• Guitar Hero Controller
• Guitar Hero Online
• Guitar Hero Game

With this music game similar to Guitar Hero you will have to press the keys indicated to the rhythm of the music. Choose between the two versions, the Classic using A,S, D, J, K,L, or Rocker mode using the keyboard as if it were a guitar pressing 1, 2, 3, M, K and O.

Activision In homes, dorm rooms and bars across the world, young and old are picking up toy and shredding as though a musical doomsday approaches. Devil horns fly up from audiences planted on couches and recliners, cheering on faux rocker gods who wail on their artificial axes with enough rhythm-driven precision to slay the nerve-wracking notes of Guitar Hero. For about $100, you can bypass the, and tears and climb that stairway to rocker heaven in the comfort of your own home. Challenging people to play their way through well-known rock songs, the Guitar Hero video game series has become a pop culture icon during its brief existence. Testifying to its sometimes maniacal following, Guitar Hero sales topped $1 billion worldwide in early 2008 source:.

And although Guitar Hero co-founder Charles Huang describes his vision for it as a 'casual game for the masses source: ,' diehards consider it nothing less than a serious pursuit of musical mastery. What else could explain the millions of hits Guitar Hero stars have racked up? ­­­Perhaps more telling is the broad span of groupies the game has attracted. ­­­Along with the hardcore gamers, Guitar Hero players come from the every other stereotypical group as well: preps, hipsters, punks, squares, nerds, both male and female.­­ ­Although the video game's guitar-shaped controller resembles a Fisher Price plaything more than an instrument of mind-blowing musical mayhem, fans don't care. The classic Gibson brand style, color-coded fret buttons and tone-twisting whammy bar suffice to send Guitar Hero players into the celestial heights of rockerdom. But while it may sound like Guitar Hero has brought society together in some kind of digital, the game's popularity has turned some people off.

Guitar Hero Controller

And, like most rock 'n' roll bands that have made it to the top, the Guitar Hero franchise history is not without its own share of sour notes. In this article, we'll go behind the music and learn the ins and outs of Guitar Hero as a game, electronic device and a business to find out what's made it a multiplatinum success. We'll also examine how the gaming trend has spread among people and other markets. Rock Band Although Harmonix did not take the Guitar Hero publishing rights with it in its move to MTV, it still had some tricks up its sleeve.

Harmonix patented many conceptual elements of the Guitar Hero format, paving the way for its 2007 video game Rock Band. Rock Band has the same type of rhythm-regulated rules as Guitar Hero, but includes a guitarist, drummer and vocalist.

Although the game is still building up steam, it's been selling comparably to Guitar Hero, leading gamers to wonder what, if any, trump card Activision will lay down next.

In the 19 games of the series, the Guitar Hero Franchise was very successful even though it only lasted six years. Guitar Hero is a video game where one plays an instrument shaped controller along to pre-made track lists as if part of a rock band. From its startup in the United States in 2005, it has been loved by all. The major reason Guitar Hero was unable to continue was because they had trouble keeping developers. They got a new developer almost every game. After Harmonix, their first developer, was bought by MTV to help make the Rock Band series, it was difficult to keep the same developers (“The History”).

Download pdf file. Before the start of the Guitar Hero Franchise, there was a video game called Guitar Freaks. It was a Japanese arcade game that was made in 1998.

One plays by strumming the guitar shaped controller and pushing the corresponding colored buttons, on the fret of guitar, on the screen. This inspired the development of Guitar Hero, for many wanted to play it on a home console (“Guitar Freaks”).

Guitar Hero was born in 2005 with the release of their first game simply called: Guitar Hero. It became an instant hit. In fact, it made one billion dollars within a week of its premier. The game was only available on PlayStation 2. The game was developed by Harmonix, which is knows for games such as Amplitude and Frequency, and published by RedOctane (Gies). The next year they released the next game, Guitar Hero 2. It became even more successful with it reaching the fifth best-selling game of 2006 (“The History”).

This game featured better graphics than its prior one and a different track list. Also, this game was co-published by RedOctane and Activision. They improved the controller and also made it available on Xbox 360 (Gies). In 2007, they released Guitar Hero: Encore: Rock the 80s. This game was different from the previous because its track list consisted only of top rock songs from the 1980s. The next game was called Guitar Hero: Legends of Rock, and was released in 2008.

Different from previous games, this game was developed by the company Neversoft; they are known for the Tony Hawk game series (“Guitar Hero”). This game improved, for it was not only available on PlayStation 2, but also on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii, as well as a PC. Later that same year, the next game, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, was released. With its track list of only Aerosmith’s music, this game allows one to play as though a member of Aerosmith. Also released in 2008, Guitar Hero: On Tour was their first portable game. This game is only available on Nintendo DS. This has the same concept as their other games, but without the guitar shaped controller.

The next game involved many changes in game play than the previous ones. Guitar Hero: World Tour was released in 2008. This game introduced a drum-set controller and a microphone to allow players to play as an entire band. This was the company’s response to Rock Band, which was created by their ex-developer, Harmonix (“The History”). Also, they improved the pre-existing guitar controllers. They installed “Neck sliders” on them, which was a touch screen panel on the neck of the guitar which allowed one to change the pitch of sustained notes. In 2009, they released the sequel to their portable game called Guitar Hero: On Tour: Decades.

Also on that year they released Guitar Hero: Metallica. This game had the same idea as Guitar Hero: Aerosmith. One plays as if a member of the rock band Metallica (Gies). Their next game was made by another new developer. The game was called Guitar Hero: On Tour: Modern Hits. This was another portable game available for the Nintendo DS.

It was developed by Vicarious Visions. This game was also released in 2009. Also in 2009, they released Guitar Hero: Smash Hits.

This game’s track list consists of the top guitar hero songs of all the previous games. This was available on PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Wii. This was also made by a new developer: Beenox. That same year, Guitar Hero 5 was released, developed by Neversoft. The next game was called Band Hero.

Neversofttried a new idea with this game. They tried to make it appeal to all audiences instead of just rockers (Gies). Therefore, the track list for this game consisted of mainly top 40s songs that can be played on Guitar, Bass, Drum set, or sang in a microphone. They did not focus on songs that would be good to play on guitar. This game was also released in 2009. Another new idea came out for guitar hero in 2009. They released a game called DJ Hero.

This game’s controller was only an electronic turntable. This allowed one to mash two songs together and remix them.

In late 2009, prior to the release of Guitar Hero: Van Halen, Guitar Hero’s co-producer, RedOctane, shut down (Gies). Guitar Hero: Van Halen was developed by Underground Development and produced by Activision alone.

In 2010, Guitar Hero released a game available on the iPhone. That year was also the premier of the games Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock, developed by Neversoft, and DJ Hero 2,developed by Freestyle Games (Gies). With its lack of stable developers and producers, the Guitar Hero Franchise shut down in 2011.

They did it without making an official announcement, just ceasing to continue the series. “ Rock Band is rumored to be making a comeback, and if it does, Guitar Hero might not be far behind” (Vincent).

Guitar Hero Online

Carly Venard Works Cited “Guitar Freaks – Videogame by Konami.” The Internation Arcade Museum. 2014 “Guitar Hero II Trailer.” YouTube. YouTube, n.d. “Guitar Hero.” (Franchise). “The History Leading Up to Guitar Hero.” PCMAG. 2014 Gies, Arthur, Brian Altano, and Charles Onyett.

Guitar Hero Game

“The Life and Death of Guitar Hero – IGN.” IGN. Vincent, Brittany. “A Rock Band Return Tour: What We Need to See.” Shacknews.