ACTIVISION, PLEASE STOP MILKING GUITAR HERO BECAUSE YOU ARE TOO SHORT SIGHTED TO SEE WHAT AN AWESOME BRAND YOU HAVE.
Activision’s already run the once venerable Tony Hawk franchise into the ground with yearly sequels that have diluted the game so much that no one gives a shit anymore. Now it looks like they’re about to do the same with the Guitar Hero franchise in half the time. (Guitar Hero: Aerosmith is scheduled to come roughly six months after Guitar Hero 3) Take a look at Microsoft’s Halo if you want to see a franchise done right. There’s been two sequels since 2001’s Halo: Combat Evolved and each one has been a megaton event game of the year selling record numbers. Do you think the Halo brand would be nearly as strong if they cranked one out every 6 months with new levels being the only difference?
Yes, Activision should do what it can to keep the momentum of the sudden Guitar Hero craze, but they should do it with tactics similar to how Harmonix or Bungie are supporting their games – affordable and regularly available new downloadable content or, in the case of Bungie, listening to the community and tweaking/refreshing/adding game playlists. You could even figure out something new!
Whatever you do, just don’t bombard us with $60 “new” games that simultaneously insult and revolt a big part of your core audience.