When we’re not whittling our lives away looking at porn, we’re usually doing a good impression of Scrooge McDuck. Credit and Debit cards in hand, we’ll scour the internet for the best gaming bargains possible, not just because we’re cheap, but also because we can’t be arsed getting on the train into town at the risk of finding nothing and coming home empty handed.
The other day though we found a bargain that Scrooge himself would have thought quackers (arf). Visit the games clearance sale over at The Hut and you’ll see, right at the top of the page, DJ Hero 2. DJ Hero 2 with two decks. And a microphone. For between £30 – £35, depending on your console of choice.
That, as the label indicates, is an astonishing 77 – 80 per cent off the RRP. Naturally we bought it straight away (we can’t resist a bargain, especially one with over 100 queen heads off the original price), but we were still pretty astonished at such a massive price cut.
But, if we’re being honest, we could also see it coming a mile off. To us it’s a sign of how fickle and short-sighted publishers became to earn a fast buck in the casual market. The Hut will probably make a small profit, nowhere near what they would make if they advertised at full price, but the real losers here are Activision and the music genre in general.
DJ Hero 2 generated rave reviews globally, though that praise was never reflected in its sales. Maybe the price is so low on The Hut because people already have the turntable peripheral from the first game, but even without the amazing controller sales were incredibly low from the get go. Within its first month, sales of DJ Hero 2 across North America hit a paltry 59,000 units.
The problem was obvious. Activision released a strong new IP, but only after oversaturating the music market with Guitar Hero and making everyone sick to the back of their teeth with years of Simple Simon-esque gameplay. There was no way that style could keep people interested for years on end, no matter how good the IP – especially at approximately £150 a throw.
But it doesn’t really matter in the long run, we guess. Activision probably won’t learn their lesson, though they have stated previously that they don’t expect to release a music-based game in 2011 (which to their credit is a promise they’ve stuck to). What a revelation it would have been to stagger the Guitar Hero releases, have something of a break then revitalise the market with the release of DJ Hero.
Sadly though, greed appears to be the watchword, with disinterested gamers such as myself chewing the delicious gristle off the bones of Activision’s failures. Is there any way back for music-based games? It’s going to take something incredibly fresh to completely rejuvenate the industry, especially with the economy still sporting something of a messy bottom. Until then, we’ll look forward to the postman handing over the absolute bargain of the year.
Have you seen any incredible bargains online? Do you think there’s any way back for music-based games in the future? Let us know in the comments below!
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