With the phenomenal Rock Band mere months away, it shouldn’t come as a surprise to hear the future of Guitar Hero will also include diverse instruments. While it was a foregone conclusion Guitar Hero would eventually have to add fresh musicians into the mix, the prediction from an article posted on Gamasutra makes the marketing move seem more like a response then a revelation.
"We expect Guitar Hero to follow a natural product evolution by adding additional music peripherals in CY08," reported the analyst firm Janco according to Gamasutra.
Beyond this there are no concrete details about which peripherals will be included, and if all the instruments will be mandatory in order to enjoy the game; something Rock Band does not require. Still it should be a blast to experience since Activision and Harmonix are the godfathers of the budding music genre. If anyone knows how to push the boundaries of what is expected, it is them. This should play in their favor, and make the next Guitar Hero surpass Rock Band.
"The Guitar Hero franchise that is developed internally and owned, offers a meaningful operating margin expansion potential versus Rock Band, which is purely a distribution deal for [Electronic Arts]," reports," states Janco from the Gamasutra article.
Ultimately, it will be the gamers who benefit. Hopefully, Harmonix will play it smart and permit Rock Band’s peripherals to work in conjunction with their game as well. Not only would Harmonix make their product much more accessible to Rock Band veterans, but also win back the market share Rock Band will, no doubt, earn.
