Eight Guitar Hero Games in 2009?

[Logan Westbrook]

Eight Guitar Hero Games in 2009?

Guitar Hero fans might be feeling a strain on their pockets this year, as Activison readies a wave of titles for 2009.

Eurogamer [http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/van-halen-gh5-band-hero-for-2009] reports that according to a 'source close to the publisher', Activision may release as many as eight new Guitar Hero titles in 2009, calling to mind CEO Bobby Kotick's comments that his company was only interested in franchises that had "potential to be exploited every year across every platform".

The full list, with both confirmed and rumored titles is:

[li]Guitar Hero: Metallica (confirmed for March 29, 2009 on the PS3, 360 and PC)[/li]
[li]Guitar Hero: Greatest Hits (confirmed for June on the PS3, 360 and PC)[/li]
[li]Guitar Hero: Modern Hits (confirmed on the DS)[/li]
[li]Hard Rock Van Halen (rumored to be coming in August)[/li]
[li]Guitar Hero 5 (Likely a working title - September release rumored.)[/li]
[li]DJ Hero (rumored October release)[/li]
[li]Band Hero (rumored November release)[/li]
[li]Another as-yet-untitled DS music game[/li]

All of this is just rumor at the moment of course, with only two titles currently confirmed for a 2009 release, but even so, it's quite a troubling rumor as Activision seems intent on squeezing every last penny out of Guitar Hero fans.

It also raises the question of whether or not more specialized releases, such as the Metallica or Aerosmith titles, are really necessary in a world where downloadable content make such endeavours seem little more than an effort to cash in at the fans' expense.

Source: via G4TV [http://g4tv.com/thefeed/blog/post/693803/As-Many-As-Eight-Guitar-Hero-Games-Might-Hit-in-2009.html]



Permalink

 

[Inverse Skies]

Sigh. This unfortunately is an example of Activision trying desperately to wring every last ounce of cash they can from the public after the success of their games (which of course, weren't originally their to begin with). One or two more games would seem reasonable but eight seems way to excessive and yes, unneccessary.

It's sad that they've chosen to go down this route. It's hard to see with such a glut of titles potentially being released how any of them will significantly differ from each other (apart from the music) or bring any innovation to the table, completely destroying the point of releasing sequels.

Luckily for me I'll just ignore them, as I've had my fun with Guitar Hero and don't plan on going back to it anytime soon, and efforts such as this don't do anything to endear myself to the franchise again.

 

[sirdanrhodes]

Activision, stop pumping out the same game with a few minor changes, do a GH once every few years to keep us interested, and with each new instalment, bring something new to the series.

Like that'll happen(!)

 

[Arrers]

This is a real case of what I call "Chronic Fanchise Milking". In Fact, it's even worse than than Star Wars games.

EDIT: Harmonix has made far better choices in specialised games. Who would you rather listen to; The Beatles or Metallica?

 

[Jumplion]

My god, can't they just come out with DLC for all those songs that would be in those games? Jeez, this is obviously Activision milking the "[X] Hero" franchise.

 

[LewsTherin]

*Insert sarcastic comment about playing all the guitar songs on a real guitar for free*

 

[chuckman1]

This reminds me of what Activision did to Tony Hawk's Pro Skater
until the series died.(In my opinion American Wasteland is where things
really started going downhill,
but Proving Ground was the last nail in the coffin.)

 

[Yog Sothoth]

"Quick, bleed the franchise dry before the fans realize that Harmonix aren't the ones making these games any more!"

I am a Harmonix fanboy and will buy anything with their name on it. After seeing what Activision did to Guitar Hero 3 I will never buy another game in that series from them. Harmonix knows how to make a quality game. Activision just seems to hold out their hands and say, "Give us your money...."

 

[ChromeAlchemist]

I'm still waiting for Guitar Hero: Metalocalypse

Which would basically have every song hardwired to expert.

 

[B0BX]

This is why I prefer rockband. I'm not going to argue about gameplay because that isn't the reason why I prefer it. I prefer it because as opposed to going with guitar hero's strategy of releasing a new game for every band they want to include, rockband consistently releases new downloadable songs for the same game, which is really what I want, not another disc.

 

[sirdanrhodes]

Who would you rather listen to; The Beatles or Metallica?

Personally, I like both, but Metallica.

 

[MSORPG pl4y3r]

like most ppl here I'll ignore most of those, why do they focus on popular bands when they should release somthing a little diferant, I mean insted of rock band how about Metal Band! I know its just money spining but I like the games and if I have alot of moneyu to throw away, I'll give em a try but they could have had way more sales by making them down-load-able rather than full titles.

 

[Hookman]

8 possible games? Talk about oversaturating the market!

 

[Dramus]

So wait. What's Band Hero? Don't they already have one of them?

 

[xitel]

Wait, wait wait a minute, what the hell is "Band Hero"? Seriously, didn't they already do Guitar Hero: World Tour? Wasn't that a full band?

 

[Littaly]

Had they been
Guitar Hero Van Halen
Guitar Hero Def Leppard
Guitar Hero Tenacious D
Guitar Hero AC/DC
Guitar Hero Blue Öyster Cult
Guitar Hero R.E.M.
Guitar Hero Queen
and Guitar Hero The Kinks
and all had been downloadable song packs then I would have been paralyzed by joy, but this is pretty lame. Why don't they just release downloadable songs? That's the only thing that's going to change anyway (okay, I actually know the answer to that one). Is a Greatest Hits really necessary? People won't agree on which ones are the greatest hits anyway. Well, at least there is Van Halen.

 

[TsunamiWombat]

EA didn't change, whatever demon that was possessing them simply abandoned them for a fresher, younger host- Activision.

OH GOD GUITAR HERO QUEEN WOULD BE AWESO- no, no fight it!

 

[BobisOnlyBob]

EA didn't change, whatever demon that was possessing them simply abandoned them for a fresher, younger host- Activision.

OH GOD GUITAR HERO QUEEN WOULD BE AWESO- no, no fight it!

Surely it should be GUITAR QUEEN