RIP Red Octane...

[Lady Jaye]

Looks like the music game fad is all but over now: Activision shut down Red Octane and proceeded to major layoffs at Neversoft. I personally don't care about there ever being more and more gameplay improvements, as long as I can play songs I like, but at the same time I can see why some people would tire of the formula and of other issues (such as lack of interconsole compatibility or of backwards-compatibility of DLC with previous editions of the same game series).

And yet, to me, Red Octane will always be that third-party vendor of DDR mats for home use. At least Harmonix is still around...

http://www.gamespot.com/6298334

[megasdkirby]

Well, no more Guitar Hero games for quite some time. I doubt the series will disappear, but at least no more titles for the next few years.

Honestly, I would prefer if they would just release addon content discs, like they did for Rockband. Better than spending $60 or so on new releases when an addon could have done the same.

Still, I wonder if this will affect the online store on PSN and Xbox Live.

[mattimeo310]

I feel like they kind of brought it on themselves with this one. They were releasing games with no new innovations at a $60 price tag. What it boiled down to was a $60 music add-on pack. I always preferred the GH series over Rockband but I can't say this surprised me.

[The 1 2 P]

I remember meeting some of the Red Octane guys several years ago(before Guitar Hero came out) when they were selling arcade sticks for the PS1. As for the music genre, I always felt it was too expensive to maintain it's overall popularity but it hasn't completely died yet. Dance Central and Just Dance have both done well and The Michael Jackson experience should do pretty good once it launches for Kinect and Move(the Wii version is already out).

[hellfire]

does this mean dj hero 3d is going to be cancelled :(

[bangtango]

Release pretty much the same game over and over again 2-3 times a year at full price and sooner or later people will get sick of it.

[Mayhem]

Yeah, exactly my sentiment. Made the releases far too frequent, just like another yearly update recycle franchise...

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

R.I.P. Guitar Hero 2005-2011 ... if ever there was a mishandling of a killer franchise, this be it.

While the vastly superior IMO Rock Band lives on, the recent closure of MTV Games and the sale of Harmonix seem to be heralds of whats going on on the presumably greener side of the music game pasture ... that is, profits slowing, public interest waining even in the better, smarter camp.

Hopefully Harmonix stays safe, doesn't over-market or over produce in the next few years and we can continue to enjoy Rock Band and regular DLC releases for Rock Band.

[Lady Jaye]

Or Harmonix could just come out with their next music game...

Frequency/Amplitude --> Karaoke Revolution --> Guitar Hero --> Rock Band --> Rock Band 3 (if you consider the extra mile with the keyboard and all)...

[Oobgarm]

So this is one less game I'll feel compelled to buy each year. I'm OK with that.

[portnoyd]

Fucking finally. The shovel load of shit was appalling.

[The Shawn]

Release pretty much the same game over and over again 2-3 times a year at full price and sooner or later people will get sick of it.

I stopped buying after Metallica came out on GH.

Thank god they're gone, before the Justin Beiber edition landed on shelves...

[Oobgarm]

does this mean dj hero 3d is going to be cancelled :(

Looks like it...at least it won't be out this year.

http://www.joystiq.com/2011/02/10/guitar-hero-and-dj-hero-dlc-dead/

[Swamperon]

Bah, looks like my dream of Violin Hero will have to wait...

Can't say I'm surprised. Wait another 5 years and we'll be seeing the same with Call of Duty.

[bangtango]

Yup, they let the success of the first couple of games go to their head. Now the damn things will be more difficult to get rid of or trade into Gamestop without getting laughed out of the store than 9 year old Madden games.

[Buyatari]

How hard can it be to use the same engine perhaps tweak things a tiny bit but add all new songs and turn a profit?

I read that sales of the artists go up overnight when songs are featured on the Guitar Hero games. If they charge the artists for the privilage and release new titles less often there should be no way to end up in the hole. Someone will buy this series and turn a decent profit but the days of topping the game charts are over.

[Smashed Brother]

I never got into the whole RB/GH fad, but what this all boils down to is just another greedy corporation riding a good idea into the ground at the behest of their shareholders, something that Activision is excellent at (remember Tony Hawk?). You can't really blame the developers for this. But yet, they're the ones who are going to suffer the most.

[kupomogli]

Activision just doesn't learn. They cancelled a whole bunch of franchises in order to support nothing but the multiple releases of Call of Duty and Guitar Hero. Now along with Guitar Hero they're cancelling more franchses, and True Crime Hong Kong was one of the very few releases I've been interested in.

Does Activision not know that most everyone hates them as a company and the only fans they have are the ones that play Call of Duty or World of Warcraft? Once Diablo 3 comes out that will change, but that'll probably be a few years.

[Icarus Moonsight]

The turning point for Guitar Hero, the Aerosmith band centric release that failed to deliver band centric content. I've never been a huge fan of Aerosmith, but even I knew they cut corners with that bullshit. Some say the turning point was Rocks the 80's, but I actually liked that one. Do "I Ran" shitfaced once and you're hooked for life. If it had "Psycho Killer" on it, let's just say, I woulda shit brix. I admit 80's was a throw-together effort, but I don't think it was the throw-away that Aerosmith was. Big Lots had the Aerosmith game bundle w/ guitar for $12-15 at one point. And they sat at that price. That was the writing on the wall.

Metallica for PS2 was the last one I bought as well. Talk about going out on a good one. Know when to say when. ;)

Quote of the day, "What the hell is a Beiber?" - The Ozman :hail:

[sheath]

This isn't just about music games. What we are seeing is the beginning of the end for "core" gaming. FPSs, Real Time Strategy, 3D Platformers, and RPGs are all going to go the way of the Space Ship Shooter.

Why? Because Activision, EA, Ubisoft and other mega-publishers are going to systematically gobble the talent and force them to make games in the biggest fads. Social gaming, fitness games, cooking games, reality TV shows, that kind of stuff is where this industry is headed now.

As a former Arcade gamer, I am loving ever minute of this.

[bangtango]

The turning point for Guitar Hero, the Aerosmith band centric release that failed to deliver band centric content. I've never been a huge fan of Aerosmith, but even I knew they cut corners with that bullshit. Some say the turning point was Rocks the 80's, but I actually liked that one. Do "I Ran" shitfaced once and you're hooked for life. If it had "Psycho Killer" on it, let's just say, I woulda shit brix. I admit 80's was a throw-together effort, but I don't think it was the throw-away that Aerosmith was. Big Lots had the Aerosmith game bundle w/ guitar for $12-15 at one point. And they sat at that price. That was the writing on the wall.

Metallica for PS2 was the last one I bought as well. Talk about going out on a good one. Know when to say when. ;)


Pretty sure Gamestop is selling the PC version of the Aerosmith (game only) for $1.99.

Guess Activision never figured out an infallible hook for their cut-and-paste game like EA did with the "yearly roster update."

A guy's gotta have the latest Madden game with Marc Bulger now playing for the Ravens instead of the Rams, but he don't need to have 20-25 new songs in the same game engine.

[norkusa]

Red Octane has been dead to me ever since In The Groove 2 was canceled.

[Lady Jaye]

Some say the turning point was Rocks the 80's, but I actually liked that one. Do "I Ran" shitfaced once and you're hooked for life. If it had "Psycho Killer" on it, let's just say, I woulda shit brix.

Psycho Killer was in Rock Band 2...

[Icarus Moonsight]

Oh damn. Thanks for bringing that to my attention! Maybe I should actually play the copy I have. I sort of lost interest before I started picking up Rock Band stuff. That news is making a revisit sound like a good idea.

[garagesaleking!!]

This really is shocking news to me, even though the past few releases have been duds. Guitar Hero 5 was great, but it never justified a $60 price tag. I cant even get friends to listen to me anymore when I ask to play guitar hero or rockband. Every drumset I know of is collecting dust in someones basement now.

[The 1 2 P]

This was a great party game to get more casual gamers interested in video games but the franchise was just mismanaged. Between this and the Rock Band series being in doubt we may have to rely on Just Dance to keep the torch alive.....unless The Michael Jackson Experience and the multitude of dancing games for Kinect do well. Otherwise the music genre may be doomed until the next big thing.

[stonecutter]

I have about 400 songs in the list as of Warriors of Rock, too bad they didn't last long enough for me to import my GH VAn Halen. Many thought it was a crap title but I love it, I like the songs, too bad I will always have to swap discs for it.

[Necron99]

There are so many reasons for GH's death. All of them are Activision's fault so I feel no remorse for the IP at all. The lesson for other developers is to not be associated with Activision in any way.