Feb. 9, 2011 marked an event we'd foreseen yet wished to avert—the official death of the ""Guitar Hero"" game franchise, shut down by publisher Activision following poor sales despite multiple attempts to expand their ""Hero"" brand. An obscure budget title for Sony's aging Playstation 2, the game blossomed into a veritable touchstone for original distributor Harmonix, and later Activision Blizzard, before spiraling into obscurity, with its final entry—""Warriors of Rock""—selling under a million copies at launch. Yet in its fleeting five-year lifespan, it has left an indelible mark on both mainstream music and gaming culture, putting it among the most pervasive cultural and musical phenomena of the 21st century. And so, though it'd be of modest effort to simply concoct various ‘axe' puns at the late franchise's expense, I find it fitting to send off this once-venerable series in the manner of any fallen rock star: a eulogy, reminiscing upon better days and brighter futures.
Formation/Early releases
In November 2005, ""Guitar Hero"" was unceremoniously born to developer RedOctane and publisher Harmonix, yet it surmounted a paltry $30,000 marketing budget and established rhythm-game stigma to win countless accolades and earn over $45 million within a year of its debut. Tawdry plastic guitars entered American homes, revitalizing both the music game genre and market feasibility for elaborate gaming peripherals. Less than a year later, ""Guitar Hero II"" rocked onto shelves, sporting nearly identical gameplay, but with an expanded tracklist, as well as a new guitar controller. It moved twice as many units, establishing ""Guitar Hero"" as a viable franchise to demographics beyond the hardcore gamer.
Mainstream success
Phenomenal sales resulted in intense corporate interest in the franchise, eventually resulting in RedOctane being acquired by Activision and Harmonix by MTV Games, divorcing the two creators. The rights to the series transferred to Activision, resulting in yet another game in 2007—""Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock,"" the first to be developed by a studio other than RedOctane. Despite the shuffle, the game once again topped the charts, backed by corporate funding to license original master tracks, as opposed to the cover versions that comprised the bulk of the previous titles. And speaking of bulk, the game featured yet another new guitar controller.
But while Guitar Hero became the apparent definition of music games, RedOctane's former partner Harmonix did not stand idly by. Within a month of the third entry's debut, Electronic Arts debuted ""Rock Band,"" which recycled much from the ""Guitar Hero"" formula, but expanded to include a full ensemble of percussion, bass and vocals (complete with peripherals, naturally). A year later, ""Guitar Hero: World Tour"" would feature those same instruments, but played catch-up in the genre it pioneered. The game performed amiably, but established a disturbing precedent, with future competition poised upon newer or more expensive peripherals rather than significant gameplay innovation. Ironically, a majority of consumers purchased both, which nearly doubled the number ungainly plastic instruments in the United States'.
Later work
The later 2000s would see ""Guitar Hero"" conforming stubbornly to its established corporate formula; besides releasing specialized titles for the likes of Metallica and Van Halen, the series continued its resolute pace of one game each year, offering diverse and star-studded tracklists, but little else. Despite several failed spin-offs (DJ Hero and Band Hero), Activision still seemed confident in its tradition of annual releases and big-box retailers. 2009's ""Guitar Hero 5"" was perhaps the series' last great hurrah, still earning critical praise and respectable sales worldwide; afterward, its decline and inevitable demise became increasingly evident.
Final days/Aftermath
On Feb. 11, 2010, Activision closed RedOctane, the series' original developers, in the wake of declining sales and an economic recession. Granted, since its acquisition, the studio had ceased direct development of ""Guitar Hero"" titles, but news of their closure sparked speculation regarding the franchise's future, as well as its next game. Surprisingly, the sixth game was released on schedule that same year. However, the thrown-together ""Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock"" proved disappointing for critics and investors alike. Almost a year later, the franchise, too, breathes its last breath.
Just three years ago, it seemed implausible for such a monolithic series to fail so quickly. In the wake of this passing, we will certainly not want for alternatives. Moreover, it's a signal of the nature of entertainment, perhaps the corporate agenda and creative license don't quite mix. Alas, ""Guitar Hero,"" we barely knew ye.
