Facebook's IPO Debacle, Day 3: Un-Friended and Dis-Liked on Wall…
Former Olympic Rower Turned to Minimalism to Pay Down $82,000 in DebtI don't have to tell you how utterly, unbelievably, unequivocally popular Activision's (NASDAQ: ATVI) Guitar Hero game is. It's currently selling tons of units on the Nintendo (OTC: NTDOY) Wii, the Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) Xbox 360 and the Sony (NYSE: SNE) PlayStation platforms. It's too tough for me to play, but legions of others are having a grand old time living out their rock-and-roll fantasies.
I've been wondering for a while now if the DS would ever get a Guitar Hero game. Let's be honest -- all of us know several kids and/or adults who own one of these handhelds; they're like everywhere (and, yes, I want one too, to be frank, although I hate small game devices). I was thinking that Activision was leaving a lot of money on the table by not programming a version for Nintendo's handheld. But then I thought that a DS version would be like an insult to the image of the franchise -- how could a developer possibly capture the feel of the console iterations on the little DS? Didn't make sense to me, so I figured we'd never see a DS version.
Well, I stand corrected. A version of the game will be coming to the DS in time for the summer touring season. It will come with a special controller called the Guitar Hero Guitar Grip that will work in conjunction with a stylus pick. The game will be called Guitar Hero: On Tour. Okay, reading the press release, especially from the perspective of being an Activision shareholder, indeed made me feel like this will be, when all is said and done, a good idea. Since a lot of young kids are both fans of Guitar Hero on the consoles and users of the DS, I would venture to say that Activision may possibly score big here.
Still, I have to wonder if the game's cultural impact will translate to the very-small double screens. As an anecdotal example, I know a lot of people who have purchased Call of Duty 4 for the consoles, but I don't know many who have adopted the DS version of the title. And does this release, in any way, signal a top to the Guitar Hero phenomenon? That would be hard to believe; the trend still seems to be intact, but it has to peak at some point, doesn't it?
That's one thing that bothers me as a shareholder -- how will I know if Guitar Hero's destiny is to be nothing more than a fad before it shows itself to be one? For some reason, I am ambivalent about a DS version of Guitar Hero -- I see the potential for making money, but I also see the potential for brand dilution.
Disclosure: I own shares of Activision; positions can change at any time.
Goldman Earnings Sink After Buffett Dividend
Johnson & Johnson's Income Falls 23%
Burberry Shares Leap on Sales Update
