According to the recently released October sales numbers by the NPD group, first week sales for the newest installment in the Guitar Hero series may have been a disappointment to Activision CEO Bobby Kotick and Co. Sales for Guitar Hero World Tour in its first week (launch date October 26) were 534,000 units. Compare this to last year’s October release of Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock, whose sales were 1.4 million units in its first week and you’ll see the huge disparity. Could we be seeing signs of the rock game war raging between Activision and its closest competitor Harmonix’s Rock Band series?
Of course, there is always more to numbers than meets the eye, as avid gamer (and RockGamer contributor)Miguel Molinari pointed out in a recent comment about a similar story on gaming website Gamasutra. Regarding Guitar Hero World Tour not making the list of top ten games in October sales, Molinari points out, ”…competition has been incredibly heavy the past month with the launch of Fable, Fallout, SR2, Dead Space and now GoW2, the WoW expansion and L4D, and the list goes on…” This season also brings new competitors in the music game niche itself, with Rock Band 2 released in September, as well as new games such as Rock Revolution from Dance Dance Revolution maker Konami, Wii Music, and more slated to hit before the holiday season.
Another argument could be that overall sales in the gaming industry are expectedly lackluster, lock in step with a faltering economy. However, recent evidence actually disputes this. While not as high as the 73% increase in revenues seen in 2007, USA reports sales of console game systems, software and accessories rose 26% compared to last October.
Whether we’re beginning to see the signs of music game fatigue or if this is just a combination of a poor economy, and music and non-music game competition, only time will tell. Activision, with it’s Guitar Hero series has had tremendous success, and we’re likely to see more from the team before they waive the white flag.
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1Jay G
on Nov 16, 2008 at 6:08 pm:
I basically had to make a financial decision: RB vs. GH.
I consider RB more accessible (ie easier) and RB’s incredible supply of DLC allows you much more control over the kinds of songs you play.
RB it is. Judging from my friends list, a lot of people saw things the same way.
2kenshinesca
on Nov 16, 2008 at 11:08 pm:
I think you made the right choice. I think Activision really nerfed star power on drums, to the point where I don’t really enjoy playing it as much because of it. The DLC is also incredible for Rock Band.
3ro
on Nov 16, 2008 at 11:28 pm:
ROCK BAND FTW of all times.
4Skogsgeorge
on Nov 17, 2008 at 6:33 am:
Talk about a hard living.
Over here in Sweden, I’m getting Guitar Hero: WT, since it’s releasing in a week. Although Rock Band 2 hasn’t even discussed a release date for Sweden yet… Just got Rock Band 1 in August so, I’m gonna keep looking forward to this at least. Been psyched about it for a while, but it seems as if Rock Band 2 is going to be a lot better. Well, until Rock Band 2, I’ll have the Guitar Hero World Tour songs to feast on!
5Sid Kafizz
on Nov 17, 2008 at 10:46 am:
I finally had a chance to drum a little in WT this past weekend. I use an ION kit, so there’s strike one - I hate, hate, hate the stock RB1 kit (which is what I was forced to use)! Call me spoiled.
Both games have their advantages. RB has been around longer, and I’ve already invested a good chunk of change in hardware. The massive DLC library is a huge advantage, too. Whether or not it’s just me being adjusted to the interface, I’ll give the gameplay advantage to RB also - it just feels better to me by now. The purple kick gem didn’t work well for me. WT gives you the nice “analysis” tools after you’ve played each song (which sections am I screwing up?). WT also has Judy Nails.
Overall, RB wins. Until my drum kit is guaranteed to work with WT, I won’t even consider picking up the game alone, which is too bad because there are a few songs on the WT disc that I’d really like to have.
6Chicago Horde
on Nov 17, 2008 at 3:10 pm:
While there are many factors contributing to the sales numbers, I think the most obvious reason is that many people, like me, were turned off of the GH franchise after GH3 due to the difficulty increase, which led most of the casual followers, and several of the more hardcore users to go the RB route due to RB being more fun. GH Aerosmith, GH On Tour, GH Decades, and GH Metallica have also shown that GH has become more about Cashtivision milking more $$$ outta the franchise instead of fixing what was broken in GH3 to make the game more fun.
Admittedly, I’ve only played World Tour for about 20 minutes on vocals, and I wasn’t impressed with anything the game offered. While GHWT has some killer tracks I’ve been dying for, I’m much happier with RB/RB2 and the huge list of DLC to pick from, along with the much better fun factor. (IMO)
I admit that unless the track list is crap, I will be grabbing the Metallica game near launch date though, mostly because I’m a huge fan of their early stuff, and will probably never get a chance to play those songs for a LONG time otherwise.
7Chicago Horde
on Nov 17, 2008 at 3:13 pm:
Also forgot to mention the fact that in GHWT’s band mode one person failing out ends the song is completely stupid. I like the “saving band members” method of RB much better.
8Mr. Bungo
on Nov 18, 2008 at 2:04 am:
I’m a former GH fanatic, but GH3 was a definite step in the wrong direction. Not only was the difficulty spike a kick in the yarbles, but the game took a visual stumble into a box of ugly, and things like the lame battle mechanic didn’t help. Even though there were some great songs on there I played several times, the game was sorely missing that Harmonix magic, which Rock Band had in spades.
As a result, I bought Rock Band 2 as soon as I could, but I rented GH:WT, played the songs I liked, and sent it back. Once again, Harmonix understands the whole idea of making music fun and collaborative, not a contest. The RB2 experience is a lot more polished and intuitive, not to mention a great time. Despite some nice touches (open notes on bass), and some great songs, GHWT just isn’t as much fun. Plus the breadth and amount of songs for Rock Band can’t be beat.
Finally, I prefer my music games without creepy digital muppets of real rock stars. Especially really dead real rock stars. Yuck.
9ROYSTUR
on Nov 19, 2008 at 3:36 am:
Wow, I didn’t realize RB2’s September release practically tricked me into staying loyal. That was an awesome move! I picked up RB2 immediately on release. Then I HAD to have the new Strat… Then the Ion kit… When GH:WT hit shelves, I was reluctant to spend any more money on music games, so I rented it. I would roll my eyes each time I came across repeats from the RB set list and returned the game after two days. Then I ended up spending my money on Gears of War 2 (and more RB DLC). Brilliant strategy.
Quite honestly, I would have been swayed if Judy ran in place and did her little hip shake from the Harmonix days. I miss the old Judy.
…oh, right. Rock Revolution came out in October, too.