Guitar Hero IV to incorporate more instruments, vocals :: Music News :: Articles

The fourth installment of the wildly popular Guitar Hero franchise will incorporate more instruments and add vocals.

In an interview with Portfolio magazine, Activision CEO Bobby Kotick said that the addition of more instruments and vocals were a few of the significant changes gamers could expect when Guitar Hero IV hits stores later this year. Kotick said these elements were meant to increase the appeal of a game franchise that has already managed to cross a few generation gaps. “The age appeal is something we've never seen before -- seven-year-olds who have no idea who Aerosmith is are playing the band's music on Guitar Hero,” he told Portfolio. “So are 45-year-olds who spent a good portion of their lives following the band around. And so, that broad appeal is something that I think we're capitalizing on.”

Guitar Hero IV will also feature a more extensive song catalog, thanks to Activision’s merger with Vivendi Games. Vivendi is a subsidiary of Universal, which gives the game’s developers access to the Universal Music library. That access, according to Kotick, as well as the game’s growing pop-culture relevance, is making it easier and easier to draw big name artists to participate.

“Guitar Hero takes you as an artist to a whole different place in the popular culture right now,” he said. “Your relevance and importance to 17-year-olds is going to change in a way that you could never get any other way. And, you know, my five-year-old is walking around singing "Smoke on the Water." And so, and I think (artists are) starting to recognize that. It's changed their touring opportunities. It's changed the downloads. It's changed their album sales.”

The Guitar Hero series debuted in 2005, and has been a smash hit for Activision. Guitar Hero III accumulated more than $100 million worth of sales in its first week alone.

Top artists have been clamoring to make digital appearances in the game. Former Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash and former Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morrello popped up in Guitar Hero III, and Activision will release Guitar Hero Aerosmith in June. Rumors have even been circulating that a Beatles-themed edition is also in the works.

No official release date has been announced for Guitar Hero IV. Instead, may we present actor Colin Firth’s first attempt at playing the game at our 2008 Sundance Party? Why yes, yes we may.

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