Well early last year I predicted that Guitar Hero would be meeting it’s fate very soon. I explained that I felt it was time to move on from that game and to explore my options in the pro gaming world to ensure that I’m always keeping myself busy. Last year I notice a DRAMATIC drop in Guitar Hero tournaments ever since the release of Guitar Hero: World Tour. After seeing that Guitar Hero just got worse after that (GH5 and Band Hero) It was very clear that Activision just stopped caring about the game and put more focus into producing as many versions of the game as possible as fast as possible and having celebrities promote the game then they did on ensuring that people actually liked the game and was having fun with it. Every version of the game just got worse and the dollar amount spent per game just went up and up even though sales for each version were worse then they had been before.

Last summer over 150 testers were laid off from Activision as they opened a new division in Quebec, Canada to take over the testing for all of their rhythm games. Recently Kotaku has been posting about the massive lay offs and shut downs associated with all companies involved with Guitar Hero and it’s been announced that the only games scheduled for release this year are Guitar Hero 6 and a new DJ Hero meaning that this is the end of Guitar Heros reign in the rhythm world.

Some excerpts from Kotaku:
“Luxoflux, also responsible for True Crime and Kung Fu Panda games for Activision, is said to have been shut down completely, according to former employees. Approximately 55 people have been let go, according to sources at the company, with some possibly being transferred to Call of Duty developer Treyarch.

Activision is said to have laid off another 50 at developer Neversoft, formerly of the Tony Hawk Pro Skater series and responsible for the Guitar Hero series after the departure of Harmonix. “

They later posted:
“In addition to sackings at Neversoft and Luxoflux, Kotaku has learned today that publisher Activision has also laid off employees at RedOctane and internal studio Underground Development.

We’ve heard that RedOctane, the publisher of the original Guitar Hero and creator of the franchise’s plastic instruments, has been completely shut down. Those responsible directly for the series’ hardware will now report straight to Activision, while those remaining – around 30-40 people – have been shown the door.

Also reportedly affected is Underground Development, an Activision studio responsible for games like Guitar Hero: Van Halen and…BMX XXX. We’ve heard that, as of today, the entire studio has been shut down.”

Activision says:
“As we discussed on our earnings conference call yesterday, we are directing our resources against the largest and most profitable business segments, and as part of this initiative, we are realigning our resources to better reflect our slate and the market opportunities”

Oh COME ON! Don’t act like you JUST NOW discovered you guys spent WAAAAY too much money on the Guitar Hero series. What happened to just going the route of Guitar Hero 2? That game was all word of mouth and was a HUGE seller. Once they made 50 million versions of the game and paid every celebrity that would agree to get in their underwear and slide across the floor, they should have known they spent WAAAY too much money on the franchise and they were slowly strangling it to death. All they had to do is give us Guitar Hero fans 2 REALLY GOOD Guitar Hero versions in a year and we’d be happy. DLC keeps us busy… they kept coming up with SO many versions of the game and forced everyone to purchase peripheral after peripheral and it just got annoying. Am I wrong? Please… state how you feel about this!!! I loved Guitar Hero and all… but after Smash Hits and Metallica I got sick of the game.

With all of the lay offs the end is near for Guitar Hero. What does that mean for me? Nothing much! I haven’t done much with Guitar Hero lately as there are only 2 competitions involving Guitar Hero planned for this year Devastation and WCG 2010 and due to the fact that the game for both is Guitar Hero 5 and it’s basically just going to come down to whoever memorizes the best star bath and not really involve skill at all, I’m most likely not competing in either competition this year. I have been too busy with my plans to start my own business and practicing Street Fighter 4 for EVO to sit around and watch star path videos. I WILL however, still be competing in Rock Band 2 tournaments.

To everyone who recently lost their jobs due to all of this. I am sorry for your loss… I too was laid off last year so I know how it is to go through the lay off process. My advice to you all, collect your unemployment and use your time off to do something you’ve always wanted to do.. trust me… there are bigger and better things waiting for you out there. I wish you all the best of luck in the future.

To anyone who focuses their career on Guitar Hero only… I tried to warn you.