Activision is not satisfied with the current methods of making money from
Guitar Hero, which are sadly limited to selling the game to people and then selling extra songs. According to a statement made by Activision Publishing CEO Mike Griffith at the Activision Blizzard Analysts' Day event, the company is looking to branch out into new ways of convincing people to pay more to play something they've already bought.
Specifically, a subscription model, separate from the
early rumor of a subscription-based online play scheme.
"Looking even further out," Griffith said, "we're exploring new models, like an annual pass subscription where players can subscribe and get a certain number of songs downloadable each month." Now, we make fun of the greed that motivates the annual release schedule,
new instruments, piles of DLC, and pretty much everything else about
Guitar Hero, but this is actually a cool idea. Like a Netflix for
Guitar Hero songs.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
9-17-2008 @ 11:08AM
c4jones2 said...
This could be cool, but I wonder what happens to the songs you've downloaded once you stop your subscription. Do they stop working? that would suck.
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9-17-2008 @ 11:26AM
Sonic_13 said...
That's typically how subscriptions work. Once you stop paying, you stop getting access.
9-17-2008 @ 11:43AM
bukizzle715 said...
Yeah, but that's just access you're not getting if you quit paying. Once it's downloaded and permanently on Wii memory or SD card, it shouldn't matter, right?
9-17-2008 @ 11:53AM
c4jones2 said...
That's what I mean, its downloaded, so is it going to be full of DRM like napster or something and if i cancel a subscription I have all these "dead" files.
9-17-2008 @ 1:17PM
bukizzle715 said...
Ohhh yeah, I forgot about all that DRM garbage. Well this is going to suck if it turns out to be true.
9-17-2008 @ 11:58AM
Timdogg said...
I don't think that I would be a fan of this move. I could easily justify buying a few songs every now and than, but if I have to subscribe there is NO WAY my wife would approve.
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9-17-2008 @ 12:10PM
fco. said...
I don't think their DLC library will ever be good enough to justify a subscription. Well, I guess thats exactly why they're doing it.
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9-17-2008 @ 12:27PM
BrokenMonkey said...
it would not be at all worth it unless you could download as many songs as you want like any other music subscription service. A netflix plan would be the worst because you would have to stop playing a song just to get a new one
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9-17-2008 @ 1:11PM
ericlmccormick said...
why don't they just tap into xbox live and wiiware? are they trying to piss people off like people are right now with Spore and their DRM?
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9-17-2008 @ 1:23PM
Paul Zimmerman said...
If they make it subscription based - I will 100% NOT be buying this game.
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9-17-2008 @ 1:26PM
Gemini Ace said...
Renting content is a good idea? Um no.
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9-17-2008 @ 1:31PM
sn1per said...
I'm hoping this is something like a bulk discount, in that if you use all your allotted downloads every month, you'd save money over buying them individually, but you're not required to have a subscription to play. I really couldn't see myself paying for more than about $10 worth of DLC a year on a game that's gonna cost about $150 in the first place.
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9-17-2008 @ 1:56PM
ZombiePikmin said...
(Groans) This just sucks, like $170 + $100 for DLC isn't enough.
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9-17-2008 @ 6:51PM
TheOverlord#2 (Playing: SMRPG, SMG, & Okami) said...
No. Forget about it. That would only be worth it if they have like 100 or so DLC songs at launch. If not, please don't do that. Please. And even if it does have 100 DLC songs at launch, at least give us a option to pay for songs individualy and a subscription. That's what I would much rather prefer, options.
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9-17-2008 @ 10:21PM
Gewurztraminer says: Shinkuu Gadouken! said...
Finally DLC for GH on Wii! Wait, wait, subscription? If I pay money, download songs, stop paying money, and then can't play the songs I've paid for, count me out. Could you imagine that kind of bull for VC titles? "sure, here's Mega Man; now pay $5... a month!"
I swear, if that's the case, I'm getting a 360 and switching to Rock Band. It'll be cheaper.
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9-18-2008 @ 9:31PM
Core2 said...
After the new fricking controllers forcing me to replace the one piece of hardware that was the only reason I wasn't going to get Rock Band 2 instead and now this money-eating crap...
I... I just don't know...
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