Guitar Hero rises from its grave with new controller, gameplay, and more

Did you think you were done with the Guitar Hero franchise? Well, think again.

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Activision has announced Guitar Hero Live will be available on PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Wii U and select mobile devices this fall.

As we learned from our earlier report, Guitar Hero Live is being developed by FreeStyleGames, the studio behind the DJ Hero series, and will feature GH Live, which is a first-person point of view where the player’s perspective is seen from the eyes of the performer on stage, which Activision says “delivers the full emotional roller coaster of being on stage and performing in a real band.” This feature will have dynamic crowds that will reach to the player in real-time to how they’re playing.

The game also includes GHTV which is being touted as the world’s first playable music video network. This mode allows players to play along to a continually-updated collection of official music videos at any time of day as it’ll run for a full 24 hours per day. GHTV will feature a wide variety of music videos that range from the newest releases to favorite hits as players pick from multiple channels and themed shows in order to discover new songs to play, or choose songs to play on-demand. Players will be able to play with their friends locally as well as take on other players from around the world to see who can achieve the highest score on any given song while also completing challenges along the way.

Guitar Hero Live will introduce a modern, redesigned guitar controller that features two rows of three buttons that reflects how people naturally play a guitar. The new controller ensures players of all abilities can enjoy their experience with Guitar Hero Live.

What’s a Guitar Hero game without music? Activision will feature rock, folk, EDM, hip-hop, country, and pop artists as the title will feature hundreds of playable songs from artists like The Black Keys, Fall Out Boy, My Chemical Romance, Green Day, The Killers, The Lumineers, and more.

Activision is giving Guitar Hero fans the chance to check out Guitar Hero Live in person on the following dates and times:

  • April 14, 2015: Best Buy Theatre, New York City, 6pm - 9pm
  • April 18, 2015: Best Buy Store, Union Square, New York City, 1pm - 5pm
  • April 18, 2015: Best Buy Store, Torrance, CA, 1pm - 5pm

Earlier this year, Harmonix announced Rock Band would also be making its triumphant return to the music-game scene. Today's announcement has given us some insight as to what Guitar Hero Live will be when it's released later this year, although we're still waiting to hear some more information from Harmonix regarding what Rock Band 4 will deliver.

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From The Chatty
  • reply
    April 14, 2015 7:37 AM

    Daniel Perez posted a new article, Guitar Hero rises from its grave with new controller, gameplay, and more

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      April 14, 2015 8:24 AM

      Yup, this looks like royal ass.

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      April 14, 2015 8:27 AM

      Rockband 4 life

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      April 14, 2015 8:28 AM

      thats an interesting change to the controller. I wonder if it will be easier or tougher for people with retarded fingers like me

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      April 14, 2015 8:58 AM

      Two rows of 3 buttons? So no one has to worry about the pinky any more? Should have at least been two rows of 4 buttons.

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        April 14, 2015 9:52 AM

        It's Activision, they're keeping it for the next version to make sure you need new guitars. They're back, and people's living rooms will be flooded with new plastic stuff for the next 5-6 years.

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      April 14, 2015 9:56 AM

      No idea about the controller, but the other changes seem kinda cool.

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      April 14, 2015 10:03 AM

      if they pull off more band exclusivity like they did with Metallica/Tool last time around and prevents future songs from landing in Rock Band, i am going to absolutely cut some fools

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      April 14, 2015 10:13 AM

      Watching the videos I noticed that I was getting a little motion sick. The camera does move around alot when playing.

      I can the first person video part getting boring quickly.

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        April 14, 2015 10:15 AM

        Is anyone watching the background when playing this anyway? I guess it is for observers because it sure doesn't seem to be for the player who should be watching the notes.

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          April 14, 2015 10:43 AM

          The problem comes from the huge amount of motion in your peripheral vision, while the center stays in constant vertical motion. Previous games were not simulating a first person perspective so this was less of an issue.

          Also, the first person live action stuff here is seriously dumb.

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      April 14, 2015 10:39 AM

      I'm not a fan of the video thing, but in a way it's genius, because they can just stream that shit, and the only platform-specific code they need is the interface between the instruments, and the tablature overlay displaying the notes. Everything else will just stream off disc or from the cloud.

      They won't be spending a bunch of times building character graphics, rigging up animation, etc. for each platform.

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        April 14, 2015 10:48 AM

        It's not genius at all, it's just ploy to be viewed as different and new.

        Rigging up a character takes time, but after you do that, you can have them play any song you want with only a tiny amount of work. This live action shit requires a fucking live shoot, with multiple versions during which everyone involved has to hit their marks and pantomime the single song being played perfectly. This is a process nightmare. Not to mention that once you see the song, that's it, there's no variety there of any kind ever again. This will be *neat* for exactly one afternoon, and then you'll be seeing the exact same thing over and over again.

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          April 14, 2015 1:12 PM

          True, but I'm thinking from Activision's perspective. I think they'll be more strongly pushing the music videos -- they'll be able to monetize the shit out of that.

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            April 14, 2015 1:52 PM

            Video tho. Who wants dlc songs that are like 300mb (or more) each? No thanks. Plus I can't even really watch the video. I'm trying to follow the notes when I play.

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      April 14, 2015 10:44 AM

      ya... ill buy it.. le sigh.

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      April 14, 2015 11:25 AM

      It was actually pretty fun. I'll be interested to see how they decide to mix it up, but the previous guitar hero was pretty much the same thing. After any amount of time in rhythm games there will be that repetitive stuff.

      What I am hoping for is different time spans. Like a club in the 80s or a festival in the 70s.

      The controller is pretty awesome though. The button layout is comfy, with a way more guitar like way to play. In the advanced mode, there are "chords" of sorts that are really hard but feel really good.

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      April 14, 2015 1:43 PM

      Interesting. The guitar looks much better than the old one, I wonder how the 6 button thing plays. Kinda sucks for Harmonix though, they will probably be eaten by the mammoth promotional machine of Activision.

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        April 14, 2015 1:49 PM

        My friends and I will be getting rock band. I'm sure they'll try to push guitar hero out the door to steal their thunder. But I don't care. Rock band is the superior game.

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      April 14, 2015 6:03 PM

      So Rockband does a survey and says they are coming back out and then we get to watch the mistakes of our past be made again with another fucking game? JFC.

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        April 14, 2015 6:04 PM

        What do u mean?

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          April 14, 2015 6:06 PM

          People (not me) got burned out on GH/RB especially after GH released game after game after fucking game and the market collapsed. GH was dead. RB lived on in DLC for a few years but was basically dead too.

          Then RB comes back alive. Great! Everyone is happy. Leave it at that.

          But GH once again has to stand up and say ME TEW!

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            April 14, 2015 6:10 PM

            I would imagine the decision to bring back Guitar Hero was made well before the Rock Band announcement since they already have a controller design and some screenshots.

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              April 14, 2015 6:15 PM

              Perhaps before the announcement to the public at least. I can believe that. We also don't know how far along RB4 is.

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            April 14, 2015 6:11 PM

            Ah ok. Agreed.

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              April 14, 2015 6:16 PM

              Given how that entire GH3 vs. RB thing started with Harmonix/RedOctane + Activision, I've always kind of held a grudge against the current GH franchise :(

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                April 14, 2015 6:25 PM

                I loved GH3. After that tho downhill big time. RB did things right by making every song playable on new versions.

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        April 14, 2015 6:18 PM

        I actually think it was the other way around. GH has gameplay and a new working controller. RB has none of that.

        I think RB was smart by announcing first, but they are way behind at this point. I wouldn't be surprised if they don't make it in 2015.

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          April 14, 2015 6:20 PM

          RB has said the controller won't change. At least in so many words. That's why previous gen controllers will be compatible for rb4. We just don't know how long the software is because they just haven't shared that. Perhaps this news will make them do so soon

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