Guitar Hero 4 Begins World Tour

by jessica.lam | October 26, 2008 at 09:33 am

701 views | 4 Recommendations | 9 comments

Guitar Hero can be addictive even for non-gamers such as myself. It's no surprise that many people are eager to check out the newly released 4th edition of Guitar Hero.

When it hits stores Sunday, the fourth installment of the wildly popular Guitar Hero video game could become a test of the game industry's ability to weather the broader economic storm.

Activision Blizzard Inc.'s Guitar Hero World Tour is one of the company's most important games of the year. At $189.99, it will also be one of the most expensive games the Santa Monica publisher has ever released.

Although some analysts still expect the franchise to drum up $1.4 billion in sales this year, the title's steep price could turn away some consumers as they pinch pennies this holiday season.

"In this economy, people will be a little more frugal," said Ricardo Torres, editor of Gamespot, a website that reviews games. "This fall, it's all about value."

For Aaron Green, who plays Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock with his 9-year-old son, Alex, the new game is still a good value.

But the price tag makes him pause. Instead of splurging on the game right when it comes out, as he would have in years past, the 43-year-old audio-visual coordinator from Rancho Mirage said he would wait to give the game to his son for Christmas.

"The price is a little steep," Green said. "But we still need our creature comforts to help us feel better."

The popularity of the game is readily acknowledged, spurring on developments in this genre for different target markets. Guitar Praise, a Christian rock game debuted in September.

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Photography By Shaeree

at 12:15 on October 26th, 2008

My daughter who just turned 3 loves the guitar hero. Daddy has one at his home and mommy just got one recently. Madi makes fun of mum mum because I stick out my tongue like that.

I turned around and asked her to do what mommy does.

This is the picture I get. Gene Simmons eat your heart out :)

Photography By Shaeree has contributed a photo to this story.

Jordan Yerman

at 12:45 on October 26th, 2008

I'm just glad to see that the most popular games at the moment aren't about blowing sh&t up. It's really important that art and creating entertainment are seen as exciting in their own right.

(Disclaimer: I actually like violent video games, though I don't own a console and therefore almost never get to play them)

Jon Azpiri

at 15:14 on October 26th, 2008

The Guitar Hero World Tour song list looks pretty promising. I'm surprised they actually managed to get the rights to the MC5 classic "Kick Out the Jams". I'm assuming they're going with the PG-rated version of the song and not the classic R-rated version.

JD Rucker

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 15:30 on October 26th, 2008

jessica.lam, I like this story. It's good stuff.

jaho

at 16:34 on October 26th, 2008

Here is what happened last time I played GH. It called me an aggressive carnivorous predator.

of course, I could have been playing Spore instead.

jaho has contributed a photo to this story.

timeschange

at 11:12 on October 27th, 2008

I took this photo of a friend. While I was hanging out with him we played Guitar Hero at night after returning from a rave, and we played again in the morning just for fun. I don't really like to play but most of my friends do.

timeschange has contributed a photo to this story.

Model Gal

at 20:18 on October 27th, 2008

It's a LEGO, yes I said LEGO, Guitar Hero Controller. I made this a couple of months ago when I got Guitar Hero III. Jessica.Iam asked if she could use my photo for her article. To see more of my LEGO models check out my website modelbuildingsecrets.com

Model Gal has contributed a photo to this story.