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 now customers may be singing an old blues classic: “The Thrill Is Gone.”

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

The respective makers of the video games, Activision Blizzard Inc. and Viacom Inc. each have their own plans to release versions targeting discrete music genres to help boost stagnant sales.

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