Activision kills off Guitar Hero

Activision has officially decided to kill off its once popular Guitar Hero franchise, according to TechSmart.

The games that spelled the revival of the music genre have now finally been put to rest. Guitar Hero took the world by storm when first released back in 2005, spawning a tonne of sequels and ports to almost every gaming device available. It would have been absurd to think that something as big as Guitar Hero could fall off the radar so easily and unceremoniously as it did.

Activision publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg stated last December that, “It's no secret that not just Guitar Hero, but also Rock Band, and the music category in general, do not have the same mass appeal today that they did a few years ago.”

A computer games company is creating 150 jobs in a deal which "restores Scotland's reputation as a competitive location for games firms", states Press Association.

Outplay Entertainment is establishing new offices in Dundee to produce games for use on smartphones, social networks and other Internet platforms. The jobs come after the collapse of Dundee-based computer games firm Realtime Worlds, which closed last year with the loss of 200 jobs.

First minister Alex Salmond described the move as being testament to the Scottish gaming industry's skills and infrastructure.

HTC says it has funnelled around $40 million into US online gaming provider OnLive as part of its effort to strengthen its software and digital-content development capabilities, reports CENS.com.

The company is Taiwan's number one brand-name supplier of mobile phones in terms of market revenue.

It began last year investments in digital-content and software developers in hope of distinguishing itself from brand-name phone makers.