Emoticon: Difference between revisions
| [pending revision] | [pending revision] |
ClueBot NG (talk | contribs) m Reverting possible vandalism by 198.140.242.242 to version by Trappist the monk. False positive? Report it. Thanks, ClueBot NG. (1776614) (Bot) |
No edit summary Tag: categories removed |
||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
[[File:Emoticon Smile Face.svg|thumb|A [[smiley-face]] emoticon.]] |
|||
Guitar Hero |
|||
An '''emoticon''' ({{IPAc-en|ɨ|ˈ|m|oʊ|t|ɨ|k|ɒ|n}}) is a [[metacommunication|metacommunicative]] pictorial representation of a [[facial expression]] which in the absence of [[body language]] and [[prosody (linguistics)|prosody]] serves to draw a receiver's [[interest (emotion)|attention]] to the tenor or temper of a sender's nominal verbal communication, changing and improving its interpretation. It expresses—usually by means of [[punctuation marks]]—a person's feelings or mood and can include numbers and letters, as well. These emoticons are usually flipped sideways. In the most recent years, as social media has become widespread, emoticons have played a significant role in communication through technology. These emoticons offer another range of "tone" and feeling through texting that portrays specific emotions through facial gestures while in the midst of cyber communication. |
|||
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia |
|||
Page semi-protected |
|||
For the first game in the series, see Guitar Hero (video game). |
|||
Guitar Hero |
|||
Guitar hero new logo.svg |
|||
Genres Music, Rhythm |
|||
Developers Harmonix (2005–2007) |
|||
Neversoft (2007–2010) |
|||
Budcat Creations (2007–2009) |
|||
Vicarious Visions (2007–2010) |
|||
Publishers RedOctane (2005–2009) |
|||
Activision (2006–2010) |
|||
First release Guitar Hero |
|||
November 8, 2005 |
|||
Latest release DJ Hero 2 |
|||
October 19, 2010 |
|||
The Guitar Hero series (sometimes referred to as the Hero series)[1] is a series of music rhythm games first published in 2005 by RedOctane and Harmonix, and distributed by Activision, in which players use a guitar-shaped game controller to simulate playing lead, bass guitar, and rhythm guitar across numerous rock music songs. Players match notes that scroll on-screen to colored fret buttons on the controller, strumming the controller in time to the music in order to score points, and keep the virtual audience excited. The games attempt to mimic many features of playing a real guitar, including the use of fast-fingering hammer-ons and pull-offs and the use of the whammy bar to alter the pitch of notes. Most games support single player modes, typically a Career mode to play through all the songs in the game, and both competitive and cooperative multiplayer modes. With the introduction of Guitar Hero World Tour in 2008, the game includes support for a four-player band including vocals and drums. The series initially used mostly cover version of songs created by WaveGroup Sound, but most recent titles feature soundtracks that are fully master recordings, and in some cases, special re-recordings, of the songs. Later titles in the series feature support for downloadable content in the form of new songs. |
|||
In 2005, RedOctane, a company specializing in the manufacture of unique game controllers, was inspired to create Guitar Hero based on RedOctane's experience creating hardware for Konami's Guitar Freaks arcade game. They enlisted Harmonix, who previously developed several music video games, for development assistance. The first game in the series was made on a budget of $1 million. The series became extremely successful, leading to the acquisition of RedOctane by Activision in 2007. Harmonix was acquired by MTV Games and went on to create the Rock Band series of music games in the same vein as Guitar Hero. Activision brought Neversoft (primarily known for their Tony Hawk series of skateboarding games) on board for future development duties. Additional companies, such as Budcat Creations and Vicarious Visions have assisted in the adaptation of the games for other systems. |
|||
The series currently has seven minor releases and four expansions on gaming consoles. There are spin-offs for Windows and Macintosh systems, mobile phones, the Nintendo DS, and an arcade game. The Guitar Hero franchise was a primary brand during the emergence of the popularity of rhythm games as a cultural phenomenon in North America. Such games have been utilized as a learning and development tool for medical purposes. The first game in the series was considered by several journalists to be one of the most influential video games of the first decade of the 21st century. The series has sold more than 25 million units worldwide, earning US$2 billion at retail, claimed by Activision to be the 3rd largest game franchise after the Mario and Madden NFL franchises; the third main title of the series, Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock is also claimed by Activision to be the first single video game title to exceed $1 billion in sales. Despite early success, the series, along with the overall rhythm game genre, suffered from poor sales starting in 2009. Activision had stated in early 2011 that the series was on hiatus for 2011, while a seventh main title in the series was under development; this title was later cancelled due to the poor quality of the emerging product, and no further titles in the series have been announced. Activision later shut down sales of the series' downloadable content, although users who purchased material from it previously may still play what they bought. |
|||
Contents [hide] |
|||
1 History |
|||
1.1 Origins and development at Harmonix (2005-2006) |
|||
1.2 Sale to Activision and development by Neversoft (2006-2009) |
|||
1.3 Decline and hiatus (2009-2014) |
|||
2 Games |
|||
2.1 Main titles |
|||
2.2 Series expansions |
|||
2.3 Portable versions |
|||
2.4 Mobile phone versions |
|||
2.5 Other games |
|||
2.6 Planned games |
|||
3 Gameplay |
|||
3.1 Game modes |
|||
3.2 Characters and customization |
|||
3.3 Soundtracks |
|||
4 Reception and sales |
|||
5 Cultural impact |
|||
6 Legal and practical issues |
|||
6.1 PlayStation 3 incompatibility |
|||
6.2 Patent litigation |
|||
6.3 Oversaturation |
|||
7 List of games |
|||
8 See also |
|||
9 Notes |
|||
10 External links |
|||
History |
|||
Origins and development at Harmonix (2005-2006) |
|||
==Origin of the term== |
|||
The word is a [[portmanteau word]] of the [[English language|English]] words ''emotion'' and ''icon''. In [[web forum]]s, [[instant messaging|instant messengers]] and [[online game]]s, text emoticons are often automatically replaced with small corresponding images, which came to be called ''emoticons'' as well. Emoticons for a smiley face <code>:-)</code> and sad face <code>:-(</code> appear in the first documented use in digital form. Certain complex character combinations can only be accomplished in a double-byte language, giving rise to especially complex forms, sometimes known by their romanized Japanese name of [[kaomoji]]. |
|||
The use of emoticons can be traced back to the 19th century, and they were commonly used in casual and humorous writing. Digital forms of emoticons on the [[Internet]] were included in a proposal by [[Scott Fahlman]] of [[Carnegie Mellon University]] in [[Pittsburgh]], [[Pennsylvania]], in a message on 19 September 1982.<ref name="smiley">[http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~sef/Orig-Smiley.htm See Fahlman's website for a reconstruction of the entire thread]</ref> |
|||
The original Guitar Hero logo features more pointed decorations on its letters, emphasizing its basis in heavy metal. The new logo, which was introduced with Guitar Hero 5, removes these sharp features so as to reflect the broader selection of music now included in the games. |
|||
==History== |
|||
Guitar Hero was created from a partnership between RedOctane, then their own company that produced specialized video game controllers, and Harmonix, a music video game development company who had previously produced Frequency, Amplitude and Karaoke Revolution. RedOctane was seeking to bring in a Guitar Freaks-like game, highly popular in Japan at the time, into Western markets, and approached Harmonix about helping them to develop a music game involving a guitar controller. Both companies agreed to it, and went on to produce Guitar Hero in 2005.[2] The title was highly successful, leading to the development of its successful sequel Guitar Hero II in 2006. While the original controllers for the first Guitar Hero game were designed by Ryan Lesser, Rob Kay, Greg LoPiccolo and Alex Rigopulous of Harmonix and built by the Honeybee Corporation of China, subsequent iterations and future controllers were developed inhouse at RedOctane, with development led primarily by Jack McCauley.[3] |
|||
Sale to Activision and development by Neversoft (2006-2009) |
|||
Both RedOctane and Harmonix experienced changes in 2006. RedOctane was bought by Activision in June — who spent US$100 million to acquire the Guitar Hero franchise[4] — while it was announced in October that Harmonix would be purchased by MTV Networks. As a result of the two purchases, Harmonix would no longer develop future games in the Guitar Hero series. Instead, that responsibility would go to Neversoft, a subsidiary of Activision known for developing the Tony Hawk's series of skateboarding games.[5] Neversoft was chosen to helm the Guitar Hero series after Neversoft founder, Joel Jewett, admitted to the RedOctane founders, Kai and Charles Huang, that his development team for Tony Hawk's Project 8 went to work on weekends just to play Guitar Hero.[6] Activision CEO Bobby Kotick believed that Neversoft would help them bring great games to the series, but on reflection, stated that had Activision explored Harmonix further as a continued developer for the series, things "may have turned out differently".[7] In addition, Activision began seeking other markets for the game; a Nintendo DS version of the series was developed by Vicarious Visions, while a Guitar Hero Mobile series was created for mobile phones. The company also began considering the expansion of the series to band-specific titles with Guitar Hero: Aerosmith. Later, in November 2008, Activision acquired Budcat Creations, another development studio that had helped with the PlayStation 2 versions of Guitar Hero III and World Tour, announcing that they would be helping to develop another game in the Guitar Hero series.[8] |
|||
In 2007, Harmonix and MTV Games released a new music title through rival publisher Electronic Arts, called Rock Band. It expanded upon the gameplay popularized by the Guitar Hero series by adding drum and microphone instruments, allowing players to simulate playing songs as bands. Activision followed suit with the release of Guitar Hero World Tour in 2008, which supported multiple instruments. In 2009, Activision tripled its Guitar Hero offerings, and in addition to further continuation of the existing main series with Guitar Hero 5 and expansions, they introduced the titles Band Hero, geared towards more family-friendly pop music, and DJ Hero, a game based on turntablism and featuring a number of mixes. With the release of Guitar Hero 5, Activision considered the series to have moved away from its heavy metal basis into a broader selection of music. Guitar Hero 5 is the first game in the series to use a new version of the series' logo; previous games used a logo in a font with sharper "points" on the letters, which was considered "idiosyncratic with a vengeance" to match the games' emphasis on heavy metal music. Activision used the services of the Pentagram design studio to refashion the game's logo. Pentagram developed a new font, removing some of the "aggressive odd" features to make the typeface more suitable and amendable to design feature incorporation to other games such as Band Hero and DJ Hero.[9][10] |
|||
Decline and hiatus (2009-2014) |
|||
The results of the expanded offerings did not contribute well to the series, alongside the late-2000s recession; sales of most rhythm games including Guitar Hero and DJ Hero did not meet expectations, falling about 50% short of projected targets.[11][12][13] Activision announced it would be cutting back to only 10 SKUs within 2010 instead of the 25 in 2009.[14] Though RedOctane and Neversoft continued to develop the 6th main game, Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock, until its completion, both studios were later shuttered by Activision, moving key personnel into Activision directly for future game development, and in the case of Neversoft, closing its Guitar Hero division, while transferring future development duties for the series to Vicarious Visions, another Activision studio which had been fundamental in building the Wii and Nintendo DS versions of the games.[15] In November 2010, Activision also closed Budcat Creations, the arm of the publisher that was primarily responsible for porting the Guitar Hero games to the PlayStation 2.[16] |
|||
Ahead of Activision's 2010 fourth quarter financial report in February 2011, Activision disbanded its Guitar Hero business unit and announced that it would cease development of the planned 2011 Guitar Hero game.[17][18] Activision cited "continued declines in the music genre" to explain its decision.[19] The closure also affected the DJ Hero series, as Activision stated that there were no plans to publish a music game during 2011.[20] Activision's vice president Dan Winters later clarified that the company was "just putting Guitar Hero on hiatus" and that they were "just not making a new game for next year, that's all".[21][22] |
|||
In a July 2011 interview with Forbes, Kotick stated that while the publisher was "going to stop selling Guitar Hero altogether", they were "going to go back to the studios and we’re going to use new studios and reinvent" the series,[23] but a former teammember of Vicarious Visions has stated that as of 2012, all development of Guitar Hero has come to an end within Activision.[24] Another source close to Vicarious Visions had reported to Kotaku that while Guitar Hero 7 was in development under an Activision studio, the game was considered a "disaster".[25] The cancelled game omitted the additional instruments and used only a guitar peripheral, redesigning the unit to include a 6-button mechanism replacing the strum bar.[25] The developers had also started the game development from scratch to try to create new characters and venues that would be more reactive to the actual songs being played to give the feel of a music video, but ultimately this proved too much of a challenge and had to be scrapped.[25] Further, with a limited budget, the song selection was limited to "low-budget" hits of the 1990s, or at times reusing songs that had previously been included in Guitar Hero games.[25] Though the team had a two-year development cycle, it was closed down after Activision president Eric Hirshber had seen the current state of the project at the one-year point.[25] |
|||
No further downloadable content for either Guitar Hero or DJ Hero was made after February 2011,[26] though Activision committed to releasing content that was already in development by that time due to fan response;[27] later, in a move described by Game Informer as "the final nail in [the series'] coffins",[28] Activision announced it would discontinue all DLC sales for the series (although customers can still play tracks they have already bought) as of March 31, 2014.[29] |
|||
Games |
|||
Main titles |
|||
===Antecedents=== |
|||
The ''National Telegraphic Review and Operators Guide'' in April 1857 documented the use of the number 73 in [[Morse code]] to express "love and kisses" (later reduced to the more formal "best regards"). ''Dodge's Manual'' in 1908 documented the reintroduction of "love and kisses" as the number 88. Gajadhar and Green comment that both [[Morse code abbreviations]] are more succinct than modern abbreviations such as [[LOL (Internet slang)|LOL]].<ref>{{cite journal|author=Joan Gajadhar journal|author=Joan Gajadhar and John Green|title=The Importance of Nonverbal Elements in Online Chat|year=2005|journal=EDUCAUSE Quarterly| volume=24|issue=4| url=http://www.educause.edu/apps/eq/eqm05/eqm05411.asp?bhcp=1}}</ref> |
|||
The controllers bundled with Guitar Hero releases (from left to right): Gibson SGs for Guitar Hero and Guitar Hero II (PlayStation 2) and Gibson Explorer for Guitar Hero II (Xbox 360) and Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (PC) |
|||
A ''[[New York Times]]'' transcript from an [[Abraham Lincoln]] speech written in 1862 contains "(applause and laughter <code>;)</code>"; there is some debate as to whether it is a [[typo]], a legitimate punctuation construct, or an emoticon.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/19/hfo-emoticon/ | work=The New York Times | title=Is That an Emoticon in 1862? | date=2009-01-19}}</ref> |
|||
The original Guitar Hero was released on the PlayStation 2 in November 2005. Guitar Hero is notable because it comes packaged with a controller peripheral modeled after a black Gibson SG guitar. Rather than a typical gamepad, this guitar controller is the primary input for the game. Playing the game with the guitar controller simulates playing an actual guitar, except it uses five colored "fret buttons" and a "strum bar" instead of frets and strings. The development of Guitar Hero was inspired by Konami's Guitar Freaks video game, which at the time, had not seen much exposure in the North American market; RedOctane, already selling guitar-shaped controllers for imported copies of GuitarFreaks, approached Harmonix about creating a game to use an entirely new Guitar controller. The concept was to have the gameplay of Amplitude with the visuals of Karaoke Revolution, both of which had been developed by Harmonix.[30][31][32][33] The game was met with critical acclaim and received numerous awards for its innovative guitar peripheral and its soundtrack, which comprised 47 playable rock songs (most of which were cover versions of popular songs from artists and bands from the 1960s through modern rock). Guitar Hero has sold nearly 1.5 million copies to date.[34] |
|||
The popularity of the series increased dramatically with the release of Guitar Hero II for the PlayStation 2 in 2006. Featuring improved multiplayer gameplay, an improved note-recognizing system, and 64 songs, it became the fifth best-selling video game of 2006.[35] The PlayStation 2 version of the game was offered both separately and in a bundle with a cherry red Gibson SG guitar controller. Guitar Hero II was later released for the Xbox 360 in April 2007 with an exclusive Gibson Explorer guitar controller and an additional 10 songs, among other features. About 3 million units of Guitar Hero II have sold on the PlayStation 2 and Xbox 360.[36] |
|||
In 1862, [[Victor Hugo]] wanted to find out how sales of his new book ''[[Les Misérables]]'' were doing; he sent a telegram to his publisher that consisted of a single character: "?". The reply was also a single character: "!" This telegram – which is sometimes attributed to [[Oscar Wilde]] – is cited in the ''[[Guinness Book of World Records]]'' as the world's shortest telegram. Writers of the manga series of Detective Conan used the same content in a message on the series as a challenge from international thief Kaito Kid to mystery writer Yusaku Kudo.<ref>[http://everything2.com/title/The+world%2527s+shortest+correspondence The World's Shortest Telegram]. Retrieved 28 Jun 2013.</ref>{{better source|date=July 2013}} |
|||
The Gibson Les Paul Guitar controller bundled with Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 releases of Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (pictured is the Xbox 360 guitar controller). A similar white Gibson Les Paul guitar controller is bundled with the Wii release, which requires the Wii Remote to be inserted in the back. For in-store demos on the Xbox 360, a wired Les Paul controller is used. |
|||
[[File:Emoticons Puck 1881.png|thumb|And Like RuneSlash.Tk|Emoticons published in the March 30, 1881 issue of ''Puck''.<ref name="emoticonPuck">[http://explore.noodle.org/post/38732179273/the-birth-of-emoticons-one-of-100-diagrams-that See original the page]</ref>]] |
|||
Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock was released in late 2007 for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii, Microsoft Windows, and Mac OS X platforms. The title is the first installment of the series to include wireless guitars bundled with the game and also the first to release a special bundle with two guitars. The game includes Slash and Tom Morello as playable characters in addition to the existing fictional avatars; both guitarists performed motion capture to be used for their characters' animation in the game. |
|||
Four vertical typographical emoticons were published in 1881 by the U.S. satirical magazine ''[[Puck (magazine)|Puck]]'', with the stated intention that the publication's letterpress department thus intended to "lay out ... all the cartoonists that ever walked." In 1912, [[Ambrose Bierce]] proposed "an improvement in punctuation – the snigger point, or note of [[wikt:cachinnation|cachinnation]]: it is written thus \___/! and presents a smiling mouth. It is to be appended, with the full stop [or exclamation mark as Bierce's later example used], to every jocular or ironical sentence".<ref>{{cite journal|title=For Brevity and Clarity|work=Collected Works|location=N.Y. and Washington|date=1909–1912|author=Ambrose Bierce}}</ref> |
|||
In a 1936 [[The Harvard Lampoon|Harvard Lampoon]] article, Alan Gregg proposed (-) for smile, (--) for laugh (more teeth showing), (#) for frown, (*) for wink, and (#) for "intense interest, attention, and incredulity".<ref>The Harvard Lampoon, Vol. 112 No. 1, September 16, 1936, pp. 30-31</ref> Note that the symbols are correctly oriented and are not sideways. |
|||
The "Genericaster" guitar controller bundled with Guitar Hero World Tour (pictured is the PlayStation 3 guitar controller). Unlike previous Guitar Hero controllers, this controller is not based on a real guitar. |
|||
Emoticons had already come into use in sci-fi [[fandom]] in the 1940s,<ref>Gregory Benford, ''A Scientist's Notebook: net@fandom.com'', The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Vol. 90, No. 6 (June 1996), p. 90</ref> although there seems to have been a lapse in cultural continuity between the communities. |
|||
Guitar Hero World Tour, previously named Guitar Hero IV, is the fourth full game in the series and was released on October 26, 2008 for PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Wii. Analysts had expected that future Guitar Hero games in 2008 would include additional instrument peripherals to compete against Rock Band;[37] Guitar Hero World Tour was confirmed as in development following the announcement of the merger between Activision and Vivendi Games in December 2007.[38] Activision's CEO Bobby Kotick announced on April 21, 2008 that Guitar Hero World Tour will branch out into other instruments including vocals.[39] Guitar Hero World Tour includes drums and vocals, and can be bought packaged with a new drum set controller, a microphone, and the standard guitar controller.[40] A larger number of real-world musicians appear as playable characters, including Jimi Hendrix, Billy Corgan, Hayley Williams, Zakk Wylde, Ted Nugent, Travis Barker, Sting, and Ozzy Osbourne. Guitar Hero World Tour also features custom song creation that can be shared with others.[40] |
|||
Guitar Hero 5, the fifth main entry in the series, was confirmed in December 2008.[41] It was released on September 1, 2009, and includes 85 songs from 83 different artists. The game includes new game modes and features, including its 'Party Mode,' which gives players the ability to drop-in and out and change difficulties in the middle of a song. Artists including Johnny Cash, Matt Bellamy, Carlos Santana, Kurt Cobain and Shirley Manson appear as playable characters in the game.[42] |
|||
Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock, the sixth main console game in the series, was released on September 28, 2010. It is the last game in the series developed by Neversoft's Guitar Hero division prior to its dissolution, with Vicarious Visions assisting on the Wii version with added Nintendo DS functionality. The game has been described as returning to the roots of the Guitar Hero series; while it still allows for full band play, the soundtrack's focus is on rock and roll music and an emphasis on guitar "shredding".[43] The game introduced a career-based "Quest Mode", narrated by Gene Simmons, that guides the players to complete songs to unlock "warriors of rock" to join them in saving "demigod of rock" and his guitar from his imprisonment by "the Beast".[44][45] |
|||
Series expansions |
|||
Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s for the PlayStation 2, which was released in July 2007, was the final game developed by Harmonix for the series.[46] Though it was produced after Harmonix were purchased by MTV Games, it was part of their contractual obligation to complete the game. The game, as suggested by its name, features tracks primarily from the 1980s. |
|||
Guitar Hero: Aerosmith was the first band-centric game for the series. On September 4, 2007, Billboard announced that the band Aerosmith was "working closely with the makers of Guitar Hero IV, which will be dedicated to the group's music."[47] On February 15, 2008, Activision announced that Guitar Hero: Aerosmith would be released on June 29, 2008.[48][49][50] Guitar Hero: Aerosmith is developed by Neversoft for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions, while the Wii version of the game is developed by Vicarious Visions and the PlayStation 2 version is developed by Budcat Creations.[51] The game features a track selection composed of 60% of Aerosmith songs, with other songs from Joe Perry's solo work or artists that have inspired or performed with Aerosmith, including Run D.M.C.. |
|||
The series' next band-centric title, Guitar Hero: Metallica, was released on March 29, 2009. Guitar Hero: Metallica is based on the full band experience of World Tour while offering similar features on Metallica's history and music as found in Guitar Hero: Aerosmith.[52] In addition, Metallica's album, Death Magnetic, was available as downloadable content for Guitar Hero III simultaneously with the release of the album, with the content being forward-compatible with Guitar Hero World Tour and Guitar Hero: Metallica. Since the PlayStation 2 version does not support downloading, three extra songs were included from Death Magnetic and are as follows: "Broken, Beat, and Scarred", "Cyanide", and "My Apocalypse".[52][53] A new feature in the game, where the drummer can access a mode called Expert+, has also been added. Expert+ mode was implemented to allow faster bass pedal beats, fast to the point where it would normally be out of the playable range of a single bass pedal, and was intended for a dual bass pedal. |
|||
Guitar Hero Smash Hits (titled Guitar Hero: Greatest Hits in Europe and Australia) was released in June 2009. It features full-band versions of 48 songs from earlier Guitar Hero games that only used the guitar controller. Unlike the previous versions, each of the songs is based on a master recording that includes some live tracks.[54] The game follows a similar model as Guitar Hero: Metallica, and was developed by Neversoft and Beenox Studios for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, and Wii.[55] |
|||
Guitar Hero: Van Halen was released on December 22, 2009,[56] though customers that purchased Guitar Hero 5 under a special promotion received a copy of the game early. Like the other band-centric games, Guitar Hero: Van Halen includes 25 songs from the band Van Halen, including 3 guitar solos by Eddie Van Halen, in addition to 19 guest acts such as Queen, Weezer, Blink-182, Foo Fighters, The Offspring and Queens of the Stone Age.[57][58] |
|||
Another new title to the series, Band Hero, was announced in May 2009. Band Hero features Top 40 hits aimed at family audiences, and include the full band play style of Guitar Hero 5.[57] The game was developed for the Nintendo DS, using the Guitar Hero On Tour Guitar Grip, a new "drum skin" to fit the DS Lite, and the DS's microphone to support the full band experience.[59] Musician Taylor Swift appears as a playable character in the game,[60] as do the members of No Doubt. |
|||
DJ Hero was announced by Activision in May 2009. Prior to the announcement, the company had purchased FreeStyleGames, a small developer of music games, to help produce localized downloadable content for Guitar Hero games and a then-unannounced music game, later revealed to be DJ Hero.[61] DJ Hero uses a special turntable-based controller for players to perform with on various song mixes in the game. The game also incorporates the use of a Guitar Hero controller on ten specially-arranged tracks; Bright has suggested that future Guitar Hero games after Guitar Hero 5 may include the use of the turntable control.[62] |
|||
A sequel, DJ Hero 2, was officially announced in June 2010 for release in the last quarter of 2010, featuring more than 70 mashups from over 85 artists.[63] The game includes several new gameplay modes, including an "Empire" career mode, head-to-head DJ battles, social multiplayer modes, and a jump-in and out Party Play mode similar to Guitar Hero 5. The game also includes more vocal options for singing and rapping to songs, and a freestyle mode for players.[63] |
|||
Portable versions |
|||
Main article: Guitar Hero: On Tour series |
|||
The September 1962 issue of [[MAD Magazine]] published an article titled "Typewri-toons." The piece, featuring typewriter-generated artwork credited to "Royal Portable," was entirely made up of repurposed typography, including a capital letter P having a bigger bust than a capital I, a lowercase b and d discussing their pregnancies, an asterisk on top of a letter to indicate the letter had just come inside from a snowfall, and a classroom of lowercase n's interrupted by a lowercase h "raising its hand."<ref>MAD Magazine #73, Sept. 1962, EC Publications, pgs. 36-37</ref> Two additional "Typewri-toons" articles subsequently appeared in ''Mad'', in 1965 and 1987. |
|||
The "Guitar Grip", developed by Vicarious Visions for the Nintendo DS series Guitar Hero: On Tour provides four fret buttons for the game, while strumming is done on the DS touchscreen by use of a pick-shaped stylus. |
|||
In 1963 the "[[smiley|smiley face]]", a yellow button with two black dots representing eyes and an upturned thick curve representing a mouth was created by freelance artist [[Harvey Ball]]. It was realized on order of a large insurance company as part of a campaign to bolster the morale of its employees and soon became a big hit. This smiley presumably inspired many later emoticons; the most basic graphic emoticon that depicts this is in fact a small yellow smiley face. |
|||
Guitar Hero: On Tour was released on the Nintendo DS hand-held system on June 22, 2008. The game includes a peripheral, dubbed the "Guitar Grip", a rectangular device that fits into the second slot of the Nintendo DS or DS Lite. The peripheral only features the first four fret buttons and a strap so the Nintendo DS can be held sideways comfortably for play. The game also includes a guitar pick shaped stylus for use with strumming in the game, which players move across the touchscreen.[64] Guitar Hero: On Tour was developed by Vicarious Visions, who also ported the Guitar Hero games to Nintendo's Wii console. |
|||
A sequel, Guitar Hero On Tour: Decades, was released in November 2008, featuring music spanning four decades.[65] A third title in the series, Guitar Hero On Tour: Modern Hits, was announced following various rumors of its existence,[66][67] and was released in June 2009, featuring songs recorded since the year 2000.[55][68][69] Both games use the "Guitar Grip" controller, and allow two players to compete against each other using any version of the On Tour series, with songs being shared between versions.[65] |
|||
Band Hero was also ported to the Nintendo DS by Vicarious Visions, expanding the play to include vocals (through the DS microphone) and drumming. The drumming uses a special "drum skin" adapter designed for the Nintendo DS Lite to map the unit's face buttons to four drum pads. However, the peripheral is not compatible with the original Nintendo DS model or the Nintendo DSi. However, since the drum skin is not electronic but a rubber cover switch that duplicates certain buttons on the DS Lite, a player can simply press the buttons in time to play the drums. The game includes four-player local wireless play in a similar manner as Guitar Hero 5 allowing any combination of instruments to be used. The game has a set of 30 songs; some are from Band Hero and others are from several Guitar Hero games' set lists. |
|||
Guitar Hero: On Tour does not work on the Nintendo DSi and Nintendo 3DS because unlike the Nintendo DS, they do not have Game Boy Advance slots. Band Hero is limited to vocals and drums on the two consoles for the same reason. |
|||
Mobile phone versions |
|||
Main article: Guitar Hero Mobile series |
|||
Guitar Hero III Mobile was released for mobile phones in 2007 and 2008, and was developed by MachineWorks Northwest LLC. The base version of the game includes 15 songs from both Guitar Hero II and Guitar Hero III, and has released a three-song add-on pack every month since January 2008. The title has been downloaded by users one million times, with both Verizon and Hands-On Mobile claiming that over 250,000 songs are played a day on the platform.[70] The two companies produced two other mobile-based Guitar Hero games; Guitar Hero III: Backstage Pass, released in July 2008, adds role-playing elements to manage the band's success in addition to the core rhythm game,[71] while the mobile version of Guitar Hero World Tour, released in December 2008, expands each included track for play on both lead guitar and drums, mimicking the expansion of the console series to the full band.[72] |
|||
Glu Mobile developed the mobile version of Guitar Hero 5, released in the last quarter of 2009.[73] |
|||
Other games |
|||
Activision and RedOctane also worked with Basic Fun, Inc. to produce Guitar Hero Carabiner, a handheld electronic game that features 30 and 60-second clips of ten of the songs from Guitar Hero and Guitar Hero II.[74][75] |
|||
Activision and Konami, who had previously worked together to make sure that the Guitar Hero series meets with Konami's patents on music games, developed an arcade console version of the game, titled Guitar Hero Arcade, distributed to arcades in early 2009. The game is completely based on the Guitar Hero III gameplay, but reducing some of the features such as the use of the Whammy bar, Star Power Button (Star Power may only be activated by lifting the Guitar) and Practice Modes, but keeping the ability to download new songs for the cabinet from the Internet.[76] The arcade game has come under some scrutiny by the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), who believe the use of the game in arcades is equivalent to "public performances" and seek additional fees to be paid by operators of the game.[77] |
|||
Planned games |
|||
No more Guitar Hero games were released on the PlayStation 2 after 2009, with the double release of Guitar Hero 5 and Band Hero.[78] It was expected that the 2010 entry for Guitar Hero, Warriors of Rock, would be the final entry developed by Neversoft, based on claims that Neversoft would be letting go of its Guitar Hero division, with Vicarious Visions likely poised to take over future development.[15] Further industry rumors pointed at the closure of RedOctane Studios and Underground Development (the development studio for Guitar Hero: Van Halen) as further results from the scaling-back; Activision moved the controller hardware development within their own division to continue to support the series,[79] with RedOctane founders Kai and Charles Huang remaining with Activision.[80] A week prior to these announcements, the Guitar Hero division CEO at Activision, Dan Rosensweig, left the company, leading to some speculation on whether Rosensweig's departure influenced these changes.[81] Activision and RedOctane had trademarked the titles "Guitar Villain", "Drum Villain", "Keyboard Hero" and "Sing Hero".[82][83] RedOctane originally trademarked the titles "Drum Hero" and "Band Hero", but the work performed towards the Drum Hero title was eventually folded into the gameplay for Guitar Hero World Tour, and Band Hero became its own game.[40] Later, as of October 2009, Activision reapplied for a Drum Hero trademark.[84] Pi Studios, which had previously helped to port Rock Band to the Wii, had started work on the karaoke title Sing Hero before Activision cancelled its development.[85] |
|||
Dave Mustaine, frontman for Megadeth, stated he had been in talks with Activision and Neversoft for a Guitar Hero-related product.[86] It was later revealed that Dave Mustaine was working with Activision for music in Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock, including an original track ("Sudden Death") recorded specifically for the game. |
|||
Two Guitar Hero products that were announced but never released were a Red Hot Chili Peppers-themed title[87] and a PlayStation Portable title that would have featured a drum component.[88] |
|||
Gameplay |
|||
In a ''[[New York Times]]'' interview in April 1969, [[Alden Whitman]] asked writer [[Vladimir Nabokov]]: "How do you rank yourself among writers (living) and of the immediate past?" Nabokov answered: "I often think there should exist a special typographical sign for a smile – some sort of concave mark, a supine round bracket, which I would now like to trace in reply to your question."<ref>{{cite book|author=Nabokov|title=Strong Opinions|isbn=0-679-72609-8|publisher=Vintage Books|date=March 1990|url=http://lib.ru/NABOKOW/Inter11.txt|accessdate=2009-03-24}}</ref> |
|||
===Creation of :-) and :-(=== |
|||
Gameplay of a single player playing Pantera's "Cowboys From Hell". The player in Guitar Hero must play the colored notes on the fret board in time with the music as they scroll through the target at the bottom. The score and current score multiplier are shown on the bottom left. The Rock Meter dial and Star Power indicator are shown on the bottom right. The remainder of the screen shows the player's character and band as they perform to the music. |
|||
[[Scott Fahlman]] was the first documented person to use the emoticons <code>:-)</code> and <code>:-(</code>, with a specific suggestion that they be used to express emotion.<ref>{{cite news |
|||
The core gameplay of the Guitar Hero games is a rhythm game similar to Konami's Guitar Freaks[32] and to a lesser extent Harmonix's previous music games such as Frequency and Amplitude. The guitar controller is recommended for play, although a standard console controller can be used instead.[89][90] However, the guitar controller has been required for play ever since the inclusion of drum and vocal parts in the series. The game supports toggling the handedness of the guitar, allowing both left-handed and right-handed players to utilize the guitar controller.[89][90] |
|||
| title = :D turns 25 |
|||
While playing the game, an extended guitar neck is shown vertically on the screen (the frets horizontal), often called the "note highway", and as the song progresses, colored markers or "gems" indicating notes travel down the screen in time with the music; the note colors and positions match those of the five fret keys on the guitar controller. Once the note(s) reach the bottom, the player must play the indicated note(s) by holding down the correct fret button(s) and hitting the strumming bar in order to score points. Success or failure will cause the on-screen Rock Meter to change, showing how well the player is playing (denoted by red, yellow, and green sections). Should the Rock Meter drop below the red section, the song will automatically end, with the player booed off the stage by the audience. Successful note hits will add to the player's score, and by hitting a long series of consecutive successful note hits, the player can increase their score multiplier. There is a window of time for hitting each note, similar to other rhythm games such as Dance Dance Revolution, but unlike these games, scoring in Guitar Hero is not affected by accuracy; as long as the note is hit within that window, the player receives the same number of points.[89][90] |
|||
| agency = Associated Press |
|||
Selected special segments of the song will have glowing notes outlined by stars: successfully hitting all notes in this series will fill the "Star Power Meter". The Star Power Meter can also be filled by using the whammy bar during sustained notes within these segments. Once the Star Power Meter is at least half full, the player can activate "Star Power" by pressing the select button or momentarily lifting the guitar into a vertical position. When Star Power is activated, the scoring multiplier is doubled until Star Power is depleted. The Rock Meter also increases more dramatically when Star Power is activated, making it easier for the player to make the Rock Meter stay at a high level. Thus, Star Power can be used strategically to play difficult sections of a song that otherwise might cause the player to fail.[89][90] In the earlier entries of the series (up until Guitar Hero: Aerosmith), activating Star Power meant that players could not accrue more Star Power until the Star Power meter was fully drained and the effect ended. Starting with Guitar Hero: World Tour, more Star Power can be collected even if the effect is active by completing more Star Power phrases, extending the Star Power's duration by doing so. When playing in cooperative play (with a bassist/rhythm guitarist in Guitar Hero II through Guitar Hero: Aerosmith or as a band in Guitar Hero: World Tour), Star Power is shared between all the players and activation of Star Power is dependent on all players simultaneously activating it. |
|||
| date = 2007-09-20 |
|||
Notes can be a single note, or composed of two to five notes that make a chord. Both single notes and chords can also be sustained, indicated by a colored line following the note marker; the player can hold the sustained note(s) keys down for the entire length for additional points. During a sustained note, a player may use the whammy bar on the guitar to alter the tone of the note. Also, regardless of whether sustains are hit early or late, if the fret is held for the full duration of the hold, the game will always award the same amount of score increase for the note. In addition, the games support virtual implementations of "hammer-ons" and "pull-offs", guitar-playing techniques that are used to successfully play a fast series of notes by only changing the fingering on the fret buttons without having to strum each note. Sequences where strumming is not required are indicated on-screen by notes with a white outline at the top of the marker instead of the usual black one, with Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock adding a white-glowing effect to make these notes clearer.[89][90] Guitar Hero World Tour features transparent notes that are connected by a purple outline; players may either simply tap the correct fret for these notes without strumming or utilize a touchpad on World Tour's guitar controller to mimic the slide technique. In addition, notes can now be played while a sustained note is being played. World Tour also adds an open string note for bass players, represented by a line across the fret instead of any note gems, that is played by strumming without holding down any fret buttons (the sixth installment, Warriors of Rock, features an open note sustain for bass instruments as well). |
|||
| url = http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/09/18/emoticon.anniversary.ap/index.html |
|||
| accessdate = 2007-09-20 |archiveurl = http://web.archive.org/web/20071012051803/http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/09/18/emoticon.anniversary.ap/index.html |archivedate = October 12, 2007}}</ref> The text of his original proposal, posted to the [[Carnegie Mellon University]] computer science general [[bulletin board system|board]] on 19 September 1982 (11:44<!-- local time? -->), was thought to have been lost, but was recovered 20 years later by Jeff Baird from old backup tapes.<ref name="smiley"/> |
|||
<!-- |
|||
NOTE: the pre-formatted text below has some "spurious spaces", such as |
|||
between "Scott" and "Fahlman". This is not sloppy editing on our |
|||
part: we *exactly* transcribed the text from |
|||
http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~sef/Orig-Smiley.htm |
|||
Gameplay of a whole band in Guitar Hero World Tour playing Billy Idol's "Rebel Yell". On top are vocals, bottom from left to right: lead guitar, drums and bass guitar. |
|||
It's not clear if such spaces were present in the original post |
|||
Guitar Hero World Tour introduced drums and vocal tracks in addition to lead and bass guitar. Drum tracks are played similar to guitar tracks; the player must strike the appropriate drum head or step down on the bass drum pedal on the controller when the note gems pass the indicated line. Certain note gems, when using a drum controller that is velocity-sensitive, are "armored", requiring the player to hit the indicated drum pad harder to score more points. Vocal tracks are played similar to games such as Karaoke Revolution where the player must match the pitch and the pacing of the lyrics to score points. Guitar Hero 5 allows players to create a band of up to four players using any combination of instruments.[91] |
|||
or they crept in at some point during the conversion to HTML. |
|||
While the song is playing, the background visuals feature the players' chosen avatar, along with the rest of the band performing in one of several real and fictional venues. The reaction of the audience is based on the performance of the player judged by the Rock Meter. Guitar Hero II added special lighting and other stage effects that were synchronized to the music to provide a more complete concert experience.[89][90] The games developed by Neversoft feature a simple storyline, usually about a band's quest for fame, which is told through animations played throughout the game. These animations were created by Chris Prynoski and his studio, Titmouse, Inc., who have also done animations for the animated show Metalocalypse.[92] |
|||
We have assumed the former. |
|||
Game modes |
|||
--> |
|||
<pre.raw style="border: 0px;"> |
|||
19-Sep-82 11:44 Scott E Fahlman :-) |
|||
From: Scott E Fahlman <Fahlman at Cmu-20c> |
|||
I propose that the following character sequence for joke markers: |
|||
:-) |
|||
Read it sideways. Actually, it is probably more economical to mark |
|||
things that are NOT jokes, given current trends. For this, use |
|||
:-( |
|||
</pre> |
|||
Other notable computer scientists who participated in this thread include [[David Touretzky]], [[Guy L. Steele, Jr.|Guy Steele]], and [[Jaime Carbonell]]. |
|||
In Guitar Hero III's two-player "Battle Mode", each player attempts to interfere with their opponent's performance using special power-ups while avoiding being distracted by those thrown by the opponent. |
|||
Within a few months, it had spread to the [[ARPANET]]<ref>{{cite newsgroup |
|||
The main mode of play in the Guitar Hero games is Career Mode, where the player and in-game band travel between various fictional performance arenas and perform sets of four to six songs. It is by completing songs in this mode that the songs are unlocked for play across the rest of the game. Players can choose their on-stage character, their guitar of choice, and the venue they wish to play in. In this mode, the player can earn money from his/her performances that is redeemable at the in-game store, where bonus songs, additional guitars and finishes, your characters clothing and bonus content can be unlocked. Quick Play mode is a quicker method of playing songs, as it allows the player to select a track and difficulty, selecting the character, venue, and guitar and guitar skin for the player based on the song chosen. After successfully completing a song, the player is given a score, a percentage of how many notes they hit and a rating from three to five stars, and two in rare cases depending on his/her final score on the song, with money being awarded in Guitar Hero World Tour.[89][90] |
|||
| title = Notes – Communications Breakthrough, |
|||
The games have also added multiplayer modes. Cooperative modes allow two players to play lead and either bass or rhythm guitar on the same song, working together towards the same score. A competitive Face-Off mode allows two players to play against each other at different difficulty levels, each attempting to earn the best score on a song. Each player plays different portions of the song. There is also a Pro Face-Off mode, where two players battle at the same difficulty level. Unlike standard Face-off, each player attempts to play all of the notes in a song, while still trying to earn the highest score. In Guitar Hero World Tour this was advanced on, as players could play a Pro Face-Off game against each other on any difficulty level, the lower your difficulty, the more points were awarded so a player on a low difficulty could potentially beat a player on a more challenging difficulty. Guitar Hero III introduced Boss Battles, in which two players face off against each other, attempt to collect "distractions" to throw at their opponent, trying to make them fail. With Guitar Hero World Tour, up to four players can play cooperatively on lead and bass guitar, drums, and vocals, while a total of eight players can compete in a Battle of the Bands. The Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Wii versions of the games support multiplayer modes over their respective network services. |
|||
| author = James.Morris at CMU-10A |
|||
The four difficulty levels for each song afford the player a learning curve in order to help him/her progress in skill. The first difficulty level, Easy, only focuses on the first three fret buttons while displaying a significantly reduced amount of notes for the player to play. Medium introduces the fourth (blue) fret button, and Hard includes the final fret button while adding additional notes. The addition of the orange fret button forces players to move their fingers up and down the neck. Expert does not introduce any other frets to learn, but adds more notes in a manner designed to challenge the player and to simulate the player's hands to move in a sequence similar to a real guitar. A difficulty added in World Tour is Beginner, which only requires the player to strum to the basic rhythm; holding the fret buttons becomes unnecessary.[89][90] Another new difficulty only for drums was added to Metallica known as Expert+, which uses the double bass pedal. |
|||
| date = 1982-10-10 |
|||
Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock is the sixth installment in the franchise and introduced a new take on the Career mode of previous games. Rather than being a quest for fame and glory with the band travelling through different venues, Warriors of Rock features the "Quest Mode" as the primary campaign mode. Quest Mode tells the story of an ancient warrior who was defeated by a powerful monster and his mystical guitar was lost. The player must amass a team of rockers to help recover this guitar and defeat the monster (called "The Beast"). As the player progresses through the mode, the rockers joining them will transform based on the number of stars earned from songs played. These transformations will empower the player with extra abilities in a song such as constant score multipliers or Star Power bonuses. These abilities are each unique to the individual rockers and by using them effectively, it is possible now to earn up to forty stars for a single song. |
|||
| newsgroup = net.works |
|||
Characters and customization |
|||
| id = |
|||
When playing through Career mode or in other parts of the Guitar Hero games, the player has the option to select one of several pre-created avatar characters, who will be shown performing on stage as the player attempts a song, but otherwise has no effect on the gameplay. A certain number of characters are available at the start of the game, but the player must spend in-game money earned by successful performances to unlock other characters. Many of the characters reappear throughout the series, with the character roster changing as new characters are added or removed. Standby characters that have appeared in nearly all the games include the metalhead Axel Steel, extreme/Viking/thrash metalhead Lars Ümlaut, punk rocker Johnny Napalm, alternative rocker Judy Nails, and hard rocker Casey Lynch. The developers utilized these characters in more detail within Warriors of Rock, where each was given a unique setlist and venue based on their musical style, as well as a unique power within the game's Quest mode. |
|||
| url = http://groups.google.com/group/net.works/browse_thread/thread/773cc0618cfd7d83?hl=en&q=Scott+Fahlman#35a7598e05d9a09b |
|||
Several games in the series feature caricatures of celebrity artists, such as Slash, Tom Morello and Bret Michaels in Guitar Hero III, Ozzy Osbourne and Jimi Hendrix in World Tour, Kurt Cobain in Guitar Hero 5, and Taylor Swift and the band No Doubt in Band Hero. The band-specific games, Aerosmith, Metallica, and Van Halen also feature the members of the respective bands. However, in late 2009, both Courtney Love and the members of No Doubt sought legal action against Activision for the misuse of their in-game characters singing or performing songs by other artists, which the musicians believe fell outside of their contract. |
|||
| accessdate = 2008-12-18 |
|||
The ability for the players to create their own avatars was added in Guitar Hero World Tour, and was based on Neversoft's existing character creation tools from the Tony Hawk series. Later games on the Xbox 360 and Wii allowed players to use the respective console's avatars as members of the band. In addition to unlocking characters, in-game money can be used to buy clothing, accessories and instruments that they are seen playing with. The guitars can also be customized with special finishes purchasable through the in-game store. Guitar Hero World Tour includes the ability to fully customize any component of the guitar. The in-game store in the series is also used to unlock bonus songs or special videos with interviews about the game or with the artists involved. |
|||
}}</ref> and [[Usenet]].<ref>{{cite newsgroup |
|||
Soundtracks |
|||
| title = How to keep from being misunderstood on the net |
|||
Most of the games in the Guitar Hero series feature a selection of songs ranging from the 1960s to present day rock music from both highly successful artists and bands and independent groups. Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s features songs primarily from the 80s, while Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, Metallica, and Van Halen feature music from the respective bands and groups that inspired or worked with the bands. Songs with profanities have been censored. |
|||
| author = Curtis Jackson |
|||
Many of the Guitar Hero games developed for the recent generation of consoles (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Wii) support downloadable content, allowing players to purchase new songs to play in the respective titles. Songs each cost approximately $2 through the various online stores for the console's platform. Prior to Guitar Hero 5, downloadable content for earlier games will not work in other games in the series, save for songs from Metallica's Death Magnetic, which were available for Guitar Hero III, World Tour, and Metallica.[93] Existing World Tour downloadable content for World Tour will be forward-compatible with Guitar Hero 5, Band Hero[91] and Guitar Hero Warriors of Rock, and for a small fee, some songs from both Guitar Hero World Tour and Guitar Hero Smash Hits can be exported to both Guitar Hero 5 and Band Hero, limited by music licensing.[94] Activision has also stated that they are considering a monthly subscription service to deliver downloadable content to user for future games.[95] Guitar Hero World Tour introduced a music creation mode that will allow players to create and share songs (excluding vocals) via the "GHTunes" service, which was also used in all other Guitar Hero games and Band Hero since its inclusion. The creation tools were improved with Guitar Hero 5 and Band Hero to allow longer songs and other means of generating songs in real-time. |
|||
| date = 1982-12-03 |
|||
In the first two games and the 2007 expansion Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s, the majority of the songs on the main career mode set lists are covers of the original song; for example, a song may be presented as "Free Bird as made famous by Lynyrd Skynyrd".[96] Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock introduces a much larger range of original recordings, and World Tour featured a setlist that contained all master recordings. The covers throughout the games are mostly recreated by WaveGroup Sound who has worked before to create songs for Beatmania, Dance Dance Revolution, and Karaoke Revolution,[97] making small changes to the guitar portions to make them more adaptable for gameplay.[98] Almost all of the unlockable bonus songs are songs performed by the original artist for the game (the only exception is the song "She Bangs the Drums" by The Stone Roses, which is featured in Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock). |
|||
| newsgroup = net.news |
|||
Prior to the release of Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock, Activision worked with the iTunes Store to provide more than 1300 tracks of Guitar Hero-related music across more than 20 compilations, including most of the tracks from the games in the series, called "Guitar Hero Essentials". These compilations, such as "Killer Guitar Solos" and "Guitar Anthems of the '80s", include songs related to but not contained within the Guitar Hero series. Dusty Welch of RedOctane stated, "Where there’s music, there’s Guitar Hero, and with iTunes, we are able to provide fans with a central location for downloading their favorite rock anthems."[99] Following the merger of Activision and Blizzard, the new company announced that it planned on creating an alternative to iTunes based on the Guitar Hero brand that would allow for downloading songs and their associated note tracks for the Guitar Hero games.[100] |
|||
| id = |
|||
Reception and sales |
|||
| url = http://groups.google.com/group/net.news/browse_thread/thread/b72c333ced0d3adc/e008ed19e251f9ee?hl=en&#e008ed19e251f9ee |
|||
| accessdate = 2008-12-17 |
|||
}}</ref> Many variations on the theme were immediately suggested by Scott and others. |
|||
Aggregate review scores |
|||
==Western style== |
|||
As of December 25, 2010. |
|||
Game GameRankings Metacritic |
|||
Guitar Hero (PS2) 91.96%[101] (PS2) 91[102] |
|||
Guitar Hero II (X360) 92.29%[103] |
|||
(PS2) 92.07%[104] (X360) 92[105] |
|||
(PS2) 92[106] |
|||
Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (Wii) 86.26%[107] |
|||
(X360) 85.75%[108] |
|||
(PS2) 85.50%[109] |
|||
(PS3) 83.77%[110] |
|||
(PC) 78.00%[111] (Wii) 86[112] |
|||
(X360) 85[113] |
|||
(PS3) 83[114] |
|||
(PS2) 82[115] |
|||
(PC) 79[116] |
|||
Guitar Hero World Tour (Wii) 86.28%[117] |
|||
(X360) 84.44%[118] |
|||
(PS3) 83.33%[119] |
|||
(PS2) 81.20%[120] (Wii) 86[121] |
|||
(X360) 85[122] |
|||
(PS3) 84[123] |
|||
Guitar Hero 5 (Wii) 89.58%[124] |
|||
(PS3) 86.58%[125] |
|||
(X360) 85.66%[126] |
|||
(PS2) 45.00%[127] (Wii) 89[128] |
|||
(PS3) 86[129] |
|||
(X360) 85[130] |
|||
(PS2) 71[131] |
|||
Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock (Wii) 80.07%[132] |
|||
(X360) 75.20%[133] |
|||
(PS3) 74.35%[134] (Wii) 77[135] |
|||
(PS3) 74[136] |
|||
(X360) 72[137] |
|||
Games in the Guitar Hero series have been generally well received by critics. The initial games were highly praised by reviewers.[138][139][140][141] Neversoft's first entry to the series, Guitar Hero III, was considered to be too difficult, with many difficult songs presenting players with "walls of notes"; the developers later acknowledged this.[142][143][144] Subsequent efforts in Guitar Hero: Aerosmith and Guitar Hero World Tour were seen to have some improvements, with Guitar Hero: Metallica considered to be a well-polished title and, at that time, the best Guitar Hero title Neversoft has produced.[145][146] Guitar Hero 5's improvements toward social gameplay were complemented by reviewers and considered a further improvement upon the series. Entertainment Weekly put it on its end-of-the-decade, "best-of" list, saying, "An addictive videogame provides the illusion of musical mastery for even the least gifted:. How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Tap, tap, tap."[147] |
|||
Upon release, the first game was seen as an unexpected hit, earning over US$45 million with about 1.5 million copies sold.[148][149][150] Guitar Hero II was significantly more financially successful, with over 1.3 million copies sold and sales over US$200 million.[148][151] Guitar Hero III, according to Activision, was the first single video game to sell more than US$1 billion at retail, with nearly 3.5 million copies sold during the first seven months of 2008.[152][153] World Tour continued the series' high sales records with 3.4 million units sold in the United States during 2008.[154] More than 60 million downloadable tracks have been purchased across the series as of February 2010.[14] Both Guitar Hero III and World Tour were listed on a March 2011 list from the NPD Group of top grossing games in unadjusted sales in the United States since 1995; Guitar Hero III tops the list with total sales of $830.9 million.[155] |
|||
Overall, the Guitar Hero series has sold more than 25 million units worldwide, earning US$2 billion at retail. Activision claimed the series to be the 3rd largest game franchise in 2009 after the Mario and Madden NFL franchises.[156][157][158][159] |
|||
Cultural impact |
|||
Main article: Cultural impact of the Guitar Hero series |
|||
Usually, emoticons in Western style have the eyes on the left, followed by nose and the mouth. The two character version <code>:)</code> which omits the nose is also very popular. |
|||
The Guitar Hero series has made a significant cultural impact, becoming a "cultural phenomenon".[36][160] The series has helped to rekindle music education in children, influenced changes in both the video game and music industry, has found use in health and treatment of recovering patients, and has become part of the popular culture vernacular. Several journalists, including 1UP.com,[161] Wired,[162] G4TV,[163] the San Jose Mercury News,[164] Inc.,[165] The Guardian,[166] and Advertising Age,[167] considered Guitar Hero to be one of the most influential products of the first decade of the 21st century, attributing it as the spark leading to the growth of the rhythm game market, for boosting music sales for both new and old artists, for introducing more social gaming concepts to the video game market, and, in conjunction with the Wii, for improving interactivity with gaming consoles. |
|||
Legal and practical issues |
|||
PlayStation 3 incompatibility |
|||
===Common western examples=== |
|||
Sony's PlayStation 3 console has no compatibility with the PlayStation 2 Guitar Hero controller on the system. While Guitar Hero and Guitar Hero II are fully backward-compatible through the hardware PlayStation 2 emulation in the initial North American release of the console, it was impossible at launch to use the guitar controller to play either game. Kai Huang, of RedOctane, states that they are "working on that with Sony right now – looking at how we can get all the PlayStation 2 guitars that are out there, and all the owners of them, to use them on the PlayStation 3."[168] Nyko, an accessories company, was poised to make a special PlayStation 2 controller adapter for the PlayStation 3, but put the product on hold due to technical difficulties. Also, Tac, another accessories company, also made a PlayStation 2 controller adapter for a PlayStation 3 game console so people can use their Guitar Hero guitar controllers that were made for PlayStation 2 to be used with a PlayStation 3 game console.[169] However, the May 2007 PlayStation 3 V1.80 system update has made the guitar controller compatible with generic PlayStation 2 controller to USB adapters when playing Guitar Hero and Guitar Hero II.[170] In addition, Pelican has released a special PlayStation 2 to PlayStation 3 controller adapter that supports both games, including the ability to switch the handedness of the guitar.[171] At present, most PS2-to-USB adapters have issues with hammer-ons and pull-offs. The Ant Commandos have produced an adapter that allows hammer-ons to be played. This is the only known adapter that allows this, however it is only designed and guaranteed for using PlayStation 2 guitar controllers with PlayStation 3 Guitar Hero and Rock Band games and as such is incompatible with Guitar Hero II and Rock the 80s. Both games can still be played using the shoulder buttons on a standard controller. |
|||
{{Main|List of emoticons}} |
|||
Patent litigation |
|||
Gibson Guitar Corporation, whose guitar likenesses have appeared in the Guitar Hero series from the first game to Guitar Hero Aerosmith, informed Activision on January 7, 2008, that it believed the games infringe its U.S. Patent 5,990,405. Gibson claimed that this covers technology that simulates a concert performance via pre-recorded audio and a musical instrument. In response, Activision filed a suit seeking a declaration that it was not in violation of the Gibson patent; Activision also asserted that Gibson had given an implied license by waiting to assert the patent and that the patent was invalid.[172] On March 17, 2008, Gibson sued six retailers (GameStop, Amazon.com, Wal-Mart, Target, Toys "R" Us and Kmart) for selling Guitar Hero products.[173][174] Subsequently, on March 21, 2008, Gibson also filed a lawsuit against EA, MTV, and Harmonix over their game Rock Band also for violation of its patent, to which a Harmonix spokesperson stated that Gibson's claims are "completely without merit".[175] Activision lawyer Mary Tuck stated in their legal filings that they believe that Gibson initiated the lawsuit due to the fact that "Activision was not [interested] in renewing the License and Marketing Support Agreement" with Gibson Guitars.[176] In February 2009, the United States District Court for the Central District of California ruled against Gibson in their case against Activision, stating that the controllers are not musical instruments but "toys that represent other items", and that Gibson's patent only covers instruments that send out analog signals.[177][178] Activision and Gibson settled the suit following this ruling.[179] |
|||
The most basic emoticons are relatively consistent in form, but each of them can be transformed by being rotated (making them tiny [[ambigrams]]), with or a without hyphen (nose). |
|||
Activision, through John Devecka,[180] owns all of Devecka Enterprises' US and international patents[181][182][183] that deal with music games. All patents issued by the USPTO are presumed valid.[184][185] |
|||
There are also some possible variations to emoticons to get new definitions, like changing a character to express a new feeling, or slightly change the mood of the emoticon. For example <code>:(</code> equals sad and <code>:((</code> equals very sad or weeping. A blush can be expressed as <code>:"> </code>. Others include wink <code>;)</code>, a grin <code>:D</code>, smug <code>:-></code>, and tongue out <code>:P</code> for disgust or simply just to stick the tongue out for silliness, such as when [[blowing a raspberry]]. An often used combination is also <code> <3 </code> for a heart, and <code> </3 </code> for a broken heart. A representation of a cat face can be expressed like this: <code>:3</code>, along with a mustache emoticon <code>:-{</code> or <code>:{D</code>. |
|||
In February 2010, Activision was sued by the Patent Compliance Group (PCG) for releasing Guitar Hero products with false patent claims, with the PCG asserting that games like Guitar Hero 5 and Band Hero were marked with up to 10 patents that are not used within the games along with several other improper patent pending claims. PCG claims that "Acts of false marketing deter innovation and stifle competition in the marketplace." PCG's qui tam lawsuit is seeking up to $500 per unit sold if Activision is found liable.[186] |
|||
Oversaturation |
|||
A broad grin is often shown with crinkled eyes to express further amusement; <code>XD</code> and the addition of further "D" letters can suggest laughter or extreme amusement e.g. <code>XDDDD</code>.{{citation needed|date=July 2012}} There are hundreds of other variations including <code> >:D</code> for an evil grin or <code> >:( </code> for anger, which can be, again, used in reverse, for an unhappily angry face, in the shape of <code> D:< </code>. <code>=K</code> for vampire teeth, <code>:s</code> for grimface, and <code>;P</code> can be used to denote a flirting or joking tone, or may be implying a second meaning in the sentence preceding it.<ref>Dresner & Herring (2010).</ref> |
|||
A timeline of the major North American releases for the Guitar Hero series |
|||
===Variation=== |
|||
Many critics believed that the number of releases of Guitar Hero games was "milking" the brand name and oversaturating the market.[13][187][188] PaRappa the Rapper creator Masaya Matsuura stated that the video game market was growing stale and needed to move beyond games that simply challenge the player to mimic the playing of licensed music.[189] Ryan Geddes of IGN stated that he "hit the wall with play-along music games", and challenged the game makers to explore other ways to combine music and video games.[190] Analysts stated that such games must continue to innovate instead of just providing more songs in order to prevent "genre fatigue".[191] Jesse Divnich of Electronic Entertainment and Design Research commented that, much like Dance Dance Revolution, Guitar Hero and other music games explosively grew initially due to significant new features from other games but have become stagnant due to focusing on content over features, and suggested that for the genre to continue to grow, they must look to incremental changes as done with the first-person shooter genre.[192] Former CEO for RedOctane, Kelly Sumner, believed that Activision "abused" the series, as "they tried to get too much out of the franchise too quickly".[193] |
|||
{{Main|ASCII art}} |
|||
The series has also been criticized for its release model in contrast to the Rock Band series, causing some players to hold contempt towards Activision.[194][195] Harmonix considered the Rock Band series as a "music platform", and supported it with downloadable content and the ability to import songs from its games and expansions into most other games of the series.[196] Critics argued that Guitar Hero should have been doing the same, either through releasing expansions that could be incorporated into the main games of the series, or by issuing the songs as downloadable content.[197][198][199][200] The release of Guitar Hero: Smash Hits, reworking older songs from the series to full four-instrument band support but otherwise adding no additional material, was called "the definition of 'milking'" by reviewers, with no observable technical limitation as to why the songs could not be added as downloadable content.[194][198][201][202][203] Ars Technica recognized that licensing issues might have limited when songs from one single game could be played in others of the series (such as the case for The Beatles: Rock Band), but that such cross-compatibility should have been a high priority for rhythm games.[204] Furthermore, some expansions were praised for the additional content beyond the note-matching gameplay; Guitar Hero: Metallica is considered to be one of the series' best works to be developed by Neversoft in part due to the care that the developers took with imaging the band and the available extras for the game.[197] Activision later revealed that both Guitar Hero 5 and Band Hero would support playing songs from both Guitar Hero World Tour (both on-disc and downloadable content) and Guitar Hero Smash Hits, with music licensing being the only limiting factor on which songs could be made forward-compatible.[94] |
|||
The large number of Guitar Hero and Rock Band titles on the market is considered to be partially responsible for the sharp decline of music game sales in the latter half of 2009, along with the effects of the late-2000s recession.[11][13][187][205] The market for rhythm games was $1.4 billion in 2008, but dropped to $700 million in 2009 even though more titles were available that year.[206] Former Neversoft project director Brian Bright noted that at one point in 2009, they were responsible for the release of three games that year (Guitar Hero 5, Metallica, and Band Hero) and supporting other studios for the development of two additional games, causing the studio to lose focus both in development and marketing efforts.[207] According to Bright, sales of all the Guitar Hero games released in 2009 totaled the number of sales of the 2008 title World Tour, demonstrating the dilution of the marketing.[207] Though Activision had originally planned on tripling the offerings of the Guitar Hero series in 2010,[208][209][210] the company readjusted their plans, reducing the number of offerings and focusing more on selling digital downloadable content for the series.[211] Only two titles, Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock and DJ Hero 2 were released in 2010,[14] both scheduled for the "back half of 2010".[212] Analysts believe that the market will evolve to support a smaller number of titles each year, averaging at a "healthy" value $500–600 million in revenues annually.[206] Kotick believed that part of the downfall of Guitar Hero was due to Activision's introduction of DJ Hero, which they gave too much focus and left the core Guitar Hero games without the "nourishment and care" needed to continue to innovate in the series.[23] |
|||
An equal sign is often used for the eyes in place of the colon, seen as <code>=)</code>, without changing the meaning of the emoticon. In these instances, the hyphen is almost always either omitted or, occasionally, replaced with an "o" as in <code>=O</code> . In most circles it has become acceptable to omit the hyphen, whether a colon or an equal sign is used for the eyes,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://sourceforge.net/projects/denoser/ |title=Denoser strips noses from text |publisher=Sourceforge.net |date= |accessdate=2013-03-14}}</ref> but in some areas of usage people still prefer the larger, more traditional emoticon <code>:-)</code> or <code>:^)</code>. Similar-looking characters are commonly substituted for one another: for instance, <code>o</code>, <code>O</code>, and <code>0</code> can all be used interchangeably, sometimes for subtly different effect or, in some cases, one type of character may look better in a certain font and therefore be preferred over another. It is also common for the user to replace the rounded brackets used for the mouth with other, similar brackets, such as <code>]</code> instead of <code>)</code>. |
|||
Activision Publishing chief executive Mike Griffith, in response to questions about Activision's approach to the Guitar Hero market, noted that Guitar Hero continues to outsell the Rock Band series in both number of sales and revenue, with consumers continuing to buy the separate games on the market, and considered the market acceptance of the multiple games as validation for their model.[213] Regardless, after releasing 25 different SKUs (between games and bundle packages) in 2009, Activision opted to reduce that number to 10 in 2010, recognizing the music game genre was not as profitable as it once was.[14] Activision later opted to put future development of the series on hold in early 2011 citing weak sales in the rhythm game genre, a move that many journalists attributed to Activision's earlier oversaturation.[214][215][216][217] |
|||
List of games |
|||
Some variants are also more common in certain countries due to [[keyboard layout]]s. For example, the smiley <code>=)</code> may occur in [[Scandinavia]], where the keys for <code>=</code> and <code>)</code> are placed right beside each other. However, the <code>:)</code> variant is without a doubt the dominant one in Scandinavia, making the <code>=)</code> version a rarity. [[Diacritic|Diacritical marks]] are sometimes used. The letters <code>Ö</code> and <code>Ü</code> can be seen as an emoticon, as the upright version of <code>:O</code> (meaning that one is surprised) and <code>:D</code> (meaning that one is very happy) respectively. |
|||
Some emoticons may be read right to left instead, and in fact can only be written using standard ASCII keyboard characters this way round; for example <code>D:</code> which refers to being shocked or anxious, opposite to the large grin of <code>:D</code>. |
|||
== Japanese style == |
|||
Users from [[Japan]] popularized a style of emoticons ([[:ja:wikipedia:顔文字|顔文字]], ''kaomoji'') that can be understood without tilting one's head to the left. This style arose on ASCII NET of Japan in 1986.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://staff.aist.go.jp/k.harigaya/doc/kao_his.html |title=The History of Smiley Marks |publisher=Staff.aist.go.jp |date= |accessdate=2013-03-14}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=Emoticons Free said |url=http://whatjapanthinks.com/2007/09/19/turns-25-but-how-old-are-japanese-emoticons/ |title=The History of Smiley Marks (English) |publisher=Whatjapanthinks.com |date=2007-09-19 |accessdate=2013-03-14}}</ref> Similar looking emoticons were used by [[Byte Information Exchange]] (BIX) around the same time.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://catb.org/jargon/oldversions/jarg261.txt |title=Jargon file, version 2.6.1, February 12, 1991 |date= |accessdate=2013-03-14}}</ref> |
|||
These emoticons are usually found in a format similar to <code>(*_*)</code>. The [[asterisk]]s indicate the eyes; the central character, commonly an [[underscore]], the mouth; and the parentheses, the outline of the face. |
|||
Different emotions such as <code>(")(-_-)(")</code>, are expressed by changing the character representing the eyes, for example "T" can be used to express crying or sadness <code>(T_T)</code>. T_T may also be used as meaning 'unimpressed'. The emphasis on the eyes is reflected in the common usage of emoticons that use only the eyes, e.g. <code>^^</code>. Looks of stress are represented by the likes of <code>(x_x)</code> while <code>(-_-;)</code> is a generic emoticon for nervousness, the semicolon indicating sweat that occurs during anxiety. Repeating the /// mark can indicate embarrassment by symbolizing blushing. This "three slash method of blushing" was eventually adopted by Japanese animators for use in their animations, demonstrating a subtle example of one media following another.<ref>{{cite web|title=KawaiiFace.net|url=http://kawaiiface.net|accessdate=21 March 2014|year=2014}}</ref> Characters like hyphens or periods can replace the underscore; the period is often used for a smaller, "cuter" mouth or to represent a nose, e.g. <code>(^.^)</code>. Alternatively, the mouth/nose can be left out entirely, e.g. <code>(^^)</code>. |
|||
Parentheses also can often be replaced with [[Bracket#Curly brackets|braces]], e.g. <code>{^_^}</code>. Many times, the parentheses are left out completely, e.g. <code>^^</code>,<code> >.< </code>, <code>o_O</code>, <code>O.O</code>, <code>e_e</code> and/or <code>e.e</code>. A quotation mark ", apostrophe ', or semicolon ; can be added to the emoticon to imply apprehension or embarrassment, in the same way that a [[sweat drop]] is used in [[anime|popular and common Asian animation]]. |
|||
Microsoft [[Input method editor|IME]] 2000 (Japanese) or later supports the use of both forms of emoticons by enabling Microsoft IME Spoken Language/Emotion Dictionary. In IME 2007, it was moved to Emoticons dictionary. |
|||
Further variations of emoticons may be produced by using [[combining character]]s, e.g.<code> ٩(͡๏̯͡๏)۶ </code> and <code> ᶘᵒᴥᵒᶅ</code>. |
|||
===Common eastern examples{{anchor|Eastern_style}}=== |
|||
{{Main|List of emoticons}} |
|||
<!-- DO NOT ADD ANY MORE, add any thing that you think is missing to the [[List of common emoticons]] article linked above --> |
|||
{| class="wikitable" |
|||
|- |
|||
!width=130|Icon |
|||
!width=150|Meaning |
|||
!width=130|Icon |
|||
!width=150|Meaning |
|||
!width=160|Icon |
|||
!width=120|Meaning |
|||
!width=130|Icon |
|||
!width=150|Meaning |
|||
|- |
|||
| |
|||
{| cellspacing="0" style="margin:auto;border-collapse:collapse;color:black;text-align:center;font-size:large;" |
|||
|- |
|||
|(^_^) |
|||
｡◕‿◕｡ |
|||
0-0 |
|||
☻ |
|||
o-o |
|||
◕‿◕ |
|||
(^▼^) |
|||
|} |
|||
||happy || |
|||
{| cellspacing="0" style="margin:auto;border-collapse:collapse;color:black;text-align:center;font-size:large;" |
|||
|- |
|||
|(^o^) |
|||
bad boy face >=} or T-T |
|||
<nowiki>:A</nowiki> |
|||
|} |
|||
||[[laughing out loud]]|| |
|||
{| cellspacing="0" style="margin:auto;border-collapse:collapse;color:black;text-align:center;font-size:large;" |
|||
|- |
|||
|d(^_^)b |
|||
d(-\\\)b |
|||
d(-_-)b |
|||
o|^_^|o |
|||
o(^_^)o |
|||
(<>,!,<>) |
|||
|} |
|||
||headphones or listening to music;|| |
|||
{| cellspacing="0" style="margin:auto;border-collapse:collapse;color:black;text-align:center;font-size:large;" |
|||
|- |
|||
|b(^_^)d |
|||
|} |
|||
||Thumbs up! |
|||
|- |
|||
| |
|||
{| cellspacing="0" style="margin:auto;border-collapse:collapse;color:black;text-align:center;font-size:large;" |
|||
|(-.-)Zzz |
|||
~_~ zZz |
|||
|} |
|||
||Sleepy head|| |
|||
{| cellspacing="0" style="margin:auto;border-collapse:collapse;color:black;text-align:center;font-size:large;" |
|||
|- |
|||
|(Z.Z) |
|||
| ¬-_¬- |
|||
|} |
|||
||[[sleep]]y person|| |
|||
{| cellspacing="0" style="margin:auto;border-collapse:collapse;color:black;text-align:center;font-size:large;" |
|||
|- |
|||
|\(^_^)/ |
|||
\õ/ |
|||
|} |
|||
||cheers, "Hurrah!"|| |
|||
{| cellspacing="0" style="margin:auto;border-collapse:collapse;color:black;text-align:center;font-size:large;" |
|||
|- |
|||
|(*^.^*) |
|||
^.^ |
|||
<nowiki>*--*</nowiki> |
|||
|} |
|||
||shyness |
|||
|- |
|||
| |
|||
{| cellspacing="0" style="margin:auto;border-collapse:collapse;color:black;text-align:center;font-size:large;" |
|||
|(-_-;), |
|||
(-_-') |
|||
(-_-U) |
|||
(-_-#) |
|||
(-.-) |
|||
(=.=) |
|||
(-.-') |
|||
(-___-) |
|||
|} |
|||
||Uninterested, irritated, Tired, a "tsk tsk" face || |
|||
{| cellspacing="0" style="margin:auto;border-collapse:collapse;color:black;text-align:center;font-size:large;" |
|||
|- |
|||
|(?_?) |
|||
(@_@) |
|||
◕ ¸ ◕ |
|||
|} |
|||
||confused|| |
|||
{| cellspacing="0" style="margin:auto;border-collapse:collapse;color:black;text-align:center;font-size:large;" |
|||
|- |
|||
|(^_~) |
|||
(^_-) |
|||
(^‿◕) |
|||
|} |
|||
||winking |
|||
| |
|||
{| cellspacing="0" style="margin:auto;border-collapse:collapse;color:black;text-align:center;font-size:large;" |
|||
|- |
|||
|(;_;) |
|||
(T_T) |
|||
(;w;) |
|||
(TT_TT) |
|||
(;A;) |
|||
(T^T) |
|||
(QAQ) |
|||
(Q_Q) |
|||
(Ç.Ç) |
|||
(Ç_Ç) |
|||
(v_v) |
|||
(v00v) |
|||
|} |
|||
|| sad (crying face), can also be used in a similar context as -.- |
|||
|- |
|||
| |
|||
{| cellspacing="0" style="margin:auto;border-collapse:collapse;color:black;text-align:center;font-size:large;" |
|||
|- |
|||
|(O.O) |
|||
(8D) |
|||
˚0˚ |
|||
|} |
|||
||Surprised|| |
|||
{| cellspacing="0" style="margin:auto;border-collapse:collapse;color:black;text-align:center;font-size:large;" |
|||
|- |
|||
|(<.<) |
|||
(<_<) |
|||
(>.<) |
|||
(=>益<=) |
|||
¬_¬ |
|||
|} |
|||
||shifty, suspicious, serious; could also be sarcasm or irritation|| |
|||
{| cellspacing="0" style="margin:auto;border-collapse:collapse;color:black;text-align:center;font-size:large;" |
|||
|- |
|||
|(>'_')>O |
|||
(>'_')># |
|||
(>'_')>~(\\\) |
|||
|} |
|||
||"Have a cookie/waffle/drink from a cup with a spiral straw"|| |
|||
{| cellspacing="0" style="margin:auto;border-collapse:collapse;color:black;text-align:center;font-size:large;" |
|||
|- |
|||
|<nowiki>(O//o)</nowiki> |
|||
<nowiki>(o//O)</nowiki> |
|||
(>//<) |
|||
|} |
|||
||ashamed or embarrassed |
|||
|} |
|||
All of these can be used also with [ ] instead of ( ), or without the parentheses at all in some of the cases. There is also the \(0O0)\, indicating a hooligan or crazed behaviour, and the (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧. |
|||
===Western use of Japanese style=== |
|||
English-language [[anime]] forums adopted those emoticons that could be used with the standard ASCII characters available on western keyboards. Because of this, they are often called "anime style" emoticons in the English-speaking Internet. They have since seen use in more mainstream venues, including online gaming, instant-messaging, and other non-anime related forums. Emoticons such as <code><( ^.^ )></code>, <code><(^_^<)</code>, <code><(o_o<)</code>, <code><( -'.'- )></code>, <code><('.'-^)</code> or <code>(>';..;')></code> which include the parentheses, mouth or nose, and arms (especially those represented by the inequality signs < or >) also are often referred to as "{{not a typo|Kirbys}}" in reference to their likeness to [[Nintendo]]'s [[video game]] character, [[Kirby (Nintendo)|Kirby]]. The parentheses are sometimes dropped when used in the English language context, and the underscore of the mouth may be extended as an [[intensifier]], (e.g. <code>^_________^</code> for very happy) for the emoticon in question. This emoticon <code>t(-_-t)</code> uses the eastern style, but incorporates a depiction of the western "middle-finger flick-off (commonly known as 'the bird')" using a "t" as the arm, hand, and finger. Also, one of the newer ones, <code>*,..,*</code>, or <code>`;..;´</code> as such for a "vampire" or other mythical beasts with fangs. |
|||
===Mixture of Western and Japanese style=== |
|||
Exposure to both Western and Japanese style emoticons or [[emoji]] through blogs, instant messaging, and forums featuring a blend of Western and Japanese pop culture, has given rise to emoticons that have an upright viewing format. The parentheses are similarly dropped in the English language context and the emoticons only use alphanumeric characters and the most commonly used English punctuation marks. Emoticons such as <code>-O-</code>, <code>-3-</code>, <code>-w-</code>, <code>'_'</code>, <code>;_;</code>, <code>T_T</code>, <code>:></code>, and <code>.V.</code> are used to convey mixed emotions that are more difficult to convey with traditional emoticons. Characters are sometimes added to emoticons to convey an anime or manga-styled [[sweat drop]], for example: <code>^_^'</code> or <code>!>_<!</code> as well as: <code><@>_____<@>;;</code>, <code>;O;</code> and <code>*u*</code> |
|||
The equal sign can also be used for closed, anime looking eyes, for example: <code>=0=</code>, <code>=3=</code>, <code>=w=</code>, <code>=A=</code> and <code>=7=</code>. |
|||
There are also more faces along those lines like<code> >o<; </code>using the ; as a sweat mark, and the o as a mouth, and the inequality signs as the eyes, it shows stress, or slight confusion. The number of emoticons that can be made are limitless, and all have their own meaning. |
|||
In Brazil, sometimes combining character (accent) are added to emoticons to represent eyebrows, like: <code>ò_ó</code>, <code>ó_ò</code>, <code>õ_o</code>, <code>ù_u</code> or <code>o_Ô</code>. They can also replace (or add) <code>=</code> or <code>:</code> with<code> > </code>, for example<code> >D</code>,<code> >=D</code>,<code> >P</code>,<code> >:P</code>,<code> >3</code> or<code> >:3</code>. |
|||
===2channel style=== |
|||
The Japanese language is usually encoded using double-[[byte]] character codes. As a result there is a bigger variety of characters that can be used in emoticons, many of which cannot be reproduced in [[ASCII]]. Most kaomoji contain [[Cyrillic]] and other foreign letters to create even more complicated expressions analogous to [[ASCII art]]'s level of complexity. To type such emoticons, the input editor that is used to type Japanese on a user's system is equipped with a dictionary of emoticons, after which the user simply types the Japanese word (or something close to it) that represents the desired emoticon to convert the input into such complicated emoticons. Such expressions are known as [[Shift JIS art]]. |
|||
Users of [[2channel]] in particular have developed a wide variety of unique emoticons using characters from obscure languages, such as Kannada: <code>ಠ_ಠ</code> (for a look of disapproval, disbelief, or confusion); these were quickly picked up by 4chan and spread to other Western sites soon after. Some have taken on a life of their own and become characters in their own right, like [[Mona (ASCII art)|Mona]]. |
|||
==Korean style== |
|||
In [[South Korea]], emoticons use Korean [[Hangul]] letters, and the Western style is rarely used. The structures of Korean and Japanese emoticons are somewhat similar, but they have some differences. Korean style contains Korean [[jamo]] (letters) instead of other characters. There are countless number of emoticons that can be formed with such combinations of Korean jamo letters. Consonant jamos : ㅅ or ㅁ or ㅂ as the mouth/nose component and ㅇ,ㅎ,ㅍ for the eyes. For example: <code>ㅇㅅㅇ</code>, <code>ㅇㅂㅇ</code>, <code>ㅇㅁㅇ</code> and <code>-ㅅ-</code>. Faces such as <code>'ㅅ'</code>, <code>"ㅅ"</code>, <code>'ㅂ'</code> and <code>'ㅇ'</code>, using quotation marks " and apostrophes ' are also commonly used combinations. |
|||
Vowel jamos such as ㅜ,ㅠ depict a crying face. Example: <code>ㅜㅜ</code>, <code>ㅠㅠ</code> and <code>뉴뉴</code> (same function as T in western style). Sometimes ㅡ (not an em-dash "—" but a vowel jamo), a comma or an underscore is added, and the two character sets can be mixed together, as in <code>ㅜ.ㅜ</code>, <code>ㅠ.ㅜ</code>, <code>ㅠ.ㅡ</code>, <code>ㅜ_ㅠ</code>, <code>ㅡ^ㅜ</code> and <code>ㅜㅇㅡ</code>. Also, semicolons and carets are commonly used in Korean emoticons; semicolons mean sweating (embarrassed). If they are used with ㅡ or - they depict a bad feeling. Examples: <code>-;/</code>, <code>--^</code>, <code>ㅡㅡ;;;</code>, <code>-_-;;</code> and <code>-_^</code>. However, <code>^^</code> means smile (almost all people use this without distinction of sex or age). Others include: <code>~_~</code>, <code>--a</code>, <code>-6-</code>, <code>+0+</code>. |
|||
==Chinese ideographic style== |
|||
{{See also|Jiong|zh:失意體前屈}} |
|||
The character 囧 (U+56E7), which means "bright",<ref>{{cite web|url=http://baike.baidu.com/view/181979.htm |title=Baidu: 囧 |publisher=Baike.baidu.com |date= |accessdate=2013-03-14}}</ref> is also used in the Chinese computing community for a frowning face.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://tv.people.com.cn/BIG5/61602/7815716.html |title=生僻字大行其道 "囧"衍生出各種表情 |publisher=Tv.people.com.cn |date= |accessdate=2013-03-14}}</ref> It is also combined with posture emoticon Orz, such as 囧rz. The character existed in [[Oracle bone script]], but its use as emoticon was documented as early as January 20, 2005.<ref name="nownews-56E7">{{cite web|url=http://www.nownews.com/2005/01/20/327-1744028.htm |title=心情很orz嗎？ 網路象形文字幽默一下 |publisher=Nownews.com |date=2005-01-20 |accessdate=2013-03-14}}</ref> |
|||
Other ideographic variants for 囧 include 崮 (king 囧), 莔 (queen 囧), 商 (囧 with hat), 囧興 (turtle), 卣 ([[Bomberman]]). |
|||
The character 槑 (U+69D1), which sounds like the word for "plum" (梅 (U+FA44)), is used to represent double of 呆 (dull), or further magnitude of dullness.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://baike.baidu.com/view/82855.htm |title=Baidu: 槑 |publisher=Baike.baidu.com |date=2013-03-08 |accessdate=2013-03-14}}</ref> In Chinese, normally full characters (as opposed to the stylistic use of 槑) may be [[Reduplication#Chinese|duplicated]] to express emphasis. |
|||
==Posture emoticons== |
|||
===Orz=== |
|||
Orz (also seen as {{nowrap|Or2,}} {{nowrap|on_,}} {{nowrap|OTZ,}} {{nowrap|OTL,}} {{nowrap|STO,}} {{nowrap|JTO,}}<ref name="boing-orz">{{cite web|url=http://www.boingboing.net/2005/02/07/all-about-orz.html|author=Boing Boing|title=All about Orz|accessdate=2009-03-24}}</ref> {{nowrap|_no,}} {{nowrap|＿冂○,}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dfnt.net/t/photo/your/craft_06suman.shtml |title=みんなの作った <nowiki>＿|￣|○クラフト</nowiki> "paper craft of orz" |accessdate=2009-08-18 }}</ref> {{nowrap|[[Jiong|囧]]{{zwsp}}rz,}}<ref name="nownews-56E7" /> {{nowrap|O7Z,}} {{nowrap|_|7O,}} {{nowrap|Sto,}} {{nowrap|O|¯|_,}} {{nowrap|orz,}} and {{nowrap|Jto}}){{Or|date=August 2009}} is an emoticon representing a kneeling or bowing person, with the "o" being the head, the "r" being the arms and part of the body, and the "z" being part of the body and the legs. This [[stick figure]] represents failure and despair.<ref name="boing-orz" /> It is also commonly used for representing a great admiration (sometimes with an overtone of sarcasm) for someone else's view or action.{{Citation needed|date=August 2009}} |
|||
It was first used in late 2002 at the forum on Techside, Japanese personal website. At the "Techside FAQ Forum" (TECHSIDE教えて君BBS(教えてBBS) ), a poster asked about a cable cover, typing {{nowrap|"＿|￣|○"}} to show a cable and its cover. Others commented that it looked like a kneeling person, and the symbol became popular. These comments were soon deleted as they were considered off-topic. However, one of the first corresponding reactions can be found on the thread on {{iawm|http://210.136.179.189/cgi-bin/ch/log/log.html|"Techside Chitchat Forum" (Techside一言板。)}}, on December 23, 2002.{{Or|date=August 2009}} By 2005, Orz spawned a [[subculture]]: blogs have been devoted to the emoticon, and [[URL shortening]] services have been named after it. In Taiwan, Orz is associated with the phrase "nice guy"{{spaced ndash}}that is, the concept of males being rejected for a date by girls they are pursuing with a phrase like "You are a nice guy."<ref name="boing-orz" /> |
|||
Orz should not be confused with {{nowrap|'''m(_ _)m''',}} which means "Thank you" or an apology.{{Citation needed|date=August 2009}} |
|||
==Multimedia variations== |
|||
A portmanteau of ''emotion'' and ''[[sound]]'', an '''emotisound''' is a brief sound transmitted and played back during the viewing of a message, typically an IM message or e-mail message. The sound is intended to communicate an emotional [[subtext]].{{Citation needed|date=June 2008}} Many instant messaging clients automatically trigger sound effects in response to specific emoticons.{{Citation needed|date=March 2010}} |
|||
Some services, such as MuzIcons, combine emoticons and music player in an [[Adobe Flash]]-based widget.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.muzicons.com|title=Muzicons.com – music sharing widget|accessdate=2008-06-25}}</ref> |
|||
In 2004, The [[Trillian (software)|Trillian]] chat application introduced a feature called "emotiblips", which allows Trillian users to stream files to their instant message recipients "as the voice and video equivalent of an emoticon".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ceruleanstudios.com/faqs/ |title=The Creators of Trillian and Trillian Pro IM Clients |publisher=Cerulean Studios |date= |accessdate=2013-03-14}}</ref> |
|||
In 2007, [[MTV]] and [[Paramount Pictures Home Entertainment|Paramount Home Entertainment]] promoted the "emoticlip" as a form of [[viral marketing]] for the second season of the show ''The Hills''. The emoticlips were twelve short snippets of dialogue from the show, uploaded to YouTube, which the advertisers hoped would be distributed between web users as a way of expressing feelings in a similar manner to emoticons. The emoticlip concept is credited to the Bradley & Montgomery advertising firm, which hopes they would be widely adopted as "greeting cards that just happen to be selling something".<ref>[http://www.adweek.com/aw/national/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003623867 AdWeek Article about Emoticlip]{{Dead link|date=June 2009}}</ref> |
|||
In 2008, an emotion-sequence animation tool, called FunIcons was created. The [[Adobe Flash]] and [[Java (programming language)|Java]]-based application allows users to create a short animation. Users can then email or save their own animations to use them on similar social utility applications.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.digitalelite.us.com/Pages/DigitalElite/FunIcons.html |title=Animated Faces and Emoticons / Digital Elite Inc |publisher=Digitalelite.us.com |date= |accessdate=2013-03-14}}</ref> |
|||
==Emoticons and intellectual property rights== |
|||
[[File:USpatent6987991 emoticon.jpg|thumb|Patented drop down menu for composing phone mail text message with emoticons. {{cite patent|US|6987991}}]] |
|||
In 2000, [[Despair, Inc.]] obtained a U.S. [[trademark]] registration for the "frowny" emoticon <tt>:-(</tt> when used on "greeting cards, posters and art prints." In 2001, they issued a satirical press release, announcing that they would sue Internet users who typed the frowny; the joke backfired and the company received a storm of protest when its mock release was posted on technology news website [[Slashdot]].<ref>Schwartz, John. "[http://www.nytimes.com/2001/01/29/technology/29LOGO.html Compressed Data; Don't Mind That Lawsuit, It's Just a Joke]", ''New York Times''</ref> |
|||
A number of [[patent application]]s have been filed on inventions that assist in communicating with emoticons. A few of these have issued as US [[patent]]s. {{cite patent|US|6987991}}, for example, discloses a method developed in 2001 to send emoticons over a cell phone using a drop down menu. The stated advantage over the [[prior art]] was that the user saved on the number of keystrokes though this may not address the obviousness criteria. |
|||
In [[Finland]], the Supreme Administrative Court ruled in 2012 that the emoticon cannot be trademarked,<ref>{{cite web|author=STT |url=http://www.iltalehti.fi/uutiset/2012081315947358_uu.shtml |title=Hymiölle ei saa tavaramerkkiä | Kotimaan uutiset |publisher=Iltalehti.fi |date=2012-08-13 |accessdate=2013-03-14}}</ref> thus repealing a 2006 administrative decision trademarking the emoticons :-), =), =(, :) and :(.<ref>{{cite journal | title = Tavaramerkkilehti | journal = Tavaramerkkilehti | issue = 10 | pages = 27–28 | publisher = National Board of Patents and Registration of Finland | date = 2006-05-31 | url = http://tavaramerkki.prh.fi/lehti/tm/Tavaramerkkilehti10S_2006.pdf |format=PDF| accessdate = 2007-06-16 }}</ref> The emoticon :-) was also filed in 2006 and registered in 2008 as a European [[Community Trademark]] (CTM). |
|||
In 2008, Russian entrepreneur Oleg Teterin claimed to have been granted the trademark on the ;-) emoticon. A license would not "cost that much{{spaced ndash}}tens of thousands of dollars" for companies, but would be free of charge for individuals.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7778767.stm |title=Russian hopes to cash in on ;-) |publisher=BBC News |date=2008-12-11 |accessdate=2013-03-14}}</ref> |
|||
==Unicode== |
|||
{{Main|Emoticons (Unicode block)}} |
|||
Emoticons are introduced in [[Unicode]] Standard version 6.0 (published in October 2010). It covers unicode range from 1F600 to 1F64F.<ref>http://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/Unicode-6.0/U60-1F600.pdf</ref> |
|||
{{Unicode chart Emoticons}} |
|||
==See also== |
|||
{{colbegin}} |
|||
* [[ASCII art]] |
|||
* [[Emoji]] |
|||
* [[Emotions in virtual communication]] |
|||
* [[Emotion Markup Language]] (EML) |
|||
* [[Hieroglyph]] |
|||
* [[Henohenomoheji]] |
|||
* [[Internet slang]] |
|||
* [[iConji]] |
|||
* [[Kaoani]] |
|||
* [[List of emoticons]] |
|||
* [[Martian language]] |
|||
* [[Pixel art]] |
|||
* [[Smiley]] |
|||
* [[Tête à Toto]] |
|||
* [[Written language|Text]] |
|||
{{colend}} |
|||
==References== |
|||
{{reflist|30em}} |
|||
==Further reading== |
|||
* Dresner, Eli, & Herring, Susan C. (2010). "Functions of the non-verbal in CMC: Emoticons and illocutionary force." ''Communication Theory 20'': 249-268. Preprint: [http://ella.slis.indiana.edu/~herring/emoticons.pdf] |
|||
* {{cite journal|author=Walther, J. B., & D'Addario, K. P.|year=2001|title=The impacts of emoticons on message interpretation in computer-mediated communication|journal=Social Science Computer Review|volume=19|pages=323–345|doi=10.1177/089443930101900307|issue=3}} |
|||
* Wolf, Alecia. (2000). "Emotional expression online: Gender differences in emoticon use." ''CyberPsychology & Behavior 3'': 827–833. |
|||
All games are published by Activision, except the first Guitar Hero and the PS2 version of Guitar Hero II, which were published by RedOctane. |
|||
==External links== |
|||
Year Title Developer(s) Platform |
|||
{{commons and category|Emoticon|Smilies}} |
|||
PS2 PS3 360 Wii Win Mac DS Phone Other |
|||
{{Wiktionary pipe|Appendix:Emoticons|common emoticons}} |
|||
Main games |
|||
* [http://www.wired.com/thisdayintech/2011/09/0919fahlman-proposes-emoticons Sept. 19, 1982: Can't You Take a Joke? :-)] |
|||
2005 Guitar Hero Harmonix Yes No No No No No No No No |
|||
2006 Guitar Hero II Yes No Yes No No No No No No |
|||
2007 Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock Neversoft |
|||
Budcat Creations (PS2) |
|||
Vicarious Visions (Wii) Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No |
|||
2008 Guitar Hero World Tour Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No |
|||
2009 Guitar Hero 5 Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No No No |
|||
2010 Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock Neversoft |
|||
Vicarious Visions (Wii) No Yes Yes Yes No No No No No |
|||
Band-centric games |
|||
2008 Guitar Hero: Aerosmith Neversoft |
|||
Budcat Creations (PS2) |
|||
Vicarious Visions (Wii) Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No |
|||
2009 Guitar Hero: Metallica Neversoft Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No No No |
|||
Guitar Hero: Van Halen Neversoft |
|||
Underground Development (X360) Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No No No |
|||
Expansion games |
|||
2007 Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s Harmonix Yes No No No No No No No No |
|||
2009 Guitar Hero Smash Hits Beenox Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No No No |
|||
Band Hero Neversoft |
|||
Budcat Creations (PS2) |
|||
Vicarious Visions (Wii/DS) Yes Yes Yes Yes No No Yes[Note 1] No No |
|||
DJ Hero |
|||
2009 DJ Hero FreeStyleGames Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No No No |
|||
2010 DJ Hero 2 No Yes Yes Yes No No No No No |
|||
Portable games |
|||
2008 Guitar Hero: On Tour Vicarious Visions No No No No No No Yes[Note 2] No No |
|||
Guitar Hero On Tour: Decades No No No No No No Yes[Note 2] No No |
|||
2009 Guitar Hero on Tour: Modern Hits No No No No No No Yes[Note 2] No No |
|||
Mobile series |
|||
2007 Guitar Hero III Mobile Machineworks Northwest No No No No No No No Yes No |
|||
2008 Guitar Hero III Backstage Pass No No No No No No No Yes No |
|||
Guitar Hero World Tour Mobile No No No No No No No Yes No |
|||
2009 Guitar Hero 5 Mobile Glu Mobile No No No No No No No Yes No |
|||
Other |
|||
2007 Guitar Hero Carabiner Basic Fun, Inc. No No No No No No No No Yes |
|||
2009 Guitar Hero Arcade Raw Thrills No No No No No No No No Yes |
|||
2010 Guitar Hero (iOS) Vicarious Visions No No No No No No No Yes Yes |
|||
Jump up ^ Compatible only with Nintendo DS Lite. The Guitar Grip peripheral plugs into SLOT-2 of the Nintendo DS Lite, which the DSi and 3DS does not have, and the drum peripheral is sized to fit the DS Lite. |
|||
^ Jump up to: a b c Not compatible with Nintendo DSi series or Nintendo 3DS, as the Guitar Grip peripheral plugs into SLOT-2 on the Nintendo DS and DS Lite, which the DSi and 3DS does not have. |
|||
See also |
|||
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Guitar Hero (video game). |
|||
===Examples=== |
|||
Alex Necochea and Bryn Bennett: the 'Guitar Heroes' of Bang Camaro on Wikinews |
|||
<!-- DO NOT ADD ANY MORE LINKS UNLESS THEY HAVE NOTABILITY, THERE ARE THOUSANDS OF EMOTICON SITES, WE DO NOT NEED THEM ALL --> |
|||
"Guitar Queer-O", an episode of South Park |
|||
<!-- FREE FUN EMOTICONS IS A MALICIOUS SITE!! www.freefunemoticons.com --> |
|||
Rocksmith, a 2011 video game similar to Guitar Hero that uses a real guitar to learn to play songs. |
|||
* [http://support.skype.com/en/faq/FA12330/what-is-the-full-list-of-emoticons List of Skype emoticons] |
|||
Notes |
|||
* [http://messenger.yahoo.com/emoticons.php List of Yahoo messenger emoticons] |
|||
* [http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/help/HA011196081033.aspx How to insert smileys and other emoticons in Microsoft Office] |
|||
* [http://life.time.com/curiosities/emoticon-happy-30th-birthday/#1 In Praise of Emoticons] – slideshow by ''[[Life (magazine)|Life]]'' magazine |
|||
Jump up ^ Lynch, Kevin (2009-11-06). "Game review: Band Hero". The Mirror. Retrieved 2009-12-06. |
|||
===Japanese emoticons=== |
|||
Jump up ^ Johnson, Brent (2007-08-30). "While their guitars gently screech". The Daily Iowan. Retrieved 2008-07-24.[dead link] |
|||
* [http://club.pep.ne.jp/%7ehiroette/en/facemarks/body.html 2-byte Japanese emoticons] |
|||
Jump up ^ Stevens, Jim (2008-10-16). "More guitar hero world tour tidbits". Mercury News. Retrieved 2010-09-22. |
|||
* [http://web.archive.org/web/20120126111715/http://mypages.iit.edu/~jfas/articles/animeemoticons.html Article – A Guide to Anime Emoticons] Western usage of kaomoji |
|||
Jump up ^ Saltzman, Marc (2009-01-17). "Guitar Hero investment pays off". Toronto Star. Retrieved 2009-01-17. |
|||
* [http://office.microsoft.com/ja-jp/ime/HA101030001041.aspx List of Microsoft Office Input Method Editor emoticons] {{jp icon}} |
|||
Jump up ^ "Next venue for 'Guitar Hero III': PCs, Macs". ZDNet. 2007-09-12. Retrieved 2008-04-01. |
|||
Jump up ^ Faylor, Chris (2007-09-26). "How Neversoft Took Over Guitar Hero". Shacknews. Retrieved 2008-07-24. |
|||
Jump up ^ Carless, Simon (2010-02-18). "DICE 2010: Kotick Talks Passion For Industry, Debuts Indie Contest". Gamasutra. Retrieved 2010-02-19. |
|||
Jump up ^ Faylor, Chris (2008-11-10). "Activision Buys Guitar Hero PS2 Developer Budcat, Working on 'New Guitar Hero Game'". Shacknews. Retrieved 2008-11-10. |
|||
Jump up ^ Bierut, Michael (2009-09-01). "New Work: Guitar Hero". Pentagram. Retrieved 2009-09-03. |
|||
Jump up ^ Boyer, Brandon (2009-09-03). "Type Heroes: Pentagram takes you behind the font of Guitar Hero". Offworld. Retrieved 2009-09-03.[dead link] |
|||
^ Jump up to: a b Alexander, Leigh (2009-10-20). "Analyst: Mixed September NPD Means More Choppy Waters Ahead For Industry". Gamasutra. Retrieved 2009-10-20. |
|||
Jump up ^ Fredrick, Logan (2009-02-12). "Guitar Hero Gets "Greatest Hits"". The Escapist. Retrieved 2009-02-16. |
|||
^ Jump up to: a b c "Activision has three new IPs for 2009". Edge. 2009-02-12. Retrieved 2009-02-16. |
|||
^ Jump up to: a b c d Nunneley, Stephany (2010-02-10). "Acti Bliz slashes music SKUs, 60 million Guitar Hero songs downloaded". VG247. Retrieved 2010-02-10. |
|||
^ Jump up to: a b Watts, Steve (2010-02-11). "Activision Confirms Studio Layoffs". 1UP.com. Retrieved 2010-02-11. |
|||
Jump up ^ Orland, Kyle (2010-11-16). "Report: Activision Closes Guitar Hero, Band Hero Co-Dev Budcat". Gamasutra. Retrieved 2010-11-16. |
|||
Jump up ^ McWheator, Michael (2011-02-09). "Activision Just Killed Guitar Hero And True Crime". Kotaku. Retrieved 2011-02-09. |
|||
Jump up ^ Yin-Poole, Wesley (2011-02-09). "Activision kills Guitar Hero". Eurogamer. Retrieved 2011-02-09. |
|||
Jump up ^ Dutton, Fred (2011-02-09). "Acti explains Guitar Hero, True Crime cul". Eurogamer. Retrieved 2011-02-09. |
|||
Jump up ^ Dutton, Fred (2011-02-09). "DJ Hero joins Guitar Hero on scrap". Eurogamer. Retrieved 2011-02-09. |
|||
Jump up ^ Rose, Mike (2011-04-12). "Activision: Guitar Hero Not Finished, 'On Hiatus' For Now". Gamasutra. Retrieved 2011-04-12. |
|||
Jump up ^ Ivan, Tom (2011-04-12). "Guitar Hero 'on hiatus' for now - Activision". Computer And Video Games. Retrieved 2011-04-12. |
|||
^ Jump up to: a b Ewalt, David (2011-07-20). "Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick: How To Be An Innovator". Forbes. Retrieved 2011-07-21. |
|||
Jump up ^ Thompson, Mike (2012-02-22). "Activision Smashes Guitar Hero Reboot Plans". Escapist. Retrieved 2012-10-07. |
|||
^ Jump up to: a b c d e Tolito, Stephen (2012-12-05). "Guitar Hero 7 Was Going To Have Six-String Guitars, No Drums, No Singing. Was Cancelled In 2011". Kotaku. Retrieved 2012-12-05. |
|||
Jump up ^ Yin-Poole, Wesley (2011-02-10). "What next for Guitar Hero DLC?". Eurogamer. Retrieved 2011-02-10. |
|||
Jump up ^ de Matos, Xav (2011-02-26). "'Continued support' from fans reignites DLC possibilities for Guitar Hero and DJ Hero". Shacknews. Retrieved 2011-04-12. |
|||
Jump up ^ Helgeson, Matt (2014-03-18). "Guitar Hero DLC Catalog To Be Shut Down Soon". Game Informer. Retrieved 2014-03-18. |
|||
Jump up ^ Pereria, Chris (2014-03-18). "Guitar Hero Downloadable Song Catalog Going Away Soon". IGN. Retrieved 2014-03-18. |
|||
Jump up ^ (Simons 2007, p. 69) |
|||
Jump up ^ (Simons 2007, p. 160) |
|||
^ Jump up to: a b Simons, Iain (2007-12-05). "Book Excerpt: Inside Game Design: Harmonix Music Systems". Gamasutra. Retrieved 2008-07-24. |
|||
Jump up ^ "Harmonix Interview". Edge. 2008-10-20. Retrieved 2008-10-21. |
|||
Jump up ^ Kohler, Chris (2007-09-14). "Full-On Rock Band Makes Jamming Follow-Up to Guitar Hero". Wired. Retrieved 2008-07-24. |
|||
Jump up ^ "NPD Releases December Numbers, Fanboys Riot". 1UP.com. Retrieved 2008-04-01. |
|||
^ Jump up to: a b Zezima, K. (2007-07-14). "Virtual Frets, Actual Sweat: The New Karaoke". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-07-24. |
|||
Jump up ^ Boyer, Brandon (2007-08-01). "Janco: Guitar Hero To Add New Instruments In 2008". Gamasutra. Retrieved 2008-07-24. |
|||
Jump up ^ Elliot, Phil (2007-12-03). "Activision Blizzard fact sheet reveals some unannounced titles in the pipeline". Game Industry Biz. Retrieved 2007-12-03. |
|||
Jump up ^ Hatfield, Daemon (2008-04-21). "Guitar Hero IV Branching Out". IGN. Retrieved 2008-04-22. |
|||
^ Jump up to: a b c "Guitar Hero 4: Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy Meets Reality". Game Informer. June 2008. pp. 48–57. |
|||
Jump up ^ Breckon, Nick (2008-12-03). "Guitar Hero 5, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, New Tony Hawk Controller Confirmed by Activision". Shacknews. Retrieved 2008-12-03. |
|||
Jump up ^ "Carlos Santana Grooves in Guitar Hero 5". idiomag. 2009-07-21. Retrieved 2009-07-24. |
|||
Jump up ^ King, Ryan (June 2010). "Guitar Hero 6". Official Xbox Magazine UK. pp. 56–57. |
|||
Jump up ^ Change, Justin (July 2010). "Hero's Quest". Nintendo Power. pp. 58–59. |
|||
Jump up ^ Garret, Patrick (2010-03-12). "Gene Simmons to be the "voice" of Guitar Hero 6". VG247. Retrieved 2010-03-12. |
|||
Jump up ^ "New EGM reveals Guitar Hero : 1980s Edition (PS2)". Joystiq. Retrieved 2008-04-01. |
|||
Jump up ^ Graff, Gary (2007-09-04). "Aerosmith Hitting The Studio In November". Billboard. Retrieved 2008-07-24. |
|||
Jump up ^ "World Renowned Recording Group Aerosmith Rocks This Way to Guitar Hero(R): Aerosmith(R)". Activision, Inc. 2008-02-15. Retrieved 2008-02-15. |
|||
Jump up ^ Goldstein, Marteen (2008-02-15). "Rock This Way With Guitar Hero: Aerosmith". Shacknews. Retrieved 2008-02-15. |
|||
Jump up ^ "Guitar Hero: Aerosmith Home Page". RedOctane. Retrieved 2008-02-15. |
|||
Jump up ^ "Next Guitar Hero Game Aerosmith Only". 1UP.com. 2008-02-15. Retrieved 2008-02-15. |
|||
^ Jump up to: a b "Guitar Hero: Metallica". Game Informer. January 2009. pp. 40–43. |
|||
Jump up ^ "E3 2008: Activision Announces Partnership with Metallica for Release of New Record for Guitar Hero". IGN. 2008-07-15. Retrieved 2008-07-15. |
|||
Jump up ^ Brudvig, Erik (2009-03-04). "Guitar Hero Compilation Revealed". IGN. Retrieved 2009-03-04. |
|||
^ Jump up to: a b Faylor, Chris (2009-02-11). "Three New Guitar Hero Games Coming This Year, Activision Planning 'Major Restage' of Franchise". Shacknews. Retrieved 2009-02-11. |
|||
Jump up ^ "Guitar Hero: Van Halen due in Nov/Dec 2009". Van Halen News Desk. 2009-06-23. Retrieved 2009-07-23. |
|||
^ Jump up to: a b O'Conner, Alice (2009-05-07). "DJ Hero, Guitar Hero 5, Guitar Hero Van Halen and Band Hero Announced". Shacknews. Retrieved 2009-05-07. |
|||
Jump up ^ Chester, Nick (2009-06-02). "E3 09: Here's a look at Guitar Hero: Van Halen". Destructoid. Retrieved 2009-06-02. |
|||
Jump up ^ Faylor, Chris (2009-07-23). "Band Hero Brings Portable Drum Action to DS Lite". Shacknews. Retrieved 2009-07-23. |
|||
Jump up ^ Snider, Mike (2009-08-04). "Taylor Swift: Band Heroine". USA Today. Retrieved 2009-08-04. |
|||
Jump up ^ Faylor, Chris (2008-09-12). "Activision Buys Music Game Dev. FreeStyleGames, Will Create Guitar Hero DLC and New Music Title". Shacknews. Retrieved 2008-09-12. |
|||
Jump up ^ "The Eurogamer TV Show: Activision Roundup" (Flash Video). Eurogamer. 2009-06-12. Retrieved 2009-06-12. |
|||
^ Jump up to: a b Bramwell, Tom (2010-06-08). "DJ Hero 2 due out this autumn". Eurogamer. Retrieved 2010-06-08. |
|||
Jump up ^ Harris, Craig (2008-03-13). "Exclusive Reveal: Guitar Hero DS". IGN. Retrieved 2008-03-19. |
|||
^ Jump up to: a b Linde, Aaron (2008-07-15). "Guitar Hero: On Tour Decades Unveiled". Shacknews. Retrieved 2008-07-15. |
|||
Jump up ^ Faylor, Chris (2008-10-16). "Activision Trademarks Guitar Hero Modern Hits". Shacknews. Retrieved 2008-12-28. |
|||
Jump up ^ Faylor, Chris (2008-12-26). "ESRB Leaks Guitar Hero Modern Hits Details". Shacknews. Retrieved 2008-12-28. |
|||
Jump up ^ Breckon, Nick (2009-03-05). "Guitar Hero DS 'Modern Hits' Officially Announced". Shacknews. Retrieved 2009-03-05. |
|||
Jump up ^ Kollar, Phillip (2008-12-26). "ESRB Leaks Guitar Hero Modern Hits for DS: News from 1UP.com". 1UP.com. Retrieved 2008-12-26. |
|||
Jump up ^ Podolsky, Andrew (2008-06-13). "'Guitar Hero Mobile' a Smashing Success". PC Magazine. Retrieved 2008-06-23. |
|||
Jump up ^ "Guitar Hero III: Backstage Pass Is Ready to Rock Your Phone". IGN. 2008-07-18. Retrieved 2008-07-18. |
|||
Jump up ^ Dredge, Stuart (2008-09-10). "Guitar Hero World Tour coming to mobile phones". Pocket Gamer. Retrieved 2008-09-10. |
|||
Jump up ^ Cowen, Danny (2009-06-24). "Activision Taps Glu for Mobile Modern Warfare 2, Guitar Hero 5". Gamasutra. Retrieved 2009-06-25. |
|||
Jump up ^ "Basic Fun Launches Guitar Hero Carabiner at Toy Fair 2008, 2008-02-17 – 2008-02-20, Booth #1633". Yahoo!. 2008-02-13. Retrieved 2008-03-11. |
|||
Jump up ^ Miller, Paul (2008-02-18). "Guitar Hero Carabiner hands-on". Engadget. Retrieved 2008-03-11. |
|||
Jump up ^ Klepek, Patrick (2008-12-08). "'Guitar Hero Arcade' Is Based On 'GH III,' Developer Explains Konami's Surprising Involvement". MTV. Retrieved 2008-12-08. |
|||
Jump up ^ Caroli, Eric (2009-12-21). "ASCAP Wants Licensing Fees From Guitar Hero Arcade Operator". Game Set Watch. Retrieved 2009-12-21. |
|||
Jump up ^ Faylor, Chris (2010-02-10). "No More Guitar Hero Games on PlayStation 2". Shacknews. Retrieved 2010-02-10. |
|||
Jump up ^ Sinclair, Brian (2010-02-12). "RedOctane closed by Activision?". Gamespot. Retrieved 2010-02-12. |
|||
Jump up ^ Nunneley, Stephany (2010-02-23). "Report: RedOctane founders to remain at Activision". VG247. Retrieved 2010-02-26. |
|||
Jump up ^ Nunneley, Stephany (2010-02-12). "Report: Luxoflux and Underground Development closed, RedOctane layoffs". VG247. Retrieved 2010-02-12. |
|||
Jump up ^ Sinclair, Brendan (2007-01-17). "Activision calls dibs on Guitar Villain, Drum Villain". GameSpot. Retrieved 2008-07-24. |
|||
Jump up ^ Robinson, Martin (2009-03-11). "Sing Hero Registered". IGN. Retrieved 2009-03-11. |
|||
Jump up ^ Warmoth, Brian (2009-11-09). "Activision Files 'Drum Hero' Trademark". MTV. Retrieved 2009-11-17. |
|||
Jump up ^ Spenser (2013-01-02). "Sing Hero Is The Activision Music Game That Never Was". Siliconera. Retrieved 2013-01-02. |
|||
Jump up ^ Pigna, Kris (2010-01-18). "Megadeth Tease Potential for Guitar Hero Project. Due to the tracklist for Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock, a Guitar Hero: Megadeth may not be in the works". 1UP.com. Retrieved 2010-01-18. |
|||
Jump up ^ Pigna, Kris. "Red Hot Chili Peppers Getting Guitar Hero Game?". 1UP. |
|||
Jump up ^ Sinclair, Brendan (2009-06-01). "Starcraft II byend of 2009, Call of Duty expanding to new genres". Gamespot. Retrieved 2009-06-01. |
|||
^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h BradyGames (2006). Guitar Hero II Official Strategy Guide. BradyGames. ISBN 0-7440-0854-9. |
|||
^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h Harmonix (2006-11-07). Guitar Hero II. PlayStation 2. RedOctane. |
|||
^ Jump up to: a b Faylor, Chris (2009-05-15). "First Guitar Hero 5 Songs Include Johnny Cash; Compatibility with GH World Tour DLC Confirmed". Shacknews. Retrieved 2009-05-15. |
|||
Jump up ^ "Titmouse Opens Game Studio". IGN. 2009-03-19. Retrieved 2009-04-10. |
|||
Jump up ^ Crecente, Brian (2008-09-08). "Metallica's New Album Hits Guitar Hero Friday". Kotaku. Retrieved 2008-09-11. |
|||
^ Jump up to: a b Brudvig, Erik (2009-08-07). "Guitar Hero 5 Hands-on". IGN. Retrieved 2009-08-07. |
|||
Jump up ^ Ellison, Blake (2008-09-16). "Guitar Hero DLC Subscription Being Evaluated by Activision, Plans to Make Lots of Money". Shacknews. Retrieved 2008-09-16. |
|||
Jump up ^ "Rocktastic: How Guitar Hero brought stardom to the masses". London: The Independent. 2009-04-16. Retrieved 2009-04-16. |
|||
Jump up ^ Mullen, Michael (2007-10-24). "Creating the Songs Behind Guitar Hero III". GameBizDaily. Retrieved 2007-10-24. |
|||
Jump up ^ Hochberg, Bill (2008-08-02). "Guitar Hero, Rock Band and the Rock 'n' Roll Money Machine". Wired. Retrieved 2008-09-25. |
|||
Jump up ^ "Guitar Hero Essentials Now Available on iTunes". Activision. 2007-10-23. Retrieved 2007-10-23. |
|||
Jump up ^ Garrahan, Matthew; Nutrall, Chris (2008-07-10). "Activision aims to take on iTunes". Financial Times. Retrieved 2009-01-02. |
|||
Jump up ^ "Guitar Hero Reviews". GameRankings. Retrieved 25 December 2010. |
|||
Jump up ^ "Guitar Hero Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 25 December 2010. |
|||
Jump up ^ "Guitar Hero II Reviews". GameRankings. Retrieved 25 December 2010. |
|||
Jump up ^ "Guitar Hero II Reviews". GameRankings. Retrieved 25 December 2010. |
|||
Jump up ^ "Guitar Hero II Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 25 December 2010. |
|||
Jump up ^ "Guitar Hero II Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 25 December 2010. |
|||
Jump up ^ "Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock Reviews". GameRankings. Retrieved 25 December 2010. |
|||
Jump up ^ "Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock Reviews". GameRankings. Retrieved 25 December 2010. |
|||
Jump up ^ "Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock Reviews". GameRankings. Retrieved 25 December 2010. |
|||
Jump up ^ "Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock Reviews". GameRankings. Retrieved 25 December 2010. |
|||
Jump up ^ "Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock Reviews". GameRankings. Retrieved 25 December 2010. |
|||
Jump up ^ "Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 25 December 2010. |
|||
Jump up ^ "Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 25 December 2010. |
|||
Jump up ^ "Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 25 December 2010. |
|||
Jump up ^ "Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 25 December 2010. |
|||
Jump up ^ "Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 25 December 2010. |
|||
Jump up ^ "Guitar Hero World Tour Reviews". GameRankings. Retrieved 25 December 2010. |
|||
Jump up ^ "Guitar Hero World Tour Reviews". GameRankings. Retrieved 25 December 2010. |
|||
Jump up ^ "Guitar Hero World Tour Reviews". GameRankings. Retrieved 25 December 2010. |
|||
Jump up ^ "Guitar Hero World Tour Reviews". GameRankings. Retrieved 25 December 2010. |
|||
Jump up ^ "Guitar Hero World Tour Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 25 December 2010. |
|||
Jump up ^ "Guitar Hero World Tour Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 25 December 2010. |
|||
Jump up ^ "Guitar Hero World Tour Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 25 December 2010. |
|||
Jump up ^ "Guitar Hero 5 for Wii - GameRankings". GameRankings. Retrieved 25 December 2010. |
|||
Jump up ^ "Guitar Hero 5 for PlayStation 3 - GameRankings". GameRankings. Retrieved 25 December 2010. |
|||
Jump up ^ "Guitar Hero 5 for Xbox 360 - GameRankings". GameRankings. Retrieved 25 December 2010. |
|||
Jump up ^ "Guitar Hero 5 for PlayStation 2 - GameRankings". GameRankings. Retrieved 25 December 2010. |
|||
Jump up ^ "Guitar Hero 5 for Wii Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic". Metacritic. Retrieved 25 December 2010. |
|||
Jump up ^ "Guitar Hero 5 for PlayStation 3 Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic". Metacritic. Retrieved 25 December 2010. |
|||
Jump up ^ "Guitar Hero 5 for Xbox 360 Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic". Metacritic. Retrieved 25 December 2010. |
|||
Jump up ^ "Guitar Hero 5 for PlayStation 2 Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic". Metacritic. Retrieved 25 December 2010. |
|||
Jump up ^ "Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock for Wii - GameRankings". GameRankings. Retrieved 25 December 2010. |
|||
Jump up ^ "Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock for Xbox 360 - GameRankings". GameRankings. Retrieved 25 December 2010. |
|||
Jump up ^ "Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock for PlayStation 3 - GameRankings". GameRankings. Retrieved 25 December 2010. |
|||
Jump up ^ "Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock for Wii Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic". Metacritic. Retrieved 25 December 2010. |
|||
Jump up ^ "Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock for PlayStation 3 Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic". Metacritic. Retrieved 25 December 2010. |
|||
Jump up ^ "Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock for Xbox 360 Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic". Metacritic. Retrieved 25 December 2010. |
|||
Jump up ^ Roper, Chris (2005-11-02). "Guitar Hero (Game & Guitar Controller Bundle) Review". IGN. Retrieved 2008-07-24. |
|||
Jump up ^ Gerstmann, Jeff (2005-11-01). "Guitar Hero for PlayStation 2 Review". GameSpot. Retrieved 2008-07-24.[dead link] |
|||
Jump up ^ Roper, Chris (2006-11-03). "Guitar Hero II Review (PS2)". IGN. Retrieved 2008-07-24. |
|||
Jump up ^ Brudvig, Erik (2007-03-30). "Guitar Hero II (Game Controller and Game Bundle) review". IGN. Retrieved 2008-07-24. |
|||
Jump up ^ Brudvig, Erik (2007-10-28). "IGN Guitar Hero III review". IGN. Retrieved 2008-07-24. |
|||
Jump up ^ "GameSpy Guitar Hero III review". GameSpy. 2007-10-29. Retrieved 2008-07-24. |
|||
Jump up ^ Snider, Mike (2008-12-15). "'Guitar Hero' strikes the right chord with Metallica". USA Today. Retrieved 2008-12-19. |
|||
Jump up ^ Parkin, Simon (2009-04-14). "Guitar Hero: Metallica". EuroGamer. Retrieved 2009-04-17. |
|||
Jump up ^ McCaffrey, Ryan (2009-03-30). "Guitar Hero: Metallica". Official Xbox Magazine. Retrieved 2009-03-31. |
|||
Jump up ^ Geier, Thom; Jensen, Jeff; Jordan, Tina; Lyons, Margaret; Markovitz, Adam; Nashawaty, Chris; Pastorek, Whitney; Rice, Lynette; Rottenberg, Josh; Schwartz, Missy; Slezak, Michael; Snierson, Dan; Stack, Tim; Stroup, Kate; Tucker, Ken; Vary, Adam B.; Vozick-Levinson, Simon; Ward, Kate (December 11, 2009), "THE 100 Greatest MOVIES, TV SHOWS, ALBUMS, BOOKS, CHARACTERS, SCENES, EPISODES, SONGS, DRESSES, MUSIC VIDEOS, AND TRENDS THAT ENTERTAINED US OVER THE PAST 10 YEARS". Entertainment Weekly. (1079/1080):74-84 |
|||
^ Jump up to: a b Petkovic, John (2008-03-28). ""Guitar Hero" co-founders turned a bright idea into $100 million". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved 2008-03-28. |
|||
Jump up ^ Kohler, Chris (2007-09-14). "Full-On Rock Band Makes Jamming Follow-Up to Guitar Hero". Wired. Retrieved 2008-07-24. |
|||
Jump up ^ "US Platinum Videogame Chart". The Magic Box. 2007-12-27. Retrieved 2008-07-24. |
|||
Jump up ^ Klepek, Patrick (2007-01-11). "NPD Releases December Numbers, Fanboys Riot". 1up. Retrieved 2008-07-24. |
|||
Jump up ^ "Leading Market Research Firms Join Forces to Provide First Multi-Continent View Of Video Game Software Sales" (Press release). NPD Group. 2008-08-21. Retrieved 2008-10-08. |
|||
Jump up ^ Faylor, Chris (2009-01-12). "Guitar Hero 3 Is The Highest Grossing Retail Game Ever, Claims Activision". Shacknews. Retrieved 2009-02-10. |
|||
Jump up ^ Thorsen, Tor (2009-01-24). "Guitar Hero World Tour sells 3.4M in '08, Rock Band 2 hits 1.7M". GameSpot. Retrieved 2009-01-26. |
|||
Jump up ^ Morris, Chris (2011-03-24). "Call of Duty, Guitar Hero Top All-Time Best Selling List". CNBC. Retrieved 2011-03-24."The Best Selling Video Games of This Generation". CNBC. 2011-03-24. Retrieved 2011-03-24. |
|||
Jump up ^ John Gaudiosi (2008-10-09). "Virtual battle of the bands rocks on". Reuters. Yahoo!. Retrieved 2008-10-30.[dead link] |
|||
Jump up ^ Graft, Kris (2008-01-21). "Guitar Hero Breaks $1 bln". Next Gen Business. Retrieved 2008-01-21. |
|||
Jump up ^ Connelly, Ray (2009-04-13). "Rockin' around the the sofa ... the guitar craze sweeping Britain". Daily Mail. Retrieved 2009-04-12. |
|||
Jump up ^ Carless, Simon (2009-05-07). "Kotick: Guitar Hero Now $2 Billion Franchise". Gamasutra. Retrieved 2009-05-07. |
|||
Jump up ^ Levy, Steven (2007-01-29). "The Low Cost of (Guitar) Heroism". Newsweek. Retrieved 2007-08-08. |
|||
Jump up ^ Parish, Jeremy (2010-02-26). "The Decade That Was: Essential Newcomers". 1UP.com. Retrieved 2010-02-26. |
|||
Jump up ^ Kohler, Chris (2009-12-24). "The 15 Most Influential Games of the Decade". Wired. Retrieved 2009-12-24. |
|||
Jump up ^ Pfister, Andrew (2009-12-21). "The First Decade: Ten Influential Games". G4TV. Retrieved 2009-12-23. |
|||
Jump up ^ Cacho, Gieson (2009-12-18). "Artistry, innovation key in the Top 15 video games of the decade". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved 2009-12-23. |
|||
Jump up ^ Sauer, Patrick (2009-12-21). "The Smartest Products of the Decade". Inc. Retrieved 2009-12-23. |
|||
Jump up ^ Stuart, Keith (2009-12-16). "Video games: the decade when playtime took over". The Guardian (London). Retrieved 2009-12-23. |
|||
Jump up ^ "Book of Tens: New Products of the Decade". Advertising Age. 2009-12-14. Retrieved 2009-12-23. |
|||
Jump up ^ "Eurogamer – Guitar Hero III's Rock 'N' Slide Star". Eurogamer. Retrieved 2008-04-01. |
|||
Jump up ^ "Kotaku: Nyko explains issues with Guitar Hero adapter". Kotaku. Retrieved 2008-04-01. |
|||
Jump up ^ "Making the controller work on PS3". guitarherogame.com forums. Retrieved 2008-04-01. |
|||
Jump up ^ "Aeropause – Will Pelican's USB Adapter Let You Guitar Hero on PS3?". Aeropause. Retrieved 2008-04-01. |
|||
Jump up ^ Scott Hillis; Gina Keating (2008-03-12). "Activision's Guitar Hero violates patent: Gibson". Reuters News. Retrieved 2008-03-12. |
|||
Jump up ^ Faylor, Chris (2008-03-20). "Gibson Sues Retailers for Selling Guitar Hero". Shacknews. Retrieved 2008-03-30. |
|||
Jump up ^ "Press Statement from Gibson Guitar in Regards to Guitar Hero Retailer Lawsuit" (Press release). Shacknews. 2008-03-20. Retrieved 2008-03-20. |
|||
Jump up ^ Faylor, Chris (2008-03-21). "Gibson Sues EA, MTV, Harmonix over Rock Band; Update: Harmonix Responds, Denies Allegations". Shacknews. Retrieved 2008-03-21. |
|||
Jump up ^ Totilo, Stephen (2008-03-21). "Gibson Guitar Company Sues Retailers, MTV Over 'Guitar Hero' And 'Rock Band'". MTV. Retrieved 2008-03-26. |
|||
Jump up ^ Patel, Nilay (2009-03-02). "Gibson loses Guitar Hero patent lawsuit, gets booed off stage". Engadget. Retrieved 2009-03-02. |
|||
Jump up ^ Activision Publishers, Inc. vs Gibson Guitars Corp. (United States District Court, Central District of California 2009-02-26). Text |
|||
Jump up ^ Graft, Kris (2009-04-24). "Activision, Gibson Settle Latest Suit". Gamasutra. Retrieved 2009-04-24. |
|||
Jump up ^ GameSetWatch – GameSetInvestigation: The Guitar Hero Patent Mystery |
|||
Jump up ^ United States Patent: 5739457 |
|||
Jump up ^ United States Patent: 6018121 |
|||
Jump up ^ Patent Database Search Results: IN/devecka in US Patent Collection |
|||
Jump up ^ 35 U.S.C. 282 Presumption of validity; defenses. – Patent Laws |
|||
Jump up ^ Gamasutra – Exclusive: Exploring Guitar Hero III 's Patent Secrets |
|||
Jump up ^ Gardner, Eriq (2010-02-19). "Lawsuit challenges 'Guitar Hero' ads claiming patent". The Hollywood Report. Retrieved 2010-02-22. |
|||
^ Jump up to: a b Fredrick, Logan (2009-02-12). "Guitar Hero Gets "Greatest Hits"". The Escapist. Retrieved 2009-02-16. |
|||
Jump up ^ Faylor, Chris (2008-09-14). "Vicarious Visions Interview: On Guitar Hero Wii and DS". Shacknews. Retrieved 2009-02-16. |
|||
Jump up ^ Geddes, Ryan (2009-02-08). "DICE 2008: NanaOn-Shame on You". IGN. Retrieved 2009-04-29. |
|||
Jump up ^ Geddes, Ryan (2009-04-09). "Editorial: The Year the Music Died". IGN. Retrieved 2009-04-09. |
|||
Jump up ^ Kalning, Kristin (2009-05-18). "How much 'Guitar Hero' is too much?". MSNBC. Retrieved 2009-05-18. |
|||
Jump up ^ Divnich, Jesse (2009-07-20). "The Divnich Debrief: Roadblocks in the Music Genre". Industry Gamers. Retrieved 2009-07-22. |
|||
Jump up ^ Dring, Christopher (2011-02-18). "No More (Guitar) Heroes". MCV. Retrieved 2011-02-18. |
|||
^ Jump up to: a b "Guitar Hero Smash Hits Review (Xbox 360)". Team Xbox. 2009-06-17. Retrieved 2009-06-30. |
|||
Jump up ^ Bruno, Antony (2009-07-17). "MTV formulating Rock Band Network". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2009-07-30.[dead link] |
|||
Jump up ^ Goldstein, Hilary (2008-06-30). "Rock Band 2: The Opening Act". IGN. Retrieved 2009-06-28. |
|||
^ Jump up to: a b Roper, Chris (2009-03-29). "Guitar Hero: Metallica Review". IGN. Retrieved 2009-06-30. |
|||
^ Jump up to: a b Roper, Chris (2009-06-17). "Guitar Hero: Smash Hits Review". IGN. Retrieved 2009-06-27. |
|||
Jump up ^ Gerstmann, Jeff (2009-06-25). "Guitar Hero: Smash Hits". Giant Bomb. Retrieved 2009-06-27. |
|||
Jump up ^ Kohler, Chris (2009-07-30). "5 Games to Throw Down a Black Hole (and 5 We'd Pull Out)". Wired. Retrieved 2009-07-31. |
|||
Jump up ^ Kohler, Chris (2009-06-26). "Top 10 Raw Deals for Gamers". Wired. Retrieved 2009-06-27. |
|||
Jump up ^ Heppe, Abbie (2009-06-29). "Guitar Hero Smash Hits Review". G4 TV. Retrieved 2009-06-29. |
|||
Jump up ^ Bramwell, Tom (2009-07-08). "Guitar Hero: Greatest Hits". Eurogamer. Retrieved 2009-07-08. |
|||
Jump up ^ Kuchera, Ben (2009-06-29). "Rhythm games: the Five Commandments all titles must follow". Ars Technica. Retrieved 2009-06-29. |
|||
Jump up ^ Kreps, Daniel (2009-12-22). "Despite "The Beatles: Rock Band," Music Video Game Sales Slip in '09". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2010-01-30. |
|||
^ Jump up to: a b "Sales Of Music Video Games Plummet In 2009". Reuters. 2009-12-18. Retrieved 2009-12-20.[dead link] |
|||
^ Jump up to: a b Crossley, Rob (2010-08-09). "Neversoft on 'selling out' in the race for sales". Develop. Retrieved 2010-08-09. |
|||
Jump up ^ Faylor, Chris (2008-07-31). "More Call of Duty and Guitar Hero Sequels in 2009". Shacknews. Retrieved 2008-07-31. |
|||
Jump up ^ Alexander, Leigh (2008-08-01). "Analyst: Three Expansion Packs Possible For Next Guitar Hero". Gamasutra. Retrieved 2008-08-02. |
|||
Jump up ^ Faylor, Chris (2008-09-15). "Activision Tripling Guitar Hero Releases by 2010". Shacknews. Retrieved 2008-09-16. |
|||
Jump up ^ French, Michael (2009-11-13). "Heroic Deeds". MCVUK. Retrieved 2009-11-17. |
|||
Jump up ^ Faylor, Chris (2010-02-11). "Activision Breaks Down 2010 Release Schedule: Singularity in June, Transformers by July, More". Shacknews. Retrieved 2010-02-11. |
|||
Jump up ^ Brightman, James (2009-07-01). "Activision: Guitar Hero Better Serves Consumers Than Rock Band". Industry Gamers. Retrieved 2009-07-01. |
|||
Jump up ^ "The Lobby: Guitar Hero's Demise". IGN. 2011-02-09. Retrieved 2011-02-10. |
|||
Jump up ^ Stuart, Keith (2011-02-10). "Guitar Hero axed: five reasons why music games are dying". The Guardian. Retrieved 2011-02-10. |
|||
Jump up ^ Cacho, Gieson (2011-02-09). "RIP Guitar Hero: 2005–2011?". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved 2011-02-10. |
|||
Jump up ^ Mudhar, Raju (2011-02-10). "Guitar Hero gets axed". Toronto Star. Retrieved 2011-02-10. |
|||
External links |
|||
Producer/Developer sites |
|||
{{Instant messaging}} |
|||
Activision |
|||
{{Internet slang}} |
|||
Neversoft |
|||
Harmonix |
|||
Hands-On Mobile |
|||
MachineWorks Northwest LLC |
|||
Other official sites |
|||
Guitar Hero series website |
|||
Guitar Hero community website |
|||
Guitar Hero on Myspace |
|||
Directories |
|||
Guitar Hero series on the Open Directory Project |
|||
[show] v t e |
|||
Guitar Hero |
|||
[show] v t e |
|||
Harmonix games |
|||
This is a good article. Click here for more information. |
|||
Categories: Activision gamesCooperative video gamesDrumming video gamesGuitar HeroGuitar video gamesKaraoke video gamesMusic video gamesMusician video gamesNeversoft games |
|||
Navigation menu |
|||
Create accountLog inArticleTalkReadView sourceView history |
|||
Main page |
|||
[[Category:Emoticons| ]] |
|||
Contents |
|||
[[Category:1982 introductions]] |
|||
Featured content |
|||
[[Category:ASCII art]] |
|||
Current events |
|||
[[Category:Email]] |
|||
Random article |
|||
[[Category:Internet forum terminology]] |
|||
Donate to Wikipedia |
|||
[[Category:Internet memes]] |
|||
Wikimedia Shop |
|||
[[Category:Internet slang]] |
|||
Interaction |
|||
[[Category:Online chat]] |
|||
Help |
|||
[[Category:Pictograms]] |
|||
About Wikipedia |
|||
Community portal |
|||
Recent changes |
|||
Contact page |
|||
Tools |
|||
Print/export |
|||
Languages |
|||
Català |
|||
Čeština |
|||
Dansk |
|||
Deutsch |
|||
Español |
|||
Français |
|||
Italiano |
|||
עברית |
|||
Nederlands |
|||
Polski |
|||
Português |
|||
Русский |
|||
Sámegiella |
|||
Simple English |
|||
Suomi |
|||
Svenska |
|||
Edit links |
|||
This page was last modified on 29 March 2014 at 13:28. |
|||
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. |
|||
Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. |
|||
Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersMobile viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki |
|||
Revision as of 18:34, 2 April 2014
Guitar Hero From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Page semi-protected For the first game in the series, see Guitar Hero (video game). Guitar Hero Guitar hero new logo.svg Genres Music, Rhythm Developers Harmonix (2005–2007) Neversoft (2007–2010) Budcat Creations (2007–2009) Vicarious Visions (2007–2010) Publishers RedOctane (2005–2009) Activision (2006–2010) First release Guitar Hero November 8, 2005 Latest release DJ Hero 2 October 19, 2010 The Guitar Hero series (sometimes referred to as the Hero series)[1] is a series of music rhythm games first published in 2005 by RedOctane and Harmonix, and distributed by Activision, in which players use a guitar-shaped game controller to simulate playing lead, bass guitar, and rhythm guitar across numerous rock music songs. Players match notes that scroll on-screen to colored fret buttons on the controller, strumming the controller in time to the music in order to score points, and keep the virtual audience excited. The games attempt to mimic many features of playing a real guitar, including the use of fast-fingering hammer-ons and pull-offs and the use of the whammy bar to alter the pitch of notes. Most games support single player modes, typically a Career mode to play through all the songs in the game, and both competitive and cooperative multiplayer modes. With the introduction of Guitar Hero World Tour in 2008, the game includes support for a four-player band including vocals and drums. The series initially used mostly cover version of songs created by WaveGroup Sound, but most recent titles feature soundtracks that are fully master recordings, and in some cases, special re-recordings, of the songs. Later titles in the series feature support for downloadable content in the form of new songs. In 2005, RedOctane, a company specializing in the manufacture of unique game controllers, was inspired to create Guitar Hero based on RedOctane's experience creating hardware for Konami's Guitar Freaks arcade game. They enlisted Harmonix, who previously developed several music video games, for development assistance. The first game in the series was made on a budget of $1 million. The series became extremely successful, leading to the acquisition of RedOctane by Activision in 2007. Harmonix was acquired by MTV Games and went on to create the Rock Band series of music games in the same vein as Guitar Hero. Activision brought Neversoft (primarily known for their Tony Hawk series of skateboarding games) on board for future development duties. Additional companies, such as Budcat Creations and Vicarious Visions have assisted in the adaptation of the games for other systems. The series currently has seven minor releases and four expansions on gaming consoles. There are spin-offs for Windows and Macintosh systems, mobile phones, the Nintendo DS, and an arcade game. The Guitar Hero franchise was a primary brand during the emergence of the popularity of rhythm games as a cultural phenomenon in North America. Such games have been utilized as a learning and development tool for medical purposes. The first game in the series was considered by several journalists to be one of the most influential video games of the first decade of the 21st century. The series has sold more than 25 million units worldwide, earning US$2 billion at retail, claimed by Activision to be the 3rd largest game franchise after the Mario and Madden NFL franchises; the third main title of the series, Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock is also claimed by Activision to be the first single video game title to exceed $1 billion in sales. Despite early success, the series, along with the overall rhythm game genre, suffered from poor sales starting in 2009. Activision had stated in early 2011 that the series was on hiatus for 2011, while a seventh main title in the series was under development; this title was later cancelled due to the poor quality of the emerging product, and no further titles in the series have been announced. Activision later shut down sales of the series' downloadable content, although users who purchased material from it previously may still play what they bought. Contents [hide] 1 History 1.1 Origins and development at Harmonix (2005-2006) 1.2 Sale to Activision and development by Neversoft (2006-2009) 1.3 Decline and hiatus (2009-2014) 2 Games 2.1 Main titles 2.2 Series expansions 2.3 Portable versions 2.4 Mobile phone versions 2.5 Other games 2.6 Planned games 3 Gameplay 3.1 Game modes 3.2 Characters and customization 3.3 Soundtracks 4 Reception and sales 5 Cultural impact 6 Legal and practical issues 6.1 PlayStation 3 incompatibility 6.2 Patent litigation 6.3 Oversaturation 7 List of games 8 See also 9 Notes 10 External links History
Origins and development at Harmonix (2005-2006)
The original Guitar Hero logo features more pointed decorations on its letters, emphasizing its basis in heavy metal. The new logo, which was introduced with Guitar Hero 5, removes these sharp features so as to reflect the broader selection of music now included in the games.
Guitar Hero was created from a partnership between RedOctane, then their own company that produced specialized video game controllers, and Harmonix, a music video game development company who had previously produced Frequency, Amplitude and Karaoke Revolution. RedOctane was seeking to bring in a Guitar Freaks-like game, highly popular in Japan at the time, into Western markets, and approached Harmonix about helping them to develop a music game involving a guitar controller. Both companies agreed to it, and went on to produce Guitar Hero in 2005.[2] The title was highly successful, leading to the development of its successful sequel Guitar Hero II in 2006. While the original controllers for the first Guitar Hero game were designed by Ryan Lesser, Rob Kay, Greg LoPiccolo and Alex Rigopulous of Harmonix and built by the Honeybee Corporation of China, subsequent iterations and future controllers were developed inhouse at RedOctane, with development led primarily by Jack McCauley.[3]
Sale to Activision and development by Neversoft (2006-2009)
Both RedOctane and Harmonix experienced changes in 2006. RedOctane was bought by Activision in June — who spent US$100 million to acquire the Guitar Hero franchise[4] — while it was announced in October that Harmonix would be purchased by MTV Networks. As a result of the two purchases, Harmonix would no longer develop future games in the Guitar Hero series. Instead, that responsibility would go to Neversoft, a subsidiary of Activision known for developing the Tony Hawk's series of skateboarding games.[5] Neversoft was chosen to helm the Guitar Hero series after Neversoft founder, Joel Jewett, admitted to the RedOctane founders, Kai and Charles Huang, that his development team for Tony Hawk's Project 8 went to work on weekends just to play Guitar Hero.[6] Activision CEO Bobby Kotick believed that Neversoft would help them bring great games to the series, but on reflection, stated that had Activision explored Harmonix further as a continued developer for the series, things "may have turned out differently".[7] In addition, Activision began seeking other markets for the game; a Nintendo DS version of the series was developed by Vicarious Visions, while a Guitar Hero Mobile series was created for mobile phones. The company also began considering the expansion of the series to band-specific titles with Guitar Hero: Aerosmith. Later, in November 2008, Activision acquired Budcat Creations, another development studio that had helped with the PlayStation 2 versions of Guitar Hero III and World Tour, announcing that they would be helping to develop another game in the Guitar Hero series.[8]
In 2007, Harmonix and MTV Games released a new music title through rival publisher Electronic Arts, called Rock Band. It expanded upon the gameplay popularized by the Guitar Hero series by adding drum and microphone instruments, allowing players to simulate playing songs as bands. Activision followed suit with the release of Guitar Hero World Tour in 2008, which supported multiple instruments. In 2009, Activision tripled its Guitar Hero offerings, and in addition to further continuation of the existing main series with Guitar Hero 5 and expansions, they introduced the titles Band Hero, geared towards more family-friendly pop music, and DJ Hero, a game based on turntablism and featuring a number of mixes. With the release of Guitar Hero 5, Activision considered the series to have moved away from its heavy metal basis into a broader selection of music. Guitar Hero 5 is the first game in the series to use a new version of the series' logo; previous games used a logo in a font with sharper "points" on the letters, which was considered "idiosyncratic with a vengeance" to match the games' emphasis on heavy metal music. Activision used the services of the Pentagram design studio to refashion the game's logo. Pentagram developed a new font, removing some of the "aggressive odd" features to make the typeface more suitable and amendable to design feature incorporation to other games such as Band Hero and DJ Hero.[9][10]
Decline and hiatus (2009-2014)
The results of the expanded offerings did not contribute well to the series, alongside the late-2000s recession; sales of most rhythm games including Guitar Hero and DJ Hero did not meet expectations, falling about 50% short of projected targets.[11][12][13] Activision announced it would be cutting back to only 10 SKUs within 2010 instead of the 25 in 2009.[14] Though RedOctane and Neversoft continued to develop the 6th main game, Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock, until its completion, both studios were later shuttered by Activision, moving key personnel into Activision directly for future game development, and in the case of Neversoft, closing its Guitar Hero division, while transferring future development duties for the series to Vicarious Visions, another Activision studio which had been fundamental in building the Wii and Nintendo DS versions of the games.[15] In November 2010, Activision also closed Budcat Creations, the arm of the publisher that was primarily responsible for porting the Guitar Hero games to the PlayStation 2.[16]
Ahead of Activision's 2010 fourth quarter financial report in February 2011, Activision disbanded its Guitar Hero business unit and announced that it would cease development of the planned 2011 Guitar Hero game.[17][18] Activision cited "continued declines in the music genre" to explain its decision.[19] The closure also affected the DJ Hero series, as Activision stated that there were no plans to publish a music game during 2011.[20] Activision's vice president Dan Winters later clarified that the company was "just putting Guitar Hero on hiatus" and that they were "just not making a new game for next year, that's all".[21][22]
In a July 2011 interview with Forbes, Kotick stated that while the publisher was "going to stop selling Guitar Hero altogether", they were "going to go back to the studios and we’re going to use new studios and reinvent" the series,[23] but a former teammember of Vicarious Visions has stated that as of 2012, all development of Guitar Hero has come to an end within Activision.[24] Another source close to Vicarious Visions had reported to Kotaku that while Guitar Hero 7 was in development under an Activision studio, the game was considered a "disaster".[25] The cancelled game omitted the additional instruments and used only a guitar peripheral, redesigning the unit to include a 6-button mechanism replacing the strum bar.[25] The developers had also started the game development from scratch to try to create new characters and venues that would be more reactive to the actual songs being played to give the feel of a music video, but ultimately this proved too much of a challenge and had to be scrapped.[25] Further, with a limited budget, the song selection was limited to "low-budget" hits of the 1990s, or at times reusing songs that had previously been included in Guitar Hero games.[25] Though the team had a two-year development cycle, it was closed down after Activision president Eric Hirshber had seen the current state of the project at the one-year point.[25]
No further downloadable content for either Guitar Hero or DJ Hero was made after February 2011,[26] though Activision committed to releasing content that was already in development by that time due to fan response;[27] later, in a move described by Game Informer as "the final nail in [the series'] coffins",[28] Activision announced it would discontinue all DLC sales for the series (although customers can still play tracks they have already bought) as of March 31, 2014.[29]
Games
Main titles
The controllers bundled with Guitar Hero releases (from left to right): Gibson SGs for Guitar Hero and Guitar Hero II (PlayStation 2) and Gibson Explorer for Guitar Hero II (Xbox 360) and Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (PC)
The original Guitar Hero was released on the PlayStation 2 in November 2005. Guitar Hero is notable because it comes packaged with a controller peripheral modeled after a black Gibson SG guitar. Rather than a typical gamepad, this guitar controller is the primary input for the game. Playing the game with the guitar controller simulates playing an actual guitar, except it uses five colored "fret buttons" and a "strum bar" instead of frets and strings. The development of Guitar Hero was inspired by Konami's Guitar Freaks video game, which at the time, had not seen much exposure in the North American market; RedOctane, already selling guitar-shaped controllers for imported copies of GuitarFreaks, approached Harmonix about creating a game to use an entirely new Guitar controller. The concept was to have the gameplay of Amplitude with the visuals of Karaoke Revolution, both of which had been developed by Harmonix.[30][31][32][33] The game was met with critical acclaim and received numerous awards for its innovative guitar peripheral and its soundtrack, which comprised 47 playable rock songs (most of which were cover versions of popular songs from artists and bands from the 1960s through modern rock). Guitar Hero has sold nearly 1.5 million copies to date.[34]
The popularity of the series increased dramatically with the release of Guitar Hero II for the PlayStation 2 in 2006. Featuring improved multiplayer gameplay, an improved note-recognizing system, and 64 songs, it became the fifth best-selling video game of 2006.[35] The PlayStation 2 version of the game was offered both separately and in a bundle with a cherry red Gibson SG guitar controller. Guitar Hero II was later released for the Xbox 360 in April 2007 with an exclusive Gibson Explorer guitar controller and an additional 10 songs, among other features. About 3 million units of Guitar Hero II have sold on the PlayStation 2 and Xbox 360.[36]
The Gibson Les Paul Guitar controller bundled with Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 releases of Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (pictured is the Xbox 360 guitar controller). A similar white Gibson Les Paul guitar controller is bundled with the Wii release, which requires the Wii Remote to be inserted in the back. For in-store demos on the Xbox 360, a wired Les Paul controller is used.
Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock was released in late 2007 for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii, Microsoft Windows, and Mac OS X platforms. The title is the first installment of the series to include wireless guitars bundled with the game and also the first to release a special bundle with two guitars. The game includes Slash and Tom Morello as playable characters in addition to the existing fictional avatars; both guitarists performed motion capture to be used for their characters' animation in the game.
The "Genericaster" guitar controller bundled with Guitar Hero World Tour (pictured is the PlayStation 3 guitar controller). Unlike previous Guitar Hero controllers, this controller is not based on a real guitar.
Guitar Hero World Tour, previously named Guitar Hero IV, is the fourth full game in the series and was released on October 26, 2008 for PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Wii. Analysts had expected that future Guitar Hero games in 2008 would include additional instrument peripherals to compete against Rock Band;[37] Guitar Hero World Tour was confirmed as in development following the announcement of the merger between Activision and Vivendi Games in December 2007.[38] Activision's CEO Bobby Kotick announced on April 21, 2008 that Guitar Hero World Tour will branch out into other instruments including vocals.[39] Guitar Hero World Tour includes drums and vocals, and can be bought packaged with a new drum set controller, a microphone, and the standard guitar controller.[40] A larger number of real-world musicians appear as playable characters, including Jimi Hendrix, Billy Corgan, Hayley Williams, Zakk Wylde, Ted Nugent, Travis Barker, Sting, and Ozzy Osbourne. Guitar Hero World Tour also features custom song creation that can be shared with others.[40]
Guitar Hero 5, the fifth main entry in the series, was confirmed in December 2008.[41] It was released on September 1, 2009, and includes 85 songs from 83 different artists. The game includes new game modes and features, including its 'Party Mode,' which gives players the ability to drop-in and out and change difficulties in the middle of a song. Artists including Johnny Cash, Matt Bellamy, Carlos Santana, Kurt Cobain and Shirley Manson appear as playable characters in the game.[42]
Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock, the sixth main console game in the series, was released on September 28, 2010. It is the last game in the series developed by Neversoft's Guitar Hero division prior to its dissolution, with Vicarious Visions assisting on the Wii version with added Nintendo DS functionality. The game has been described as returning to the roots of the Guitar Hero series; while it still allows for full band play, the soundtrack's focus is on rock and roll music and an emphasis on guitar "shredding".[43] The game introduced a career-based "Quest Mode", narrated by Gene Simmons, that guides the players to complete songs to unlock "warriors of rock" to join them in saving "demigod of rock" and his guitar from his imprisonment by "the Beast".[44][45]
Series expansions
Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s for the PlayStation 2, which was released in July 2007, was the final game developed by Harmonix for the series.[46] Though it was produced after Harmonix were purchased by MTV Games, it was part of their contractual obligation to complete the game. The game, as suggested by its name, features tracks primarily from the 1980s.
Guitar Hero: Aerosmith was the first band-centric game for the series. On September 4, 2007, Billboard announced that the band Aerosmith was "working closely with the makers of Guitar Hero IV, which will be dedicated to the group's music."[47] On February 15, 2008, Activision announced that Guitar Hero: Aerosmith would be released on June 29, 2008.[48][49][50] Guitar Hero: Aerosmith is developed by Neversoft for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions, while the Wii version of the game is developed by Vicarious Visions and the PlayStation 2 version is developed by Budcat Creations.[51] The game features a track selection composed of 60% of Aerosmith songs, with other songs from Joe Perry's solo work or artists that have inspired or performed with Aerosmith, including Run D.M.C..
The series' next band-centric title, Guitar Hero: Metallica, was released on March 29, 2009. Guitar Hero: Metallica is based on the full band experience of World Tour while offering similar features on Metallica's history and music as found in Guitar Hero: Aerosmith.[52] In addition, Metallica's album, Death Magnetic, was available as downloadable content for Guitar Hero III simultaneously with the release of the album, with the content being forward-compatible with Guitar Hero World Tour and Guitar Hero: Metallica. Since the PlayStation 2 version does not support downloading, three extra songs were included from Death Magnetic and are as follows: "Broken, Beat, and Scarred", "Cyanide", and "My Apocalypse".[52][53] A new feature in the game, where the drummer can access a mode called Expert+, has also been added. Expert+ mode was implemented to allow faster bass pedal beats, fast to the point where it would normally be out of the playable range of a single bass pedal, and was intended for a dual bass pedal.
Guitar Hero Smash Hits (titled Guitar Hero: Greatest Hits in Europe and Australia) was released in June 2009. It features full-band versions of 48 songs from earlier Guitar Hero games that only used the guitar controller. Unlike the previous versions, each of the songs is based on a master recording that includes some live tracks.[54] The game follows a similar model as Guitar Hero: Metallica, and was developed by Neversoft and Beenox Studios for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, and Wii.[55]
Guitar Hero: Van Halen was released on December 22, 2009,[56] though customers that purchased Guitar Hero 5 under a special promotion received a copy of the game early. Like the other band-centric games, Guitar Hero: Van Halen includes 25 songs from the band Van Halen, including 3 guitar solos by Eddie Van Halen, in addition to 19 guest acts such as Queen, Weezer, Blink-182, Foo Fighters, The Offspring and Queens of the Stone Age.[57][58]
Another new title to the series, Band Hero, was announced in May 2009. Band Hero features Top 40 hits aimed at family audiences, and include the full band play style of Guitar Hero 5.[57] The game was developed for the Nintendo DS, using the Guitar Hero On Tour Guitar Grip, a new "drum skin" to fit the DS Lite, and the DS's microphone to support the full band experience.[59] Musician Taylor Swift appears as a playable character in the game,[60] as do the members of No Doubt.
DJ Hero was announced by Activision in May 2009. Prior to the announcement, the company had purchased FreeStyleGames, a small developer of music games, to help produce localized downloadable content for Guitar Hero games and a then-unannounced music game, later revealed to be DJ Hero.[61] DJ Hero uses a special turntable-based controller for players to perform with on various song mixes in the game. The game also incorporates the use of a Guitar Hero controller on ten specially-arranged tracks; Bright has suggested that future Guitar Hero games after Guitar Hero 5 may include the use of the turntable control.[62]
A sequel, DJ Hero 2, was officially announced in June 2010 for release in the last quarter of 2010, featuring more than 70 mashups from over 85 artists.[63] The game includes several new gameplay modes, including an "Empire" career mode, head-to-head DJ battles, social multiplayer modes, and a jump-in and out Party Play mode similar to Guitar Hero 5. The game also includes more vocal options for singing and rapping to songs, and a freestyle mode for players.[63]
Portable versions
Main article: Guitar Hero: On Tour series
The "Guitar Grip", developed by Vicarious Visions for the Nintendo DS series Guitar Hero: On Tour provides four fret buttons for the game, while strumming is done on the DS touchscreen by use of a pick-shaped stylus.
Guitar Hero: On Tour was released on the Nintendo DS hand-held system on June 22, 2008. The game includes a peripheral, dubbed the "Guitar Grip", a rectangular device that fits into the second slot of the Nintendo DS or DS Lite. The peripheral only features the first four fret buttons and a strap so the Nintendo DS can be held sideways comfortably for play. The game also includes a guitar pick shaped stylus for use with strumming in the game, which players move across the touchscreen.[64] Guitar Hero: On Tour was developed by Vicarious Visions, who also ported the Guitar Hero games to Nintendo's Wii console.
A sequel, Guitar Hero On Tour: Decades, was released in November 2008, featuring music spanning four decades.[65] A third title in the series, Guitar Hero On Tour: Modern Hits, was announced following various rumors of its existence,[66][67] and was released in June 2009, featuring songs recorded since the year 2000.[55][68][69] Both games use the "Guitar Grip" controller, and allow two players to compete against each other using any version of the On Tour series, with songs being shared between versions.[65]
Band Hero was also ported to the Nintendo DS by Vicarious Visions, expanding the play to include vocals (through the DS microphone) and drumming. The drumming uses a special "drum skin" adapter designed for the Nintendo DS Lite to map the unit's face buttons to four drum pads. However, the peripheral is not compatible with the original Nintendo DS model or the Nintendo DSi. However, since the drum skin is not electronic but a rubber cover switch that duplicates certain buttons on the DS Lite, a player can simply press the buttons in time to play the drums. The game includes four-player local wireless play in a similar manner as Guitar Hero 5 allowing any combination of instruments to be used. The game has a set of 30 songs; some are from Band Hero and others are from several Guitar Hero games' set lists.
Guitar Hero: On Tour does not work on the Nintendo DSi and Nintendo 3DS because unlike the Nintendo DS, they do not have Game Boy Advance slots. Band Hero is limited to vocals and drums on the two consoles for the same reason.
Mobile phone versions
Main article: Guitar Hero Mobile series
Guitar Hero III Mobile was released for mobile phones in 2007 and 2008, and was developed by MachineWorks Northwest LLC. The base version of the game includes 15 songs from both Guitar Hero II and Guitar Hero III, and has released a three-song add-on pack every month since January 2008. The title has been downloaded by users one million times, with both Verizon and Hands-On Mobile claiming that over 250,000 songs are played a day on the platform.[70] The two companies produced two other mobile-based Guitar Hero games; Guitar Hero III: Backstage Pass, released in July 2008, adds role-playing elements to manage the band's success in addition to the core rhythm game,[71] while the mobile version of Guitar Hero World Tour, released in December 2008, expands each included track for play on both lead guitar and drums, mimicking the expansion of the console series to the full band.[72]
Glu Mobile developed the mobile version of Guitar Hero 5, released in the last quarter of 2009.[73]
Other games
Activision and RedOctane also worked with Basic Fun, Inc. to produce Guitar Hero Carabiner, a handheld electronic game that features 30 and 60-second clips of ten of the songs from Guitar Hero and Guitar Hero II.[74][75]
Activision and Konami, who had previously worked together to make sure that the Guitar Hero series meets with Konami's patents on music games, developed an arcade console version of the game, titled Guitar Hero Arcade, distributed to arcades in early 2009. The game is completely based on the Guitar Hero III gameplay, but reducing some of the features such as the use of the Whammy bar, Star Power Button (Star Power may only be activated by lifting the Guitar) and Practice Modes, but keeping the ability to download new songs for the cabinet from the Internet.[76] The arcade game has come under some scrutiny by the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), who believe the use of the game in arcades is equivalent to "public performances" and seek additional fees to be paid by operators of the game.[77]
Planned games
No more Guitar Hero games were released on the PlayStation 2 after 2009, with the double release of Guitar Hero 5 and Band Hero.[78] It was expected that the 2010 entry for Guitar Hero, Warriors of Rock, would be the final entry developed by Neversoft, based on claims that Neversoft would be letting go of its Guitar Hero division, with Vicarious Visions likely poised to take over future development.[15] Further industry rumors pointed at the closure of RedOctane Studios and Underground Development (the development studio for Guitar Hero: Van Halen) as further results from the scaling-back; Activision moved the controller hardware development within their own division to continue to support the series,[79] with RedOctane founders Kai and Charles Huang remaining with Activision.[80] A week prior to these announcements, the Guitar Hero division CEO at Activision, Dan Rosensweig, left the company, leading to some speculation on whether Rosensweig's departure influenced these changes.[81] Activision and RedOctane had trademarked the titles "Guitar Villain", "Drum Villain", "Keyboard Hero" and "Sing Hero".[82][83] RedOctane originally trademarked the titles "Drum Hero" and "Band Hero", but the work performed towards the Drum Hero title was eventually folded into the gameplay for Guitar Hero World Tour, and Band Hero became its own game.[40] Later, as of October 2009, Activision reapplied for a Drum Hero trademark.[84] Pi Studios, which had previously helped to port Rock Band to the Wii, had started work on the karaoke title Sing Hero before Activision cancelled its development.[85]
Dave Mustaine, frontman for Megadeth, stated he had been in talks with Activision and Neversoft for a Guitar Hero-related product.[86] It was later revealed that Dave Mustaine was working with Activision for music in Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock, including an original track ("Sudden Death") recorded specifically for the game.
Two Guitar Hero products that were announced but never released were a Red Hot Chili Peppers-themed title[87] and a PlayStation Portable title that would have featured a drum component.[88]
Gameplay
Gameplay of a single player playing Pantera's "Cowboys From Hell". The player in Guitar Hero must play the colored notes on the fret board in time with the music as they scroll through the target at the bottom. The score and current score multiplier are shown on the bottom left. The Rock Meter dial and Star Power indicator are shown on the bottom right. The remainder of the screen shows the player's character and band as they perform to the music. The core gameplay of the Guitar Hero games is a rhythm game similar to Konami's Guitar Freaks[32] and to a lesser extent Harmonix's previous music games such as Frequency and Amplitude. The guitar controller is recommended for play, although a standard console controller can be used instead.[89][90] However, the guitar controller has been required for play ever since the inclusion of drum and vocal parts in the series. The game supports toggling the handedness of the guitar, allowing both left-handed and right-handed players to utilize the guitar controller.[89][90] While playing the game, an extended guitar neck is shown vertically on the screen (the frets horizontal), often called the "note highway", and as the song progresses, colored markers or "gems" indicating notes travel down the screen in time with the music; the note colors and positions match those of the five fret keys on the guitar controller. Once the note(s) reach the bottom, the player must play the indicated note(s) by holding down the correct fret button(s) and hitting the strumming bar in order to score points. Success or failure will cause the on-screen Rock Meter to change, showing how well the player is playing (denoted by red, yellow, and green sections). Should the Rock Meter drop below the red section, the song will automatically end, with the player booed off the stage by the audience. Successful note hits will add to the player's score, and by hitting a long series of consecutive successful note hits, the player can increase their score multiplier. There is a window of time for hitting each note, similar to other rhythm games such as Dance Dance Revolution, but unlike these games, scoring in Guitar Hero is not affected by accuracy; as long as the note is hit within that window, the player receives the same number of points.[89][90] Selected special segments of the song will have glowing notes outlined by stars: successfully hitting all notes in this series will fill the "Star Power Meter". The Star Power Meter can also be filled by using the whammy bar during sustained notes within these segments. Once the Star Power Meter is at least half full, the player can activate "Star Power" by pressing the select button or momentarily lifting the guitar into a vertical position. When Star Power is activated, the scoring multiplier is doubled until Star Power is depleted. The Rock Meter also increases more dramatically when Star Power is activated, making it easier for the player to make the Rock Meter stay at a high level. Thus, Star Power can be used strategically to play difficult sections of a song that otherwise might cause the player to fail.[89][90] In the earlier entries of the series (up until Guitar Hero: Aerosmith), activating Star Power meant that players could not accrue more Star Power until the Star Power meter was fully drained and the effect ended. Starting with Guitar Hero: World Tour, more Star Power can be collected even if the effect is active by completing more Star Power phrases, extending the Star Power's duration by doing so. When playing in cooperative play (with a bassist/rhythm guitarist in Guitar Hero II through Guitar Hero: Aerosmith or as a band in Guitar Hero: World Tour), Star Power is shared between all the players and activation of Star Power is dependent on all players simultaneously activating it. Notes can be a single note, or composed of two to five notes that make a chord. Both single notes and chords can also be sustained, indicated by a colored line following the note marker; the player can hold the sustained note(s) keys down for the entire length for additional points. During a sustained note, a player may use the whammy bar on the guitar to alter the tone of the note. Also, regardless of whether sustains are hit early or late, if the fret is held for the full duration of the hold, the game will always award the same amount of score increase for the note. In addition, the games support virtual implementations of "hammer-ons" and "pull-offs", guitar-playing techniques that are used to successfully play a fast series of notes by only changing the fingering on the fret buttons without having to strum each note. Sequences where strumming is not required are indicated on-screen by notes with a white outline at the top of the marker instead of the usual black one, with Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock adding a white-glowing effect to make these notes clearer.[89][90] Guitar Hero World Tour features transparent notes that are connected by a purple outline; players may either simply tap the correct fret for these notes without strumming or utilize a touchpad on World Tour's guitar controller to mimic the slide technique. In addition, notes can now be played while a sustained note is being played. World Tour also adds an open string note for bass players, represented by a line across the fret instead of any note gems, that is played by strumming without holding down any fret buttons (the sixth installment, Warriors of Rock, features an open note sustain for bass instruments as well).
Gameplay of a whole band in Guitar Hero World Tour playing Billy Idol's "Rebel Yell". On top are vocals, bottom from left to right: lead guitar, drums and bass guitar.
Guitar Hero World Tour introduced drums and vocal tracks in addition to lead and bass guitar. Drum tracks are played similar to guitar tracks; the player must strike the appropriate drum head or step down on the bass drum pedal on the controller when the note gems pass the indicated line. Certain note gems, when using a drum controller that is velocity-sensitive, are "armored", requiring the player to hit the indicated drum pad harder to score more points. Vocal tracks are played similar to games such as Karaoke Revolution where the player must match the pitch and the pacing of the lyrics to score points. Guitar Hero 5 allows players to create a band of up to four players using any combination of instruments.[91]
While the song is playing, the background visuals feature the players' chosen avatar, along with the rest of the band performing in one of several real and fictional venues. The reaction of the audience is based on the performance of the player judged by the Rock Meter. Guitar Hero II added special lighting and other stage effects that were synchronized to the music to provide a more complete concert experience.[89][90] The games developed by Neversoft feature a simple storyline, usually about a band's quest for fame, which is told through animations played throughout the game. These animations were created by Chris Prynoski and his studio, Titmouse, Inc., who have also done animations for the animated show Metalocalypse.[92]
Game modes
In Guitar Hero III's two-player "Battle Mode", each player attempts to interfere with their opponent's performance using special power-ups while avoiding being distracted by those thrown by the opponent.
The main mode of play in the Guitar Hero games is Career Mode, where the player and in-game band travel between various fictional performance arenas and perform sets of four to six songs. It is by completing songs in this mode that the songs are unlocked for play across the rest of the game. Players can choose their on-stage character, their guitar of choice, and the venue they wish to play in. In this mode, the player can earn money from his/her performances that is redeemable at the in-game store, where bonus songs, additional guitars and finishes, your characters clothing and bonus content can be unlocked. Quick Play mode is a quicker method of playing songs, as it allows the player to select a track and difficulty, selecting the character, venue, and guitar and guitar skin for the player based on the song chosen. After successfully completing a song, the player is given a score, a percentage of how many notes they hit and a rating from three to five stars, and two in rare cases depending on his/her final score on the song, with money being awarded in Guitar Hero World Tour.[89][90]
The games have also added multiplayer modes. Cooperative modes allow two players to play lead and either bass or rhythm guitar on the same song, working together towards the same score. A competitive Face-Off mode allows two players to play against each other at different difficulty levels, each attempting to earn the best score on a song. Each player plays different portions of the song. There is also a Pro Face-Off mode, where two players battle at the same difficulty level. Unlike standard Face-off, each player attempts to play all of the notes in a song, while still trying to earn the highest score. In Guitar Hero World Tour this was advanced on, as players could play a Pro Face-Off game against each other on any difficulty level, the lower your difficulty, the more points were awarded so a player on a low difficulty could potentially beat a player on a more challenging difficulty. Guitar Hero III introduced Boss Battles, in which two players face off against each other, attempt to collect "distractions" to throw at their opponent, trying to make them fail. With Guitar Hero World Tour, up to four players can play cooperatively on lead and bass guitar, drums, and vocals, while a total of eight players can compete in a Battle of the Bands. The Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Wii versions of the games support multiplayer modes over their respective network services.
The four difficulty levels for each song afford the player a learning curve in order to help him/her progress in skill. The first difficulty level, Easy, only focuses on the first three fret buttons while displaying a significantly reduced amount of notes for the player to play. Medium introduces the fourth (blue) fret button, and Hard includes the final fret button while adding additional notes. The addition of the orange fret button forces players to move their fingers up and down the neck. Expert does not introduce any other frets to learn, but adds more notes in a manner designed to challenge the player and to simulate the player's hands to move in a sequence similar to a real guitar. A difficulty added in World Tour is Beginner, which only requires the player to strum to the basic rhythm; holding the fret buttons becomes unnecessary.[89][90] Another new difficulty only for drums was added to Metallica known as Expert+, which uses the double bass pedal.
Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock is the sixth installment in the franchise and introduced a new take on the Career mode of previous games. Rather than being a quest for fame and glory with the band travelling through different venues, Warriors of Rock features the "Quest Mode" as the primary campaign mode. Quest Mode tells the story of an ancient warrior who was defeated by a powerful monster and his mystical guitar was lost. The player must amass a team of rockers to help recover this guitar and defeat the monster (called "The Beast"). As the player progresses through the mode, the rockers joining them will transform based on the number of stars earned from songs played. These transformations will empower the player with extra abilities in a song such as constant score multipliers or Star Power bonuses. These abilities are each unique to the individual rockers and by using them effectively, it is possible now to earn up to forty stars for a single song.
Characters and customization
When playing through Career mode or in other parts of the Guitar Hero games, the player has the option to select one of several pre-created avatar characters, who will be shown performing on stage as the player attempts a song, but otherwise has no effect on the gameplay. A certain number of characters are available at the start of the game, but the player must spend in-game money earned by successful performances to unlock other characters. Many of the characters reappear throughout the series, with the character roster changing as new characters are added or removed. Standby characters that have appeared in nearly all the games include the metalhead Axel Steel, extreme/Viking/thrash metalhead Lars Ümlaut, punk rocker Johnny Napalm, alternative rocker Judy Nails, and hard rocker Casey Lynch. The developers utilized these characters in more detail within Warriors of Rock, where each was given a unique setlist and venue based on their musical style, as well as a unique power within the game's Quest mode.
Several games in the series feature caricatures of celebrity artists, such as Slash, Tom Morello and Bret Michaels in Guitar Hero III, Ozzy Osbourne and Jimi Hendrix in World Tour, Kurt Cobain in Guitar Hero 5, and Taylor Swift and the band No Doubt in Band Hero. The band-specific games, Aerosmith, Metallica, and Van Halen also feature the members of the respective bands. However, in late 2009, both Courtney Love and the members of No Doubt sought legal action against Activision for the misuse of their in-game characters singing or performing songs by other artists, which the musicians believe fell outside of their contract.
The ability for the players to create their own avatars was added in Guitar Hero World Tour, and was based on Neversoft's existing character creation tools from the Tony Hawk series. Later games on the Xbox 360 and Wii allowed players to use the respective console's avatars as members of the band. In addition to unlocking characters, in-game money can be used to buy clothing, accessories and instruments that they are seen playing with. The guitars can also be customized with special finishes purchasable through the in-game store. Guitar Hero World Tour includes the ability to fully customize any component of the guitar. The in-game store in the series is also used to unlock bonus songs or special videos with interviews about the game or with the artists involved.
Soundtracks
Most of the games in the Guitar Hero series feature a selection of songs ranging from the 1960s to present day rock music from both highly successful artists and bands and independent groups. Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s features songs primarily from the 80s, while Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, Metallica, and Van Halen feature music from the respective bands and groups that inspired or worked with the bands. Songs with profanities have been censored.
Many of the Guitar Hero games developed for the recent generation of consoles (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Wii) support downloadable content, allowing players to purchase new songs to play in the respective titles. Songs each cost approximately $2 through the various online stores for the console's platform. Prior to Guitar Hero 5, downloadable content for earlier games will not work in other games in the series, save for songs from Metallica's Death Magnetic, which were available for Guitar Hero III, World Tour, and Metallica.[93] Existing World Tour downloadable content for World Tour will be forward-compatible with Guitar Hero 5, Band Hero[91] and Guitar Hero Warriors of Rock, and for a small fee, some songs from both Guitar Hero World Tour and Guitar Hero Smash Hits can be exported to both Guitar Hero 5 and Band Hero, limited by music licensing.[94] Activision has also stated that they are considering a monthly subscription service to deliver downloadable content to user for future games.[95] Guitar Hero World Tour introduced a music creation mode that will allow players to create and share songs (excluding vocals) via the "GHTunes" service, which was also used in all other Guitar Hero games and Band Hero since its inclusion. The creation tools were improved with Guitar Hero 5 and Band Hero to allow longer songs and other means of generating songs in real-time.
In the first two games and the 2007 expansion Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s, the majority of the songs on the main career mode set lists are covers of the original song; for example, a song may be presented as "Free Bird as made famous by Lynyrd Skynyrd".[96] Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock introduces a much larger range of original recordings, and World Tour featured a setlist that contained all master recordings. The covers throughout the games are mostly recreated by WaveGroup Sound who has worked before to create songs for Beatmania, Dance Dance Revolution, and Karaoke Revolution,[97] making small changes to the guitar portions to make them more adaptable for gameplay.[98] Almost all of the unlockable bonus songs are songs performed by the original artist for the game (the only exception is the song "She Bangs the Drums" by The Stone Roses, which is featured in Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock).
Prior to the release of Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock, Activision worked with the iTunes Store to provide more than 1300 tracks of Guitar Hero-related music across more than 20 compilations, including most of the tracks from the games in the series, called "Guitar Hero Essentials". These compilations, such as "Killer Guitar Solos" and "Guitar Anthems of the '80s", include songs related to but not contained within the Guitar Hero series. Dusty Welch of RedOctane stated, "Where there’s music, there’s Guitar Hero, and with iTunes, we are able to provide fans with a central location for downloading their favorite rock anthems."[99] Following the merger of Activision and Blizzard, the new company announced that it planned on creating an alternative to iTunes based on the Guitar Hero brand that would allow for downloading songs and their associated note tracks for the Guitar Hero games.[100]
Reception and sales
Aggregate review scores As of December 25, 2010. Game GameRankings Metacritic Guitar Hero (PS2) 91.96%[101] (PS2) 91[102] Guitar Hero II (X360) 92.29%[103] (PS2) 92.07%[104] (X360) 92[105] (PS2) 92[106] Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (Wii) 86.26%[107] (X360) 85.75%[108] (PS2) 85.50%[109] (PS3) 83.77%[110] (PC) 78.00%[111] (Wii) 86[112] (X360) 85[113] (PS3) 83[114] (PS2) 82[115] (PC) 79[116] Guitar Hero World Tour (Wii) 86.28%[117] (X360) 84.44%[118] (PS3) 83.33%[119] (PS2) 81.20%[120] (Wii) 86[121] (X360) 85[122] (PS3) 84[123] Guitar Hero 5 (Wii) 89.58%[124] (PS3) 86.58%[125] (X360) 85.66%[126] (PS2) 45.00%[127] (Wii) 89[128] (PS3) 86[129] (X360) 85[130] (PS2) 71[131] Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock (Wii) 80.07%[132] (X360) 75.20%[133] (PS3) 74.35%[134] (Wii) 77[135] (PS3) 74[136] (X360) 72[137] Games in the Guitar Hero series have been generally well received by critics. The initial games were highly praised by reviewers.[138][139][140][141] Neversoft's first entry to the series, Guitar Hero III, was considered to be too difficult, with many difficult songs presenting players with "walls of notes"; the developers later acknowledged this.[142][143][144] Subsequent efforts in Guitar Hero: Aerosmith and Guitar Hero World Tour were seen to have some improvements, with Guitar Hero: Metallica considered to be a well-polished title and, at that time, the best Guitar Hero title Neversoft has produced.[145][146] Guitar Hero 5's improvements toward social gameplay were complemented by reviewers and considered a further improvement upon the series. Entertainment Weekly put it on its end-of-the-decade, "best-of" list, saying, "An addictive videogame provides the illusion of musical mastery for even the least gifted:. How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Tap, tap, tap."[147] Upon release, the first game was seen as an unexpected hit, earning over US$45 million with about 1.5 million copies sold.[148][149][150] Guitar Hero II was significantly more financially successful, with over 1.3 million copies sold and sales over US$200 million.[148][151] Guitar Hero III, according to Activision, was the first single video game to sell more than US$1 billion at retail, with nearly 3.5 million copies sold during the first seven months of 2008.[152][153] World Tour continued the series' high sales records with 3.4 million units sold in the United States during 2008.[154] More than 60 million downloadable tracks have been purchased across the series as of February 2010.[14] Both Guitar Hero III and World Tour were listed on a March 2011 list from the NPD Group of top grossing games in unadjusted sales in the United States since 1995; Guitar Hero III tops the list with total sales of $830.9 million.[155] Overall, the Guitar Hero series has sold more than 25 million units worldwide, earning US$2 billion at retail. Activision claimed the series to be the 3rd largest game franchise in 2009 after the Mario and Madden NFL franchises.[156][157][158][159] Cultural impact
Main article: Cultural impact of the Guitar Hero series The Guitar Hero series has made a significant cultural impact, becoming a "cultural phenomenon".[36][160] The series has helped to rekindle music education in children, influenced changes in both the video game and music industry, has found use in health and treatment of recovering patients, and has become part of the popular culture vernacular. Several journalists, including 1UP.com,[161] Wired,[162] G4TV,[163] the San Jose Mercury News,[164] Inc.,[165] The Guardian,[166] and Advertising Age,[167] considered Guitar Hero to be one of the most influential products of the first decade of the 21st century, attributing it as the spark leading to the growth of the rhythm game market, for boosting music sales for both new and old artists, for introducing more social gaming concepts to the video game market, and, in conjunction with the Wii, for improving interactivity with gaming consoles. Legal and practical issues
PlayStation 3 incompatibility Sony's PlayStation 3 console has no compatibility with the PlayStation 2 Guitar Hero controller on the system. While Guitar Hero and Guitar Hero II are fully backward-compatible through the hardware PlayStation 2 emulation in the initial North American release of the console, it was impossible at launch to use the guitar controller to play either game. Kai Huang, of RedOctane, states that they are "working on that with Sony right now – looking at how we can get all the PlayStation 2 guitars that are out there, and all the owners of them, to use them on the PlayStation 3."[168] Nyko, an accessories company, was poised to make a special PlayStation 2 controller adapter for the PlayStation 3, but put the product on hold due to technical difficulties. Also, Tac, another accessories company, also made a PlayStation 2 controller adapter for a PlayStation 3 game console so people can use their Guitar Hero guitar controllers that were made for PlayStation 2 to be used with a PlayStation 3 game console.[169] However, the May 2007 PlayStation 3 V1.80 system update has made the guitar controller compatible with generic PlayStation 2 controller to USB adapters when playing Guitar Hero and Guitar Hero II.[170] In addition, Pelican has released a special PlayStation 2 to PlayStation 3 controller adapter that supports both games, including the ability to switch the handedness of the guitar.[171] At present, most PS2-to-USB adapters have issues with hammer-ons and pull-offs. The Ant Commandos have produced an adapter that allows hammer-ons to be played. This is the only known adapter that allows this, however it is only designed and guaranteed for using PlayStation 2 guitar controllers with PlayStation 3 Guitar Hero and Rock Band games and as such is incompatible with Guitar Hero II and Rock the 80s. Both games can still be played using the shoulder buttons on a standard controller. Patent litigation Gibson Guitar Corporation, whose guitar likenesses have appeared in the Guitar Hero series from the first game to Guitar Hero Aerosmith, informed Activision on January 7, 2008, that it believed the games infringe its U.S. Patent 5,990,405. Gibson claimed that this covers technology that simulates a concert performance via pre-recorded audio and a musical instrument. In response, Activision filed a suit seeking a declaration that it was not in violation of the Gibson patent; Activision also asserted that Gibson had given an implied license by waiting to assert the patent and that the patent was invalid.[172] On March 17, 2008, Gibson sued six retailers (GameStop, Amazon.com, Wal-Mart, Target, Toys "R" Us and Kmart) for selling Guitar Hero products.[173][174] Subsequently, on March 21, 2008, Gibson also filed a lawsuit against EA, MTV, and Harmonix over their game Rock Band also for violation of its patent, to which a Harmonix spokesperson stated that Gibson's claims are "completely without merit".[175] Activision lawyer Mary Tuck stated in their legal filings that they believe that Gibson initiated the lawsuit due to the fact that "Activision was not [interested] in renewing the License and Marketing Support Agreement" with Gibson Guitars.[176] In February 2009, the United States District Court for the Central District of California ruled against Gibson in their case against Activision, stating that the controllers are not musical instruments but "toys that represent other items", and that Gibson's patent only covers instruments that send out analog signals.[177][178] Activision and Gibson settled the suit following this ruling.[179] Activision, through John Devecka,[180] owns all of Devecka Enterprises' US and international patents[181][182][183] that deal with music games. All patents issued by the USPTO are presumed valid.[184][185] In February 2010, Activision was sued by the Patent Compliance Group (PCG) for releasing Guitar Hero products with false patent claims, with the PCG asserting that games like Guitar Hero 5 and Band Hero were marked with up to 10 patents that are not used within the games along with several other improper patent pending claims. PCG claims that "Acts of false marketing deter innovation and stifle competition in the marketplace." PCG's qui tam lawsuit is seeking up to $500 per unit sold if Activision is found liable.[186] Oversaturation
A timeline of the major North American releases for the Guitar Hero series Many critics believed that the number of releases of Guitar Hero games was "milking" the brand name and oversaturating the market.[13][187][188] PaRappa the Rapper creator Masaya Matsuura stated that the video game market was growing stale and needed to move beyond games that simply challenge the player to mimic the playing of licensed music.[189] Ryan Geddes of IGN stated that he "hit the wall with play-along music games", and challenged the game makers to explore other ways to combine music and video games.[190] Analysts stated that such games must continue to innovate instead of just providing more songs in order to prevent "genre fatigue".[191] Jesse Divnich of Electronic Entertainment and Design Research commented that, much like Dance Dance Revolution, Guitar Hero and other music games explosively grew initially due to significant new features from other games but have become stagnant due to focusing on content over features, and suggested that for the genre to continue to grow, they must look to incremental changes as done with the first-person shooter genre.[192] Former CEO for RedOctane, Kelly Sumner, believed that Activision "abused" the series, as "they tried to get too much out of the franchise too quickly".[193] The series has also been criticized for its release model in contrast to the Rock Band series, causing some players to hold contempt towards Activision.[194][195] Harmonix considered the Rock Band series as a "music platform", and supported it with downloadable content and the ability to import songs from its games and expansions into most other games of the series.[196] Critics argued that Guitar Hero should have been doing the same, either through releasing expansions that could be incorporated into the main games of the series, or by issuing the songs as downloadable content.[197][198][199][200] The release of Guitar Hero: Smash Hits, reworking older songs from the series to full four-instrument band support but otherwise adding no additional material, was called "the definition of 'milking'" by reviewers, with no observable technical limitation as to why the songs could not be added as downloadable content.[194][198][201][202][203] Ars Technica recognized that licensing issues might have limited when songs from one single game could be played in others of the series (such as the case for The Beatles: Rock Band), but that such cross-compatibility should have been a high priority for rhythm games.[204] Furthermore, some expansions were praised for the additional content beyond the note-matching gameplay; Guitar Hero: Metallica is considered to be one of the series' best works to be developed by Neversoft in part due to the care that the developers took with imaging the band and the available extras for the game.[197] Activision later revealed that both Guitar Hero 5 and Band Hero would support playing songs from both Guitar Hero World Tour (both on-disc and downloadable content) and Guitar Hero Smash Hits, with music licensing being the only limiting factor on which songs could be made forward-compatible.[94] The large number of Guitar Hero and Rock Band titles on the market is considered to be partially responsible for the sharp decline of music game sales in the latter half of 2009, along with the effects of the late-2000s recession.[11][13][187][205] The market for rhythm games was $1.4 billion in 2008, but dropped to $700 million in 2009 even though more titles were available that year.[206] Former Neversoft project director Brian Bright noted that at one point in 2009, they were responsible for the release of three games that year (Guitar Hero 5, Metallica, and Band Hero) and supporting other studios for the development of two additional games, causing the studio to lose focus both in development and marketing efforts.[207] According to Bright, sales of all the Guitar Hero games released in 2009 totaled the number of sales of the 2008 title World Tour, demonstrating the dilution of the marketing.[207] Though Activision had originally planned on tripling the offerings of the Guitar Hero series in 2010,[208][209][210] the company readjusted their plans, reducing the number of offerings and focusing more on selling digital downloadable content for the series.[211] Only two titles, Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock and DJ Hero 2 were released in 2010,[14] both scheduled for the "back half of 2010".[212] Analysts believe that the market will evolve to support a smaller number of titles each year, averaging at a "healthy" value $500–600 million in revenues annually.[206] Kotick believed that part of the downfall of Guitar Hero was due to Activision's introduction of DJ Hero, which they gave too much focus and left the core Guitar Hero games without the "nourishment and care" needed to continue to innovate in the series.[23] Activision Publishing chief executive Mike Griffith, in response to questions about Activision's approach to the Guitar Hero market, noted that Guitar Hero continues to outsell the Rock Band series in both number of sales and revenue, with consumers continuing to buy the separate games on the market, and considered the market acceptance of the multiple games as validation for their model.[213] Regardless, after releasing 25 different SKUs (between games and bundle packages) in 2009, Activision opted to reduce that number to 10 in 2010, recognizing the music game genre was not as profitable as it once was.[14] Activision later opted to put future development of the series on hold in early 2011 citing weak sales in the rhythm game genre, a move that many journalists attributed to Activision's earlier oversaturation.[214][215][216][217] List of games
All games are published by Activision, except the first Guitar Hero and the PS2 version of Guitar Hero II, which were published by RedOctane. Year Title Developer(s) Platform PS2 PS3 360 Wii Win Mac DS Phone Other Main games 2005 Guitar Hero Harmonix Yes No No No No No No No No 2006 Guitar Hero II Yes No Yes No No No No No No 2007 Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock Neversoft Budcat Creations (PS2) Vicarious Visions (Wii) Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No 2008 Guitar Hero World Tour Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No 2009 Guitar Hero 5 Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No No No 2010 Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock Neversoft Vicarious Visions (Wii) No Yes Yes Yes No No No No No Band-centric games 2008 Guitar Hero: Aerosmith Neversoft Budcat Creations (PS2) Vicarious Visions (Wii) Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No 2009 Guitar Hero: Metallica Neversoft Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No No No Guitar Hero: Van Halen Neversoft Underground Development (X360) Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No No No Expansion games 2007 Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s Harmonix Yes No No No No No No No No 2009 Guitar Hero Smash Hits Beenox Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No No No Band Hero Neversoft Budcat Creations (PS2) Vicarious Visions (Wii/DS) Yes Yes Yes Yes No No Yes[Note 1] No No DJ Hero 2009 DJ Hero FreeStyleGames Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No No No 2010 DJ Hero 2 No Yes Yes Yes No No No No No Portable games 2008 Guitar Hero: On Tour Vicarious Visions No No No No No No Yes[Note 2] No No Guitar Hero On Tour: Decades No No No No No No Yes[Note 2] No No 2009 Guitar Hero on Tour: Modern Hits No No No No No No Yes[Note 2] No No Mobile series 2007 Guitar Hero III Mobile Machineworks Northwest No No No No No No No Yes No 2008 Guitar Hero III Backstage Pass No No No No No No No Yes No Guitar Hero World Tour Mobile No No No No No No No Yes No 2009 Guitar Hero 5 Mobile Glu Mobile No No No No No No No Yes No Other 2007 Guitar Hero Carabiner Basic Fun, Inc. No No No No No No No No Yes 2009 Guitar Hero Arcade Raw Thrills No No No No No No No No Yes 2010 Guitar Hero (iOS) Vicarious Visions No No No No No No No Yes Yes Jump up ^ Compatible only with Nintendo DS Lite. The Guitar Grip peripheral plugs into SLOT-2 of the Nintendo DS Lite, which the DSi and 3DS does not have, and the drum peripheral is sized to fit the DS Lite. ^ Jump up to: a b c Not compatible with Nintendo DSi series or Nintendo 3DS, as the Guitar Grip peripheral plugs into SLOT-2 on the Nintendo DS and DS Lite, which the DSi and 3DS does not have. See also
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Guitar Hero (video game). Alex Necochea and Bryn Bennett: the 'Guitar Heroes' of Bang Camaro on Wikinews "Guitar Queer-O", an episode of South Park Rocksmith, a 2011 video game similar to Guitar Hero that uses a real guitar to learn to play songs. Notes
Jump up ^ Lynch, Kevin (2009-11-06). "Game review: Band Hero". The Mirror. Retrieved 2009-12-06. Jump up ^ Johnson, Brent (2007-08-30). "While their guitars gently screech". The Daily Iowan. Retrieved 2008-07-24.[dead link] Jump up ^ Stevens, Jim (2008-10-16). "More guitar hero world tour tidbits". Mercury News. Retrieved 2010-09-22. Jump up ^ Saltzman, Marc (2009-01-17). "Guitar Hero investment pays off". Toronto Star. Retrieved 2009-01-17. Jump up ^ "Next venue for 'Guitar Hero III': PCs, Macs". ZDNet. 2007-09-12. Retrieved 2008-04-01. Jump up ^ Faylor, Chris (2007-09-26). "How Neversoft Took Over Guitar Hero". Shacknews. Retrieved 2008-07-24. Jump up ^ Carless, Simon (2010-02-18). "DICE 2010: Kotick Talks Passion For Industry, Debuts Indie Contest". Gamasutra. Retrieved 2010-02-19. Jump up ^ Faylor, Chris (2008-11-10). "Activision Buys Guitar Hero PS2 Developer Budcat, Working on 'New Guitar Hero Game'". Shacknews. Retrieved 2008-11-10. Jump up ^ Bierut, Michael (2009-09-01). "New Work: Guitar Hero". Pentagram. Retrieved 2009-09-03. Jump up ^ Boyer, Brandon (2009-09-03). "Type Heroes: Pentagram takes you behind the font of Guitar Hero". Offworld. Retrieved 2009-09-03.[dead link] ^ Jump up to: a b Alexander, Leigh (2009-10-20). "Analyst: Mixed September NPD Means More Choppy Waters Ahead For Industry". Gamasutra. Retrieved 2009-10-20. Jump up ^ Fredrick, Logan (2009-02-12). "Guitar Hero Gets "Greatest Hits"". The Escapist. Retrieved 2009-02-16. ^ Jump up to: a b c "Activision has three new IPs for 2009". Edge. 2009-02-12. Retrieved 2009-02-16. ^ Jump up to: a b c d Nunneley, Stephany (2010-02-10). "Acti Bliz slashes music SKUs, 60 million Guitar Hero songs downloaded". VG247. Retrieved 2010-02-10. ^ Jump up to: a b Watts, Steve (2010-02-11). "Activision Confirms Studio Layoffs". 1UP.com. Retrieved 2010-02-11. Jump up ^ Orland, Kyle (2010-11-16). "Report: Activision Closes Guitar Hero, Band Hero Co-Dev Budcat". Gamasutra. Retrieved 2010-11-16. Jump up ^ McWheator, Michael (2011-02-09). "Activision Just Killed Guitar Hero And True Crime". Kotaku. Retrieved 2011-02-09. Jump up ^ Yin-Poole, Wesley (2011-02-09). "Activision kills Guitar Hero". Eurogamer. Retrieved 2011-02-09. Jump up ^ Dutton, Fred (2011-02-09). "Acti explains Guitar Hero, True Crime cul". Eurogamer. Retrieved 2011-02-09. Jump up ^ Dutton, Fred (2011-02-09). "DJ Hero joins Guitar Hero on scrap". Eurogamer. Retrieved 2011-02-09. Jump up ^ Rose, Mike (2011-04-12). "Activision: Guitar Hero Not Finished, 'On Hiatus' For Now". Gamasutra. Retrieved 2011-04-12. Jump up ^ Ivan, Tom (2011-04-12). "Guitar Hero 'on hiatus' for now - Activision". Computer And Video Games. Retrieved 2011-04-12. ^ Jump up to: a b Ewalt, David (2011-07-20). "Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick: How To Be An Innovator". Forbes. Retrieved 2011-07-21. Jump up ^ Thompson, Mike (2012-02-22). "Activision Smashes Guitar Hero Reboot Plans". Escapist. Retrieved 2012-10-07. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e Tolito, Stephen (2012-12-05). "Guitar Hero 7 Was Going To Have Six-String Guitars, No Drums, No Singing. Was Cancelled In 2011". Kotaku. Retrieved 2012-12-05. Jump up ^ Yin-Poole, Wesley (2011-02-10). "What next for Guitar Hero DLC?". Eurogamer. Retrieved 2011-02-10. Jump up ^ de Matos, Xav (2011-02-26). "'Continued support' from fans reignites DLC possibilities for Guitar Hero and DJ Hero". Shacknews. Retrieved 2011-04-12. Jump up ^ Helgeson, Matt (2014-03-18). "Guitar Hero DLC Catalog To Be Shut Down Soon". Game Informer. Retrieved 2014-03-18. Jump up ^ Pereria, Chris (2014-03-18). "Guitar Hero Downloadable Song Catalog Going Away Soon". IGN. Retrieved 2014-03-18. Jump up ^ (Simons 2007, p. 69) Jump up ^ (Simons 2007, p. 160) ^ Jump up to: a b Simons, Iain (2007-12-05). "Book Excerpt: Inside Game Design: Harmonix Music Systems". Gamasutra. Retrieved 2008-07-24. Jump up ^ "Harmonix Interview". Edge. 2008-10-20. Retrieved 2008-10-21. Jump up ^ Kohler, Chris (2007-09-14). "Full-On Rock Band Makes Jamming Follow-Up to Guitar Hero". Wired. Retrieved 2008-07-24. Jump up ^ "NPD Releases December Numbers, Fanboys Riot". 1UP.com. Retrieved 2008-04-01. ^ Jump up to: a b Zezima, K. (2007-07-14). "Virtual Frets, Actual Sweat: The New Karaoke". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-07-24. Jump up ^ Boyer, Brandon (2007-08-01). "Janco: Guitar Hero To Add New Instruments In 2008". Gamasutra. Retrieved 2008-07-24. Jump up ^ Elliot, Phil (2007-12-03). "Activision Blizzard fact sheet reveals some unannounced titles in the pipeline". Game Industry Biz. Retrieved 2007-12-03. Jump up ^ Hatfield, Daemon (2008-04-21). "Guitar Hero IV Branching Out". IGN. Retrieved 2008-04-22. ^ Jump up to: a b c "Guitar Hero 4: Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy Meets Reality". Game Informer. June 2008. pp. 48–57. Jump up ^ Breckon, Nick (2008-12-03). "Guitar Hero 5, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, New Tony Hawk Controller Confirmed by Activision". Shacknews. Retrieved 2008-12-03. Jump up ^ "Carlos Santana Grooves in Guitar Hero 5". idiomag. 2009-07-21. Retrieved 2009-07-24. Jump up ^ King, Ryan (June 2010). "Guitar Hero 6". Official Xbox Magazine UK. pp. 56–57. Jump up ^ Change, Justin (July 2010). "Hero's Quest". Nintendo Power. pp. 58–59. Jump up ^ Garret, Patrick (2010-03-12). "Gene Simmons to be the "voice" of Guitar Hero 6". VG247. Retrieved 2010-03-12. Jump up ^ "New EGM reveals Guitar Hero : 1980s Edition (PS2)". Joystiq. Retrieved 2008-04-01. Jump up ^ Graff, Gary (2007-09-04). "Aerosmith Hitting The Studio In November". Billboard. Retrieved 2008-07-24. Jump up ^ "World Renowned Recording Group Aerosmith Rocks This Way to Guitar Hero(R): Aerosmith(R)". Activision, Inc. 2008-02-15. Retrieved 2008-02-15. Jump up ^ Goldstein, Marteen (2008-02-15). "Rock This Way With Guitar Hero: Aerosmith". Shacknews. Retrieved 2008-02-15. Jump up ^ "Guitar Hero: Aerosmith Home Page". RedOctane. Retrieved 2008-02-15. Jump up ^ "Next Guitar Hero Game Aerosmith Only". 1UP.com. 2008-02-15. Retrieved 2008-02-15. ^ Jump up to: a b "Guitar Hero: Metallica". Game Informer. January 2009. pp. 40–43. Jump up ^ "E3 2008: Activision Announces Partnership with Metallica for Release of New Record for Guitar Hero". IGN. 2008-07-15. Retrieved 2008-07-15. Jump up ^ Brudvig, Erik (2009-03-04). "Guitar Hero Compilation Revealed". IGN. Retrieved 2009-03-04. ^ Jump up to: a b Faylor, Chris (2009-02-11). "Three New Guitar Hero Games Coming This Year, Activision Planning 'Major Restage' of Franchise". Shacknews. Retrieved 2009-02-11. Jump up ^ "Guitar Hero: Van Halen due in Nov/Dec 2009". Van Halen News Desk. 2009-06-23. Retrieved 2009-07-23. ^ Jump up to: a b O'Conner, Alice (2009-05-07). "DJ Hero, Guitar Hero 5, Guitar Hero Van Halen and Band Hero Announced". Shacknews. Retrieved 2009-05-07. Jump up ^ Chester, Nick (2009-06-02). "E3 09: Here's a look at Guitar Hero: Van Halen". Destructoid. Retrieved 2009-06-02. Jump up ^ Faylor, Chris (2009-07-23). "Band Hero Brings Portable Drum Action to DS Lite". Shacknews. Retrieved 2009-07-23. Jump up ^ Snider, Mike (2009-08-04). "Taylor Swift: Band Heroine". USA Today. Retrieved 2009-08-04. Jump up ^ Faylor, Chris (2008-09-12). "Activision Buys Music Game Dev. FreeStyleGames, Will Create Guitar Hero DLC and New Music Title". Shacknews. Retrieved 2008-09-12. Jump up ^ "The Eurogamer TV Show: Activision Roundup" (Flash Video). Eurogamer. 2009-06-12. Retrieved 2009-06-12. ^ Jump up to: a b Bramwell, Tom (2010-06-08). "DJ Hero 2 due out this autumn". Eurogamer. Retrieved 2010-06-08. Jump up ^ Harris, Craig (2008-03-13). "Exclusive Reveal: Guitar Hero DS". IGN. Retrieved 2008-03-19. ^ Jump up to: a b Linde, Aaron (2008-07-15). "Guitar Hero: On Tour Decades Unveiled". Shacknews. Retrieved 2008-07-15. Jump up ^ Faylor, Chris (2008-10-16). "Activision Trademarks Guitar Hero Modern Hits". Shacknews. Retrieved 2008-12-28. Jump up ^ Faylor, Chris (2008-12-26). "ESRB Leaks Guitar Hero Modern Hits Details". Shacknews. Retrieved 2008-12-28. Jump up ^ Breckon, Nick (2009-03-05). "Guitar Hero DS 'Modern Hits' Officially Announced". Shacknews. Retrieved 2009-03-05. Jump up ^ Kollar, Phillip (2008-12-26). "ESRB Leaks Guitar Hero Modern Hits for DS: News from 1UP.com". 1UP.com. Retrieved 2008-12-26. Jump up ^ Podolsky, Andrew (2008-06-13). "'Guitar Hero Mobile' a Smashing Success". PC Magazine. Retrieved 2008-06-23. Jump up ^ "Guitar Hero III: Backstage Pass Is Ready to Rock Your Phone". IGN. 2008-07-18. Retrieved 2008-07-18. Jump up ^ Dredge, Stuart (2008-09-10). "Guitar Hero World Tour coming to mobile phones". Pocket Gamer. Retrieved 2008-09-10. Jump up ^ Cowen, Danny (2009-06-24). "Activision Taps Glu for Mobile Modern Warfare 2, Guitar Hero 5". Gamasutra. Retrieved 2009-06-25. Jump up ^ "Basic Fun Launches Guitar Hero Carabiner at Toy Fair 2008, 2008-02-17 – 2008-02-20, Booth #1633". Yahoo!. 2008-02-13. Retrieved 2008-03-11. Jump up ^ Miller, Paul (2008-02-18). "Guitar Hero Carabiner hands-on". Engadget. Retrieved 2008-03-11. Jump up ^ Klepek, Patrick (2008-12-08). "'Guitar Hero Arcade' Is Based On 'GH III,' Developer Explains Konami's Surprising Involvement". MTV. Retrieved 2008-12-08. Jump up ^ Caroli, Eric (2009-12-21). "ASCAP Wants Licensing Fees From Guitar Hero Arcade Operator". Game Set Watch. Retrieved 2009-12-21. Jump up ^ Faylor, Chris (2010-02-10). "No More Guitar Hero Games on PlayStation 2". Shacknews. Retrieved 2010-02-10. Jump up ^ Sinclair, Brian (2010-02-12). "RedOctane closed by Activision?". Gamespot. Retrieved 2010-02-12. Jump up ^ Nunneley, Stephany (2010-02-23). "Report: RedOctane founders to remain at Activision". VG247. Retrieved 2010-02-26. Jump up ^ Nunneley, Stephany (2010-02-12). "Report: Luxoflux and Underground Development closed, RedOctane layoffs". VG247. Retrieved 2010-02-12. Jump up ^ Sinclair, Brendan (2007-01-17). "Activision calls dibs on Guitar Villain, Drum Villain". GameSpot. Retrieved 2008-07-24. Jump up ^ Robinson, Martin (2009-03-11). "Sing Hero Registered". IGN. Retrieved 2009-03-11. Jump up ^ Warmoth, Brian (2009-11-09). "Activision Files 'Drum Hero' Trademark". MTV. Retrieved 2009-11-17. Jump up ^ Spenser (2013-01-02). "Sing Hero Is The Activision Music Game That Never Was". Siliconera. Retrieved 2013-01-02. Jump up ^ Pigna, Kris (2010-01-18). "Megadeth Tease Potential for Guitar Hero Project. Due to the tracklist for Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock, a Guitar Hero: Megadeth may not be in the works". 1UP.com. Retrieved 2010-01-18. Jump up ^ Pigna, Kris. "Red Hot Chili Peppers Getting Guitar Hero Game?". 1UP. Jump up ^ Sinclair, Brendan (2009-06-01). "Starcraft II byend of 2009, Call of Duty expanding to new genres". Gamespot. Retrieved 2009-06-01. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h BradyGames (2006). Guitar Hero II Official Strategy Guide. BradyGames. ISBN 0-7440-0854-9. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h Harmonix (2006-11-07). Guitar Hero II. PlayStation 2. RedOctane. ^ Jump up to: a b Faylor, Chris (2009-05-15). "First Guitar Hero 5 Songs Include Johnny Cash; Compatibility with GH World Tour DLC Confirmed". Shacknews. Retrieved 2009-05-15. Jump up ^ "Titmouse Opens Game Studio". IGN. 2009-03-19. Retrieved 2009-04-10. Jump up ^ Crecente, Brian (2008-09-08). "Metallica's New Album Hits Guitar Hero Friday". Kotaku. Retrieved 2008-09-11. ^ Jump up to: a b Brudvig, Erik (2009-08-07). "Guitar Hero 5 Hands-on". IGN. Retrieved 2009-08-07. Jump up ^ Ellison, Blake (2008-09-16). "Guitar Hero DLC Subscription Being Evaluated by Activision, Plans to Make Lots of Money". Shacknews. Retrieved 2008-09-16. Jump up ^ "Rocktastic: How Guitar Hero brought stardom to the masses". London: The Independent. 2009-04-16. Retrieved 2009-04-16. Jump up ^ Mullen, Michael (2007-10-24). "Creating the Songs Behind Guitar Hero III". GameBizDaily. Retrieved 2007-10-24. Jump up ^ Hochberg, Bill (2008-08-02). "Guitar Hero, Rock Band and the Rock 'n' Roll Money Machine". Wired. Retrieved 2008-09-25. Jump up ^ "Guitar Hero Essentials Now Available on iTunes". Activision. 2007-10-23. Retrieved 2007-10-23. Jump up ^ Garrahan, Matthew; Nutrall, Chris (2008-07-10). "Activision aims to take on iTunes". Financial Times. Retrieved 2009-01-02. Jump up ^ "Guitar Hero Reviews". GameRankings. Retrieved 25 December 2010. Jump up ^ "Guitar Hero Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 25 December 2010. Jump up ^ "Guitar Hero II Reviews". GameRankings. Retrieved 25 December 2010. Jump up ^ "Guitar Hero II Reviews". GameRankings. Retrieved 25 December 2010. Jump up ^ "Guitar Hero II Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 25 December 2010. Jump up ^ "Guitar Hero II Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 25 December 2010. Jump up ^ "Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock Reviews". GameRankings. Retrieved 25 December 2010. Jump up ^ "Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock Reviews". GameRankings. Retrieved 25 December 2010. Jump up ^ "Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock Reviews". GameRankings. Retrieved 25 December 2010. Jump up ^ "Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock Reviews". GameRankings. Retrieved 25 December 2010. Jump up ^ "Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock Reviews". GameRankings. Retrieved 25 December 2010. Jump up ^ "Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 25 December 2010. Jump up ^ "Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 25 December 2010. Jump up ^ "Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 25 December 2010. Jump up ^ "Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 25 December 2010. Jump up ^ "Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 25 December 2010. Jump up ^ "Guitar Hero World Tour Reviews". GameRankings. Retrieved 25 December 2010. Jump up ^ "Guitar Hero World Tour Reviews". GameRankings. Retrieved 25 December 2010. Jump up ^ "Guitar Hero World Tour Reviews". GameRankings. Retrieved 25 December 2010. Jump up ^ "Guitar Hero World Tour Reviews". GameRankings. Retrieved 25 December 2010. Jump up ^ "Guitar Hero World Tour Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 25 December 2010. Jump up ^ "Guitar Hero World Tour Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 25 December 2010. Jump up ^ "Guitar Hero World Tour Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 25 December 2010. Jump up ^ "Guitar Hero 5 for Wii - GameRankings". GameRankings. Retrieved 25 December 2010. Jump up ^ "Guitar Hero 5 for PlayStation 3 - GameRankings". GameRankings. Retrieved 25 December 2010. Jump up ^ "Guitar Hero 5 for Xbox 360 - GameRankings". GameRankings. Retrieved 25 December 2010. Jump up ^ "Guitar Hero 5 for PlayStation 2 - GameRankings". GameRankings. Retrieved 25 December 2010. Jump up ^ "Guitar Hero 5 for Wii Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic". Metacritic. Retrieved 25 December 2010. Jump up ^ "Guitar Hero 5 for PlayStation 3 Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic". Metacritic. Retrieved 25 December 2010. Jump up ^ "Guitar Hero 5 for Xbox 360 Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic". Metacritic. Retrieved 25 December 2010. Jump up ^ "Guitar Hero 5 for PlayStation 2 Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic". Metacritic. Retrieved 25 December 2010. Jump up ^ "Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock for Wii - GameRankings". GameRankings. Retrieved 25 December 2010. Jump up ^ "Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock for Xbox 360 - GameRankings". GameRankings. Retrieved 25 December 2010. Jump up ^ "Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock for PlayStation 3 - GameRankings". GameRankings. Retrieved 25 December 2010. Jump up ^ "Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock for Wii Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic". Metacritic. Retrieved 25 December 2010. Jump up ^ "Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock for PlayStation 3 Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic". Metacritic. Retrieved 25 December 2010. Jump up ^ "Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock for Xbox 360 Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic". Metacritic. Retrieved 25 December 2010. Jump up ^ Roper, Chris (2005-11-02). "Guitar Hero (Game & Guitar Controller Bundle) Review". IGN. Retrieved 2008-07-24. Jump up ^ Gerstmann, Jeff (2005-11-01). "Guitar Hero for PlayStation 2 Review". GameSpot. Retrieved 2008-07-24.[dead link] Jump up ^ Roper, Chris (2006-11-03). "Guitar Hero II Review (PS2)". IGN. Retrieved 2008-07-24. Jump up ^ Brudvig, Erik (2007-03-30). "Guitar Hero II (Game Controller and Game Bundle) review". IGN. Retrieved 2008-07-24. Jump up ^ Brudvig, Erik (2007-10-28). "IGN Guitar Hero III review". IGN. Retrieved 2008-07-24. Jump up ^ "GameSpy Guitar Hero III review". GameSpy. 2007-10-29. Retrieved 2008-07-24. Jump up ^ Snider, Mike (2008-12-15). "'Guitar Hero' strikes the right chord with Metallica". USA Today. Retrieved 2008-12-19. Jump up ^ Parkin, Simon (2009-04-14). "Guitar Hero: Metallica". EuroGamer. Retrieved 2009-04-17. Jump up ^ McCaffrey, Ryan (2009-03-30). "Guitar Hero: Metallica". Official Xbox Magazine. Retrieved 2009-03-31. Jump up ^ Geier, Thom; Jensen, Jeff; Jordan, Tina; Lyons, Margaret; Markovitz, Adam; Nashawaty, Chris; Pastorek, Whitney; Rice, Lynette; Rottenberg, Josh; Schwartz, Missy; Slezak, Michael; Snierson, Dan; Stack, Tim; Stroup, Kate; Tucker, Ken; Vary, Adam B.; Vozick-Levinson, Simon; Ward, Kate (December 11, 2009), "THE 100 Greatest MOVIES, TV SHOWS, ALBUMS, BOOKS, CHARACTERS, SCENES, EPISODES, SONGS, DRESSES, MUSIC VIDEOS, AND TRENDS THAT ENTERTAINED US OVER THE PAST 10 YEARS". Entertainment Weekly. (1079/1080):74-84 ^ Jump up to: a b Petkovic, John (2008-03-28). ""Guitar Hero" co-founders turned a bright idea into $100 million". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved 2008-03-28. Jump up ^ Kohler, Chris (2007-09-14). "Full-On Rock Band Makes Jamming Follow-Up to Guitar Hero". Wired. Retrieved 2008-07-24. Jump up ^ "US Platinum Videogame Chart". The Magic Box. 2007-12-27. Retrieved 2008-07-24. Jump up ^ Klepek, Patrick (2007-01-11). "NPD Releases December Numbers, Fanboys Riot". 1up. Retrieved 2008-07-24. Jump up ^ "Leading Market Research Firms Join Forces to Provide First Multi-Continent View Of Video Game Software Sales" (Press release). NPD Group. 2008-08-21. Retrieved 2008-10-08. Jump up ^ Faylor, Chris (2009-01-12). "Guitar Hero 3 Is The Highest Grossing Retail Game Ever, Claims Activision". Shacknews. Retrieved 2009-02-10. Jump up ^ Thorsen, Tor (2009-01-24). "Guitar Hero World Tour sells 3.4M in '08, Rock Band 2 hits 1.7M". GameSpot. Retrieved 2009-01-26. Jump up ^ Morris, Chris (2011-03-24). "Call of Duty, Guitar Hero Top All-Time Best Selling List". CNBC. Retrieved 2011-03-24."The Best Selling Video Games of This Generation". CNBC. 2011-03-24. Retrieved 2011-03-24. Jump up ^ John Gaudiosi (2008-10-09). "Virtual battle of the bands rocks on". Reuters. Yahoo!. Retrieved 2008-10-30.[dead link] Jump up ^ Graft, Kris (2008-01-21). "Guitar Hero Breaks $1 bln". Next Gen Business. Retrieved 2008-01-21. Jump up ^ Connelly, Ray (2009-04-13). "Rockin' around the the sofa ... the guitar craze sweeping Britain". Daily Mail. Retrieved 2009-04-12. Jump up ^ Carless, Simon (2009-05-07). "Kotick: Guitar Hero Now $2 Billion Franchise". Gamasutra. Retrieved 2009-05-07. Jump up ^ Levy, Steven (2007-01-29). "The Low Cost of (Guitar) Heroism". Newsweek. Retrieved 2007-08-08. Jump up ^ Parish, Jeremy (2010-02-26). "The Decade That Was: Essential Newcomers". 1UP.com. Retrieved 2010-02-26. Jump up ^ Kohler, Chris (2009-12-24). "The 15 Most Influential Games of the Decade". Wired. Retrieved 2009-12-24. Jump up ^ Pfister, Andrew (2009-12-21). "The First Decade: Ten Influential Games". G4TV. Retrieved 2009-12-23. Jump up ^ Cacho, Gieson (2009-12-18). "Artistry, innovation key in the Top 15 video games of the decade". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved 2009-12-23. Jump up ^ Sauer, Patrick (2009-12-21). "The Smartest Products of the Decade". Inc. Retrieved 2009-12-23. Jump up ^ Stuart, Keith (2009-12-16). "Video games: the decade when playtime took over". The Guardian (London). Retrieved 2009-12-23. Jump up ^ "Book of Tens: New Products of the Decade". Advertising Age. 2009-12-14. Retrieved 2009-12-23. Jump up ^ "Eurogamer – Guitar Hero III's Rock 'N' Slide Star". Eurogamer. Retrieved 2008-04-01. Jump up ^ "Kotaku: Nyko explains issues with Guitar Hero adapter". Kotaku. Retrieved 2008-04-01. Jump up ^ "Making the controller work on PS3". guitarherogame.com forums. Retrieved 2008-04-01. Jump up ^ "Aeropause – Will Pelican's USB Adapter Let You Guitar Hero on PS3?". Aeropause. Retrieved 2008-04-01. Jump up ^ Scott Hillis; Gina Keating (2008-03-12). "Activision's Guitar Hero violates patent: Gibson". Reuters News. Retrieved 2008-03-12. Jump up ^ Faylor, Chris (2008-03-20). "Gibson Sues Retailers for Selling Guitar Hero". Shacknews. Retrieved 2008-03-30. Jump up ^ "Press Statement from Gibson Guitar in Regards to Guitar Hero Retailer Lawsuit" (Press release). Shacknews. 2008-03-20. Retrieved 2008-03-20. Jump up ^ Faylor, Chris (2008-03-21). "Gibson Sues EA, MTV, Harmonix over Rock Band; Update: Harmonix Responds, Denies Allegations". Shacknews. Retrieved 2008-03-21. Jump up ^ Totilo, Stephen (2008-03-21). "Gibson Guitar Company Sues Retailers, MTV Over 'Guitar Hero' And 'Rock Band'". MTV. Retrieved 2008-03-26. Jump up ^ Patel, Nilay (2009-03-02). "Gibson loses Guitar Hero patent lawsuit, gets booed off stage". Engadget. Retrieved 2009-03-02. Jump up ^ Activision Publishers, Inc. vs Gibson Guitars Corp. (United States District Court, Central District of California 2009-02-26). Text Jump up ^ Graft, Kris (2009-04-24). "Activision, Gibson Settle Latest Suit". Gamasutra. Retrieved 2009-04-24. Jump up ^ GameSetWatch – GameSetInvestigation: The Guitar Hero Patent Mystery Jump up ^ United States Patent: 5739457 Jump up ^ United States Patent: 6018121 Jump up ^ Patent Database Search Results: IN/devecka in US Patent Collection Jump up ^ 35 U.S.C. 282 Presumption of validity; defenses. – Patent Laws Jump up ^ Gamasutra – Exclusive: Exploring Guitar Hero III 's Patent Secrets Jump up ^ Gardner, Eriq (2010-02-19). "Lawsuit challenges 'Guitar Hero' ads claiming patent". The Hollywood Report. Retrieved 2010-02-22. ^ Jump up to: a b Fredrick, Logan (2009-02-12). "Guitar Hero Gets "Greatest Hits"". The Escapist. Retrieved 2009-02-16. Jump up ^ Faylor, Chris (2008-09-14). "Vicarious Visions Interview: On Guitar Hero Wii and DS". Shacknews. Retrieved 2009-02-16. Jump up ^ Geddes, Ryan (2009-02-08). "DICE 2008: NanaOn-Shame on You". IGN. Retrieved 2009-04-29. Jump up ^ Geddes, Ryan (2009-04-09). "Editorial: The Year the Music Died". IGN. Retrieved 2009-04-09. Jump up ^ Kalning, Kristin (2009-05-18). "How much 'Guitar Hero' is too much?". MSNBC. Retrieved 2009-05-18. Jump up ^ Divnich, Jesse (2009-07-20). "The Divnich Debrief: Roadblocks in the Music Genre". Industry Gamers. Retrieved 2009-07-22. Jump up ^ Dring, Christopher (2011-02-18). "No More (Guitar) Heroes". MCV. Retrieved 2011-02-18. ^ Jump up to: a b "Guitar Hero Smash Hits Review (Xbox 360)". Team Xbox. 2009-06-17. Retrieved 2009-06-30. Jump up ^ Bruno, Antony (2009-07-17). "MTV formulating Rock Band Network". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2009-07-30.[dead link] Jump up ^ Goldstein, Hilary (2008-06-30). "Rock Band 2: The Opening Act". IGN. Retrieved 2009-06-28. ^ Jump up to: a b Roper, Chris (2009-03-29). "Guitar Hero: Metallica Review". IGN. Retrieved 2009-06-30. ^ Jump up to: a b Roper, Chris (2009-06-17). "Guitar Hero: Smash Hits Review". IGN. Retrieved 2009-06-27. Jump up ^ Gerstmann, Jeff (2009-06-25). "Guitar Hero: Smash Hits". Giant Bomb. Retrieved 2009-06-27. Jump up ^ Kohler, Chris (2009-07-30). "5 Games to Throw Down a Black Hole (and 5 We'd Pull Out)". Wired. Retrieved 2009-07-31. Jump up ^ Kohler, Chris (2009-06-26). "Top 10 Raw Deals for Gamers". Wired. Retrieved 2009-06-27. Jump up ^ Heppe, Abbie (2009-06-29). "Guitar Hero Smash Hits Review". G4 TV. Retrieved 2009-06-29. Jump up ^ Bramwell, Tom (2009-07-08). "Guitar Hero: Greatest Hits". Eurogamer. Retrieved 2009-07-08. Jump up ^ Kuchera, Ben (2009-06-29). "Rhythm games: the Five Commandments all titles must follow". Ars Technica. Retrieved 2009-06-29. Jump up ^ Kreps, Daniel (2009-12-22). "Despite "The Beatles: Rock Band," Music Video Game Sales Slip in '09". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2010-01-30. ^ Jump up to: a b "Sales Of Music Video Games Plummet In 2009". Reuters. 2009-12-18. Retrieved 2009-12-20.[dead link] ^ Jump up to: a b Crossley, Rob (2010-08-09). "Neversoft on 'selling out' in the race for sales". Develop. Retrieved 2010-08-09. Jump up ^ Faylor, Chris (2008-07-31). "More Call of Duty and Guitar Hero Sequels in 2009". Shacknews. Retrieved 2008-07-31. Jump up ^ Alexander, Leigh (2008-08-01). "Analyst: Three Expansion Packs Possible For Next Guitar Hero". Gamasutra. Retrieved 2008-08-02. Jump up ^ Faylor, Chris (2008-09-15). "Activision Tripling Guitar Hero Releases by 2010". Shacknews. Retrieved 2008-09-16. Jump up ^ French, Michael (2009-11-13). "Heroic Deeds". MCVUK. Retrieved 2009-11-17. Jump up ^ Faylor, Chris (2010-02-11). "Activision Breaks Down 2010 Release Schedule: Singularity in June, Transformers by July, More". Shacknews. Retrieved 2010-02-11. Jump up ^ Brightman, James (2009-07-01). "Activision: Guitar Hero Better Serves Consumers Than Rock Band". Industry Gamers. Retrieved 2009-07-01. Jump up ^ "The Lobby: Guitar Hero's Demise". IGN. 2011-02-09. Retrieved 2011-02-10. Jump up ^ Stuart, Keith (2011-02-10). "Guitar Hero axed: five reasons why music games are dying". The Guardian. Retrieved 2011-02-10. Jump up ^ Cacho, Gieson (2011-02-09). "RIP Guitar Hero: 2005–2011?". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved 2011-02-10. Jump up ^ Mudhar, Raju (2011-02-10). "Guitar Hero gets axed". Toronto Star. Retrieved 2011-02-10. External links
Producer/Developer sites Activision Neversoft Harmonix Hands-On Mobile MachineWorks Northwest LLC Other official sites Guitar Hero series website Guitar Hero community website Guitar Hero on Myspace Directories Guitar Hero series on the Open Directory Project [show] v t e Guitar Hero [show] v t e Harmonix games This is a good article. Click here for more information. Categories: Activision gamesCooperative video gamesDrumming video gamesGuitar HeroGuitar video gamesKaraoke video gamesMusic video gamesMusician video gamesNeversoft games Navigation menu Create accountLog inArticleTalkReadView sourceView history
Main page Contents Featured content Current events Random article Donate to Wikipedia Wikimedia Shop Interaction Help About Wikipedia Community portal Recent changes Contact page Tools Print/export Languages Català Čeština Dansk Deutsch Español Français Italiano עברית Nederlands Polski Português Русский Sámegiella Simple English Suomi Svenska Edit links This page was last modified on 29 March 2014 at 13:28. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersMobile viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki