Guitar Hero IV drums revealed
Thursday, May 15th, 2008 at 7:36am by David
Well, these are the drums for the Xbox 360 version of the recently revealed Guitar Hero IV. I imagine that the Wii version will be very similar, but probably white. Either way, I’m totally psyched that there will be cymbals! My Rock Band pre-order = cancelled!
What do you all think?
[Thanks, stafo! Source: Joystiq]
May 15th, 2008 at 8:03 am
In total agreement here.
And to toot my own horn, I totally called it on EA somehow screwing up the eventual Rock Band port.
The best part is, with GHIII Wii sales being so strong (probably a suprise for Activision), they’re bound to put at least some effort in.
May 15th, 2008 at 8:19 am
Well at the very least it has made me want to wait for more information like set list etc…
I wasn’t too hyped about the initial set list for Rock Band and the only avenue to obtain more songs I can’t freely choose would be to pay another $30 which is a big speed bump for me. We shall see!
May 15th, 2008 at 8:40 am
My sister has Rock Band for PS2, and I find it enjoyable despite a few vestigial features that are missing. I understand your duty to let companies know that they dropped the ball on some features by not buying the product, but it’s STILL enjoyable. I feel sorta bad dumping on Rock Band just because it came out with the idea first, and Guitar Hero had more time to look at what they did wrong and change it. Nintendo may have even revealed some sort of extra storage by then. And maybe Rock Band’s next effort will be even better than this one. I guess my point is, they should get SOME credit for bringing us the whole band experience first, instead of all the criticism I’ve seen on this site. I’m sure they have solid reasons behind their decisions for the Wii version. I honestly can’t complain, because I’ve never had to develop or program a game.
Okay, you can tell me why I’m wrong now.
May 15th, 2008 at 9:23 am
If RockBand hadn’t gimped the Wii version then we probably wouldn’t be caring for this “ripoff” but I’m actually going to wait now and see if Guitar Hero can pick up the slack from RockBand Wii and also fix all of the problems they had in their own game (horrible muppet singer, butt-ugly guitarists, funny timing, etc.)
@Rabbitduck, we can’t take credit away from HARMONIX (not Rockband) who created GH in the first place and then intelligently took the next step while Activision just milked GH by doing more of the same. Still, if you want to give them props then do so on the 360 and PS3, but many Wii fans will not give them any love for their apparent lack of caring. At least Activision cared enough to actually ENHANCE the Wii version over the others by sticking in the remote for sound and rumble. Rockband Wii is STRIPPING the game’s features by doing a simple PS2 port and just coloring everything white.
If you really want Rockband then go ahead and buy it for the console you want, it’s that simple. Personally though, I’ll wait and HOPE that Activision can one-up Harmonix and deliver the better experience. If they make a horrible game, Rockband will still be there.
May 15th, 2008 at 9:23 am
I have to quote my man Vanilla Ice on this:
“I go crazy when I hear a cymbal
And a high hat with a souped up tempo”
May 15th, 2008 at 9:33 am
Rock Band dumped. That is, if I had every intended on ordering the Wii version of it. Which I didn’t. This version is far superior, even with the slightly less robust online play than the Xbox and PS3 versions.
This is how innovation works for the most part. The GH guys saw what Rock Band had to offer, and then swooped in with a better product that built on the original. Plus, they have all that brand recognition and a built in base from the GH3 sales on the Wii.
And people can make their own songs. You guys will be shredding to my horribly constructed death metal solos in no time!
Guitar Hero 4 GET.
May 15th, 2008 at 9:47 am
@ Rabbitduck
Liraco has said most of what I want to. I surely do applaud what Harmonix and EA have added to the scene. I’m merely disgusted at us being treated like infant idiots by them, and the fact that Activision is now essentially offering the product EA should have made in the first place means an automatic lost sale for me.
HEAR MY WORDS:
I HATE EA BECAUSE THEY HATE ME.
Rock Band Wii could have very easily made 25-30% of their total Rock Band franchise sales as GHIII has proved (and even more in profits) but from the looks of it, for the Wii itteration they’ve probably commited 1-2% of their total Rock Band investment (reputedly $100 million). This is probably being conservative, considering the port from the PS2 essentially amounts to creating a Wii-specific video codec for the pre-rendered FMV that stupidly makes the game work on these ‘lesser’ consoles. Sure they innovated, but their business strategy was a gross miscalculation.
Oh and it’s late. Remember, your sister actually got to play it on PS2. We’re still waiting.
May 15th, 2008 at 10:05 am
Just let me know when it is confirmed that you can use the GHIII guitars with this game, and I will totally be signed up.
The more I hear about this “different guitar” the more I am thinking they will not be compatible.
From Wikipedia which cites Game Informer:
According to Game Informer, RedOctane is developing a new guitar controller for the game that is tied with a new gameplay mechanic in order to “make the guitar as expressive as a real guitar”, according to developer Scott Pease. While the actual change is not yet known, Game Informer suggests that it may involve either fret sliding or improvisation sections.
May 15th, 2008 at 10:41 am
I’m just relieved that I don’t need to spend $160 bucks next month on Rock Band. This announcement is enough to make me at least hold out hope that GH4 will have DLC.
May 15th, 2008 at 10:58 am
Im totally with Mr. O-G here.
Im so damn glad I got this info BEFORE I went out and bought RB.
Thanks Infendo for bringing good info
May 15th, 2008 at 11:27 am
Also note the Xbox symbol in the middle of that control panel on the set. Perhaps we can hope for a white version for the Wii.
May 15th, 2008 at 11:40 am
They forgot the HI HAT!!! Any drummer knows the three most important pieces are snare, base drum, and high hat. Two cymbals is nice and all, but a high hat is crucial if you really want to capture the feeling of laying down a phat beat!
May 15th, 2008 at 11:54 am
Being an actual musician, maybe I am biased, but what is so fun about strumming a piece of plastic and playing beats that barely match the actual music. Oh I’ve played Rock Band, and it was fun one time for a couple hours. Then, playing the same songs over and over again to try and unlock new songs got really old really fast. I have not gone back to that game since, and have absolutely no desire to.
May 15th, 2008 at 1:02 pm
This may not mater to anyone here, but Rock Band has replaced Karaoke in bars all across the country. Unless Rock Band 4 is a blowout hit, the clubs aren’t going to replace those units. Point being - if you buy Guitar Hero 4 you may find yourself missing out when you hang out in public and wanna jam.
Otherwise, I don’t blame you for buying GH4 a bit - I have RB for my 360 and I think the lack of online play for the Wii is totally lame.
I’m not at all interested in owning RB and GH4 though - too much money and too much space-sucking gear.
May 15th, 2008 at 1:25 pm
d-average, the rep in the GI article says that one of the two cymbals is, in fact, a high hat. I’m no drummer, so I don’t know if the set up is correct, but worry not regardless!
May 15th, 2008 at 1:31 pm
Am I the only one who thinks they should release it under a new name? Which naturally they were never going to do, for obvious reasons.
May 15th, 2008 at 2:09 pm
They’ll probably make up for it on the subtitle of the game.
Guitar Hero IV: Band of Ages
May 15th, 2008 at 2:09 pm
Yo Jack - Thats what I feared they would do. The thing is, the hi hat needs to be right over the snare. The way they have it the set up is going to be a little awkward. My guess is, they positioned it where it is, b/c it could be a little tricky to have it right over the snare w/o creating a separate stand (like a real hi hat).
Either way though, its a step forward from the Rock Band set, and I’m sure next years version will play even more like the real thing.
May 15th, 2008 at 2:30 pm
As long as they’re putting effort into this I don’t care if its copying rckband. Heck, this whole subgenre of rock games is just copies of guitarfreaks and drummania.
May 15th, 2008 at 4:22 pm
I KNEW guitar hero would come back fightin’! Take THAT rock band!
May 15th, 2008 at 4:44 pm
how come no one’s waiting to see what rockband 2 will be like….?
May 15th, 2008 at 6:41 pm
@ deepthought
Because we’re still waiting for rockband 1 ?…
Seen as Rockband 1 won’t come out ’till summer that means EA can’t reasonably release Rockband 2 on Wii until say Spring ‘09, while GHIV’s probably coming Autumn time this year, even in Europe. It’s not even on our calender.
May 15th, 2008 at 7:00 pm
but elmer…. if anyone knows how to push out titles…. it’s EA
(waiting for roster update 09 here….)
May 15th, 2008 at 7:18 pm
I dont like this guitar hero is about the guitar. I will not buy guitar hero i dead to me now. support me you must.
May 15th, 2008 at 11:25 pm
@ Ben: Punctuation = good.
May 16th, 2008 at 4:04 pm
I like the idea of having the cymbals, but I liked the idea of learning how to play the 4 drum set-up that rock band offered. I’ve been skipping over this article in GI for a while now, guess I’ll finally read it when i go home.
May 17th, 2008 at 12:20 am
I’m sick of all the peripherals especially those that can only be used with one game.
May 19th, 2008 at 9:06 am
meh, I lost interest in Guitar Hero back when 2 released on the PS2. THat was the first time I picked it up and the last one I’ll play. The games for the longest time now have been the same thing released and now they’re adding something new which Rock Band already did. The only reason I see my self picking up GH 4 is because Activision is the only company that can license Aerosmith music for their game now, which I’m a fan of Aerosmith. But Rockband I don’t see needing any subsequent releases as they get nearly weekly updates to the track list which covers a wider spectrum of music. So I don’t think GH 4 including a drum set is that awesome.