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Activision claims Guitar Hero only 'on hiatus,' gets new DLC
A dramatic reinterpretation: Activision CEO Bobby Kotick: But we killed the Guitar Hero franchise. Miracle Max: Ooh-hoo-hoo, look who knows so much. Guitar Hero is only mostly dead, which means it's slightly alive. See, mostly dead I can work with. Even your own veep Dan Winters just said the franchise was only "on hiatus -- we're not ending it." Kotick: But we disbanded the Guitar Hero business unit! Miracle Max: Didn't you hear me? Slightly alive. Now, all dead? Well, if Guitar Hero was all dead there's usually only one thing that you can do ... Kotick: What's that? Miracle Max: Go through its catalog of unreleased DLC and gather up the loose change.
Fate of DJ Hero dev FreeStyleGames still undecided
If you've had your fingers crossed that FreeStyleGames would make it through Activision's culling of around 500 jobs unscathed -- well, keep those digits twisted. The DJ Hero developer's creative director Jamie Jackson and commercial director Chris Lee announced this morning in a joint statement, "We continue positive discussions with Activision around possible routes for FreeStyleGames," adding, "We have not reached an agreement as of today, however we are in continued dialogue and hope to have more news soon." The statement didn't include any other hints about how these dialogues are going, but did mention, "Messages from the industry and gamers alike have been warmly received and we are incredibly grateful for the support." Here's another for the pile: DJ Hero games are awesome, and we sincerely hope you get to keep making them.
Heroic sacrifices: The companies behind Guitar Hero
The Guitar Hero series touched many people, and not just by strapping plastic guitars to them. As the series reached its absurd heights of success, it caused more game developers to enter into the service of note charts and extreme rocker-dude 3D models. And now that Activision has stopped production on the Guitar Hero series and closed that business unit, we can look back at how it affected the people who made it -- the companies who either moved on or were chewed up and spat out by the Guitar Hero monster.
Analysts explain, critique Guitar Hero's demise
Man, these analysts get a whiff of blood and you just can't pull them off the corpse, huh? Formerly beloved franchise Guitar Hero has been dead all of a couple of days, and these jackals are already baring their fangs on Gamasutra and digging in: "It had a great run, but it also had a steep fall and the customer demand just isn't there. That money can be spent on something that has better returns." -- Damn, Eric Handler of MKM Partners, you need to take it easy. "Prudent." -- Hey Michael Pachter, where's your basic human decency? "Declining sales as well as a less appealing profitability profile owing to the inclusion of a lower-margin peripheral hastened the decision to cancel the project." -- You, Edward Williams of BMO Capital Markets, are a monster. ... What's that? You're still not sated? You're no better than them! Here, vulture, go bask in the brutality for yourself.
Harmonix issues statement on ending of Guitar Hero franchise
You might think that the developer of the Rock Band franchise would currently find themselves doing a victory dance over the grave of the recently buried Guitar Hero franchise -- however, Harmonix's John Drake recently posted the studio's very tasteful response to the news over on the Rock Band forums. "We were sad to hear yesterday that Activision was discontinuing development on Guitar Hero," Drake said. "Our thoughts are with those who are losing their jobs, and we wish them the best of luck." The statement acknowledges that sales in the music genre have slowed, but pledges, "In short, the beat of Rock Band marches on." Drake later adds, "It's been a wild battle of the bands since 2007, but we respect and appreciate all of the hard work and innovation of our peers who have shared the music gaming space with us, and we look forward to rocking in the future." Yeah! Maybe one day, after the wounds of battle have healed, you guys could get together, and form up some kind of supergroup-jam-band! You could call it Guitar Band, or Rock Hero, or, perhaps, Damn Yankees.
Develop source: 50 staff cut at Vicarious Visions
News from Activision's music game shake-up continues to trickle out, with Develop now reporting that Vicarious Visions is among the studios targeted for cutbacks. According to Develop's source, the studio has escaped complete closure, though it has been hit with "around fifty" layoffs, which the source notes is "easily a quarter of studio staff." The report adds that those laid off should receive assistance from Activision in the form of counseling and job placement services. Over the last several years, Vicarious Visions has been known primarily for developing licensed games as well as the Wii and DS versions of Tony Hawk and Guitar Hero titles. In fact, Develop reports that the studio was actually working on a new Guitar Hero when it received the news. The layoffs come as part of a company wide plan to reduce the workforce by 500 positions. Elsewhere within the company, 7 Studios has reportedly been shut down entirely, while DJ Hero developer FreeStyleGames is "actively working with Activision on various options going forward."
DJ Hero dev FreeStyleGames in limbo, 'actively working with Activision on various options'
Despite reports of "severe layoffs" at DJ Hero development house FreeStyleGames yesterday, a statement issued by creative director Jamie Jackson, design director David Osbourn, and commercial director Chris Lee says that "no decisions have been taken at this stage" regarding the future of the studio. Furthermore, the trio noted, "We're actively working with Activision on various options going forward" -- it all sounds very reminiscent of Bizarre Creations' recent closing, frankly. It certainly doesn't help that plans for future downloadable content in the DJ Hero and Guitar Hero franchises have been dissolved, not to mention Activision's statement during yesterday's financial call: "We simply cannot make these games profitably based on current economics and demand." Neither Activision nor FreeStyleGames have commented regarding yesterday's alleged layoffs.
7 Studios shut down, part of Activision music game cutback, staff report
7 Studios, part of Activision's music game division, has been shut down, according to staff posting on Twitter. Following Activision's announcement yesterday that its Guitar Hero business unit would be disbanded and no new music games would be released this year, 7 Studios producer Damon Conn tweeted, "Directly affected me. Our music games division really took a hit today." "Activision is shutting down the Guitar Hero business as of today. This includes my studio," another 7 Studios staff member named Alex confirmed last night on Twitter, "Anyone know of any open associate producer jobs?" (This appears to be the Twitter account of 7 Studios' Alex Beckers, who has updated his LinkedIn profile to reflect the end of his employment at the studio. [Update: Beckers has confirmed his Twitter identity.]) "Lame day, but [I'm] optimistic about the future [and] wish the best to all my current/former colleagues," added 7 Studios creative director Dan Lehrich on his Twitter account. "Good luck to all, let me know if I can help." Lehrich later exchanged tweets with Beckers in a heartfelt goodbye. 7 Studios was acquired by Activision in early 2009, an action that launched a still-ongoing series of lawsuits with publisher Genius Products, which had contracted 7 Studios to create Scratch: The Ultimate DJ (pictured) before Activision stepped in and scooped up the studio (halting Scratch's development). In October 2009, Activision reportedly reduced 7 Studios' staff by half, leaving the developer with approximately 30 employees (LinkedIn currently lists 36). 7 Studios was assumed to be the DJ Hero "B-team," supporting Freestyle Games as needed, including work on DJ Hero 2. "I can't tell you what they're doing, but they're doing some cool stuff," Activision exec Dave Stohl told us last July. "They have supported FreeStyle a little bit, but they're doing something new and different." According to Lehrich's LinkedIn page, 7 Studios was involved in the creation of the Guitar Hero VIP Pass DLC hub, in addition to "Unannounced Projects" for iOS and "Various Prototypes/Concepts" for a number of platforms. Both Conn and Beckers additionally list involvement in last year's Space Camp. Update: A source close to the situation, who wishes to remain anonymous, tells us that approximately half of 7 Studios' staff members were immediately laid off and will receive sixty days worth of severance pay. The remaining staff are apparently directly involved with the aforementioned lawsuits, which are reported to go to trial next month. Allegedly, these staff will be paid for the next 120 days, which is expected to cover the time it takes to resolve the legal dispute with Genius Products. The source additionally confirmed that 7 Studios had been working on a few music-related iOS games.
Guitar Hero and DJ Hero DLC supply over after February
There's been some considerable debate on these here internets about the status of the Guitar Hero franchise. Thanks to "continued declines in the music genre," Activision yesterday announced that it plans to not only "discontinue development on its Guitar Hero game for 2011" (read: cancel it) but also to "disband Activision Publishing's Guitar Hero business unit." But what about the DJ Hero franchise, and the promising DJ Hero 3D, you ask? "We will release no new music or skateboarding games," CFO Thomas Tippl said of this calendar year. It certainly appears the franchise is dead, but some insist it's simply taking a year off. They'll keep making DLC, right? Right? "We will release the previously announced DLC track and mix packs for February, but - unfortunately," a FAQ answer on the official DJ Hero website states, "we will not be able to release new DLC packs beyond what we already have." The question specifically asked, "Are you still going to make new DLC for Guitar/DJ Hero?" Of course, existing DLC will remain available (for now) and existing games will remain available at retail (for now). Perhaps most telling is that one FAQ question and answer was duplicated twice, at the beginning and end, bookending the official response with a rather ominous message. "Does this mean you're no longer making Guitar (and/or DJ) Hero games?," it asks ... twice. "Over the past two years, we have seen rapid declines in the music genre, and unfortunately, based on current demand, we simply cannot continue to profitably make these games given the considerable licensing and manufacturing costs." As a means of punctuation, that sounds awfully definitive.
Activision to reduce headcount by around 500
While we like to imagine that all the folks working on the projects Activision canceled today will just be moved to working on even cooler games while sitting in even more comfortable chairs, the company seems set on thwarting our inner Pollyanna. During an investor's call today, the company said it will release seven percent of its workforce, tantamount to around 500 people. There is sort of a silver lining looking at the company as a whole though according to COO and CFO Thomas Tippl, who said the company's size would level out by year's end. "We are making significant investment elsewhere," he said. "Our net head count at the end of the year is probably not going to be materially different given that we're ramping up development teams around Blizzard's new MMO and around the Call of Duty initiatives." That is, of course, cold comfort to those being let go, so here's hoping they find gainful employment soon.
Activision: 'No new music or skateboarding games' this year
The grim fates of True Crime and whatever installment of the Guitar Hero series that was in development are known -- but what about Activision's other perennial franchises? A few (equally grim) details surfaced during Activision's investor's call today, during which COO Thomas Tippl explained, "We will release no new music or skateboarding games" during the current calendar year. Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg added some more insight into the company's shift away from the music genre, explaining that even though DJ Hero 2 and Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock were well-received, "demand for peripheral-based music games declined at a dramatic pace." He continued, "Given the considerable licensing and manufacturing costs associated with this genre, we simply cannot make these games profitably based on current economics and demand." However, Activision will continue to support its existing music games with DLC. We're still left with a lot of questions, though (and we're working on the answers). For instance, what does this mean for the 3DS-bound DJ Hero 3D? What about the Tony Hawk series at large? Activision's frequently spoken about its staying power -- and if no Hawk title drops in 2011, it would be the first calendar year in the franchise's history without a new entry since 1999.
Activision axing Guitar Hero and True Crime; Freestyle Games reportedly hit with layoffs [update]
Despite a recent cover story in EGM, United Front's True Crime: Hong Kong won't make it to retail. Activision's latest earnings report confirms the game's cancellation, as well as the end of the Guitar Hero franchise. "Due to continued declines in the music genre, the company will disband Activision Publishing's Guitar Hero business unit and discontinue development on its Guitar Hero game for 2011," Activision said in its financial statement. The statement goes on to confirm the cancellation of True Crime. "The company also will stop development on True Crime: Hong Kong. These decisions are based on the desire to focus on the greatest opportunities that the company currently has to create the world's best interactive entertainment experiences." Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg went into a bit more detail on today's investor call: "Despite a remarkable 92 rating on DJ Hero 2, a widely well-regarded Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock, as well as a 90-plus rated release from our most direct competitor [Rock Band 3], demand for peripheral-based music games declined at a dramatic pace. Given the considerable licensing and manufacturing costs associated with this genre, we simply cannot make these games profitably based on current economics and demand. Instead, what we'll do is focus our time and energies on marketing and supporting our strong catalog of titles and downloadable content, especially to new consumers as the installed base for hardware continues to grow."Hirshberg continued, saying that True Crime's development, "was't going to lead to a title at or near the top of the competitive open-world genre." To put things more directly, Hirshberg added, "To be blunt, it just wasn't going to be good enough." If that weren't enough bad news, Eurogamer also reports that DJ Hero developer Freestyle Games has suffered "severe layoffs," though it's unclear whether the rhythm series has been affected by the alleged redundancies. We'll update this post as we learn more. [Update: An earlier version of this post was based solely on Eurogamer's report, which has since been partially confirmed by Activision.] [Update 2: United Front Games has commented on the cancellation of True Crime]
