Harmonix started a fad that it drove into the grown but after a five-year break they are back. It’s time for an encore with Guitar Hero Live. Guitar Hero is back and better than ever. Activision and Harmonix is thinking that a new generation of gamers that have never played the rhythm game. With the new game comes a new guitar controller. The new controller has six buttons arranged vertically in two parallel rows of three. That makes the Guitar experience more like the chords on the many strings of a real guitar. Guitar Hero Live won’t be compatible with old instruments you have from any of your old Guitar Hero or Rock Band games. The guitar will be packaged together with Guitar Hero Live will set you back $100.
“We wanted to make it easy to play and difficult to master. In the past, that fell apart when people had to use the pinky. Medium players were uncomfortable moving up and down the neck. So now your hand stays in one position on the neck. The second set of buttons gives you depth.” ~Creative Director Jamie Jackson
This time around you will have pre-recorded video of a live, cheering crowd that reacts to how well they’re playing. You start out playing in cramped clubs and work your way up to stadiums. Activision will release Guitar Hero Live on PS4, PS3, Xbox One, Xbox 360, Wii U, tablets and mobile phones all at the same time. Activision said that players will be able to transition between the console and mobile versions of the game but has not noted how. Activision also isn’t going into detail on pricing or a business model for its song prices. There aren’t even any songlist yet. What we do know is that some signed artists are The Black Keys, Fall Out Boy, My Chemical Romance, The Rolling Stones, Gary Clark, Jr., Green Day, Ed Sheeran, The War On Drugs, The Killers, Skrillex, The Lumineers, Pierce the Veil, and Blitz Kids. There are more artist to be announced.