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Activision's Hero Series Running Out of Steam?
By: Conrad Reyners
Published: Wednesday 28 Oct 2009 11:15 AM
Published: Wednesday 28 Oct 2009 11:15 AM
Is the craze spawned by Activision's Guitar Hero running out of steam? Recent reports of figure sales for the new DJ Hero show that gamers have been slow to pick up the developer's new addition to the Hero family.
Doug Creutz of data mangement company 'Cowan and Company' puts the slump in sales down to gamers feeling the pinch of the economic recession and the Hero series loosing its appeal.
"We probably underestimated the extent to which the 2007-08 peak in Guitar Hero unit sales was driven by the extreme amount of buzz around the product. In retrospect Guitar Hero III likely attracted a lot of one-time buyers (that have not returned for subsequent franchise installments) due to its 'it-game' status at the time."
Sales were expected to reach 1.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2009 but DJ Hero has only managed to sell 600,000 units so far.
However, fans of Activision need not be worried. Even with the release date of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare 2 being pushed back, and the recent furore over the lack of support for multiplayer servers, the latest installment of the Call of Duty series is set to exceed all expectations and justify its hype.
Whether or not gamers will vote with thier wallets is yet to be seen.
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Comments (7)
I have a feeling that DJ hero is the beginning of the end for the Hero games. I think i will start sending hate mail to Activision if they end up making something like Piano Hero. Surely they make enough money off all of the DLC that's out there.
"However, fans of Activision need not be worried."
Hahahaha, fans of Activision.
Anyway, yeah I reckon DJing just isn't as popular as Activision would like to think. It appeals to certain groups but doesn't have the broad appeal that Guitar Hero offers. I would also put it down to the fact that advertising for the game, outside of a few previews in gaming circles, has been non-existent. Activision can't honestly expect that showing the game to a couple of gaming websites will sell the game.
Probably 80% of gamers don't even frequent gaming websites. So how are they gonna know what DJ Hero is all about when they see it sitting on the shelf with it's expensive peripheral? They're not going to opt for it at that price without knowing a thing about it.
Hahahaha, fans of Activision.
Anyway, yeah I reckon DJing just isn't as popular as Activision would like to think. It appeals to certain groups but doesn't have the broad appeal that Guitar Hero offers. I would also put it down to the fact that advertising for the game, outside of a few previews in gaming circles, has been non-existent. Activision can't honestly expect that showing the game to a couple of gaming websites will sell the game.
Probably 80% of gamers don't even frequent gaming websites. So how are they gonna know what DJ Hero is all about when they see it sitting on the shelf with it's expensive peripheral? They're not going to opt for it at that price without knowing a thing about it.
Well no sh*t that a lot of people bought Guitar Hero III because of the hype. The first was a novelty, the second was a refinement, the third was always going to be the peak and it was downhill from there.
Activision, specifically Bobby Kotick, was foolish for not turning Guitar Hero into a platform instead of trying to exploit it yearly. They messed up with the DLC between 4 and 5 and that cost them a lot of DLC sales. Meanwhile, I think I must have paid for Rock Band twice over given the amount of songs I've bought for it.
Activision, specifically Bobby Kotick, was foolish for not turning Guitar Hero into a platform instead of trying to exploit it yearly. They messed up with the DLC between 4 and 5 and that cost them a lot of DLC sales. Meanwhile, I think I must have paid for Rock Band twice over given the amount of songs I've bought for it.
There's not much in the world sadder than seeing something once unique and cool milked and market-saturated to the point where no-one gives a rat-sized sh*t about it anymore. Stop flogging the poor freakin' horse corpse already and find something new to wring money out of. We see here how money can so often be a barrier to creativity - besides, hasn't anyone heard of Beatmania?
Umm I don't think think it's got anything to do with the recession... DJ Hero just sounds like a s*** game...
I don't think I'll ever buy another Hero game. I loved GH3 and GHWT was pretty fun. GH5 should have been DLC. As for Band Hero lmao!!! DJ Hero could be fun for 5 minutes, but not worth a purchase.
Ive never played any of the RB or GH, but DJ Hero appeals to me alot more and ill likely pick it up in the new year.
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