RIP Guitar Hero, we hardly knew ye..

[Mustang]

NEW YORK – These days, guns are more popular than guitars, at least when it comes to video games. The company behind "Guitar Hero" said Wednesday that it is pulling the plug on one of the most influential video titles of the new century.

Activision Blizzard Inc., which also produces the "Call of Duty" series, is ending the "Guitar Hero" franchise after a run of nearly six years.

The move follows Viacom Inc.'s decision in November to sell its money-losing unit behind the "Rock Band" video games. Harmonix was sold to an investment firm for an undisclosed sum. Harmonix, incidentally, was behind the first "Guitar Hero" game.

Game industry analysts have long lamented the "weakness in the music genre," as they call it — that is, the inability of the games' makers to drum up demand for the products after a surge in popularity in the mid-2000s. Music games are often more expensive than your typical shoot-em up game because they require guitars, microphones and other musical instruments. While extra songs can be purchased for download, this isn't enough to keep the games profitable.

Activision's shares tumbled after the announcement, but investors were more concerned with the disappointing financial forecast from the company than the demise of "Guitar Hero." As far as investors go, discontinuing an unprofitable product isn't the end of the world, even if "Guitar Hero" fans disagree.

The company did better than expected in the fourth quarter, which ended in December, but that was already expected. After all, it launched "Call of Duty: Black Ops" in November.

That game, which is mostly set during the Vietnam War, made $1 billion in just six weeks in stores.

Activision said Wednesday it lost $233 million, or 20 cents per share in the latest quarter, compared with a loss of $286 million, or 23 cents per share, in the same period a year earlier.

Net revenue fell to $1.43 billion from $1.56 billion.

Its adjusted earnings of 53 cents per share beat analysts' expectations of 51 cents, according to FactSet.

Revenue that's been adjusted to account for games with online components was $2.55 billion, up slightly from $2.50 billion a year earlier. Analysts had forecast $2.25 billion.

For the current quarter, which ends in March, Activision forecast adjusted earnings of 7 cents per share, and revenue of $640 million. Analysts are looking for earnings of 10 cents per share on higher revenue of $771 million. The company's forecast includes restructuring costs of 2 cents to 3 cents per share.

Shares of Activision, which is based in Santa Monica, Calif., tumbled 94 cents, or 8 percent, to $10.75 in after-hours trading. The stock had closed down 19 cents at $11.69.

[Matthean]

That game, which is mostly set during the Vietnam War, made $1 billion in just six weeks in stores.

Typo?

[Mustang]

Typo?

I thought day one sales were like $300M+ so... maybe not a typo

[dawgfan]

Worldwide sales of CoD:Black Ops are at ~19 million between the 360 and PS3; at $60 a pop, that's over $1.1B in sales.

Profit is much, much less than that, though still likely in the hundreds of millions.

[stevew]

I wonder how much retail stores lost on DJ Hero/Band Hero/GH5/Legends of Rock/World Tour.

[DaddyTorgo]

When I saw DJ Hero in the stores I was like "aww man...this thing has totally jumped the shark."

[wade moore]

I just hope this isn't a sign of what could happen to Rock Band. Still love that game.

[JonInMiddleGA]

I just hope this isn't a sign of what could happen to Rock Band. Still love that game.

When you're basically given away, like Harmonix was, the future doesn't seem real bright. Of course, losing an estimated $300m last year kind of hinted there might be some problems.

[Ksyrup]

I knew I was done with this when I bought Metallica - which a year or two earlier I would have died for - andf played through most of the songs I wanted to try 1 time over 2 days, and never put the disc in again.

My kids have played around with Rock Band some, but it's like pulling teeth for them to get me to join them.

[wade moore]

When you're basically given away, like Harmonix was, the future doesn't seem real bright. Of course, losing an estimated $300m last year kind of hinted there might be some problems.

Yeah, I know.

I suppose the good news for me is I really don't play all that often. Honestly, even without RB3, I would have probably still gotten tons of playing time out of RB2. So even if they never release another version, DLC, etc I probably get years of play out of it.

But it probably means future consoles, etc are not as likely to get it which is disappointing.

[MikeVic]

The problem I find with these games is that when the first Guitar Hero came out, the novelty of the whole thing was sooo cool. I was trying to play songs behind my head, rocking out, etc. Then after the second one came out, I was less enthused because I knew what songs I wanted to play, but they never got released. And as more games kept coming out, I just didn't care for it for the same reason. Also, it's way more fun playing with a full band and it's kind of hard to get a bunch of people that like the same songs to play together. At least in my experience.

What ever happened to that Rock Band thing where it teaches you to play real guitar?

[MJ4H]

It was released as Rock Band 3, currently available. Great reviews. Check it out.

[wade moore]

The problem I find with these games is that when the first Guitar Hero came out, the novelty of the whole thing was sooo cool. I was trying to play songs behind my head, rocking out, etc. Then after the second one came out, I was less enthused because I knew what songs I wanted to play, but they never got released. And as more games kept coming out, I just didn't care for it for the same reason. Also, it's way more fun playing with a full band and it's kind of hard to get a bunch of people that like the same songs to play together. At least in my experience.

What ever happened to that Rock Band thing where it teaches you to play real guitar?

This has pretty much always been a group game for me. This is why I say the "life" of the game extends for me. I might only get people together every 6-8 weeks, but we play for 4 hours straight and have a blast.

[Tekneek]

I am certain that I am not the typical 'gamer' out there. These Rock Band / Guitar Hero / DJ Hero / etc. type games are some of the ones that I really enjoyed. I don't care for combat/shooter type games. No fun at all. I like sports games also, but I hate EA.

I know that there is no game company that is going to set financial records by trying to appeal to my gaming tastes. I am ok with that though, because it saves me some money also.

[Marc Vaughan]

What ever happened to that Rock Band thing where it teaches you to play real guitar?

That to me is what I personally think is the 'future' of the music genre - have a series of guitars each more realistic than the one before ... that would encourage people to continue playing the games as they improve and you'd end up 'jamming' properly which would be kind of cool imho.

[JonInMiddleGA]

That to me is what I personally think is the 'future' of the music genre - have a series of guitars each more realistic than the one before ... that would encourage people to continue playing the games as they improve and you'd end up 'jamming' properly which would be kind of cool imho.

I'd say the lesson learned here is that a price ceiling does exist, even for gamers. The cost of the spiffy new peripherals (and the need to sell X amount of them in order to recover development cost) looks to have played a big role in the consumer rejection & the developers downfall.

[TargetPractice6]

AudioSurf for $10 on Steam was really all I needed for the music genre. It's not good as a RB-like party game, but it has about the same amount of depth in single player and you can use any song on your hard drive.

[Fidatelo]

That to me is what I personally think is the 'future' of the music genre - have a series of guitars each more realistic than the one before ... that would encourage people to continue playing the games as they improve and you'd end up 'jamming' properly which would be kind of cool imho.

I disagree. I think the future of the music genre is the Kinect. Pick up a real guitar (acoustic or otherwise) and have the Kinect microphone determine if you are hitting the right notes. The software can take you from total novice to expert by simply adjusting the speed and number of notes you need to play and also by adjusting how accurate you need to be. Use the camera to place an avatar of yourself on stage doing the exact moves you are doing in your living room, and it would be the closest thing to being a rockstar that anyone outside of an actual band could ever experience. And hey, play it enough and you just might end up in a real band someday.

[wade moore]

I disagree. I think the future of the music genre is the Kinect. Pick up a real guitar (acoustic or otherwise) and have the Kinect microphone determine if you are hitting the right notes. The software can take you from total novice to expert by simply adjusting the speed and number of notes you need to play and also by adjusting how accurate you need to be. Use the camera to place an avatar of yourself on stage doing the exact moves you are doing in your living room, and it would be the closest thing to being a rockstar that anyone outside of an actual band could ever experience. And hey, play it enough and you just might end up in a real band someday.

If you think the audience for Guitar Hero/Rockband is small, how small do you think the audience is for this?

Part of why these games are great is you get to act like you're playing the guitar/drums/etc, but you don't have to really be able to play them.

[Fidatelo]

If you think the audience for Guitar Hero/Rockband is small, how small do you think the audience is for this?

Part of why these games are great is you get to act like you're playing the guitar/drums/etc, but you don't have to really be able to play them.

I don't think the audience for Guitar Hero/Rock Band is small, I think it was absolutely massive until they saturated the market with products that, aside from adding drums, never really evolved.

Is there no market for guitar lessons? You're telling me you don't know a handful of people with guitars in their basement that they've failed to learn how to play X number of times? You're telling me those same people wouldn't be interested in a way to take the lessons from home in the context of a game? You're telling me all the people who actually can play guitar but turn their nose up at playing a plastic guitar wouldn't be pretty interested in a game that lets them really prove their chops? You're telling me people wouldn't want a way to duel or co-op with real instruments online?

I think that game, if done well, could absolutely rake in cash.

[Mota]

I really don't think the market for music games that actually teach you music would be big at all. That's a tiny niche market and while that some of that market will go and spend $250 for a midi guitar, you're pretty much leaving the entire casual market behind. I'm pretty much as hardcore as they come, I was one of those guys that bought the Ion Drum Rocker for $250. I have 800 songs on my RB tracklist. But with all these new developments in RB3 I feel tapped out and haven't bought nearly as much DLC and haven't touched the new MIDI instruments. If I haven't touched the Pro mode, how many people out there are? Probably very few.

And yes, a sample size of 1 isn't statistically valid, but the world revolves around me. Really.

[Fidatelo]

I'm not talking about needing MIDI instruments. The Kinect has a microphone; it listens to a real guitar and determines if you are hitting the notes. No need for fake stuff, pull out that acoustic that's lying behind the couch.

[Icy]

I disagree. I think the future of the music genre is the Kinect. Pick up a real guitar (acoustic or otherwise) and have the Kinect microphone determine if you are hitting the right notes. The software can take you from total novice to expert by simply adjusting the speed and number of notes you need to play and also by adjusting how accurate you need to be. Use the camera to place an avatar of yourself on stage doing the exact moves you are doing in your living room, and it would be the closest thing to being a rockstar that anyone outside of an actual band could ever experience. And hey, play it enough and you just might end up in a real band someday.

I'm in the minority here, but as somebody who has played guitar in a rock/metal band for 10+ years, that purchased RB2 and Guitar hero Metallica to try out but found the instruments so weird to play with (i suck at the higher levels) compared with the real thing and have them untouched for months, your idea would be a dream for me now that i'm not in the band anymore.

I want to play my real guitar feeling like in a band, not a buttons plastic guitar that barely resembles playing the real thing for those who have played it.

But i think somebody else nailed it, the success of RB/GH was to make people enjoy acting like if they were playing a real instrument with a band, without having to expend years learning or finding the right band mates.

After some time, the audience split in two groups, those who got tired of buttons playing and wanted the next step of playing with midi guitars with actual strings and those that did not want to expend that much and were happy enough with the old versions with hundreds of songs still available to download and did not buy the new games, and think the later were the biggest group.

[wade moore]

I don't think the audience for Guitar Hero/Rock Band is small, I think it was absolutely massive until they saturated the market with products that, aside from adding drums, never really evolved.

Is there no market for guitar lessons? You're telling me you don't know a handful of people with guitars in their basement that they've failed to learn how to play X number of times? You're telling me those same people wouldn't be interested in a way to take the lessons from home in the context of a game? You're telling me all the people who actually can play guitar but turn their nose up at playing a plastic guitar wouldn't be pretty interested in a game that lets them really prove their chops? You're telling me people wouldn't want a way to duel or co-op with real instruments online?

I think that game, if done well, could absolutely rake in cash.

Yes. That's exactly what I'm saying.

This game would take tons of development and not sell well, at all. I'd bet a very large sum of money on that fact.