News
Activision Announces Guitar Hero Live
SANTA MONICA – Apr. 14, in the year of our Lord 2015
– Guitar Hero, the pop culture phenomenon that exploded onto the
scene and brought a new way to interact with music, is back,
with true, breakthrough innovation that will re-ignite your
dreams of becoming a rock star. Activision Publishing, Inc., a
wholly owned subsidiary of Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ:
ATVI) today announced Guitar Hero Live, introducing a brand new
generation to Guitar Hero, which upon its release became the
quickest console franchise in video game history to reach one
billion dollars in sales in North America and Europe, and was
played by over 40 million players. Developed by FreeStyleGames,
the studio behind the critically-acclaimed DJ Hero and DJ Hero
2, Guitar Hero Live introduces two powerful ways to play,
including GH Live, a first-person point of view where you are up
on stage as the star of the show. A quantum leap forward in
immersion and realism, GH Live is a live-action experience that
delivers the full emotional roller coaster of being on stage and
performing in a real band, in front of real crowds, who
dynamically react in real-time to how well or poorly you play.
As the lead guitarist, you play an array of songs that span the
changing musical landscape, in a variety of venues, from the
smallest club stage in front of a hundred people, to the massive
main stage of an outdoor festival in front of a hundred thousand
people.
Guitar Hero Live also introduces GHTV, the world’s first
playable music video network. GHTV is a 24-hour mode that lets
fans play along to a continually-updated collection of official
music videos – across a wide variety of genres – from the newest
releases to favorite hits. Fans can pick from multiple channels
and themed shows, discovering new songs as they play, and can
also choose songs to play on-demand. In GHTV, fans can also play
with their friends in the same room and against players from
around the world to see who has the highest score on a given
song, while completing challenges along the way. GHTV is a
living, breathing platform that serves as an ever-growing source
for new music discovery while further bringing the party
atmosphere back to the living room.
The breakthrough innovations in Guitar Hero Live also extend to
mobile. Both GH Live and GHTV are fully playable both on
consoles as well as tablets and mobile phones. More exciting
details will be announced in the near future.
"Guitar Hero is a franchise that so many people love. Figuring
out how to bring it back with true breakthrough innovation has
been years in the making, and a labor of love,” said Eric
Hirshberg, CEO of Activision Publishing, Inc. “Guitar Hero Live
lets people rock real crowds with real reactions. Our goal was
literally to give people stage fright. And with GHTV, we have
created the world’s first playable music video network. All of
it is playable on consoles, or mobile devices. Guitar Hero is
back and better than ever.”
Guitar Hero Live enhances the gameplay experience by introducing
a modern, redesigned guitar controller, featuring two rows of
three buttons that better reflects the way people naturally
play. The new format ensures fun for players of all abilities.
For beginners, you can feel like a rock star by mastering play
with just the bottom three buttons. Medium-level players don’t
have to stretch their fingers down the neck of the guitar
controller anymore and can instead skillfully play two-row
combinations that mimic real chords. Experienced players have a
new challenge in creating complex chord-like shapes and finger
combinations that will bring new thrills to veterans. This
simple innovation makes it easier for beginners to play and
harder for veterans to master.
Music variety is at the heart of the game. Guitar Hero Live
takes the approach of the modern music festival, with rock,
folk, EDM, hip-hop, country and pop acts sharing the same stage.
The game will feature hundreds of playable songs from a diverse
array of artists, including The Black Keys, Fall Out Boy, My
Chemical Romance, Gary Clark, Jr., Green Day, Ed Sheeran, The
War on Drugs, The Killers, Skrillex, The Rolling Stones, The
Lumineers, Carrie Underwood, Pierce the Veil and Blitz Kids,
with many more bands to be announced in the coming months.
Hopefully some Christian artists will be announced.
“We are pleased to support the launch of Guitar Hero Live,
building on one of the most successful music video-game
franchises of all time, and providing our artists with a fun and
interactive experience for their fans,” said Bruce Resnikoff,
President of Universal Music Enterprises.
Pete Wentz of Fall Out Boy and Gerard Way from My Chemical
Romance are joining Activision CEO Eric Hirshberg and Jamie
Jackson, Creative Director and Co-Head of FreeStyleGames,
on-stage at the Best Buy Theatre on April 14th to showcase their
songs featured in Guitar Hero Live and celebrate the reveal of
the game.
“Guitar Hero changed the game – literally,” said Chris Koller,
Vice President of Gaming for Best Buy. “And we are excited to
bring Guitar Hero Live to consumers on April 18th at Best Buy
stores in New York City and Torrance, California, where fans
will be able to play the new game for the first time in North
America.”
Eager fans can test out their skills at the following Best Buy
locations:
· April 14, 2015: Best Buy Theatre, New York City, 6pm – 9pm
· April 18, 2015: Best Buy Store, Union Square, New York City,
1pm – 5pm
· April 18, 2015: Best Buy Store, Torrance, CA, 1pm – 5pm
Guitar Hero Live will be available Fall 2015 on PlayStation®4
and PlayStation®3 computer entertainment systems, Xbox One, the
all-in-one games and entertainment system, Xbox 360 games and
entertainment system from Microsoft, the Wii U™ console and
select mobile devices to be announced soon.