Although music games may see moderate decreases in sales this year, the genre is "here to stay," according to Cowen Group analyst Doug Creutz -- and he's betting on Activision and Guitar Hero as the category's ultimate leader.
Band games, in attracting new audiences, have created a permanent market position, says Creutz. And as the industry is challenged to post year-over-year growth in the current climate, he expects Activision's music games will be up "modestly," or .7 percent year over year.
"We believe music genre sales for the company will be driven by an expansion of the release slate in 2009, which should broaden sales to core consumers," says Creutz.