Guitar Hero was quite the unexpected phenomenon when it was released in 2005. Through its ability to make you feel like a rock star, it appealed to both casual and hardcore gamers. It sold millions of copies and jumpstarted one of the most influential and popular video game franchises. Guitar Hero fever rose so high and so fast that Activision began releasing countless sequels, spinoff games, and expansions, and for a while they reaped the profits. But over time the market became so oversaturated with Guitar Hero games that gamers simply couldnt keep up. Interest started to wane and sales plummeted. Eventually Activision was forced to put the series on hold because it was no longer proving profitable. The rise and fall of Guitar Hero should stand as a warning of what happens when a video game company focuses on quantity over quality. Activision was so blinded by potential profits that it didnt think about how consumers would react to the release of so many Guitar Hero games so fast. Now that Guitar Hero is finally coming back, maybe Activision will learn from their mistakes and be more selective about their release schedule this time. Can you think of any other video games that were victims of their own success? Let us know in the comments!
