Activision announced last week the end of two major franchises, the Tony Hawk skateboarding series and Guitar Hero. At this point in gaming why should anyone care? I’ve been listening to people come in to the game store I work at and say “Meh, those games needed to be over a long time ago anyway.” The idea that these franchises had been beaten to death over a long period of time isn’t exciting or new to anyone. No one was blindsided with this news and cried over it (with the exception of maybe Tony Hawk). So why does news like this frustrate me? Why does the cancellation of True Crime and the legal issues (which I’m not gonna pretend I truly understand) with Infinity Ward make me think things are headed in a direction that is bad for gamers?
Quality versus Quantity. If it makes us money, make more of it whatever the cost. If it takes more time to make a better game, that’s not gonna work. Turn and burn those sequels until the franchise dies on a conference call. How many games have you bought over the last few years that had a number at the end of the title or a very common name at the beginning? Halo Reach? Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood? Need for Speed Hot Pursuit (which they didn’t bother with a number because they have had so many they can’t keep them straight anymore)? Fable 3? Call of Duty: Black Ops? Star Wars Force Unleashed 2? God of War 3? These games have been wildly successful. A lot of the examples here are some of the biggest games to have ever been released., but there was a time that Guitar Hero and Tony Hawk would have been in the mix for a piece of what these games have now. As game players, a sad truth can be found in the fate of Tony Hawk Pro Skater and Guitar Hero for all our favorite games. Who knows which blockbuster game series is gonna get the treatment next. If it makes us money, make more of it whatever the cost.
The implication here, is that Activision ran these games into the dirt and didn’t provide the necessary support to make these games successful. This may be unfair, it may have just been time for these games to end due to the public wanting nothing more to do with them. As the mainstream of the industry shifts, games do get left behind. It’s something that has gone on for a long time in most forms of media. People make what sells and it seems these games were in a position where their time was up. That could be true, but you have to wonder if the publisher was partly responsible for the demise of Tony Hawk Pro Skater and Guitar Hero by flooding the market with these games year after year after year because they were good for a quick easy buck, I ask you who’s next?
Moral of the story: Next time you are in your favorite game store watching promotions for the games you enjoy run on the giant TV, think about how much time your series may have left.