Considering the franchise's sliding sales, it wasn't shocking to learn that Activision had disbanded its Guitar Hero business unit and decided to not release a new title this year. The fate of the series hung in the balance, and the publisher was quiet on any solid plans going forward.
But thanks to Activision Blizzard CEO (and movie star) Bobby Kotick, we can rest easy knowing that a new Guitar Hero is on its way. It just might not look or feel like the Guitar Hero we've come to know.
"We're going to go back to the studios and we're going to use new studios and reinvent Guitar Hero," he told Forbes, "And so that's what we're doing with it."
When we'll see the results of this reinvention plan are unclear, but one has to hope that Activision will take more care with the franchise's next run. Even Kotick is willing to admit where they went wrong, and he blames it partially on being so damned pumped about the DJ Hero franchise. He tells Forbes that the company was "so excited about going down this new direction with DJ Hero" that it may have "abandoned a bit of the innovation that was required in the Guitar Hero franchise."
You think? While Neversoft's titles were never bad, it seemed the studio could barely keep up with the Guitar Hero machine year after year. With a requirement to deliver one or more titles every 12 months, we saw incremental updates, and some of the weirdest and most off-putting design decisions the series had ever seen. (Demons, guys? Really?)
The full interview with Kotick can be read online, entitled "How To Be An Innovator." Yeah, that may sound odd to you, considering who we're tailing about here. But it's an interesting read, for sure.
Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick: How To Be An Innovator [Forbes]
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Contest:
8:30 PM on 07.21.2011 | 
It surprises me that Guitar Hero needs innovation, I mean look at what they've added to the games in each title. World Tour was the first game EVER to add Drums and Vocals, Metallica added an extra pedal, 5 let you use 4 drums or 7 guitars or whatever you wanted, and Warriors of Rock had manbearpig. That screams innovation.
Abusing the very limit of capitalism, you can go to hell and never return, kotick.
That said, I think it could be an interesting concept. And I really want GH to become interesting again, like it used to be before they started pooping them out like they had a bad diarrhea.
People still bitch. Typical.
Orrrrrr, they can take Call of Duty's monster advertising budget and actually make games with it, like GH! They could probably make 2 GH games a year on what they spend to advertise CoD.
"Seriously, ill do it for next to free."
No thanks. But I'm more than willing to concede there may be typographical errors and such in stories, and am always willing to correct them. Being specific would help next time, dtomek.
Uhh, it's Activision. I doubt there is going to be any real innovation. You know, like trying to make new IPs instead of over saturating the market with what they think will make them the most money.
"We took Neversoft and burnt them out creatively. Now it's your turn!"
Shut up, you know you played it to get that easy ass platinum trophy.... Your sister....LOL
I highly doubt you can top that. Might as well give up now.
Just release more songs as DLC at a better price point for the games already out.
Let it die already. Harmonix won, you lost, move the fuck on!
It's just not rock band.
Nah, it was a crappy Wii game from when "motion control" (arm waggling) was cool. No trophies there.