“Guitar Hero” will be no more, according to an announcement by Activision Blizzard on Feb. 9. It came following Viacom’s decision to sell its own unit that created the “Rock Band” video games.

The game, created by RedOctane in collaboration with Harmonix Music Systems, Inc. studio, made its world debut in 2005.

It quickly gained popularity, and it’s not hard to guess why. Ordinary people could feel like they were masters of guitar. Those of us who are tone deaf could actually play music that sounded like music.

For those unfamiliar with the video game world, “Guitar Hero” is played with controllers shaped like guitars. Players stay with the music by strumming the appropriate notes in time with the song. You can play on levels ranging from easy to expert.

Activision published the “Guitar Hero” titles for five years. After the sixth game, “Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock,” didn’t get much interest, the company showed a loss of $233 million in the fourth quarter of 2010. This year, the company will discontinue development.

No worries 8212; you’ll still be able to buy the games. Activision won’t stop selling them anytime soon.

“Guitar Hero” was the big thing during the good ol’ days of our junior high and high school years. Then “Rock Band” came along, and everything changed. It was newer and cooler. Instead of just playing guitar, participants could also play drums and sing.

Now, people are bored. “Guitar Hero” is the old thing.

Will it completely disappear or become an “old school” game for the next generation? Trends often come back around. Is it too much to hope that we can hold on to it for a little while longer?

It is quite possible that “Guitar Hero” will end up being the classic game that becomes popular again down the road, or it could become lame and outdated. When we’re grandparents, it either will be cool that we play it with our grandkids or another part of a generational gap that we struggle to get across.

It’s sad to see it go. The game started an entirely new trend 8212; without “Guitar Hero,” “Rock Band” might not have come along.

In a few years there might not even be a game in which musician wannabes wield a plastic guitar and rock out, but there could be something better. Perhaps in the future we will have virtual reality games in which the gamer can actually perform. People would feel what it is like to be an actual celebrity.

It’s hard to predict for sure what will happen. “Guitar Hero” could make a comeback. It could completely disappear. Or it could develop into something better.

At any rate, it’s time to say goodbye to the game that was such a big part of the industry. It was a good run while it lasted. So long, “Guitar Hero.” You will not be forgotten.

Chancey Herbolsheimer is a freshman journalism and political science double major from Amarillo.