A 'significant leap' for Guitar Hero due this holiday for consoles and DS

by Ross Miller { May 9th 2008 at 2:20PM }

Activision is planning to innovate the Guitar Hero franchise. In a conference call yesterday, Publishing CEO Mike Griffith said, "For the holiday, we will provide a significant leap forward in innovation for Guitar Hero worldwide, on all platforms." That includes PlayStation 3, PS2, Xbox 360, Wii and DS. Griffith also said that more information will be provided "in the coming weeks."

We wonder if this has anything to do with those recent rumors about Guitar Hero IV going multi-instrumental. Guess we'll find out soon.

Check out Activision's Family Album to learn more about the company's internal studios.

Tags: activision, breakingnews, drums, gh4, ghiv, guitar-hero, guitar-hero-4, guitar-hero-iv, rock-band, vocal, vocals

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

NATO_Duke @ May 9th 2008 2:27PM

Tambourines and flutes!

JJ Rooster @ May 9th 2008 2:27PM

significant leap... you mean jump the shark?

The time for Guitar Hero is over. The casuals just need to catch on.

Ghen @ May 9th 2008 5:21PM

GH3 provides better note tracks than rock band. I don't personally like the realism in RB note tracks since they detract from the difficulty of the game and therefore the enjoyment I get from beating it.

So GH3 a casual game? Not from my angle.

J. Eubanks @ May 10th 2008 1:54AM

GH3 : better note tracks than Rock Band ::

a) Soda : more nutrients than water
b) Britney Spears : better music than the Beatles
c) George W. Bush : better president than Abraham Lincoln
d) All of the above

wscbrown @ May 9th 2008 2:28PM

TurnTables - Beatmatchin' and record scratchin

Hashbrown Hunter @ May 9th 2008 2:38PM

I'd actually be interested in that idea.

Martez @ May 9th 2008 2:31PM

All the innovation in the world will not bring me back to this series until they fix the DLC pricing/bundling nonsense.

Kizzle @ May 9th 2008 2:34PM

And by "innovate" they mean Activision's usual "take ideas from more creative companies."

Zoot Suit Jedi @ May 9th 2008 2:54PM

Yessir! You are correct sir! Heyooooo!

DazzPFR @ May 9th 2008 4:29PM

HAHA...true story

copa @ May 9th 2008 2:35PM

They will be unveiling a new story mode.

Playing as Mr. Guitar Hero, you can sit down next to Tony Hawk while wearing an Axe body spray T-Shirt, and commiserate about how both of you were once respected franchises.

Kizzle @ May 9th 2008 2:38PM

We need a "comment of the week" award so the above comment can win it.

Senator Dracula @ May 9th 2008 4:50PM

Here...
Comes...
Line of the Day!

You are already full, but +1 more to you, copa.

Ghen @ May 9th 2008 5:22PM

Need more hearts. 12 would be good.

Tiptup300 @ May 9th 2008 10:04PM

Don't forget the everfruit gum!

ScottG13 @ May 9th 2008 2:41PM

It will have to be something fairly spectacular to pull me away from Rock Band.

Probably the only product I would be is a GH4 disc that is compatible with GH and RB instruments completely and adds drums and vocals.

john paul @ May 9th 2008 2:42PM

dare I say... rock band hero!!!

Scotty @ May 9th 2008 2:56PM

I vote more cowbell.

Tiptup300 @ May 9th 2008 10:06PM

Even Cowbell hero wouldn't cure my fever!

Zoot Suit Jedi @ May 9th 2008 3:05PM

Introducing.

A new member to the Guitar Hero Franchise.

An oboe. A didgeridoo. A french horn.

Together for the first time...

Blow Hard Hero!

With exorbitantly priced DLC and nonsensical song pack groupings! Learn to be annoyed by another Activision property very soon.

Haggard @ May 9th 2008 3:15PM

Yes, for just thiry-nine dollars, you too can play internet hit "Chocolate Rain" on the bassoon!

Saria the Cat @ May 9th 2008 3:54PM

I put my vote in for Saxophone Star: imagine a mouthpiece setup similar to the DS mic feature...highly awesome AND unsanitary! Every bundle comes with a free bottle of rubbing alcohol. Let's just hope this isn't going to be a strange Rock Band clone.

Saria the Cat @ May 9th 2008 3:54PM

Maximilian Lockwood @ May 9th 2008 3:56PM

Yea so my friend is a play tester on this game as well. He says it "rocks" and does, indeed, include drums and a mic. No word on other instruments, but that's probably it.

He did say the guitar is reworked so that it includes more functions like that of a real guitar. Sliding up and down with the frets and all. Something like that.

Mike E. @ May 9th 2008 4:22PM

Too little too late. As a PS3 owner, I'm not going to buy a whole other bundle of stuff when I already have Rockband. If they hadn't been greedy about wanting money for the cross-compatibility patch, I may have bought the standalone game.

Not only that, Harmonix actually knows how to handle online aspects of the game.

Neowyrm @ May 9th 2008 4:32PM

I think it would be cool if there was a guitar hero animated movie. Think about it.

deaftly @ May 9th 2008 5:22PM

6 Buttons!

Cesaria (MKW:2621-2994-1376) @ May 9th 2008 5:23PM

Why does everyone hate GH3 so much? It has a great set list and is quite challenging. People really need to quit comparing the two series, as they both offer a different experience. You know, there is room in the world for two rhythm games. Should there only be one series of every genre?

Odog4ever @ May 9th 2008 5:52PM

Aside from those people that truly hate GH3 I think people are just upset that GH3 didn't live up to their expectations of being better than the previous game.

Things that made it better than GH2:
New songs.

Things that made it worse than GH2:
Didn't fix the bundle only option for DLC.
Did not fix that DLC is not released frequently or on a regular basis.
The difficulty level is not balanced and all over the place.
The "innovation" of GH3 (guitar battles) was shaky at best.
Seems like they just phoned it in, in general.

Rockband is just a more polished product at this point. Not to mention that Activision had been pulling some pretty douche bag moves lately like not allowing PS3 guitar support for their guitar on Rock Band and starting a trend of exclusive bands/tracks (Areosmith), and out and out copying another franchise (GH4 rumors) instead of innovating (Like adding a keyboard instrument for example)

spongebolton @ May 9th 2008 7:38PM

I could go on and on but the TL;DR version is this: RB evolved a bit, GH3 listened to the hardcore kids on scorehero too much and created this strange difficulty curve, which is fine if you've played other GH games, but is offputting and weirdly inclusive if you have not.

Also, Harmonix is a bunch of musicians, Neversoft raped Tony Hawk to a bloody mess and then got this franchise to kill.

born2kill @ May 9th 2008 7:48PM

The PS2 will outlive us all!

hai2u @ May 9th 2008 10:37PM

Rock Band bores the shit out of me... It is fun when in a group, but the thing is, when I hang out with a group of friends, we can usually come up with something more fun than playing a fucking video game. Drums and vocals in GUITAR Hero sound like a terrible idea to me and Im thinking it will dilute the game and make it really easy just like Rock Band. I just hope that Activision at least adds an extra difficulty mode to keep it hard for us Guitar Hero vets. Now I can understand how people like Rock Band more than Guitar Hero 3, but it seems to me that GH3 haters are just bad at Guitar Hero/ Rock Band in general. If you're good at Guitar Hero, then you like Guitar Hero 3. I think we live in a world were both can exist and both can exist for 2 different groups. Rock Band for the casuals (yes, you know its true) and Guitar Hero for the hardcore nerds (again, yes, you know its true and yes, I am one of them).

Chyld989 (MKWii: 5241-2307-2882) @ May 9th 2008 10:59PM

So not true. I know quite a few people (myself included) that range from good to great at GH3, but still don't like the game. I'll play the game if there's nothing else to play, but I can honestly say I'll never buy GH3. I'd buy either GH2 (if I didn't already own it) or RB before I ever even thought about getting GH3.

B3astofthe3ast @ May 9th 2008 11:12PM

dude, Im also a GH vet, and absolutly despise GH3. IT was fun for about two weeks, and after beating all the songs, It was boring. The game just feels so sloppy, with the giant timing window, the hammer ons that work even if the notes not even on the screen yet, and a disgusting art style that was an abomination of what GH was.

RB, on the other hand, is perfect. And there are plenty of Challenging songs in RB, some I find even harder then GH3s songs due to the tighter timing window, songs like Green Grass, Ride the Lighting, Blackened, Screaming for Vengeance, etc. Im also hooked back on GH2, which was immensly better than GH3.

pavs @ May 10th 2008 9:03PM

if you look at the sales of GHIII, the game has not been hardcore for a very, very, very long time.

Actually, Rock Band is more hard core these days, because most people who play it were true fans of the original Guitar Hero and were willing to spend the extra cash on the bundle and stay with Harmonix before all the trend whores went out and bought GHIII from best buy. ROck Band is still too expensive for most fad seekers, who only play GHIII may be once a month, or probably don't play at all, sinse MYV no longer tells them its cool.

I actually wouldn't be surprised if Hai2u never even played the first guitar hero. If he did, he'd know it was never about difficulty, but was all about fun and innovation, two things that GHIII lacks. And how can someone call himself a "hardcore" gamer but then "dis" video games as a casual activity? sounds like a very casual attitude there.

Also, People don't hate GHIII because its hard, but because it lost that unique sense of fun the originality it once had. There are plenty of games out there which are hard to play, but everyone still loves them (Gran Turismo and Ninja Gaiden series for example) because they are fun and innovative, with each new titles pushing all sorts of limits and boundaries. The only thing that Activision will be pushing with new guitar hero games is boat loads of money into its already fat wallet.

play the drums on Faith No More's Epic, good night and good rock.

hai2u @ May 10th 2008 10:15PM

Okay heres the thing. All around, I can agree, Rock Band is a better game. There is a lot more, better DLC and there is the drums and vocals. The art style is much better and I love being able to make my own dude. The only thing I don't like about it really is the lack of difficulty. I got used to the punishing difficulty on GH3 and when Rock Band came out, it was way too easy. Now if Harmonix can release some more metal songs like they did with At the Gates, The Haunted and Metallica, maybe I'll jump the GH ship because then I can have my difficulty (its metal, so its kinda hard by default) and all the other good things about Rock Band. And trust me... Im no casual gamer and I've been playing GH since the first one.