It’s official: we can go ahead and call 2008 “The Year of the Music Game.”  Not because music games sold so well last year (which they did), but because of how poorly they’re selling this year.

During an earnings call yesterday, Viacom’s Sumner Redstone explained how slow sales of the Rock Band franchise were dragging down the company’s earnings. In his wrap-up of January game sales, UBS Investment Research analyst, Ben Schachter, puts the sales decline into sharp perspective; EA slumped 6.2% in January, but if you exclude Rock Band games, the company’s sales were up 21% over last year.

Rock Band isn’t the only music series that’s struggling, either.  Activision’s franchise, Guitar Hero, has seen a 22% decrease in sales since last year.

Does this mean the end of days for music games?  Probably not.  There are, however, a combination of issues that are affecting sales.  The country’s economy in general has been in the tank, and while sales of $60 video game have been somewhat recession-resistant, the same doesn’t necessarily apply to big-ticket items like the $190 Rock Band 2/Guitar Hero World Tour sets.  There’s also the issue of market saturation, meaning that most fans of music games already have one of both of the games. 

So what’s the solution?  Innovation.  The reason these games sold so well was that there was nothing on the market that looked or played remotely like them.  The addition of drum kits sparked a surge in the genre’s sales, and it’s time to give gamers something new that can get people excited about music games again.  Otherwise, they’ll fade into obscurity, remembered only as a fad that died in 2009.

Related Articles:

Motörhead's Lemmy to Join Guitar Hero: Metallica

Next Week in Rock Band DLC: The Fratellis

D.J. Hero Confirmed by Activision