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Activision Thinks that Consistent DLC for “Hero” Brands a 2010 Trend
By Joe Haygood | November 14, 2009Sometimes I have to wonder if Activision management is firing on all cylinders when it comes to the statements that they make. I mean we have Bobby Kotick talking about how he decided to take all the fun out of making games, and instead focus on the bottom line. He also has made jokes about wanting to charge more than the market rate for games, making mention of the fact that he could sell Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 for $80 or $90. Now we have Dan Rosensweig, the brand manager for the “Hero” brands over at Activision making more incredulous statements.
When asked about the viability of sequels for their “Hero” brands next year, the response was rather awe-inducing. Dan Rosensweig stated:
“We’re working on our 2010 slate now. You will probably see fewer SKUs from us, but the focus on making the best-selling, most fun to play, best-reviewed games will continue. Those are the things that are constant. [There will be] more DJ Hero, and the next iterations of Guitar and Band are on the way. But we will see how the market plays out. What you will see is the games will live longer and be more vibrant through DLC.”
Okay, so apparently, next year is the year when DLC for music games finally becomes an important battleground. Did I miss something here? Isn’t that what Harmonix has been preaching about for some time now? The idea that you do not need to have a new release for your game every year. Instead, just load up on DLC content for the game, buying what you want to be included in the game. I am just amazed by the idiocity of the people that run the brands at Activision. No, I do no think Dan Rosensweig would ever want to admit that his chief competitor is better, but sometimes, you need to acknowledge those that have created something in your field that works. Borrow from it and innovate, but it is really stupid to completely ignore the fact that someone has outplayed your brand in the downloadable marketplace.
What do you think about the current “Hero” brand games. Do you need more disc based releases, or should Activision take a page from Harmonix and work on ramping up their DLC offerings? Make your comments known below.
Yeah, this pretty much sums up what is wrong with the Guitar Hero brand
By Joe Fourhman | September 7, 2009Enjoy the remnants of your Labor Day feast with this cutting parody video about the upcoming critical fave: Guitar Hero: The Beatles. It ships on all major platforms 10-10-010.
Seen on Joystiq
Ones to Watch on PS3, PSP for September 2009
By Paul Munn | August 31, 2009
In case you haven’t noticed this summer hasn’t been a dry one for games and it is with some measure of dread that the onslaught of Fall games rises up before me not just on the PS3 but the long-ignored PSP. But if hints of Adhoc Party appearing in September’s release of PS3 Firmware 3.00 for North America do come true, I will be stuck with an even bigger list of older PSP titles I would want to buy and play online. Enough grumping about not having infinite time and money: to the games!
Read the rest of this entry »
Guitar Hero 5 Helps My Sofa Ass Groove
By Vikki Blake | August 9, 2009
I love Guitar Hero. I have no shame in that. I can’t quite rock Mr. Crowley whilst simultaneously completing two Rubik’s cubes like this guy, but I’m happy enough with the mad skillz of my inner rock goddess.
I still get all fangirly when a new title hits the shelves. But the downside to this phenomenally successful franchise? There are just too many songs, dude. I have two or three favourite tracks on each GH version, and it’s annoying as hell to have to lift my ass out of it’s sofa groove just because I wanna switch from Mr. Brightside to Sweet Child O’Mine to Reptillia. I had hoped that Greatest/Smash Hits would’ve fixed this dilemma, but alas not … according to Activsion, Sweet Child is not awesome enough (W.T.F.!?! FAIL, ACTIVISION – FAIL.)
Activision Talks Dropping PS3 Support
By Joe Haygood | June 19, 2009
Our favorite gaming CEO mouthpiece, Bobby Kotick, has once again mentioned the need for Sony to lower the price of their console, but he added a new wrinkle to the announcement.
It seems that Bobby seems to feel that the high price of the console has stagnated the growth of the PS3, and that Activision may have to cut development for the platform, as it sees lackluster sales in comparison to other platforms.
Now I am not a super smart businessman, but something tells me that while the PS3 may sell less copies of multiplatform titles than the Xbox 360 or the Nintendo Wii, but recent sales of Call of Duty 4 and all the Guitar Hero releases on the PS3 would make me think there is still value to publishing on the platform.
Publishers: No More Plastic Crap With Your Games
By Joe Haygood | May 27, 2009
After seeing yesterday’s Tony Hawk listing for $120 and now looking at two completely different controllers for Scratch: The Ultimate DJ and DJ Hero, I am now officially done with plastic controllers. I am tired of seeing a new game come out with the philosophy that it needs a new controller.
Let me ask you this: Did Tony Hawk Proving Grounds suck because it needed a new controller, or did it suck because it was basically, the same Tony Hawk game I have been playing since I owned Tony Hawk 2 almost 10 years ago to this day? The controller has no bearing on Tony Hawk being a good game. Tony Hawk was out-gamed by its competitor, skate!, which offered a new perspective and new control format, without resorting to bundling in plastic crap.
Shock Rocker Alice Cooper Comes to Rock Band
By Joe Haygood | May 15, 2009
After providing a c0uple of tracks for the Guitar Hero franchise, iconic rocker Alice Cooper is finally coming to Rock Band next week with six of the band’s hit records. Along with Alice Cooper, the hard rock group, Taking Back Sunday will round out the week’s offerings with a trio of songs.
Alice Cooper “Under My Wheels” (Live)
Alice Cooper “I’m Eighteen” (Live)
Alice Cooper “Billion Dollar Babies” (Live)
Alice Cooper “School’s Out” (Live)
Alice Cooper “Poison”
Alice Cooper “Vengeance is Mine”
Taking Back Sunday “What’s It Feel Like to Be a Ghost?”
Taking Back Sunday “Liar”
Taking Back Sunday “MakeDamnSure”
The Alice Cooper track back will be 800 Microsoft Loonies ($9.99 USD). The Taking Back Sunday pack will set you back 440 Microsoft Loonies. As with other track packs, you can buy songs from the packs individually for 160 Microsoft Loonies (1.99 USD).
While I am happy about getting some Alice Cooper in Rock Band, it kills me that the songs are live. I bought the Def Leppard tracks for GH3, which were live, and they were terrible. I am sure it has to do with the rights to the songs and so forth, but I have a fear that there will be freakish pitch changes or out of place guitar solos that you are unprepared for, because they were never in the original recordings. That said, I am a sucker, and I will probably end up getting them. Check the jump for the full presser.
Another addition to the Guitar Hero franchise
By Mike Koss | April 12, 2009
We’ve all heard about wanting to exploit, monetize, capitalize, pillage, etc; and, we’ve heard about all of the releases scheduled for this year. But allow me to introduce to you the latest (illegitimate) child in the Guitar Hero franchise that does not come in a disk or ROM format for playback in your console: Guitar Hero Sleep Shorts. Yes, now you too can sleep like a rockstar with Guitar Hero branded pajamas. If not you, at least I will, since I received a pair for Easter. Jump for a couple of shots of the actual product unboxed. And, no, there aren’t any shots of this product in use, unless we receive 10 e-mails requesting it.
Gamerize your iGoogle
By Mike Koss | March 26, 2009
While trying to figure out Xi in Home last night (watch for more info on that soon), I noticed that Google’s customized homepages, known as iGoogle, are now able to sport game-based themes. Right now theme choices include Animal Crossing, Mega Man, Zelda, Street Fighter IV, The Sims 3, and Guitar Hero just to name a few. These themes aren’t just limited to one visual representation. An example is the Mega Man version has different setups for the bosses and characters. Pretty nifty move by Google to license, and/or get the copyright holders to build these nice themes for their site.
So now you can proudly wear your gamer cred on your web search engine, for all of your co-workers, friends, and family to view over your shoulder. I know I use iGoogle as my home page for my browser, since I can have all the nifty things I need prominently displayed Aeropause RSS feed, other RSS feeds, current weather, quotes, etc. If you do use Google drop a comment for the theme you use. If you don’t use Google, drop a comment about the theme you *would* use, and what search engine/customized homepage that you do use.
Dan Rosensweig Hired to Exploit, I Mean Run Guitar Hero Brand
By Joe Haygood | March 23, 2009
Activision announced that they have hired Dan Rosensweig, former COO at Yahoo, to run Red Octane, the company behind the Guitar Hero franchise. He will be responsible for making all the decisions with the Guitar Hero branding, and will report directly to Mike Griffith, CEO of Activision Publishing. Kai Huang, the former CEO of Red Octane, will stay on in some capacity with the company, and will report to Dan Rosensweig.
Now, I am not scholared in the ways of running a game business, or an empire like the Guitar Hero franchise, but I might have a word or two of advice for Mr. Rosensweig, that he might want to think on before making any decisions. STOP FLEECING THE GUITAR HERO BRAND NAME! We do not need six Guitar Hero games in a one year span. Anecdotal evidence shows that the Guitar Hero World Tour box set has not sold up to expectations (and to be fair, neither has the Rock Band 2 box set), and flooding the market wth Guitar Hero product after Guitar Hero product is a surefire way to kill a brand. One only has to look at what happens with movie sequels to understand. Does anyone enjoy Friday the 13th Part VIII, or beyond for that matter. How about Saw V, or Rocky VI? Harmonix has kind of figured this out, opting to release one Rock Band franchise this year, which is a wholly separate entity, The Beatles Rock Band. Yes the brand has been a goldmine for Activision, but all mines eventually lose all their precious metal veins, and you end up with a burnt out husk of a former great game.
Check the press release after the jump for more details.
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