My first experience with the “Guitar Hero” franchise was in summer 2007 in my neighbor’s garage. With a full drum kit in one corner and a Marshall stack beside it, there wasn’t a better atmosphere to begin my imaginary rock star life. On a small outdated television, I became entranced by the rainbow of notes speeding toward me, seemingly leaping off the onscreen fret board. The clicking of the strum bar was like a subtle bass groove to “Mother.” When I reached “Sweet Child O’ Mine,” I ignored my cramping left hand and played all through the night.
The success of the “Guitar Hero” franchise was one of the most interesting phenomena of the past decade. Its wide mainstream appeal predated the Nintendo Wii by a year, and its successive iterations alongside the Wii helped bring gaming back into the mainstream culture. The franchise has done a great service to both video games and the music industry, and it is with great regret that I must eulogize its death.
On Feb. 9, after a steep decline in sales due to over-saturation, publisher Activision pulled the plug on the franchise, along with the underrated “DJ Hero” series. The move to end the two has been a long time coming.
After the success of “Guitar Hero II,” MTV Games purchased then-developer Harmonix, ending the studio’s partnership with Activision and leading to the creation of “Rock Band” — Harmonix’s masterpiece in Party gaming.
Activision handed the franchise to Neversoft, the studio behind “Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater,” and the duo managed to have a success with “Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock,” thanks to probably the best set list in franchise history.
Despite the release of “Guitar Hero III,” Activision couldn’t compete after visionaries at Harmonix turned “Rock Band” into a full music platform, complete with a vast library of downloadable songs and the tools for players to record their own tracks. Activision, in what appeared to be a blatant cash grab, then oversaturated the market with handheld spin-offs, mobile games and band-specific expansions, trying to outdo Harmonix in making the game a complete musical experience.
The recent economic recession didn’t help either company, as “Rock Band 3” seems to have hit the sales nadir for the franchise, and the general indifference to “DJ Hero” and its sequel have cost Activision big time. “Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock,” the last installment of the franchise, performed well below expectations, forcing the publisher to close the ever-growing money pit.
It’s amazing to think that the rise and fall of “Guitar Hero” took place within the short span of about six years, considering how quickly it pervaded popular culture. Like a true rock star, the franchise burst out fully formed, blowing minds and rocking faces, before its inevitable descent into memory, like a forgotten album in a record store. To paraphrase AC/DC: For those who rocked, we salute you.
