2009 is last hurrah for ailing music-rhythm videogames
by Stevie Smith - Dec 21 2009, 06:51
Apparently no one's playing. Image: (e)Spry/Flickr.
It’s been a long time coming but, if current analyst projections are anything to go by, it would appear the popular music-based videogame sector has finally reached a point of over saturation as gamers look elsewhere for their interactive thrills.
Once the hugely profitable darling of the gaming industry, thanks to the strength and appeal of titles such as Guitar Hero and Rock Band, sales attributed to the music-game category have slumped dramatically during 2009, according to Wedbush Morgan Securities analyst Michael Pachter.
According to Pachter, music-based videogames pulled in $1.4 billion USD in revenue during the course of 2008, but will be lucky to have amassed $700 million USD by the time 2009 draws to a close.
The abrupt drop-off at retail is more notable given that the final quarter of the year has been populated by supposedly heavyweight category entries such as DJ Hero, Band Hero, Guitar Hero 5 and The Beatles: Rock Band – none of which have sold with any form of formidable momentum.
Recent market figures offered up by NPD Group show that The Beatles: Rock Band has sold 800,000 units since launching in September – falling some 200,000 units short of expected sales.
Similarly, Guitar Hero 5 shifted 500,000 units in its opening month at retail, which is a considerable disappointment when gauged against the 1.4 million units sold by predecessor Guitar Hero III during its first month of availability.
The Reuters news agency reports that new music franchise DJ Hero, which was supposed to take the genre in a refreshingly different direction, has not yet proven to be a popular draw for consumers – likely because of the $120 USD necessary to secure both the game and its turntable controller.
As a result, industry analysts Cowen & Co. have dropped their 2009 sales forecast for DJ Hero from 1.6 million units to just 600,000 units.
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