Activision’s fiscal report for 2009 contained some seriously juicy news. First, there’s the scandal at Infinity Ward. Second, there’s this. The report included statistics regarding the company’s revenue sources, revealing that a large majority, like 68%, come from just three franchises: World of Warcraft, Call of Duty, and Guitar Hero. The report also noted that WoW accounts for a whopping 98% of Blizzard’s revenue.

The obvious concern is for one of those franchises to flop. One bad Call of Duty and suddenly Activision doesn’t look so stable. As the company puts things, “Due to this dependence on a limited number of franchises, the failure to achieve anticipated results by one or more products based on these franchises may significantly harm our business and financial results.” I would say so, fellas.

We already know that rhythm games are on the decline and WoW hasn’t grown in more than a year. No wonder Blizzard’s trying to push Starcraft 2 out the door by mid-year.

Source: Kotaku

The Guitar Hero division at Activision has made some changes to its executive tier. Former CEO Dan Rosensweig left the company to hook up with Chegg.com, a site that allows users to rent textbooks. The site recently broke $160 million in investor funding.

Activision’s former COO David Haddad will be taking up the mantle on the struggling franchise. There had been some speculation as to whether or not Rosensweig was fired due to the franchises suffering sales. Activision denies those rumors, claiming that the move was completely voluntary for all parties.

Whatever the case, we can hopefully expect some changes from a genre of games that has been reluctant to innovate.

It’s easy to think of Guitar Hero as a mint, a source of nearly endless money for everyone involved that’s just now starting to dry up. That’s not exactly the case.

Darren Richardson, the president and CEO of peripheral manufacturer Mad Catz, told Kotaku today that his company paid $300,000 so it could back out of the original contract due to an ongoing lawsuit with Konami.

“Guitar Hero was a game that we were actually involved with early on and pulled out because of a lawsuit with Konami,” Richardson said. “We were doing the Xbox SKU and that’s why there was only a Playstation 2 launch. That’s why. We were in there and we pulled out as a result of (the lawsuit) and (Red Octane and Harmonix) went forward and it turned out to be a success, a huge success.”

Somehow Richardson has a sense of humor about the whole thing. “Everyone else made hundreds of millions and we paid money to not be a part of it,” he said. “It was brilliant. I come up with these strokes of genius from time to time. That was my best.”

If only sarcasm could turn back time.

Source: Kotaku

The world’s love affair with plastic instruments was bound to end some time and it looks as though that time is now. According to the latest NPD data, rhythm games are struggling, showing weak sales despite new genre releases like DJ Hero and The Beatles: Rock Band.

As always, things are relative. The games may not be doing as well as they were, but Michael Pachter still thinks the niche will level out somewhere around $500 million in sales a year. That’s a pretty little penny, even for a company like Activision. Developers need to pick their ventures wisely, though. DJ Hero tanked. Hard. In a shrinking market that’s the last thing you want, especially after paying for the likes of Jay-Z and Eminem. Even The Beatles: Rock Band undersold expectations by 200,000 units.

Source: Reuters

Despite endorsements by some of today’s biggest names in hip-hop, DJ Hero has seen some pretty weak sales and even worse reviews. If price was the the thing holding you back, the Guitar Hero Store has a treat for you – its knocked $20 off the price of the rhythm game, bringing it down to $79 for this generation of consoles and $64 for the PS2.

To get the promo price, which is temporary, enter code “DJHPP1″ on checkout. That’ll free up your Andrew Jackson for other holiday gifts this year. Might I recommend something from the Bullz-Eye gift guide? I think I might. I think I just might.

Source: Slick Deals

No Doubt is suing Activision over unauthorized use of the band’s image in the new Band Hero. Originally the two parties had a contract that allowed Activision to use likenesses of the band members for its own songs. The new game allows players to use No Doubt members as avatars playing other songs, which the band alleges turns them into a virtual karaoke act.

You might remember Courtney Love raising the same stink about use of Cobain’s image for other artists’ work. In this case, though, it seems Activision has put the avatars into situations that could have some legal ramifications. As the lawsuit states, Band Hero stages Gwen Stefani, No Doubt’s sassy frontlady, singing The Stones song “Honky Tonk Woman.” The problem is that the feature “results in an unauthorized performance by the Gwen Stefani avatar in a male voice boasting about having sex with prostitutes.” I’ve certainly heard celebrities cry foul over less.

As expected, Activision claims to be within its rights. No Doubt is looking for damages, an injunction, and a recall of existing copies of the game. Good luck with that one.

Source: Reuters

Really, Polk? You used to be so respectable. None of this whoring about trying to make a dollar. Just good, quality audio equipment. Not anymore, though. It seems you’ve jumped on the Field-of-Dreamsesque “If we make it they will buy” mentality that us free-thinking types truly loathe.

Yes, folks, Polk has decided to make a ridiculous video game monitor as well for all of your video game jam sessions. As with Altec Lansing’s Stage Gig, you simply plug your console into the side of the monitor and voila, you’re transported to a world of 60-watt, rock-induced ecstasy. Coming for the holidays, an automated bra-launcher/boobie-flasher to tuck behind your TV for that authentic rock experience.

It looks like Altec Lansing wants a piece of the Rock Band accessory action, even if it means making a product as ridiculous as the Stage Gig. This guitar amp for fake guitars is really just a 40-watt speaker set on an angle so you strike a rocker’s pose in your mom’s basement.

The unit has a single stereo input and output, so you can hook the console straight into the speaker, or chain gang it as a part of your regular setup. If you’re actually willing to spend $100 on this thing, please never contact me for any reason. I’m all for getting into your games, but this takes fake musicianship to an unhealthy level. Like air guitarists but decidedly less cool.

When I first heard Band Hero I thought it was a joke. Shouldn’t that be “Band Heroes?” In any case, isn’t it the most terrible name for a video game ever? I just didn’t think it was real. Well, it is. As it turns out you can actually get the demo on Xbox Live.

Here’s the blurb from Major Nelson:

Band Hero features an all-star lineup of pop music featuring the best variety of classic chart-topping hits and current hot artists. This demo features Finger Eleven “Paralyzer”, Katrina & The Waves “Walking on Sunshine” and Taylor Swift “Picture to Burn”. Includes Party Play and the all-new Sing-Along mode.

I’m willing to admit that the music games usually illicit at least a tepid interest for me, but this is an exception (right along with DJ Hero). Not my kind of music, and even if it was, I might boycott in protest. Alas, it seems nothing can stop Bob Kotick and his relentless quest to swindle the masses out of every last penny we’ve got.

No matter how many new features they add to the latest installment of “Guitar Hero” or “Rock Band,” you’re still just strumming the same plastic guitar, only to a different set of songs. It’s a pretty harsh statement to be sure, but for those looking for a completely different music rhythm experience, Activision’s got you covered. “DJ Hero” may sound an awful lot like its axe-shredding cousin in spirit, but the gameplay mechanics couldn’t be any more different. Ahead of its October 27th release date, Activision hooked us up with a demo unit to test out the game, and though I was skeptical at first, just like my first day with “Guitar Hero,” addiction quickly set in.

The first thing you’ll notice about “DJ Hero” is the turntable controller. Though the last thing anyone really needs in this day and age is another piece of hardware that can only be used for one type of game, Red Octane has done an incredible job in constructing a solid peripheral that doesn’t take up too much space. A majority of the turntable is dedicated to the platter (AKA the place where the records go), which spins 360 degrees and includes three colored buttons: green, red and blue. The other section snaps on to either side of the platter (making it lefty friendly) and includes a crossfader, an effects switch, a Euphoria button, and all of the basic buttons from a standard controller.

After a lengthy (but completely necessary) tutorial by DJ Grandmaster Flash, I was finally given the chance to scratch, mix and sample my way through three different sets: Marvin Gaye’s “I Heard It Through The Grapevine” vs. the Gorillaz’s “Feel Good Inc.,” Gwen Stefani’s “Hollaback Girl” vs. Rick James’ “Give It To Me,” and Benny Benassi’s “Satisfaction” vs. the Black Eyed Peas’ “Boom Boom Pow.” As you can tell from those six songs alone, the final set list (which will include 100 tracks and over 80 different mixes) is pretty eclectic, though there’s still a strong focus on hip hop. That’s about what I expected considering the audience that “DJ Hero” is targeted for, but what I didn’t expect was just how challenging the actual game would be.

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