Today was a day that should have been unremarkable. Activision had its usual conference call with investors to let them know how the company is doing, showing upcoming prospects within the company (usually the source of leaks for new games). Unfortunately, it seems like today was the day yet another studio was laid off.
Freestyle Games--the in-house team behind DJ Hero--has supposedly been gutted, according to an article by Eurogamer. In addition, Activision has "restructured" (fancy word for either laid off/disbanding a studio and redistributing its workers) the in-house Guitar Hero teams, canceling the 2011 Guitar Hero game in the process.
The official quote:
"[D]ue 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. 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
Not that I'm a huge fan of the Guitar Hero franchise, but I hope the developers affected by the lay-offs find new work soon.
Another game to get the axe is True Crime: Hong Kong, which looked to reclaim the glory that True Crime captured when it first appeared on the Xbox/PS2. It looked like a fairly ambitious title, and I was 'kinda' looking forward to it. The game was in collaboration with the studio behind the PS3 kart racing game ModNation Racers, United Front Games. No word on how they're being affected by the cancellation.
What I'm wondering at this point: How is Activision not completely absorbed by Blizzard at this point? It seems like Blizzard (and the money from the Call of Duty games) are what's keeping Activision afloat, but how long will CoD be able to prop Activision up?
Mark my words: Call of Duty is the next Guitar Hero.
Over-saturated and losing its touch; they need to go back to basics and try to recapture what MW did for the brand, instead of pumping out a game every year, with $15 map packs every three months.
Freestyle Games--the in-house team behind DJ Hero--has supposedly been gutted, according to an article by Eurogamer. In addition, Activision has "restructured" (fancy word for either laid off/disbanding a studio and redistributing its workers) the in-house Guitar Hero teams, canceling the 2011 Guitar Hero game in the process.
The official quote:
"[D]ue 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. 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
Not that I'm a huge fan of the Guitar Hero franchise, but I hope the developers affected by the lay-offs find new work soon.
Another game to get the axe is True Crime: Hong Kong, which looked to reclaim the glory that True Crime captured when it first appeared on the Xbox/PS2. It looked like a fairly ambitious title, and I was 'kinda' looking forward to it. The game was in collaboration with the studio behind the PS3 kart racing game ModNation Racers, United Front Games. No word on how they're being affected by the cancellation.
What I'm wondering at this point: How is Activision not completely absorbed by Blizzard at this point? It seems like Blizzard (and the money from the Call of Duty games) are what's keeping Activision afloat, but how long will CoD be able to prop Activision up?
Mark my words: Call of Duty is the next Guitar Hero.
Over-saturated and losing its touch; they need to go back to basics and try to recapture what MW did for the brand, instead of pumping out a game every year, with $15 map packs every three months.
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