Ten years ago, Guitar Hero became the quickest video game console franchise to turn over a billion dollars in North America and Europe – passing back a significant chunk to a very grateful music industry.
But in the coming years, the plastic guitar game’s popularity – and contribution to music licensing coffers – waned considerably.
The last full-game release in the Guitar Hero series, GH: Warriors Of Rock, arrived in 2010 and typified the franchise’s performance in a new era, falling short of sales expectations.
That, though, was five years ago. The company behind the series, Activision, has now announced a reboot for 2015 – and it will be out later this year to do battle with another returning music video game giant, EA’s Rock Band.
Guitar Hero Live, developed by FreeStyleGames, introduced two new innovations: (i) GH Live, a first-person point of view ‘where you are up on stage as the star of the show’; and (ii) GHTV, ‘the world’s first playable music video network’.
GHTV is a 24-hour mode that lets fans play along with their plastic guitar to a continually-updated collection of official music videos from the newest releases to favorite hits. On release, GHTV promises to boast “hundreds” of music videos to choose from.
“Fans can pick from multiple channels and themed shows, discovering new songs as they play, and can also choose songs to play on-demand,” says Activision.
Both GH Live and GHTV are fully playable both on consoles as well as tablets and mobile phones. More exciting details will be announced in the near future.
“Guitar Hero is a franchise that so many people love. Figuring out how to bring it back with true breakthrough innovation has been years in the making, and a labor of love,” said Eric Hirshberg, CEO of Activision Publishing, Inc.
“Guitar Hero Live lets people rock real crowds with real reactions. Our goal was literally to give people stage fright. And with GHTV, we have created the world’s first playable music video network. All of it is playable on consoles, or mobile devices. Guitar Hero is back and better than ever.”
Fans of the series will be able to buy a redesigned guitar controller, featuring two rows of three buttons ‘that better reflects the way people naturally play’ including ‘two-row combinations that mimic real chords’.
The game will feature hundreds of playable songs from a diverse array of artists, including The Black Keys, Fall Out Boy, My Chemical Romance, Gary Clark, Jr., Green Day, Ed Sheeran, The War on Drugs, The Killers, Skrillex, The Rolling Stones, The Lumineers, Carrie Underwood, Pierce the Veil and Blitz Kids, with many more bands to be announced.
“We are pleased to support the launch of Guitar Hero Live, building on one of the most successful music video-game franchises of all time, and providing our artists with a fun and interactive experience for their fans,” said Bruce Resnikoff, President of Universal Music Enterprises.
Pete Wentz of Fall Out Boy and Gerard Way from My Chemical Romance are joining Activision CEO Eric Hirshberg and Jamie Jackson, Creative Director and Co-Head of FreeStyleGames, on-stage at the Best Buy Theatre on April 14th to showcase their songs featured in Guitar Hero Live and celebrate the reveal of the game.
“Guitar Hero changed the game – literally,” said Chris Koller, Vice President of Gaming for Best Buy. “And we are excited to bring Guitar Hero Live to consumers on April 18th at Best Buy stores in New York City and Torrance, California, where fans will be able to play the new game for the first time in North America.”
Guitar Hero Live will be released in autumn on PlayStation 4, PlayStation3, Xbox One, Xbox 360, Nintendo’s Wii U console and select mobile devices.Music Business Worldwide
