Activision is milking the shit out of Guitar Hero aren't they

[Xizer]

So it's been about two and a half years since Guitar Hero came out.

Now we've got:

Nov. 2005 - Guitar Hero
Nov. 2006 - Guitar Hero II
July. 2007 - Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s
Oct. 2007 - Guitar Hero III
June 2008 - Guitar Hero: Aerosmith
June 2008 - Guitar Hero: On Tour
Oct. 2008 - Guitar Hero World Tour
Jan. 2009 - Guitar Hero: Metallica

This is getting ridiculous. 8 games in 3 years, and they continue to announce more and more and speed up the pace that they're releasing them. They started out with one a year, one every 6 months, now it's down to one every 4 months, and there's no end in sight.

Seriously Activision, come the fuck on. Give it a rest already. I'm tired of all these fake guitars cluttering up my room. Just slooooow down already and catch your breath.

I guess it's nice that instead of EA having a monopoly on the game market this allows Activision to compete, but even EA only releases one Madden a year.

[boatofcar]

Wow, I've never met anyone who was forced to buy a video game just because it was on the shelf. What's that like?

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

Guitar/Rock Band rythm games are the biggest money maker that the industry has seen since I don't know what.

It makes money, hell, it MINTS money as a genre and generally speaking none of them have been below-average titles ... so don't expect them or the milking to go away ... mmmmm guitar milk.

[NE146]

Yeah it's plain to everyone they're running it to the ground..

I've been a Guitar Hero fan since the first one, but one thing I've come to realize is it's playability is limited for me. Once I pass a song on a certain difficulty, I almost NEVER go back to play it again. The fun for me is in passing and completing the game, not really in re-playing.

[Pantechnicon]

I'm not into the series at all, yet it did not escape my notice on my last visit to Gamestop that the first three titles were fetching $40 apiece for used copies...at least, that's what Gamestop expected to get for them and probably eventually will.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I also imagine the dev process on these isn't quite as intensive or expensive as a GTA-level effort at building a whole virtual city. Odds are good that a lot of the fundamental code in GH is getting recycled from one title to the next, slapped under some new graphics with band-specific motion captures. Milk it while you can, I guess.

[DigitalSpace]

Who didn't see this coming? The GH games are selling like hotcakes, and in the business of video games, hardly anybody calls it quits with a majorly successful franchise while it's still on top, whether someone on a message board likes it or not.

It's really no different from what Konami's been doing with DDR and Karaoke Revolution, GH just generates a lot more noise.

[Sudo]

I'm so glad I have no interest in music games, since I couldn't afford to buy all the DLC and spinoffs they put out.

[Nature Boy]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I also imagine the dev process on these isn't quite as intensive or expensive as a GTA-level effort at building a whole virtual city.

If they were difficult to make, you wouldn't see the number of titles displayed in the first post in this thread. Because trust me - if Take 2 could release the same number of GTA games in the same time period they would certainly love to try!

[zemmix]

I'm just waiting for a Lego edition of Guitar Hero.

[Neil Koch]

If they were difficult to make, you wouldn't see the number of titles displayed in the first post in this thread. Because trust me - if Take 2 could release the same number of GTA games in the same time period they would certainly love to try!

Well, there were the "stories" games, which were basically just mods for GTAIII and Vice City. But they only charged $20 for those, at least on PS2.

A problem for me (and at least a few others) is that some of the GH releases, specifically Rocks the 80's, weren't full-featured enough to justify a full price tag. If they were just releasing Aerosmith and Metallica as expansion packs or DLC, I don't think it would be as big of a deal.

And as for Tony Hawk, apparently, it is taking a year off after getting its' ass handed to it by Skate last year, so there might be some hope that the franchise can "reboot" itself and become relevant again. I really enjoyed the first few games, especially THPS3, but the last few entries have just been so bland that I haven't even bothered playing through them.

[Nature Boy]

A problem for me (and at least a few others) is that some of the GH releases, specifically Rocks the 80's, weren't full-featured enough to justify a full price tag. If they were just releasing Aerosmith and Metallica as expansion packs or DLC, I don't think it would be as big of a deal.

Sports fans feel the same way. But they want that new roster update *so bad* that they're willing to pay full price for a game when they'd rather pay for DLC. GH fans are no different, and Activision knows that.

None of this is new though. And it's not going away while we continue to support it. Whining about it doesn't work. We have to stop buying it. We have to wait for them to release "The Ultimate GH III" package which has everything, and then buy that in droves while ignoring everything before it.

But it won't happen.

[jcalder8]

I agree with NE146. I love getting through a song but there are only a select few that I actually go back and replay.

I am getting a bit tired of all the different games. I wouldn't mind so much if they were value priced but paying full price for Aerosmith and Metallica just seems nuts.

[exit]

I never got into Guitar Hero, but I do own a copy of Rockband and one guitar and considerer it superior to Guitar Hero.Then again I prefer playing Bass over Guitar, which would defeat the purpose of owning GH.

[NE146]

Then again I prefer playing Bass over Guitar, which would defeat the purpose of owning GH.

Funny you say that because I think one of the most fun songs to actually "re-play" is the Bass part of YYZ in Guitar Hero 2

[Flack]

I'm probably stating the obvious here, but all the R&D costs are up front, and now they are just banking cash based on their previous investment. This is pretty common. Look at games like GTA3 -- Rockstar released several games using the same engine.

PS2 SingStar 02004-05-21 21 May 2004 2010
PS2 SingStar Party 02004-11-19 19 November 2004 2010
PS2 SingStar Pop 02005-05-13 13 May 2005 02007-04-03 3 April 2007
PS2 SingStar '80s 02005-11-04 4 November 2005 02007-09-18 18 September 2007
PS2 SingStar Rocks! 02006-04-13 13 April 2006 02006-11-14 14 November 2006
PS2 SingStar Anthems 02006-08-04 4 August 2006 2010
PS2 SingStar Legends 02006-10-27 27 October 2006 02008-10-07 7 October 2008
PS2 SingStar Pop Hits 02007-04-27 27 April 2007 2010
PS2 SingStar 90s 02007-08-03 3 August 2007 02008-03-19 19 March 2008
PS2 SingStar Amped 2010 02007-09-18 18 September 2007
PS2 SingStar Rock Ballads 02007-09-21 21 September 2007 2010
PS2 SingStar R&B 02007-10-26 26 October 2007 2010
PS2 SingStar Summer Party 02008-04-25 25 April 2008 2010
PS2 SingStar Girl Power vs Boy Bands Release Date yet to be announced 2010
PS2 SingStar Seduction Release Date yet to be announced 2010
PS3 SingStar 02007-12-07 7 December 2007 02008-05-20 20 May 2008 [7]
PS3 SingStar Vol. 2 02008-06-20 20 June 2008 [8] 2010

...etc.

[BHvrd]

To cut to the chase....yes, it would be nice to have one title that had all the songs or via download without all the dongles, lack of compatibility, etc, etc.

This is why I went Rockband, but yes a definitive Guitar Hero would be nice.

[diskoboy]

I said the exact same thing in the GH4 announcement thread, a while back.



Activision is determined to run this franchise into the ground.

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

But, inversely wouldn't it be strange ... wouldn't it be SHOCKING if they announced that they weren't going to make any more Guitar Hero games, or even if they were going to take a few years off before the next one?

Why after 8+ Mario Party games, 9 Tony Hawk games, too many Mega Man games to count, and a hundred other franchises numbering well over FOUR titles does the gaming collective continue to be surprised by acts like this?

The game is a top selling title on all consoles (and soon to be portables with the DS) ... I'm not necessarily agreeing with the hard and fast sequels (I think they should just get a good online version with a Rock Band type store going) but, why wouldn't they "milk" it??

[josekortez]

Activision is determined to run this franchise into the ground.

Wow. Just like they did to Tony Hawk.

[JunkTheMagicDragon]

Wow. Just like they did to Tony Hawk.

and guess who's not in charge of tony hawk development anymore.