Guitar Hero and Its Discontents

Posted by Jonathan Coley May 28, 2008

Last week, Activision officially unveiled Guitar Hero World Tour, AKA "Guitar Hero IV," for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Nintendo Wii. The latest "Hero" is scheduled for release this fall, only a few short months after Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, and features a redesigned guitar, a microphone, and a drum set for a whopping $190!

Confession number one: I'll probably play the new Guitar Hero. Scratch that, I'll definitely play it -- it's my job.

Confession number two: I'll probably enjoy the new Guitar Hero. The game series brings together two of my loves -- video games and music -- and with its online and multiplayer modes, Guitar Hero is one of my favorite time wasters.

But let me just put into print what every video gamer has had on their minds for a while now with confession number three: I'm beginning to get tired of Guitar Hero.

Simply put, Guitar Hero and the larger music-and-rhythm genre are to video games what game shows and reality shows have been to television the past few years. Guitar Hero was a blast at first. And for many of us, it still is. But Activision and other companies are starting to milk the genre a bit too much, and it's going to make us all want to never play a music game again.

One glimpse at this year's release calendar tells you all you need to know about the state of the music-and-rhythm genre and, maybe, the video games industry in general: Guitar Hero On Tour (DS), Guitar Hero Aerosmith (multiplatform), Battle of the Bands (Wii), Rock Band (wii), Samba de Amigo (Wii), Guitar Hero World Tour (multiplatform), and the list will (probably) go on.

So Activision, the best present you can give us this holiday season is not another Guitar Hero -- it's a break.