Guitar Hero Isn't Dead After All

Andy Chalk

One Flag, One Fleet, One Cat
Nov 12, 2002
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Guitar Hero Isn't Dead After All


Despite what you may have heard, it would appear that Guitar Hero [http://www.amazon.com/Guitar-Hero-III-Wireless-Playstation-3/dp/B000TG92YK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1302623164&sr=8-1] is not actually dead at all, but merely resting. (And True Crime: Hong Kong may still be kicking too.)

The tears flowed freely back in February when Activision announced that the once-great Guitar Hero franchise was being put to rest [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/107672-Activision-Pulls-the-Plug-on-Guitar-Hero-Franchise] following a rapid decline in interest among gamers. All work on a planned 2011 edition was canceled and the division that handled the series disbanded. Between the end of Guitar Hero and the cancellation at the same time of True Crime: Hong Kong, 500 jobs were lost.

A few days later, Activision CEO Bobby Kotick said the publisher could bring the series back [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/107745-Guitar-Hero-Could-Make-a-Comeback-Says-Kotick] one day if the circumstances were right, although he made it clear that it wasn't a priority. But "could" is apparently now "will," according to Dan Winters, Activision's vice president of developer relations, and the only question is one of timing.

"Just to clarify, we're just putting Guitar Hero on hiatus, we're not ending it. We're releasing products out of the vault - we'll continue to sustain the channel, the brand won't go away," Winters said in an interview with GamesIndustry.biz [http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2011-04-11-activision-guitar-hero-not-necessarily-dead]. "We're just not making a new one for next year, that's all."

When the series might return with a new edition is impossible to predict, although as Winters noted the Guitar Hero brand remains at least marginally present in the public consciousness thanks to ongoing content additions like today's release of tracks by Paramore, Middle Class Rut, Madina Lake and Darkest Hour, none of whom I've ever heard of. But with the music game market as heavily saturated as it is, not just by Guitar Hero but also its arch-rival Rock Band [http://www.amazon.com/Rock-Band-3-Xbox-360/dp/B003RS8HG6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1302623395&sr=8-1], it's hard to imagine anyone seeing a near-term relaunch as a good idea.

Oh, and that True Crime: Hong Kong thing? It's not necessarily dead either. Winters said Activision was "really confident" that it was going to be a very good game "that would have been, and might still be, a very successful mid-tier opportunity for someone," but that its focus is on "big, huge monster" titles like Spyro [http://www.amazon.com/Call-Duty-Black-Ops-Xbox-360/dp/B003JVKHEQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1302623469&sr=8-1] and whatever it is Bungie is up to. "That left the True Crime title being a mid-tier opportunity which we felt was an opportunity cost against other things," he explained. "But we have a lot of confidence in the quality of the studio and the quality of the title, just not in the scale of the opportunity."


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mew4ever23

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Mar 21, 2008
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... I honestly don't know what to say here. How exactly do they plan to release a new Guitar Hero after dumping the people working on it?
 
Apr 28, 2008
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Spyro a big title?

So you stop Guitar Hero and True Crime, but not fucking Spyro?

Spyro's still getting fucking games?! Please, just let Spyro die already. After seeing the re-design, at this point your just raping the corpse of a franchise that died on the PS2.

Fucking Activision...
 

WanderingFool

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Apr 9, 2009
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JBGigas said:
Guitar Hero can stay dead, but I want my True Crime: Hong Kong! :mad:
My thoughts exactly. Honestly, I think they should just bury the damn thing. But give us True Crimes, GIVE US TRUE CRIMES NOW!!!!
 

Woodsey

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Aug 9, 2009
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"The tears flowed freely back in February when Activision announced that the once-great Guitar Hero franchise was being put to rest following a rapid decline in interest among gamers"

But... but... You make-a no sense!

Anyway, Activision really are scrounging for games. I'm starting to think they've realised that they've been digging their own grave for a while.

What I'd give for them to not be benefiting from Blizzard.
 

Zenode

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Jan 21, 2009
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So they say its "dead" but revive it A FEW FUCKING MONTHS LATER.

Either kill it or just keep milking it till its nothing but dust. The series died long ago i don't think people are gonna care if another one is released now or in a years time.
 

Mischlings

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Feb 18, 2011
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Time for the other opinion.

Though I haven't yet finished the game, I feel like Warriors of Rock and Rock Band 3 were steps in the right direction -- split the music genre so everything doesn't feel like a bunch of repeats. I'm a large fan of Guitar Hero and Rock Band (it's easier to name the games I don't have), but things were getting too similar, so there were some games that I just didn't really play at all (I'm looking at you, World Tour). They were splitting the genre into "focus on playing the songs" (Rock Band 3) and "Rock Opera in video game form" (Warriors of Rock, kind of). I think that was a positive, and it showed some actual creativity with the genre.

As for the decision to let it sit, I agree with it completely. I didn't buy GH:Van Halen (one of very few that I don't own) because it was simply one too many (and only bought World Tour because I needed a new guitar controller) in too short of a time. Let the franchise rest, give us time to start missing it, then work on something really creative with the 7th main installment in the series. Build a plot around a rock opera written specifically for the game (you have the power and the money, you know you do), make it Brutal Legend meets Guitar Hero, whatever it takes to really make us feel like it's something more than just adding more songs. I love more songs in my games, but really, that's what DLC is for (and I have spent way too much on it for RB2 and RB3, I can tell you that).
 

Frank_Sinatra_

Digs Giant Robots
Dec 30, 2008
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Woodsey said:
Anyway, Activision really are scrounging for games. I'm starting to think they've realised that they've been digging their own grave for a while.

What I'd give for them to not be benefiting from Blizzard.
How awesome would it be if they finally learned that milking a franchise won't last em forever?
OH when that happens it shall be a great day of jubilation, and CHEESE! Cheese for everyone!
 

zombie711

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Aug 17, 2009
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if guitar hero died and is now come back to life that means its a zombie
Activision buy the rights to this game, make it better, make it a sequel to GH 3 and your agent is back for revenge.
Get the people who made typying of the dead to help

for music put Annihilator, Megadeth, Anthrax, Slayer, Mercyful Fate, Iron Maiden, Flotsam and Jetsam, Overkill and... ehm "Walks over to CD collection". Death, Accept, King Diamond, Misfits, Metal Church, Running Wild, Helloween, Gamma Ray, Wolf, Thin Lizzy, Uriah Heep, Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, Blue Oyster Cult, Savatage, BLACK SABBATH, Dio, Rainbow, Judas Priest, Queensryche, guns and roses, Michael Jackson's Thriller, foo fighters, tedious D, Rush, and anamanaguchi.

there, best music game ever.
 

Woodsey

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Aug 9, 2009
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Frank_Sinatra_ said:
Woodsey said:
Anyway, Activision really are scrounging for games. I'm starting to think they've realised that they've been digging their own grave for a while.

What I'd give for them to not be benefiting from Blizzard.
How awesome would it be if they finally learned that milking a franchise won't last em forever?
OH when that happens it shall be a great day of jubilation, and CHEESE! Cheese for everyone!
It really is quite amazing. I mean, they have Blizzard, but even then they're of separate, which leaves Activision itself with...

*drum roll*

Call of Duty. One bloody thing.

The only reason EA aren't leading is because of the revenue stream Activision gets from WoW. They said themselves that it accounts for 70% of their earnings.
 

Wargamer

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Apr 2, 2008
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Honestly, there isn't much that Guitar Hero could do to make me come back to it at this point.

Short of getting Turisas, Tyr, Glittertind, Korpiklaani and a bunch of other bands and producing a "Viking Metal" edition of the game, I seriously doubt I'll pay it any attention.
 

Azaraxzealot

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Dec 1, 2009
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therandombear said:
Let it stay dead, music lists in the GH games went to the crapper after GH 3.
here here. GH: WoR was close, but no cigar (don't try and woo me with Slayer and Children of Bodom you bastards!)

plus, GH got no songs. You can't import anything and the DLC is 99% crap. at least rock band releases a metric shit-ton of songs to make up for all the other crap they release (seriously, seriously. LOOK. AT. THIS. LIST!)

what's even funnier is going on the GH forums and seeing them live in denial. thinking their game is superior to Rock Band in every way and that nothing is better than their game. seriously. its REALLY sad (and hilarious)

zombie711 said:
if guitar hero died and is now come back to life that means its a zombie
Activision buy the rights to this game, make it better, make it a sequel to GH 3 and your agent is back for revenge.
Get the people who made typying of the dead to help

for music put Annihilator, Megadeth, Anthrax, Slayer, Mercyful Fate, Iron Maiden, Flotsam and Jetsam, Overkill and... ehm "Walks over to CD collection". Death, Accept, King Diamond, Misfits, Metal Church, Running Wild, Helloween, Gamma Ray, Wolf, Thin Lizzy, Uriah Heep, Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, Blue Oyster Cult, Savatage, BLACK SABBATH, Dio, Rainbow, Judas Priest, Queensryche, guns and roses, Michael Jackson's Thriller, foo fighters, tedious D, Rush, and anamanaguchi.

there, best music game ever.
i'd buy the shit out of that. you have good taste, dear sir.
 

Waaghpowa

Needs more Dakka
Apr 13, 2010
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The only guitar hero game I thought was good was Metallica, I say make a Judas Priest one!