As a big fan of rhythm action gaming, I can appreciate that the genre has become big business for the likes of Activision and EA. After all, Guitar Hero and Rock Band are both huge concepts and, as such, both publishers have to remain competitive when trying to create sequels. That said though, I have serious concerns about the way things are going; specifically, with what appears to be the deliberate one-uping of each other's products that, in the process, creates entirely new peripherals that only work with one particular product. To me, that's going just a bit too far.
If you're not sure what I mean, let me break it down for you. Rock Band requires its own peripherals, mainly due to it being the first game to need a drum kit and Activision not allowing its Guitar Hero guitars to be compatible (even on the Wii version). The newly-announced Guitar Hero: World Tour also needs its own peripherals, not just because it'll no doubt lock out those trying to use Rock Band guitars but also because the drum kit is a different design with a extra fifth pad. As such, you'll have to buy the GH-specific drums to play it. And then there's Konami's Rock Revolution, which ups the ante again by having drums with SIX inputs, so you'll need to buy yet another set to play that one as well. Quite frankly, it's all getting a bit silly for my liking.
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As someone who's supported the evolution of the GH series and now bought into Rock Band too then, I'm drawing a line in the sand right now: I won't be buying Guitar Hero: World Tour. Why? Because I refuse to be strong-armed into buying yet another big hunk of plastic I can't use with any other game, not to mention another guitar. The new GH:WT guitar has even more buttons and even a slider bar which I suspect will be compulsory to play, unlike Rock Band's optional extra buttons.
Yes, I respect that progress has to be made and it's ultimately a business but from what I can see, Activision's efforts are more about forcing people to take up their own peripherals and charging them for the privilege rather than delivering the best game possible. Personally, I'm done here and will just have to get my rhythm action kicks elsewhere. Here's hoping Rock Band 2 doesn't follow the same path.
What are your thoughts though? Are you a Guitar Hero purist or will you be picking up Rock Band when it hits the Wii? Surely with both games coming out over here around the same time, it's going to be a bitter fight for success...
