I'm probably stating the obvious here, but all the R&D costs are up front, and now they are just banking cash based on their previous investment. This is pretty common. Look at games like GTA3 -- Rockstar released several games using the same engine.
PS2 SingStar 02004-05-21 21 May 2004 2010
PS2 SingStar Party 02004-11-19 19 November 2004 2010
PS2 SingStar Pop 02005-05-13 13 May 2005 02007-04-03 3 April 2007
PS2 SingStar '80s 02005-11-04 4 November 2005 02007-09-18 18 September 2007
PS2 SingStar Rocks! 02006-04-13 13 April 2006 02006-11-14 14 November 2006
PS2 SingStar Anthems 02006-08-04 4 August 2006 2010
PS2 SingStar Legends 02006-10-27 27 October 2006 02008-10-07 7 October 2008
PS2 SingStar Pop Hits 02007-04-27 27 April 2007 2010
PS2 SingStar 90s 02007-08-03 3 August 2007 02008-03-19 19 March 2008
PS2 SingStar Amped 2010 02007-09-18 18 September 2007
PS2 SingStar Rock Ballads 02007-09-21 21 September 2007 2010
PS2 SingStar R&B 02007-10-26 26 October 2007 2010
PS2 SingStar Summer Party 02008-04-25 25 April 2008 2010
PS2 SingStar Girl Power vs Boy Bands Release Date yet to be announced 2010
PS2 SingStar Seduction Release Date yet to be announced 2010
PS3 SingStar 02007-12-07 7 December 2007 02008-05-20 20 May 2008 [7]
PS3 SingStar Vol. 2 02008-06-20 20 June 2008 [8] 2010
...etc.
Yep. The dev's already done so you might as well run it into the ground. In fact I've got two Singstar discs myself and recently discovered that the discs are "hot-swappable". You load up one to run the actual program and then you can exchange the data sets i.e. - other Singstar discs, back and forth all day long.
I don't know if GH has this capability, but it seems theoretically possible if it's the same engine running under all the different discs.
Too bad we've only gotten 5 of those SingStars here Stateside, 6 if I count the PS3 release (but I think it's just rehashed from previous releases). I feel real bad for Europeans since they've faced the full brunt of the SingStar craze.
I don't care that they keep releasing more GH's, DDR's RockBands ect., it's just more songs that we get to play, and that I like. I get grumpy when they keep pushing more preferials over and over. My guess is that this next round of 'full' equiptment is all going to be wireless forcing a fresh re-buy by everyone who's got wired gear (ala Rock Band).
Because it makes no attempt to be great, it is therefore extremely great.
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Activision is a business and making money is the game.
If a little is good, a lot is better is the status quo for many companies.
*sigh* You people complain about Activision "milking" stuff like Guitar Hero and Tony Hawk, when other companies have done it frequently without any complaints. The hundreds of games that have the Mario name attached to it, Dance Dance Revolution, Singstar, and Grand Theft Auto names all have subsequent entries that run on almost the same engine. And is that "milking"? The only reason why people call this "milking" is because they are actually making money off of it, and people attribute Activison with sequels with less effort on each one. Seriously, EA milks the Madden series every year by recycling the previous game and adding some minute new feature and calling it Madden NFL whatever. I honestly wouldn't mind having more choices in terms of Guitar Hero games, and I prefer buying stuff that's on a disc. If my system's hard drive goes splat, then there's no way to play it at my friend's house for example if all I have is DLC songs. If they are making a good amount of money selling new installments of a franchise, I don't see what the big deal is. If you don't like how Activision is making money, don't buy their games. It's that simple.
Has anyone ever tried Frequency or Amplitude made by the same people who produced GH? Those are also fun IMO. Yeah but it's more of a supply and demand thing and they found the formula for there success.
Yeah, Frequency is definately an under-rated game IMO. I own the first 4 GH's but I don't see me buying the next one until GH-Metallica comes out. Aerosmith just has never done anything for me really...
But if more folks want to pop 60 beans every time a new one comes out, more power to em' I say.
I don't see why this is a surprise to anyone. Activision pumps out at least one title a year for each of their big franchises, not just GH. This is why we got an inferior, Treyarch-developed Call of Duty 3, because Activision demanded a new Call of Duty and Infinity Ward wasn't ready to release the game that became CoD4 yet. This is also why we'll be getting a Treyarch-developed CoD5.
I only need 2 more NES games (US)!
Time will be when the broadest river dries
And the great cities wane and last descend
Into the dust, for all things have an end
I'm just waiting for a Lego edition of Guitar Hero.
Well, there were the "stories" games, which were basically just mods for GTAIII and Vice City. But they only charged $20 for those, at least on PS2.
A problem for me (and at least a few others) is that some of the GH releases, specifically Rocks the 80's, weren't full-featured enough to justify a full price tag. If they were just releasing Aerosmith and Metallica as expansion packs or DLC, I don't think it would be as big of a deal.
And as for Tony Hawk, apparently, it is taking a year off after getting its' ass handed to it by Skate last year, so there might be some hope that the franchise can "reboot" itself and become relevant again. I really enjoyed the first few games, especially THPS3, but the last few entries have just been so bland that I haven't even bothered playing through them.
Sports fans feel the same way. But they want that new roster update *so bad* that they're willing to pay full price for a game when they'd rather pay for DLC. GH fans are no different, and Activision knows that.
None of this is new though. And it's not going away while we continue to support it. Whining about it doesn't work. We have to stop buying it. We have to wait for them to release "The Ultimate GH III" package which has everything, and then buy that in droves while ignoring everything before it.
But it won't happen.
Time will be when the broadest river dries
And the great cities wane and last descend
Into the dust, for all things have an end
I really haven't enjoyed a guitar hero game since the first one. Since the original, the games are just too easy, and the song selection is poor.
Where is the good stuff like amplitude and frequency? I really liked the music/rhythm genre when it was more underground. Well, I'm not getting on my soapbox for that. I still wish guitar freaks and drumania would get console ports stateside. At least it would be some competition in the marketplace.
www.famicomshop.com -best place for famicom stuff. Run by a DP member.
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my thoughts on guitar hero all together are this:
1. Its an enjoyable game but I am not good at it nor do I own any version except the DS game because I think it is a really good idea they made.
2. Its one of those games that you can get the guys and the girls to hang out and play it. Its great if you are with your female friends AND I have personally seen guitar hero be a good ice breaker for meeting new friends/dating for both genders.
3. I do believe they are milking guitar hero with the sequels and it could eventually be overdone, kind of like the Tony Hawk series.
All of what mailman said is true, and it's not a bad game. None of them will ever be bad, just like TH was never bad...I just see them getting bland.
Personally, I don't want to shell out $190 for another set of fake instruments, especially when Rock Band's cheap, easily breakable peripherals did not warrant the purchase (GHIII was slightly more palatable, seeing as how it was $100, but still...). I've become good enough at the game where to increase my scores/beat the rest of Expert, it would take actual practice in the practice mode to beat some of the long runs/get my fingers slamming on those buttons with mega speed. Not worth it. I wish they would introduce something new or innovative to the series beyond new instruments. What, you say? I don't know -- I'm not the developer. But there has to be something that would be interesting and keep it fresh.
The way I see it is this:
GH1 = THPS1 (unpolished, a bit, but great)
GH2 = THPS2 (improved hammer-ons = manual, completely changing the face of the game)
GH3 = THPS3 (revert, not as game changing as manual + crap online play = more master tracks, battle mode, crap online play, battle tracks, more DLC)
GH4 = THPS4 (open ended GTA inspired world = open ended, rock band inspired world tour with more instruments)
Last edited by unwinddesign; 06-26-2008 at 01:47 PM.
At this rate the next Guitar Hero is going to combine all the instruments with dance mats and the BeatMania turntable.
GH 4 should still be a pretty fun game, Red Octane's hardware is significantly better too.