Over the past year it's been pretty noticable that plastic instrument game sales have started to drop. Since that happens to be Activision's biggest wheelhouse that isn't good news for them, and so, in an effort "to release fewer skus for Guitar Hero in 2010" Activsion has closed the doors on RedOctane. This resulted in the firing of 30-40 people and the movement of the rest of the team to Activision's Santa Monica offices.
You may remember that Red Octane were the guys who had enough faith in Harmonix to not only publish the original GH, but also make the plastic guitars for it. I don't suppose the company is entirely innoncent when it comes to the eventual whoring out of the brand to the nth degree, but it's easier just to look at Activision as the big bad guy here. DAMN YOU ACTIVISION! *Shakes fist at the sky*
This closure shouldn't actually come as too much of a surprise since Dan Rosensweig, COO of the Guitar Hero brand, stepped down two weeks ago and was not replaced with another COO. What is a bit more surprising is that in their efforts to publish less GH games Activision also closed Underground Development, which worked on GH: Van Halen. Two companies closed because Activision was too stupid to pace their GH releases a bit better. Quite a shame.
Everyone here at Dtoid wishes all those who lost a job the best of luck.
Activision Shutters Guitar Hero Creators, GH: Van Halen Developers [Kotaku]
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Contest:
10:00 PM on 02.13.2010
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Bobby Kotick is all that is douchey and evil. May he die of gonorrhea while burning in a house fire set by some crazed CoD fan.
Cool story, bro.
On the bright side, it may mean Activision won't be oversaturating and raping the music game market with each SKU/full game release which most probably would've been better as DLC; and I might be able to look at music games in general and not have the word shovelware come to mind, which is what currently comes to mind if someone mentions DJ Hero or Guitar Hero.
It's quite a shame and ironic at the same time I think that really considering back when Guitar Hero 2 came out I'd be playing it all the time, and how I wished they'd make more games like this or give me more songs to play.
The dark side of this however, is that RedOctane is no more, and 30-40 people have lost their jobs over it, and though how shallow this might be; it's a damn shame because they made really good peripherals in my opinion.
Well, here's to hoping they might be picked up by Harmonix and then Rock Band 3 may have decent guitar controllers.
Activision is the EA games of these days.
Strangely enough, the script called for a yes.
@Rammstein
That whole paragraph right there confuses me. That's a crazy amount of hate for an entire genre
That's what you get for buying the rights to a game but not the engine or talent behind it, you fucking morons.
Fuck activision.
I wish this also means the end of Guitar Hero.
I'd love for every sports franchise game to go DIAF, but you don't hear me rambling on about it like a whiny bitch. Suck it up and go buy your real guitar and go make that indie album already.
However, in the big picture this might finally fucking slow down Activision and their incessant releasing of five or six Guitar Heroes every year. If anyone deserves to learn the error of their ways, it's Activision. Hopefully they'll have a revelation about how douchey they've been and just make good games, kinda like EA (I'm not implying that CoD isn't fun, but Activision is a two-trick pony, and one of those tricks is beginning to lose it's magic).
Basically, your hate is unjustified and ridiculous.
Umm sort of? It was on the mentality of many nazis when executing people that they better shoot and kill them with one round because otherwise they would need to pay for the ammo themselves.
The officers wanted to stop doing the dirty job of genocide, and there were even many plots of Germany wanting to kill Hitler. They did all that because they had no choice.
But that's not the case/
The Nazi comment is worst examples of a failed counterpoint I have ever seen. Jeez, I've seen it so many times.
Give me one good reason to hate them. What have they actually done wrong? They published Guitar Hero? Oh, but they were the first publishers of it, which means they worked with your precious Harmonics first.
Also, they published Guitar Hero. They didn't make it. You can't really blame them for Guitar Hero being bad. They didn't make it.
Actuallly, he wasn't breaking Godwin's Law, but fufilling it. The law states that as an online discussion grows longer, the likelihood of Hitler or Nazis being mentioned as part of a comparison approaches 1.
It's presented more as a scientific law stating that it *will* happen, not a legal law against it.
So the biggest, highest earning, top of the heap publisher is closing studios?
WHAT THE FUCK? How much money did they make off of Modern Warfare 2 ALONE!?
This really gives further weight toMegaStryke's article. When the highest grossing publisher can't sustain a workforce for long term, there's got to be something wrong with the system...
Seriously, the fact that Activision *wasn't* closing studios was the only saving grace and admiration I could have for that company. I don't actually know busines, but its really shameful, imo.
It's pretty fucked up. My sympathies to the families. Acti built up an empire of devs just so they could throw them away after a year. I'm 70% sure they had this planned from the get go.
I'm pretty sure that Kotick drove a few nails into the Guitar Hero coffin on that day. GH may not be dead yet, but if Kotick keeps talking it may well be.
While I hate Activision, I never minded Red Octane. Keep in mind they didn't make the recent guitar hero games, they just worked on the instruments. They also published In the Groove (as mentioned above) and made some downright FANTASTIC DDR pads for a while.
I really liked Red Octane; it's a pity they got the boot. Maybe some of the employees can jump ship and go work for Harmonix now.
Dude music games have been around forever. Just because they may lose their mainstream popularity means nothing. There was a music game community before GH and there'll be one after. Harmonix won't die because they're owned by Viacom. Regardless of their popularity they have the backing and capital support of one of the (if not the) larges conglomerates in the world.
Why you hate music games I have no clue but how about instead of being an anti-music game fanboy you loosen up a bit? I know you're not a troll type Rammstein but if I knew what I know about music games and the video game industry and I stumbled onto this site and saw that comment "troll" would instantly pop into my head. Not the most intelligent thing you've posted.
You're right. I went back and re-read my post. It was kinda douchey. I could use the excuse that it was 1AM and I was(am) sick as hell but I will just own up to it. My true bile was misdirected at RedOctane, which I liked. Yes it sucks when you lose your job and I realize they werent the ones responsible for ActiBlizzard's poor handling of the franchise. That said, do I feel bad for the employees who got laid off? No. Why? Talented people will always find a way to land on their feet. If not in the same line of work, then somewhere else equally worthwhile. Why ya gotta make me renig, Xzyliac?? :p
I still hope Harmonix closes its doors though. Green Day RockBand? C'mon! (inb4 'u liek ramsteen so u kant talk')
Also, if you go to the Rock Band forum there are 100+ threads begging for old school Green Day. I know around here the demand isn't high but there's definitely a demand for it. It's not my cup of tea either but it's certainly not the worst they could do. As far as I can tell they're just doing what their fans are asking for. I mean we all know the Floyd and LedZep isn't happening anytime soon.
Sure GR:RB could've been DLC but it's not like it's harming anything and the market isn't saturated this year at all. One feel good hit of the summer can't hurt. Although I still wanna know about the ever so secret Pearl Jam Project.
Also,
As far as the people who lost their jobs, as an unemployed sociopath that doesn't get this society, I hope they all suffer. Fuck 'em.