Guitar Hero Fans Hope For New Game After Activision Blizzard Buyout
While the Guitar Hero franchise has not seen a new installment since 2015, Microsoft's acquisition of publisher Activision has made fans hopeful for a resurrection of the music rhyme series. The popular franchise allowed gamers to play a large collection of different songs using a large guitar-shaped controller. Microsoft's recent purchase of Activision Blizzard recently gave the Xbox creator control of multiple popular franchises, including Call of Duty, World of Warcraft and Guitar Hero.
Putting a unique spin on rhythm games, Guitar Hero's innovative controller allowed gamers to feel like a rock star on stage. The neck of the imitation guitar featured five colored buttons, with players hitting those buttons to match on-screen notes as they scrolled down the screen. A switch towards the bottom of the guitar would let players strum, forcing players to coordinate holding the correct buttons strumming at the right time. Guitar Hero eventually spun off into other rhythm games like Band Hero, which included drums and vocals, and the turntable-based DJ Hero. Unfortunately new Guitar Hero games and updates stopped releasing in 2015, with the series' focus on accessories raising prices and making the titles inaccessible.
As pointed out by Reddit user mo-par, Microsoft's acquisition of Activision could potentially lead to new Guitar Hero installments in the future. Many other users shared the poster's excitement, reminiscing about the franchise and proposing improvements for a potential new game. Repackaging the song selections from all previous installments could make for a massive gaming experience, and Xbox Game Pass could reduce the price of purchasing both the game and the Guitar Hero controller. Fans also universally request the series classic five-button controller layout, rather than the infamous six-button guitar created for 2015's Guitar Hero Live.
While the Guitar Hero franchise ended in 2015, the series' creators have continued developing creative music-based titles. Former Guitar Hero and Rock Band lead developer Greg LoPiccolo, alongside Valve programmer Tom Leonard, revealed the music software app game ToneStone back in August 2021. The music software experience, currently in a closed beta, features a user interface closely resembling the scrolling notes of Guitar Hero. However, instead of playing a specific song using rhythm controls, the player actually uses tools to create their own music and share it with other users.
Guitar Hero games were massively popular in the late 2000's, with countless gamers using them as intense tests of rhythm or casual party games. While hardware requirements sadly led to the franchise's downfall, Microsoft's acquisition of Activision could lead to a revival in the near future. Xbox Game Pass would be a perfect platform for an ongoing music experience, and Guitar Hero would draw countless music fans to Xbox consoles.
Source: mo-par/Reddit