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[Jocchan]

Unless it's anime related like Pokemon, Yu Gi Oh, Naruto, Dragonball, etc.

It really depends. You are talking about titles mostly aimed to kids, so you have to factor in presents (if I know a kid goes nuts for Dragonball and I'm uninformed, I'll buy him a random Dragonball game) and a very quick turnover within the audience (some kids grow up, others replace them).

Yes, and no. Flooding one style of music genre/game, yes. Too many rock based games. Trying something a bit different for a different crowd, no. It's basically about how they market the game.

If I like Mario Kart, I won't buy one hundred cartoony racing games. Mario Kart covers the genre for me.
If I like lightgun shooters, I won't buy hundreds. Just a few will cover the genre for me.
If I like fighting games, I won't buy hundreds. And so on.
The only genre immune to this seems to be shooters nowadays :lol
But this has probably more to do with a much larger audience, it's probably not every single person buying hundreds of them but more people buying fewer each.

 

[Haunted]

Music Games 2005-2009

R.I.P.

Music games didn't start with Guitar Hero, and they certainly won't end with it.

I know what you mean, though. They're back to the niche in the future if Activision keeps flooding the market.

 

[Jocchan]

Precisely. Frankly, its not the price point of these games that has killed the genre for me, its over-saturation. I own Guitar Hero 2 (which remains my favorite of all these games), then I bought Rock Band, and I bailed after that when we started getting GH3, GH4, GH5, GH Aerosmith, GH Van Halen, GH Metallica, GH 80s, GH Smash Hits, Rock Band 2, Rock Band Beatles, etc.

I bought GH3 (twice, actually... once for Wii and once for PS3 when I decided I'd be buying my music games there to play with my friends and, online, with my brother) and GH Metallica. I'm thinking about getting RB2 and some more GH, but not at their prices. They're really overpriced song packs to me, and I believe this is holding many people from buying subsequent titles.

 

[GillianSeed79]

What happens when this, Band Hero and Tony Hawk all underperform or flat out bomb?

All they have left now is CoD on the non-Blizzard front.

 

[DietRob]

 

[Jay Sosa]

Shocker.

.

 

[Johnlenham]

I only own Rockband 2 solo and the £5 code to import RB1songs into it. I very nearly bought Beatles yesterday but thats because it was £25.
My bro got sucked in but has rented everything past GH3 and still regrets buying Rb1 the full kit:lol

They should of had the last 3 GH's theyve made all in one but meh the fuck do I care its not me losing money.

Was tempted to get Djhero but like fuck am I paying £120 for it, especialy since its $120 aswell! gouging c*nts.

 

[Sho_Nuff82]

Unless it's anime related like Pokemon, Yu Gi Oh, Naruto, Dragonball, etc.

When was the last time there were 4 Dragonball games released in the same quarter?

Even Scamco/Bandai isn't that stupid.

Had activision been patient, the last 2 years of music game releases could have been stretched out over the course of this generation, and they could have found time to innovate instead of just continually dumping $60 song packs on a satiated public.

At least with CoD, there's some incentive to upgrade for the new story mode and the multiplayer community shift. GH is more like Tony Hawk, driven by local multi with new parks and a few new tricks being the only reason to buy in day 1.

 

[Deleted member 30609]

I can't see a picture of Kotick anymore without visualising two devil horns growing off the side of his head.

 

[Lé Blade Runner]

Well, I'll probably buy DJ Hero as a christmas present for myself. I'm way more interested in it than I ever was of Guitar Hero, Rock Band etc. ( even though I did enjoy playing through the 'Hero -games ).

 

[A Human Becoming]

And justice for all.

 

[water_wendi]

When was the last time there were 4 Dragonball games released in the same quarter?

Even Scamco/Bandai isn't that stupid.

Had activision been patient, the last 2 years of music game releases could have been stretched out over the course of this generation, and they could have found time to innovate instead of just continually dumping $60 song packs on a satiated public.

They wouldnt have even had to do that. Activision could have had all those games made then just trickled them out over 4 years after putting the devs on hiatus and most likely would have made much more money and not killed the music genre. i dont even play these games and im tired of them.

 

[wolfmat]

Well, unfortunate, but predictable as hell.

 

[Shard]

I can't see a picture of Kotick anymore without visualising two devil horns growing off the side of his head.

We have done our job well.

 

[teruterubozu]

What happens when this, Band Hero and Tony Hawk all underperform or flat out bomb?

All they have left now is CoD on the non-Blizzard front.

CoD will save. It's a problem most companies wouldn't mind having, actually.

 

[water_wendi]

CoD will save. It's a problem most companies wouldn't mind having, actually.

For how long though? Will CoD be as big as it is 5 years from now? The only sure long-term thing they have is Blizzard but i dont think they will kill that goose. i would think that there has to be someone with some kind of brains in the upper management.

 

[Foil]

 

[rocK`]

that and none of the music in the game is actually techno/electronica

Wait...wait...wait....wait.

I have barely done any research on this game, but are you saying that Daft Punk gets mixed in with more Kanye bullshit?

Reallllly?

 

[Rummy Bunnz]

GH Software/Guitar bundle: $99
DJ Hero: $120

Not a HUGE increase, but enough to make you really think about it.

If I remember correctly Guitar Hero launched at $80. I think they bumped the bundle up to $90 with GH3. So it's $40 more than 4 years ago, which is insane.

I'm among those waiting for the post-Christmas price collapse. It's gonna happen! I can't wait.

 

[teruterubozu]

For how long though? Will CoD be as big as it is 5 years from now? The only sure long-term thing they have is Blizzard but i dont think they will kill that goose. i would think that there has to be someone with some kind of brains in the upper management.

5 years is a lifetime in this industry, which is why everyone operates on short-term goals. Almost all entertainment companies - movies, music, games - all survive on 2 or 3 franchises/artists while the rest are throwaways (with the hope that one of them sticks to be a future hit). CoD is a problem many companies would love to have.

 

[number1jagsfan]

How is the cost compared to GH+Guitar bundles in the US?

You're looking at £120 in the UK as opposed to £70-80 for GH games with guitars.

Think you are way off there mate, isn't DJ Hero retailing at £80 or £90?

 

[Beq]

What really should happen with DJ Hero is something like what happens with printers.

Sell the hardware cheap, make it up on the dlc (ink cartridges).

DJ Hero is gonna be much more of a select group than guitar/drum/singing games anyway.

I personally wouldn't buy it myself even if it did cost $80, burnt out with Rock Band 2 already. Plus I barely even touched any of my other games.

 

[Square Triangle]

Pfft I hope it does bomb, but only in spite of Activision themselves.

 

[JonathanEx]

Think you are way off there mate, isn't DJ Hero retailing at £80 or £90?

90.

 

[MarkMclovin]

This was not expected.

Spoiler

lol

 

[FrankT]

Shocker.

.

 

[ZombieSupaStar]

 

[:Motorbass]

but the game is so gud :[

 

[Magik]

It shouldn't be too surprising to see that demand isn't as high as they expect when you consider its a new IP, requires a peripheral, is only being sold as a bundle with no separate peripheral available at the moment, costs over $100, along with a shitty economy.

 

[-PXG-]

No shit?

 

[wolfmat]

No shit?

That's clearly a man fucking a turtle in the leg.

 

[bryehn]

I would have guessed 250k between now and January, 600k doesn't sound bad at all for a $120 game that uses a brand new plastic peripheral loosely based on turntablism. I should wait for the price collapse, but I really want to play it and will pick it up ASAP.

 

[Night_Trekker]

Congratuations Activision. You've broken your record for complete and total genre destruction. It took nearly 10 years to kill skateboarding. You managed music in under 5.

:lol

That's basically it, yeah.

 

[Tenkai Star]

I am not chocked. At all.

 

[-PXG-]

That's clearly a man fucking a turtle in the leg.

It's a sumo wrestler taking a piss near a power line.

 

[joelseph]

If it had edm that wasn't pop mash-ups I would be all over it. That is not possible though!

 

[wolfmat]

It's a sumo wrestler taking a piss near a power line.

If you turn your head to the side, it reads toch.

 

[dimb]

GH Software/Guitar bundle: $99
DJ Hero: $120

Not a HUGE increase, but enough to make you really think about it.

I remember buying the original Guitar Hero for $60-$70.

That was nice.

 

[~Devil Trigger~]

Music Games 2005-2009

R.I.P.

hope

 

[Drensch]

I'm surprised "expectations" were as high as stated. I thought 300k for the holidays would be a huge success for this game, given all that we know about accessibility, music, price and the economy.


I still don't get all the Activision hate though.

 

[Keyser Soze]

I'm surprised "expectations" were as high as stated. I thought 300k for the holidays would be a huge success for this game, given all that we know about accessibility, music, price and the economy.


I still don't get all the Activision hate though.

They are making games cost more... if they see high sales at high prices it will make other companies follow suit

 

[Archie]

Great news.

 

[eznark]

I think it was a mistake to demo the game at Best Buy's without the higher end controller.

 

[TomServo]

Precisely. Frankly, its not the price point of these games that has killed the genre for me, its over-saturation. I own Guitar Hero 2 (which remains my favorite of all these games), then I bought Rock Band, and I bailed after that when we started getting GH3, GH4, GH5, GH Aerosmith, GH Van Halen, GH Metallica, GH 80s, GH Smash Hits, Rock Band 2, Rock Band Beatles, etc.

Throw me in this camp as well. Buddy shoots me a text over the weekend "hey I got GH5". All I could think was holy shit, I still haven't played through a single World Tour career.

 

[Blueblur1]

I can't wait to pick up DJ Hero next year for less than $30! And seriously, I couldn't be happier. It's a shame for the developers that work hard to put this stuff out but Activision deserves to get their asses handed to them.

 

[Double D]

I actually really want the game. The problem is justifying the price tag with all the other awesome stuff floating around.

I wonder how the Scratch devs feel about this.

 

[Tiduz]

will still get it day one.

and :lol at the music games is dead comment. how about no.

maybe theyll learn to price their shit below 90 bux instead of these crazy prices. but its not dead. it still outsells most wii titles.

 

[Archie]

and :lol at the music games is dead comment. how about no.

 

[botticus]

If 600k in a quarter (or a million in a year) isn't even a "modest success", I fear for the industry.

 

[Kintaro]

When was the last time there were 4 Dragonball games released in the same quarter?

Even Scamco/Bandai isn't that stupid.

There are three this quarter.

Dragon Ball: Revenge of Piccolo, Dragon Ball: Attack of the Saiyans and Dragon Ball: Raging Blast.

It's not 4, but they come close.

DJ Hero is under expectations for two reasons. 1) Too expensive. 2) Not everyone is familiar with being a DJ. Playing the guitar is a simple concept for people, being a DJ is not nor are people really dreaming of being one. Compare that to the number of people who can see themselves playing a single instrument... and you have a title that will sell under expectations.

You can probably add in retailer fatigue. They probably didn't order very many to begin with for fear of being stuck with a ton of inventory.