Hero developer, Freestyle Games, who as suffered a setback. Rumor mills in the terrain have been suggesting that the developer is currently facing severe layoffs. However, we’ve not yet heard an official word about the future of the DJ Hero saga. In the midst of such depressing reports, a buzz indicates that Activision will soon launch universal and innovative titles whereas it will release two dynamic games in 2012.
While the publisher has closed the Guitar Hero file for now, it looks forward to focusing on titles such as Call of Duty. Following the release of its latest instalment dubbed Black Ops, the CoD franchise has accomplished big benchmarks in terms of both volume and monetary sales.
source : www.gameguru.in
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Submited at Thursday, February 10th, 2011 at 4:00 pm on Games by samantha
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