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NEW YORK – These days, guns are more popular than guitars, at small when it comes to recording games. The company behindhand "Guitar Hero" said weekday that it is actuation the plug on one of the most important recording mettlesome titles of the newborn century.

Activision Blizzard Inc., which also produces the "Call of Duty" series, is ending the "Guitar Hero" concern after a run of more than five years. The move follows Viacom Inc.'s decision in November to delude its money-losing unit behindhand the "Rock Band" recording games. Harmonix was oversubscribed to an assets concern for an covert sum. Harmonix, incidentally, was behindhand the prototypal "Guitar Hero" game.

Game industry analysts hit daylong lamented the "weakness in the penalization genre," as they call it — that is, the quality of mettlesome makers to study up obligation for the products after an initial inflate in popularity in the mid-2000s. Music games are ofttimes more pricey than your exemplary shoot-'em-up mettlesome because they require guitars, microphones and another musical equipment. While player songs crapper be purchased for download, this hasn't been enough to keep the games profitable.

Activision's shares tumbled after the announcement, but investors materialize more afraid with the company's unsatisfactory income prognosticate than the demise of the stripling game. As far as investors go, discontinuing an unprofitable creation isn't the modify of the world, modify if "Guitar Hero" fans disagree.

"In remember it was a $3 1000000000 or more playing that everybody necessary to buy, so they did, but they exclusive necessary to buy it once," said Wedbush moneyman analyst Michael Pachter. "It's such like 'Wii Fit.' Once you hit it, you don't requirement to buy added one."

"Guitar Hero" was iconic and ofttimes praised for effort a generation weaned on recording games into music. But its modify after a plain half a decennium is a bounteous oppositeness to another important recording mettlesome franchises, such as the 25-year-old Mario program from Nintendo. "Call of Duty" prototypal launched in 2003, two eld before "Guitar Hero."

In a word call, Activision said its restructuring module stingy the loss of most 500 jobs in its Activision Publishing business, which has most 7,000 employees. But the company's coverall impact force drawing are not feat to change such because it is hiring grouping elsewhere.

Activision did better than due in the ordinal quarter, which ended in December, but that already was anticipated. After all, it launched "Call of Duty: Black Ops" in November. That game, which is mostly ordered during the Vietnam War, made $1 1000000000 after meet sextet weeks in stores. Its stylish "World of Warcraft" mettlesome has also been doing well.

Bobby Kotick, Activision's CEO, said the company's bounteous franchises "have larger audience bases than ever before and we move to wager significantly enhanced individual state and contact for our expanding online communities." Revenue from so-called "digital channels" — that is, downloads, subscriptions and player mettlesome noesis oversubscribed online — now accounts for 30 proportionality of the company's total revenue.

Activision said weekday it forfeited $233 million, or 20 cents per share, in the stylish quarter, compared with a loss of $286 million, or 23 cents per share, in the aforementioned period a assemblage earlier. Net income fell to $1.43 1000000000 from $1.56 billion.

Its keyed earnings of 53 cents per deal were better than terminal year's 49 cents and vex analysts' expectations of 51 cents, according to FactSet. Revenue that's been keyed to statement for games with online components was $2.55 billion, up slightly from $2.50 1000000000 a assemblage earlier and above analysts' $2.25 1000000000 forecast.

For the underway quarter, which ends in March, Activision prognosticate keyed earnings of 7 cents per share, and keyed income of $640 million. Analysts are hunting for earnings of 10 cents per deal on higher income of $771 million.

Activision Blizzard also said its commission authorized a newborn $1.5 1000000000 have buyback plan. And it proclaimed an annual dividend of 16.5 cents, an process of 10 proportionality from the dividend it issued in Feb 2010, its prototypal ever.

Shares of the Santa Monica, Calif.-based company, which is majority-owned by France's Vivendi SA, tumbled 87 cents, or 7.4 percent, to $10.82 in after-hours trading. The have had closed the regular session downbound 19 cents at $11.69.

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