Rock Band to Guitar Hero: Thanks for the Memories
- Thread starter Greg Tito
- Start date
I've been a Rock Band-er since the very first one (even with all of the screwing over we got in the UK) but even I'm saddened by the news of Guitar Hero's cancellation.Twuk said:
I have fantastic memories of the first Guitar Hero. It was purchased for me in the Christmas of 2006 and I just remember being over the moon ecstatic. Just about everything else I got didn't matter because I was a rock god! Thanks to Guitar Hero, my ears were opened up to music I'd never have tried before and it helped shape me into the person I am today.
The last GH I played was World Tour, and even then I only picked it up because it was a tenner. For the first time ever, there were songs I didn't at least like on there and I found myself bored. After that, I was done with the franchise. Especially after the myriad of improvements Rock Band 2 had and the ridiculously expansive and encompassing DLC libary it housed. Why should I shell out £40 a year for a new game with sod all of my old songs, when I could just keep my current game with all of my old songs and cherry pick the ones on the store that I'm most interested in.
This is sad proof, if anything, that Activision just doesn't know how treat any of its franchises that do not feature the words "Call", "of" and "Duty". If it isn't guarenteed to make them millions of zillions of dollars a year whilst inventing and evolving nothing in each game, they aren't interested (incidentally, Black Ops is the last year I'm buying a Call Of Duty game). Anything with any semblance of originality or different ways of playing (the phenominal Singularity and Blur come to mind), just gets shunted out of the door with little to no publicity or (in the case of True Crime) it just gets shitcanned altogether. The best developers in the industry are bought out and forced to make games that they are obviously not fit for (Neversoft and Guitar Hero, Bizzare Creations and 007 Blood Stone) and then shut down when those games don't deliver (and they have no idea why...)
This is not a strategy that it can sustain. Sooner or later, even the casual market will grow tired of Call of Duty (in fact, with some of the casual gamers I know, they all now play Battlefield). And then what? What will Activision have to fall back on?
I rest my case.
/rant.
I'm sort of glad about this really. As far as I'm concerned, Rock Band was Guitar Hero 3. GH3 was just wearing the franchises face as a mask, RB had the soul of the first games (and the developer and... well everything but the name!)
"I didn't like it" is perhaps what you meant to say.
There's a difference between what you said and an opinion. "It sucks" is not an opinion, it's a statement of fact (and is false). "I think it sucks" is an opinion, but one that can still be wrong.Jamboxdotcom said:how can an opinion be false? i loved GH 1 and 2, hated everything after that, with the partial exception of GH:WT. same with RB. loved 1 and 2, but 3 pisses me off. and i know many people who share that opinion.saintchristopher said:aaaaaannnd false.Jamboxdotcom said:good riddance to Guitar Hero. the series has been crap since Harmonixleftgot kicked out. however, to be fair, the newest Rock Band game sucks hardcore, also
"I didn't like it" is perhaps what you meant to say.
Ouch dude, show some respect for the employees who are out of work now, and the original IDEA.GavmatexD said:Thank god those games are over what a waste of time and money
Guitar Hero was fresh, it was fun, it was AWESOME. Sure, they over did it in the end, but only out of the neccesity to profit. How do you know that your favourite game type isnt under threat?
Have some taste. Theres a lot of sad people now, trolls dancing on the grave arn't going to help.
I stand behind you on this one. Being a long-retired Rock Band player, I was initially introduced to the rhythm game genre with Guitar Hero 2, arguably the best game in either franchise. For basically the same reasons you mentioned, I became indulged in both franchises of GH and RB. Rock Band to me just stood higher in my mind in terms of quality and customer satisfaction. For Rock Band 2, for example, they really stood true to the idea of "why fix what's not broken" and improved on already upstanding game mechanics and content. Once Neversoft/Activision took on the franchise on their own, the series' death just seemed inevitable to me.jackanderson said:
When I first got my hands on Guitar Hero 3: Legends of Rock, I was easily convinced that the series had taken a turn for the worst. Essential game mechanics were broken, the GUI was horrid and ugly, and the overall theme of the game was "kiddy" and less indulging. Also, the actual notations and charts for the songs of Activision's Guitar Hero were of lesser quality, created by note charters with lesser musical experience than their Harmonix counterparts. In other words, the actual notation of songs in Rock Band games more closely matches to the actual notes or note progressions of a real guitar. Activision seemed to think that if they made songs "harder" by adding unnecessary notes to their already mediocre songs, then they would be funner to play (see the unnecessary chord spamming of Before I Forget and Prayer of the Refugee on GH3).
Comparing the Activision's Guitar Hero series to the colossal impact of Call of Duty are, to me, very similar and will more than likely meet similar fates in due time. Guitar Hero games created a gaming genre phenomenon, and completely changed the way we interacted with our music. This is also true with Call of Duty on the FPS experience. Hate it or love it, Call of Duty redefined first person shooters, for better or for worse. It would be shear ignorance to deny this, for it became a household name in nearly no time at all. Activision has a habit of milking their franchises till they roll over and die, so I really don't expect any less of COD for that matter.
I like the way you thinkpark92 said:
OT: I've seen this coming since Guitar Hero 3 came out
It's clear that the people at Harmonix actually know something about music.
At least that would explain why Rock Band has properly charted songs and Guitar Hero has over-charted mess.
The people at Harmonix also have much better taste in music
yeah nobody's going to spend $150 for a pro guitarJamboxdotcom said:good riddance to Guitar Hero. the series has been crap since Harmonixleftgot kicked out. however, to be fair, the newest Rock Band game sucks hardcore, also
I don't know what Harmonix was thinking
I feel sorry for those who went unemployed, but in my opinion, the whole GUitar Hero thing was just dragging on too damn long. If it hasnt been done, they should have made a version which allows it to read the music on a device like your PC/Wii/Ext HDD etc etc so you can play music of your choice, not whats on the disc(s).
I don't care too much for the pro modespark92 said:
The reason I got in to Guitar Hero 1 back in the day was because I had no interest in learning how to play a guitar
and since I've got in to the Drums with Rock Band I've bought a real drum kit
and Vocal Harmonies are nice but I don't own 3 USB mikes, and I don't know 3 people that can sing.
the Key board is cool though, really hard, but cool. I just wish activating star power on it was easier.
Actually I think Harmonix and Drake were being VERY sincere. Why?
Quality employees.
Chances are, when Activision closed things down, that some damn good and creative employees lost jobs.
Some of those employees might be more creative or talented than people CURRENTLY employed at Harmonix. From a business stand-point it makes perfect sense: Why let extremely talented people who used to work on the only truly competitive product you had slip through, when they can be brought in to work with your own EXTREMELY talented group to make even BETTER games!?
That would be like if Bungie opened their arms to former employees of Infinity Ward. This is an industry. No sense in letting good people go somewhere else and do good work for a potential competitor.
Quality employees.
Chances are, when Activision closed things down, that some damn good and creative employees lost jobs.
Some of those employees might be more creative or talented than people CURRENTLY employed at Harmonix. From a business stand-point it makes perfect sense: Why let extremely talented people who used to work on the only truly competitive product you had slip through, when they can be brought in to work with your own EXTREMELY talented group to make even BETTER games!?
That would be like if Bungie opened their arms to former employees of Infinity Ward. This is an industry. No sense in letting good people go somewhere else and do good work for a potential competitor.