Guitar Hero discontinued, True Crime: Hong Kong axed

[Subtle Mocking]

Not quite sure how to feel about this, is it the beginning of the end for Activision? Could other game franchises follow? There's only so long that you can be entertained by a franchise despite it barely moving forward (Call of Duty for example).

http://www.computerandvideogames.com/288194/news/confirmed-activision-axes-guitar-hero-true-crime/

[Zetetic]

No. Possibly.

Let's note that CODBLOPS has had record-breaking sales.

[Subtle Mocking]

Also, Tony Hawk games have been 'put on hold'. It's safe to say that it'll be next for the axe.

[chand]

Not quite sure how to feel about this, is it the beginning of the end for Activision? Could other game franchises follow? There's only so long that you can be entertained by a franchise despite it barely moving forward (Call of Duty for example).

COD can go on and on, because even if the gameplay doesn't move on much you're at least getting proper newly crafted levels and a coherent campaign, however flimsy. There's no real justification for releasing new GH games when new songs can be provided as DLC, as they indeed are.

[Subtle Mocking]

But one of the main reasons for GH's decline is over-saturation, they released something like 5 games in 2009. If they're pouring more money into CoD, the exact same thing could happen. Activision seem to milk a concept until it's completely dry, and then just leave it to die.

I agree on your last point though. It's not justifiable to release games at full-price when they only serve as an add-on. As for Tony Hawk, that series has been haemorrhaging money for years, last year's game only sold about 3000 copies in it's first week in the US.

[The Region Legion]

The Tony Hawk franchise needs to die at this point. Played Project 8 when I first got my 360 and while I quite enjoyed it, I don't think the series benefit from a more "realistic" tone and I never bothered to finish it. Never even played Proving Ground, and as soon as I saw they were expecting us to control it with a physical skateboard I knew it was over. What the hell were they thinking? The whole point of the Hawks franchise was to do completely ridiculous combos that could never be achieved in reality. How does that translate to riding a plastic skateboard? Spoiler:

Spoiler alert

it doesn't.

[close]

[Famous Mortimer]

God, that first True Crime game was absolute ass.

[Jemble Fred]

This is wonderful news for someone who's just written a whole spread on how great True Crime Hong Kong could be come the spring – in an issue which has already gone to print. Bunch of cunts.

[Still Not George]

Now all we need to do is get the legions of morons who buy Call Of Duty games to just CUT IT THE FUCK OUT, and the 78 billion people who play World of Warcraft in their rubber pants to all die from infected anuses, and then we can finally say goodbye to Activision.

Once we've scooped out Kotick's eyes with a spoon and raped his bleeding eyesockets, of course.

(I, er, don't much like Activision. Does it show?)

[glitch]

There's no real justification for releasing new GH games when new songs can be provided as DLC, as they indeed are.

You could say the same about new iterations of COD, especially when you look at BFBC:Vietnam being DLC instead of a separate purchase. I think this could be a really good idea for FPS developers, instead of "splitting" an audience when new versions of a game come out (e.g. L4D and L4D2).

Now all we need to do is get the legions of morons who buy Call Of Duty games to just CUT IT THE FUCK OUT

Er, why does playing a game like COD make someone a moron? Not all of us who play are LEET 360 QUICK/NO SCOPE MLG PRO DUDE people.

[Still Not George]

Er, why does playing a game like COD make someone a moron?

I didn't say it did. I said buying a COD game makes you a moron. Although given that COD players have been persuaded to buy the same game about half a million times now, there's an argument that it makes you one, too. But I'd waver before suggesting that this correlation implies causation.

[Zetetic]

This is wonderful news for someone who's just written a whole spread on how great True Crime Hong Kong could be come the spring – in an issue which has already gone to print. Bunch of cunts.

Unless you're being deliberately obtuse regarding your use of 'how great', you should count yourself lucky. Think how foolish you'd have looked if it actually had been released.

[Jemble Fred]

Unless you're being deliberately obtuse regarding your use of 'how great', you should count yourself lucky. Think how foolish you'd have looked if it actually had been released.

You seem blind to the word 'could'.

[Zetetic]

On that basis, there's nothing wrong with running the article even now.

[Jemble Fred]

Well it's not as if there's any choice in the matter, as it's on shelves today.

[glitch]

I didn't say it did. I said buying a COD game makes you a moron. Although given that COD players have been persuaded to buy the same game about half a million times now, there's an argument that it makes you one, too. But I'd waver before suggesting that this correlation implies causation.

Ignoring the fact that Black Ops and Modern Warfare 2 are very different when it comes to multiplayer due to level design and balancing.

[chand]

This is wonderful news for someone who's just written a whole spread on how great True Crime Hong Kong could be come the spring – in an issue which has already gone to print. Bunch of cunts.

You're not alone there, all the magazines seemed to have tentatively positive previews of it this month.

[Still Not George]

Wah wah wah purchasing justification wah wah wah

Man, I hate gamers. Which is a sucky state of affairs for a game developer, even a nearly-bankrupt one.


***

OH WAIT

[glitch]

SOMEONE IS ENJOYING SOME MEDIA THAT FOR SOME REASON I HAVE TAKEN A DISLIKE TO I WILL NOT STAND FOR THIS

[Still Not George]

Damn, scuppered.

[MojoJojo]

This is wonderful news for someone who's just written a whole spread on how great True Crime Hong Kong could be come the spring – in an issue which has already gone to print. Bunch of cunts.

Shouldn't you be glad that it's only just been annouced - a few weeks ago would mean you wouldn't even get paid for all the work.
If my understanding of how games journalism works is right, anyway.

[Still Not George]

Shouldn't you be glad that it's only just been annouced - a few weeks ago would mean you wouldn't even get paid for all the work.
If my understanding of how games journalism works is right, anyway.

I suppose the important question is, had they bribed you yet or not, Jemble? And if so, how many hookers and how much coke?

[Jemble Fred]

It was a brown envelope. Which was really handy, as our stationery cupboard's been empty for yonks. BOFFO!

Mojo, you would indeed be correct in freelance terms, but I'm still full-time so it would just have meant the annoyance of having to fill a spread at the last minute.

[MojoJojo]

Ah, I thought full time game journos were pretty much extinct.

[Jemble Fred]

Ah, I thought full time game journos were pretty much extinct.

Not sure how that would work, exactly, to be honest – you can't run a monthly magazine part-time. There are several hundred full-time game journalists in the UK from four or five different companies.

[Still Not George]

Not sure how that would work, exactly, to be honest – you can't run a monthly magazine part-time. There are several hundred full-time game journalists in the UK from four or five different companies.

... and the way things are going, there'll be more of you buggers than developers in about another 5 years.

[Mister Six]

you can't run a monthly magazine part-time

Doesn't stop some companies abroad from trying...

Which mag is it?

[bitesize]

as a gamer i'm more than willing to join in on the fuck activision hatefest, but we actually do a fair bit of work for them - they've published a few of our games, and have got a couple more lined up for the next couple of years. so i really hope they don't go bust, cos then we probably will as well and i'm out of a job

on the other hand, i find their whole attitude pretty indefensible, and i hate them. i doubt they're going anywhere anyway, they've got WoW and COD to prop up their business for years to come...

[Subtle Mocking]

They've just announced Spiderman and Family Guy games coming in the next year. Are they fucking stupid?