We're on the cusp of a new battle of the videogame bands.
Two reports say Harmonix is gearing up to re-introduce its Rock Band series this year, and longtime rival Activision is set to revive its dormant Guitar Hero brand as well. The last time anyone released a full-fledged, plastic-instruments-based title in either series was in 2010, when Rock Band 3 and Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock hit retail. If these reports are true, it raises the question: What exactly has changed since the band-game market flamed out five years ago?
On Tuesday, Kotaku UK reported that Activision is planning a new Guitar Hero with a more "realistic" graphic style, to be unveiled at the E3 Expo in June and released this holiday season. Kotaku said that new guitar controllers were in development, but did not mention if the new game, as with previous installments, would feature other instruments like vocals or drums.
And Bloomberg reported last week that Harmonix will resurrect Rock Band for the "latest generation of consoles." The company recently sent out a survey asking fans of the series what they'd like to see in a new installment.
Guitar Hero and Rock Band have their roots at Harmonix. It developed the original Guitar Hero, which only simulated the experience of playing guitar, but it broke up the band when Activision bought the game's publisher Red Octane. Instead, Harmonix got itself acquired by Viacom and used the cash to develop the considerably more ambitious Rock Band, which added drums and vocals, turning a solo act into a full-on band. Later, it added keyboards and pro instrument variations, turning candy-colored buttons into real guitar playing.
It's difficult to overstate just how huge Guitar Hero was at its peak, and how precipitous the dropoff was. In 2009, Activision CEO Bobby Kotick was crowing about it being the only $2 billion franchise in gaming that wasn't Madden and Super Mario. It packed the market to bursting with games that year, releasing Guitar Hero: Metallica, Guitar Hero: Van Halen, Guitar Hero V, Band Hero, and DJ Hero in 2009 alone. Less than two years later, Activision canceled all games in development, laid off hundreds, and buried the brand.
Harmonix never quite abandoned Rock Band so definitively: While 2010's Rock Band 3 was the last release with instruments, Harmonix continued supporting the game with new downloadable content until 2013. Viacom sold Harmonix in 2010, and passed off publishing duties to Mad Catz, which kept the game in circulation. In 2012, Harmonix self-published Rock Band Blitz, a downloadable game that let you play Rock Band music using a standard controller, juggling all five parts at once. And its Rock Band Network service that let fans create their own tracks was up and running until September.
Still, the era of plastic instruments has passed. You can't find the controllers in stores anymore, but your local Salvation Army or Goodwill probably has a giant pile of them. Even those who love Rock Band have trouble justifying all of the primo living room real estate the full suite of controllers consumes.
What is it that reportedly has Harmonix and Activision reconsidering? Well, both reports indicate the new games are tied to the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One consoles. Neither console is backward compatible, meaning that you can't play the games at all without a legacy console hooked up. Perhaps this means the core audiences, those who just don't stop believin', are primed to buy new games and maybe even instruments for a next-gen musical experience. Maybe the casual audience that made the games so huge five years ago doesn't need to pick up the plastic axe again for new games to be successful.
