Comeback tour planned for ‘Guitar Hero’

  • By Derrik J. Lang Associated Press
  • Tuesday, April 14, 2015 9:07am
  • LifeGo-See-Do

Activision Blizzard Inc. announced plans Tuesday to resurrect ‘Guitar Hero,” the once-popular video game franchise that involved players rhythmically tapping guitar-shaped controllers along to music.

The new entry scheduled for release this fall is titled “Guitar Hero Live” and introduces a redesigned guitar, live-action actors and an online music video network to the series.

“We said we would bring it back when we’ve got true innovation,” said Jamie Jackson, creative director at “Guitar Hero Live” developer FreeStyleGames, who previously worked on “Sing Party” and the “DJ Hero” series. “We wouldn’t have come back if we didn’t think we were giving you a new experience. We genuinely feel like we’ve nailed it with innovation.”

“Guitar Hero Live” will cast players as an up-and-coming guitarist in a fictitious band. Instead of playing along with computer-generated characters on screen, wannabe rockers will see a first-person view of their band mates and audiences portrayed by human actors. The virtual crowd will boo or cheer players on, depending if they’re hitting the right notes.

“We want you to feel like a rock star again,” said Jackson. “We want to put you on stage, whether it’s in front of 100 people, 1,000 people or 100,000 people. We want you to experience what it feels like to perform on stage. That’s why we’ve turned the camera around and made it first person. As we were working on this, we actually code-named it ‘Stage Fright.”’

Despite featuring music from such artists as the Rolling Stones, Ed Sheeran and Green Day, “Guitar Hero Live” will forgo digital likenesses of real musicians in favor of actors portraying phony band members. Jackson declined to specify why the game’s made-up acts would sound just like such real-world bands as the Black Keys, Fall Out Boy and the Killers.

FreeStyleGames’ other major switch-up is adding another row of buttons to the top of the guitar’s neck. They eliminated the series’ color-coded, five-button system in favor of mirroring icons displayed on screen, with guitar picks pointing up and down. Jackson said the new six-button configuration would provide veteran players with a bigger challenge.

“When you come back to something as much-loved as ‘Guitar Hero’ and start (expletive) with it, people get a bit nervous,” noted Jackson. “The first time even I saw it, I wondered if we were trying to reinvent the wheel, but I remember when we were playing with the prototype, I was thinking, ‘Holy (expletive). There’s something here.’ It proved itself.”

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Life

Brandon Hailey of Cytrus, center, plays the saxophone during a headlining show at Madam Lou’s on Friday, Dec. 29, 2023 in Seattle, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Lynnwood-based funk octet Cytrus has the juice

Resilience and brotherhood take center stage with ‘friends-first’ band.

FILE - In this April 11, 2014 file photo, Neko Case performs at the Coachella Music and Arts Festival in Indio, Calif. Fire investigators are looking for the cause of a fire on Monday, Sept. 18, 2017, that heavily damaged Case’s 225-year-old Vermont home. There were no injuries, though a barn was destroyed. It took firefighters two hours to extinguish the blaze. (Photo by Scott Roth/Invision/AP, File)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

Singer-songwriter Neko Case, an indie music icon from Tacoma, performs Sunday in Edmonds.

The Moonlight Swing Orchestra will play classic sounds of the Big Band Era on April 21 in Everett. (submitted photo)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

Relive the Big Band Era at the Port Gardner Music Society’s final concert of the season in Everett.

2024 Honda Ridgeline TrailSport AWD (Honda)
2024 Honda Ridgeline TrailSport AWD

Honda cedes big boy pickup trucks to the likes of Ford, Dodge… Continue reading

Would you want to give something as elaborate as this a name as mundane as “bread box”? A French Provincial piece practically demands the French name panetiere.
A panetiere isn’t your modern bread box. It’s a treasure of French culture

This elaborately carved French antique may be old, but it’s still capable of keeping its leavened contents perfectly fresh.

(Judy Newton / Great Plant Picks)
Great Plant Pick: Mouse plant

What: Arisarum proboscideum, also known as mouse plant, is an herbaceous woodland… Continue reading

Bright green Japanese maple leaves are illuminated by spring sunlight. (Getty Images)
Confessions of a ‘plantophile’: I’m a bit of a junky for Japanese maples

In fact, my addiction to these glorious, all-season specimens seems to be contagious. Fortunately, there’s no known cure.

2024 Hyundai IONIQ 6 Limited (Hyundai)
2024 Hyundai IONIQ 6 Limited

The 2024 Hyundai IONIQ 6 Limited is a sporty, all-electric, all-wheel drive sedan that will quickly win your heart.

The 2024 Dodge Hornet R/T hybrid’s face has the twin red lines signifying the brand’s focus on performance. (Dodge)
2024 Hornet R/T is first electrified performance vehicle from Dodge

The all-new compact SUV travels 32 miles on pure electric power, and up to 360 miles in hybrid mode.

chris elliott.
Vrbo promised to cover her rental bill in Hawaii, so why won’t it?

When Cheryl Mander’s Vrbo rental in Hawaii is uninhabitable, the rental platform agrees to cover her new accommodations. But then it backs out. What happened?

Dominic Arizona Bonuccelli
Tangier’s market boasts piles of fruits, veggies, and olives, countless varieties of bread, and nonperishables, like clothing and electronics.
Rick Steves on the cultural kaleidoscope of Tangier in Morocco

Walking through the city, I think to myself, “How could anyone be in southern Spain — so close — and not hop over to experience this wonderland?”

Don’t blow a bundle on glass supposedly made by the Henry William Stiegel

Why? Faked signatures, reused molds and imitated styles can make it unclear who actually made any given piece of glass.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.