A jogabilidade descomplicada e a sempre crescente lista de músicas populares conquistaram uma legião de fãs que consumiram avidamente as diferentes edições do jogo, bem como suas faixas extras e, é claro, periféricos de plástico em forma de guitarra.
Com o tempo, novos recursos foram adicionados. Para se manter “quente” na parada de sucessos, frente à chegada de Rock Band, a linha Guitar Hero incorporou uma bateria e microfone para completar a sua banda e partir em turnê.
Neste ínterim, também surgiram os “álbuns” especiais, coletâneas com os maiores sucessos dos anos 80, ou “covers” de bandas famosas como Aerosmith, Metallica e Van Halen.
Longe de ser uma “maravilhas de um sucesso só”, a série Guitar Hero se transformou em um verdadeiro fenômeno cultural, influenciando pesquisas médicas, cinema e a própria indústria musica.
Faturando mais de dois bilhões de dólares. Segundo a Activision, Guitar Hero é a terceira franquia mais rentável do mundo, atrás somente de Mario e Madden NFL — mas os dados não são tão confiáveis assim. Além disso, a Activision também afirma que Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock foi o primeiro jogo do mundo a faturar mais de US$ 1 bilhão.
Porém, a estrela brilha mais intensamente antes de se extinguir. Apesar do sucesso inicial e dos lucros extraordinários, a linha Guitar Hero, e o gênero musical como um todo, começou a perder espaço nos video games.
No início de 2009, a Activision já indicava a saturação da franquia, até que em fevereiro de 2011 veio à confirmação do fim da linha Guitar Hero. Segundo a publicadora francesa, o “declínio continuado do gênero musical” foi um dos principais fatores para a tomada da decisão, que também afetou a série DJ Hero e os downloads extras para os títulos já lançados.
A história começa com a parceria entre a RedOctane — na época, uma empresa que só produzia periféricos para video games — e a Harmonix, desenvolvedora que já havia trabalhado em jogos músicas como Frequency, Amplitude e Karaoke Revolution. A RedOctane queria produzir uma versão “caseira” do arcade, GuitarFreaks, um jogo rítmico que fazia muito sucesso no Japão.
Em 2005 a ideia se transformou em Guitar Hero e estreou no PlayStation 2 fazendo muito sucesso, a ponto de credenciar a produção de uma continuação já no ano seguinte. O mais interessante é que os periféricos em forma de guitarra da primeira edição não foram produzidos pela RedOctane, mas por uma empresa chinesa, a Honeybee Corporation.
No entanto, em 2006, as coisas começaram a mudar, a gigante Activision percebeu o potencial da série Guitar Hero e desembolsou cerca de US$ 100 milhões para adquirir a RedOctane. Assim, Guitar Hero II contou com uma divulgação muito maior, estreando também em outra plataforma, o Xbox 360 (em 2007).Mas no final do mesmo ano, uma reviravolta mudaria para sempre a história dos jogos musicais. A Activision seguia como detentora da marca Guitar Hero e antes mesmo de Guitar Hero II chegar às lojas, a MTV Networks revelou a compra da Harmonix.
A então desenvolvedora da série Guitar Hero teve de deixar a franquia, que passou para as mãos da Neversoft, um estúdio da própria Activision, conhecido pelo desenvolvimento da linha Tony Hawk. A escolha da Neversoft se deve por um fato curioso.
Aparentemente, Joel Jewett — fundador da Neversoft — confidenciou a Kai e Charles Huand, fundadores da RedOctane, que a equipe de desenvolvimento de Tony Hawk's Project 8 ia “trabalhar” até nos finais de semana só para ficar jogando Guitar Hero no escritório. Assim, a Neversoft trouxe Guitar Hero III para o Xbox 360 e PlayStation 3.
Além de marcar a estreia da série no PlayStation 3, Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock também ficou marcado como o primeiro jogo a faturar mais de US$1 bilhão, com mais de 3,5 milhões de unidades vendidas durantes os primeiros setes meses de 2008. Ao mesmo tempo, a Activision estudava novas formas de explorar a marca e anunciou o desenvolvimento de Guitar Hero para o Nintendo DS e celulares.
Nesta mesma época, a empresa também descobriu outro filão, expansões dedicadas a bandas famosas. O primeiro título derivado foi Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, que apesar de bem recebido não foi registrou o mesmo sucesso que os outros jogos da série.
Neste ínterim, a Harmonix e MTV Games lançaram Rock Band (em 2007), revolucionando o gênero dos jogos rítmicos ao introduzir uma bateria e microfone. Atenta ao mercado a Activision lançou Guitar Hero World Tour também com suporte para bateria e microfone, mas com um ano de atraso.
Mesmo assim, World Tour fez bonito, e segue até hoje como o jogo mais vendido de toda a série, com 3,4 milhões de unidades comercializadas somente nos Estados Unidos durante 2008. Todavia, o sucesso de World Tour atiçou de vez a “ganância” da Activision.Ao perceber a popularidade da série, a empresa resolveu lançar mais dois títulos, Band Hero — uma variação com músicas pop — e DJ Hero, voltado para música eletrônica (com direito a periférico na forma de pick up). Somando a isso a chegada de mais duas edições especiais dedicadas às bandas Metallica e Van Halen, o mercado estava inundado de jogos da marca Guitar Hero.
Isto não impediu que a Activision anunciasse uma quinta edição da série, Guitar Hero 5. Totalmente remodelado, o título trouxe várias novidades à série, mas não conseguiu repetir o sucesso das edições anteriores. Mesmo assim, uma sexta edição já estava confirmada para o ano seguinte, 2010.
A recessão econômica do final dos anos 2000 e a visível saturação do mercado de jogos musicais minaram qualquer chance de sucesso de Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock. A Neversoft já previa o fracasso iminente e antes do lançamento do jogo já havia “encerrado” seu envolvimento com a série, passando o desenvolvimento de futuros jogos da linha para a Vicarious Visions, outro estúdio da Activision.
Em novembro de 2010, a Activision já dava indícios de que a franquia estava morrendo ao fechar a Budcat Creations, a publicadora responsável pelos lançamentos de Guitar Hero para o PlayStation 2. Por fim, em fevereiro de 2011, antes mesmo de entregar os relatórios financeiros do ultimo trimestre fiscal de 2010, a Activision revelou o término da franquia e seus derivados.
O show deve continuar
Alguns desdenham — “... em vez de brincar com guitarras de plástico você deveria aprender a tocar um instrumento de verdade!” —, outros idolatram. Independente do seu sentimento em relação da série Guitar Hero, é impossível negar o seu impacto no mundo dos video games e na cultura popular mundial.
A indústria fonográfica descobriu uma nova forma de divulgar músicas e faturar alto com isso. Um bom exemplo é o faturamento de Guitar Hero: Aerosmith. Em si, o jogo não foi o maior sucesso da série, mesmo assim o título acarretou em um aumento de 40% nas vendas de discos da banda.
Além disso, segundo o diretor executivo da Activision, Bobby Kotick, a banda Aerosmith fez mais dinheiro com o jogo Guitar Hero: Aerosmith do que com qualquer de seus álbuns anteriores. Outro bom exemplo é o da banda DragonForce.
A presença da música "Through the Fire and Flames" como um bônus de Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock, provocou um aumento de 126% na venda de discos da banda. Além disso, a venda de downloads da música subiu de 2 mil por semana, para mais de 10 mil downloads semanais. No final de 2007, depois da consagração de Guitar Hero III, a música registrava mais de 40 mil downloads.Pesquisas também indicam que Guitar Hero motivou uma legião de jogadores a aprender a tocar um instrumento real. Um estudo britânico revelou que 2,5 milhões de crianças — entre 12 milhões — que começaram a aprender a tocar um instrumento foram motivadas pelo jogo.
Vários bares e estabelecimentos comerciais passaram a oferecer versões do jogo como alternativas para o karaokê. A ideia também se estende a shows nos quais as bandas “tocam” o jogo, ou preparam “setlists” inspirados em Guitar Hero.
E o impacto de Guitar Hero não para por ai. Além de aparecer em uma série de referências cinematográficas (Encontro de Casais) e televisivas (Guitar Queer-o) o jogo também possui aplicações medicinais. Isso mesmo, Guitar Hero é utilizado por vários médicos e fisioterapeutas como ferramenta no tratamento de vítimas de derrame, pois estimula o uso de membros independentes e a coordenação motora.
Em suma, Guitar Hero ficará marcado para sempre na história. É triste saber que o show acabou, mas ainda teremos as músicas para relembrar (todas as 1159 faixas). Dos saudosos tempos em que você podia destruir os botões do seu Dualshock 2, até a guitarra com “frets” sensíveis ao toque, Guitar Hero será lembrado para sempre.
After 24 games and over 1100 songs, the Guitar Hero franchise has reached the end of their repertoire. Built by RedOctane and Harmonix Music Systems (which would later form the Rock Band series) in 2005, the line of rhythm games published by Activision reinvented the genre and created a boom among the "musicians" virtual.
The uncomplicated gameplay and the ever growing list of popular songs won a legion of fans who eagerly consumed the different editions of the game and its bonus tracks and, of course, peripherals, plastic guitar-shaped.
Over time, new features were added. To remain "hot" on the hit parade in front of the arrival of Rock Band, Guitar Hero line has incorporated a drum set and microphone to complete his band and go on tour.
Meanwhile also came the "albums" special collections with the greatest hits of the 80s, or "covers" of popular bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen.
Far from being a "one-hit wonders," the Guitar Hero series has become a true cultural phenomenon, influencing medical research, film and music industry itself.
Grossing over two billion dollars. According to Activision, Guitar Hero is the third most profitable franchise in the world, behind only Mario and Madden NFL - but the data are not as reliable as well. Additionally, Activision also said that Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock was the first game of the world to gross over $ 1 billion.
However, the star shines brighter before it goes. Despite the initial success and the extraordinary profits, the line Guitar Hero, and the genre as a whole began to lose ground in video games.
In early 2009, Activision has already indicated the saturation of the franchise, until in February 2011 came to confirm the end of the line Guitar Hero. According to French publisher, the "continued decline of the musical" was a major factor for making the decision, which also affected the DJ Hero series and extra downloads for the titles already released.
The story begins with the partnership between RedOctane - then a company that produced only peripherals for video games - and Harmonix, a developer who has worked in music games like Frequency, Amplitude and Karaoke Revolution. RedOctane wanted to produce a version of "home" of the arcade, GuitarFreaks, a rhythm game that was very successful in Japan
In 2005 the idea became a Guitar Hero debuted on the PlayStation 2 and doing very well as to accredit the production of a sequel in the following year. The most interesting is that the guitar-shaped peripheral to the first edition were not produced by RedOctane, but by a Chinese company, Honeybee Corporation.
The uncomplicated gameplay and the ever growing list of popular songs won a legion of fans who eagerly consumed the different editions of the game and its bonus tracks and, of course, peripherals, plastic guitar-shaped.
Over time, new features were added. To remain "hot" on the hit parade in front of the arrival of Rock Band, Guitar Hero line has incorporated a drum set and microphone to complete his band and go on tour.
Meanwhile also came the "albums" special collections with the greatest hits of the 80s, or "covers" of popular bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen.
Far from being a "one-hit wonders," the Guitar Hero series has become a true cultural phenomenon, influencing medical research, film and music industry itself.
Grossing over two billion dollars. According to Activision, Guitar Hero is the third most profitable franchise in the world, behind only Mario and Madden NFL - but the data are not as reliable as well. Additionally, Activision also said that Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock was the first game of the world to gross over $ 1 billion.
However, the star shines brighter before it goes. Despite the initial success and the extraordinary profits, the line Guitar Hero, and the genre as a whole began to lose ground in video games.
In early 2009, Activision has already indicated the saturation of the franchise, until in February 2011 came to confirm the end of the line Guitar Hero. According to French publisher, the "continued decline of the musical" was a major factor for making the decision, which also affected the DJ Hero series and extra downloads for the titles already released.
The story begins with the partnership between RedOctane - then a company that produced only peripherals for video games - and Harmonix, a developer who has worked in music games like Frequency, Amplitude and Karaoke Revolution. RedOctane wanted to produce a version of "home" of the arcade, GuitarFreaks, a rhythm game that was very successful in Japan
In 2005 the idea became a Guitar Hero debuted on the PlayStation 2 and doing very well as to accredit the production of a sequel in the following year. The most interesting is that the guitar-shaped peripheral to the first edition were not produced by RedOctane, but by a Chinese company, Honeybee Corporation.
However, in 2006, things began to change, the giant realized the potential of Activision Guitar Hero series and has disbursed about U.S. $ 100 million to acquire RedOctane. So, Guitar Hero II had a much greater disclosure, also debuting on another platform, the Xbox 360 (2007).
But later the same year, a turnaround would forever change the history of music games. Activision went as owner of the mark even before Guitar Hero and Guitar Hero II arrives in stores, MTV Networks bought Harmonix revealed.
The developer then Guitar Hero franchise had to leave, which passed into the hands of Neversoft, Activision's own studio, known for developing the Tony Hawk line. The choice of whether to Neversoft for a curious fact.
Apparently, Joel Jewett - founder of Neversoft - confided to Kai and Charles Huanda, founders of RedOctane, the development team of Tony Hawk's Project 8 would "work" even on weekends just to be playing Guitar Hero in the office. Thus, Neversoft brought Guitar Hero III for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.
In addition to marking the debut of the series on PlayStation 3 Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock also marked the first game to earn more than $ 1 billion, with over 3.5 million units sold during the first seven months of 2008 . At the same time, Activision was studying new ways to exploit the brand and announced the development of Guitar Hero for the Nintendo DS and mobile phones.
Around this time, the company also discovered another vein, expansions dedicated to famous bands. The first title was derived Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, which although well received was not recorded as successful as the other games in the series.
Meanwhile, Harmonix and MTV Games released Rock Band (2007), revolutionizing the genre of games by introducing a rhythmic drumming and singing. Aware of the market, Activision released Guitar Hero World Tour with support also for drumming and singing, but a year late.
But later the same year, a turnaround would forever change the history of music games. Activision went as owner of the mark even before Guitar Hero and Guitar Hero II arrives in stores, MTV Networks bought Harmonix revealed.
The developer then Guitar Hero franchise had to leave, which passed into the hands of Neversoft, Activision's own studio, known for developing the Tony Hawk line. The choice of whether to Neversoft for a curious fact.
Apparently, Joel Jewett - founder of Neversoft - confided to Kai and Charles Huanda, founders of RedOctane, the development team of Tony Hawk's Project 8 would "work" even on weekends just to be playing Guitar Hero in the office. Thus, Neversoft brought Guitar Hero III for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.
In addition to marking the debut of the series on PlayStation 3 Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock also marked the first game to earn more than $ 1 billion, with over 3.5 million units sold during the first seven months of 2008 . At the same time, Activision was studying new ways to exploit the brand and announced the development of Guitar Hero for the Nintendo DS and mobile phones.
Around this time, the company also discovered another vein, expansions dedicated to famous bands. The first title was derived Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, which although well received was not recorded as successful as the other games in the series.
Meanwhile, Harmonix and MTV Games released Rock Band (2007), revolutionizing the genre of games by introducing a rhythmic drumming and singing. Aware of the market, Activision released Guitar Hero World Tour with support also for drumming and singing, but a year late.
Nevertheless, World Tour has beautiful, and goes so far as the best selling game of the series, with 3.4 million units sold in the U.S. alone during 2008. However, the success of World Tour piqued once the "greed" from Activision.
Noting the popularity of the series, the company decided to launch two more titles, Band Hero - a variation with pop music - and DJ Hero, dedicated to electronic music (with a peripheral in the form of pick up). Adding to that the arrival of two special editions devoted to the bands Metallica and Van Halen, the market was flooded with games Guitar Hero brand.
This did not stop Activision announced that a fifth edition of the series, Guitar Hero 5. Completely renovated, the title has brought several innovations to the series, but failed to repeat the success of previous editions. Still, a sixth edition was already confirmed for the following year, 2010.
The economic recession of the late 2000s and the apparent saturation of music games have undermined any chance of success of Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock. Neversoft have predicted the imminent failure and before the release of the game had "terminated" his involvement with the series, from the development of future games online for Vicarious Visions, Activision's other studio.
In November 2010, Activision has already hinted that the franchise was dying to close the Budcat Creations, the publisher responsible for the release of Guitar Hero for the PlayStation 2. Finally, in February 2011, even before delivering the financial reports of the last quarter of fiscal 2010, Activision revealed the termination of the franchise and its derivatives.
The show must go on
Some disdain - "... instead of playing with plastic guitars you should learn to play a real instrument! "- others idolize. Whatever your feelings about the Guitar Hero series, it is impossible to deny its impact on the world of video games and popular culture worldwide.
The music industry discovered a new form of music promotion and rakes it. A good example is the sales of Guitar Hero: Aerosmith. By itself, the game was not the biggest hit of the series, yet the title has led to a 40% increase in sales of the band's albums.
Moreover, according to Activision CEO Bobby Kotick, the band Aerosmith made more money with Guitar Hero: Aerosmith than any of his previous albums. Another good example is the band DragonForce.
Noting the popularity of the series, the company decided to launch two more titles, Band Hero - a variation with pop music - and DJ Hero, dedicated to electronic music (with a peripheral in the form of pick up). Adding to that the arrival of two special editions devoted to the bands Metallica and Van Halen, the market was flooded with games Guitar Hero brand.
This did not stop Activision announced that a fifth edition of the series, Guitar Hero 5. Completely renovated, the title has brought several innovations to the series, but failed to repeat the success of previous editions. Still, a sixth edition was already confirmed for the following year, 2010.
The economic recession of the late 2000s and the apparent saturation of music games have undermined any chance of success of Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock. Neversoft have predicted the imminent failure and before the release of the game had "terminated" his involvement with the series, from the development of future games online for Vicarious Visions, Activision's other studio.
In November 2010, Activision has already hinted that the franchise was dying to close the Budcat Creations, the publisher responsible for the release of Guitar Hero for the PlayStation 2. Finally, in February 2011, even before delivering the financial reports of the last quarter of fiscal 2010, Activision revealed the termination of the franchise and its derivatives.
The show must go on
Some disdain - "... instead of playing with plastic guitars you should learn to play a real instrument! "- others idolize. Whatever your feelings about the Guitar Hero series, it is impossible to deny its impact on the world of video games and popular culture worldwide.
The music industry discovered a new form of music promotion and rakes it. A good example is the sales of Guitar Hero: Aerosmith. By itself, the game was not the biggest hit of the series, yet the title has led to a 40% increase in sales of the band's albums.
Moreover, according to Activision CEO Bobby Kotick, the band Aerosmith made more money with Guitar Hero: Aerosmith than any of his previous albums. Another good example is the band DragonForce.
The presence of the song "Through the Fire and Flames" as a bonus for Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock, caused an increase of 126% on record sales of the band. In addition, sales of music downloads has risen from 2000 per week to over 10,000 downloads weekly. In late 2007, after the consecration of Guitar Hero III, music recorded over 40,000 downloads.
Research also indicates that Guitar Hero has motivated a legion of players learning to play a real instrument. A British study revealed that 2.5 million children - between 12 million - they began to learn to play an instrument were motivated by the game.
Several bars and shops began to offer alternative versions of the game as for the karaoke. The idea also extends to shows where the bands "play" the game, or prepare "setlists"-inspired Guitar Hero.
And the impact of Guitar Hero does not stop there. Besides appearing in a series of movie references (Couples Retreat) and television (Guitar Queer-o) the game also has medicinal applications. That's right, Guitar Hero is used by many doctors and physical therapists as a tool to treat stroke victims as it stimulates the use of independent members and motor coordination.
In short, Guitar Hero will be remembered forever in history. It is sad to know that the show is over, but we still have to remember the songs (all 1159 tracks). From the nostalgic days when you could destroy the buttons on your Dualshock 2, until the guitar with "frets" touchscreen, Guitar Hero will be remembered forever.
Research also indicates that Guitar Hero has motivated a legion of players learning to play a real instrument. A British study revealed that 2.5 million children - between 12 million - they began to learn to play an instrument were motivated by the game.
Several bars and shops began to offer alternative versions of the game as for the karaoke. The idea also extends to shows where the bands "play" the game, or prepare "setlists"-inspired Guitar Hero.
And the impact of Guitar Hero does not stop there. Besides appearing in a series of movie references (Couples Retreat) and television (Guitar Queer-o) the game also has medicinal applications. That's right, Guitar Hero is used by many doctors and physical therapists as a tool to treat stroke victims as it stimulates the use of independent members and motor coordination.
In short, Guitar Hero will be remembered forever in history. It is sad to know that the show is over, but we still have to remember the songs (all 1159 tracks). From the nostalgic days when you could destroy the buttons on your Dualshock 2, until the guitar with "frets" touchscreen, Guitar Hero will be remembered forever.
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