Thursday focus: Shopping life

The “Guitar Hero” and “Rock Band” video games have become huge hits, generating $1.6 billion in North American sales last year from players who love jamming along with music legends.

But after surging 68 percent in 2008, sales of music games are expected to be stagnant this year. Although new versions still do well, they don’t catch fire the way they used to.

It’s unclear whether the craze is winding down or simply being hurt by the recession. Either way, the slowdown is disappointing some of the huge corporations that have made big bets on the genre.

Viacom Inc., whose MTV division owns the rights to the “Rock Band” franchise, said last month that sales of “Rock Band 2” were lower than it had hoped and cut into the company’s profit.

Music games are “certainly losing steam,” said Evan Wilson, senior research analyst at Pacific Crest Securities. Viacom and Activision Blizzard Inc., which publishes “Guitar Hero,” have unveiled separate plans to keep the party going.

Activision intends to release twice as many “Guitar Hero” games this year as in 2008, starting with a version due out March 29 that features music from heavy metal band Metallica. Viacom’s MTV Games business, which sold 2 million copies of its $189.99 “Rock Band 2” instrument kits at a loss during the fourth quarter, is looking to make up the difference by selling more song tracks. It makes little or no money on the guitar controllers, drum sets and microphones, but selling music to play on those instruments is lucrative.

Whatever … Two chains that sell clothing for teenagers are saying “whatevs” to the recession.

The Buckle Inc. reports that its fourth-quarter profit rose 18 percent and sales 21 percent as shoppers snapped up its trendy jeans and accessories.

Hot Topic Inc.’s profit rose 19 percent as sales rose 8 percent to $238 million.

American Eagle Outfitters Inc., which has increasingly focused on value but struggled to hone its fashion message, and Abercrombie & Fitch Co., which has kept price points high while its competitors aggressively discount, have seen slumping sales.

The Buckle and Hot Topic, which focus on feeding teens’ every fashion craving, performed much better than the rest of the dour retail sector.

From wire reports