Friday, February 11, 2011

The Day the Music Died

Two days ago, gaming mega-company Activision announced that they are discontinuing the Guitar Hero franchise. It's not really a surprise, given the insane way they milked the series with game after overlapping game, none ever capturing the magic of the first installments designed by the original developers, Harmonix. (Now makers of Rock Band.)

I personally haven't bought a Guitar Hero game since World Tour, more than two years (and half a dozen versions) ago. Still, it's the brand that started it all, and the one more people seem to recognize by name, despite the superior design of Rock Band. And given that games are my industry, it's never good news to hear about massive layoffs at a company.

I know how much fun I had playing those early games. I still remember my first Guitar Hero experience, followed by an insane scavenger hunt to find a store in town that actually had a copy in stock.

Here's hoping that the reduced competition, as well as the recent release of Harmonix back to being an independent company, means things will pick up for Rock Band, my game of choice.

Keep rockin'!

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