As gamers we all know that getting up off the couch to change a disc is one of the worst experiences in the world. Back before rhythm games this really only happened for massive RPGs, but now with Guitar Hero and Rock Band if you want to play another song that was featured in a previous game you have to get up and pop in the previous game. Well, actually Rock Band 2 let you import songs from Rock Band so they’re cool, but I shake my fist angrily at Guitar Hero, especially since Activision has a bajillion different games under the title.
My fist shaking will have to stop, however, as Guitar Hero 5 is finally delivering the ability to import songs from previous games in the series. Speaking with IGN Activision head of music licensing Tim Riley said, “It’s something we’ve wanted to do for a while now. They are separate licenses, so we need to go back and re-license previous content. So, songs from World Tour, songs from the download space, songs from Smash Hits that will technically work in Guitar Hero 5 and Band Hero had to be renegotiated.”
For now the integration will only be with World Tour and Smash Hits, but Riley says they’re working on the licensing for more and that they don’t just want it to be a few songs from each title, but as many as possible. As with Rock Band, it will cost a small fee to import the games over, but can you really put a price on convenience?
