I was bitten by the nostalgia bug recently and got the urge to play some good ol’ Guitar Hero. Having neither the hardware nor software to do so, this turned out to be quite a challenge. Trying to find a working controller on eBay for under $100 (USD), searching through Wikis to remind myself which games had which songs, and getting everything to work on my PS3 all turned into quite a headache.
Shredding through some old favorites definitely made the effort worthwhile, but it did make me wish that Activision would release some sort of remake that made the games more accessible on modern consoles. Everything from Gex to Metal Gear Solid is getting remade and re-released these days – why not Guitar Hero?
My ideal scenario would be a compilation similar to the Kingdom Hearts: The Story So Far collection, with all the games sold together in one convenient package. The games’ story modes could probably be cut, but it would be amazing to have all (or at least most) of their songs available in one place.
I’ll admit that there would be some pretty big hurdles to overcome in bringing this about, but the biggest one would be the cost. Manufacturing new guitar controllers and obtaining the licenses for all the songs from these games would not be cheap, but I think there are some ways to mitigate these costs.
On the hardware side, the developers could make the game backwards compatible with older guitar controllers. If a fan-made game like Clone Hero can get the old guitars to work on modern hardware, I don’t see why other developers wouldn’t be able to. And for gamers who want something nicer, they could make a high-end “pro controller” model and sell it at a premium.
The licensing costs would be a bit trickier to handle. The easiest option would probably be to just charge a subscription fee, similar to the GHTV feature from Guitar Hero Live but with songs on demand instead of the bizarre TV channel format used in that game. Alternatively, Activision could partner with a streaming platform like Spotify or Apple Music, or cut an exclusivity deal with Sony in exchange for reduced licensing fees.
Some readers may ask: “Why Guitar Hero and not Rock Band?” My only reason is nostalgia – I grew up in a Guitar Hero household, and my musical tastes were mostly shaped by those games. That being said, all of the arguments and suggestions I’ve made here would apply the same to Rock Band.
I would have no qualms with Rock Band getting revived instead, provided that only one or the other series came back. Otherwise, we would be doomed to re-enact the franchise wars that killed the genre in the first place, with companies fighting over song licenses and manufacturing incompatible instrument peripherals.
What do you think? Do you have room in your heart (and living room) for some clicky little instrument controllers, or should they stay dead and buried? Head on over to our Discord and join the conversation!
Featured Image: Activision (via Kotaku)
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