Wii, DS to Rock With Guitar Hero

Gamespot has the word that, in a conference call on Activision's plans for the coming fiscal year, they announced Guitar Hero games for the DS and Wii. The titles could be coming any time between April of this year and March of next, and there are almost no details to relate otherwise. Presumably, Guitar Hero's new development home of NeverSoft will be handling the creation process. How do you think they'll incorporate the motion-sensing properties of the Wiimote into the axe? Any Nintendo classic songs you'd love to see included on the Wii version?

Comments

Stream of thought

[computertheque]

The guitar should house the wiimote, retaining the motion controls so pelvic thrusts register correctly. But seriously, the motion controls should be used for showmanship. "Hold guitar as if playing with teeth" and it would work. Just fanciful thinking.

I have not played this game yet, so I am not aware of the exact control scheme, but I assume one that is not drastically different from Guitar Freaks.

Re:Stream of thought

[TimeForGuinness]

I agree, and if you aren't jumping around the room rocking hard enough, you lose points.

Re:Stream of thought

[Thansal]

Yah, I am fully with you on that!

GH on the Wii has been on of my homes for a long time now, and I JUST managed to order a Wii from CC today, so I am a very happy camper atm.

Re:Stream of thought

[LordKronos]

Awesome. I've been wanting to play Guitar Hero on my Wii ever since I saw Prince's Superbowl Half Time Show.

Re:Stream of thought

[Skater]

But then people will sue Nintendo when they smash their guitar on a chair and break the Wiimote!

Re:Stream of thought

[IceAndFire]

I can't wait to rock out with my Wiitar! That shall be the official name of the wii guitar hero conroller no matter what you tell me.

Combined

[Ark42]

I want to see Guitar Hero combined with Dance Dance Revolution, Donkey Konga, and the microphone, to form a 4-player game based around having an entire band!

Re:Combined

[Dark Kenshin]

Even before the string of interactive music games came out, I always had the pipe dream of having a game that mimicked the full band experience. Now that pretty much most of the musical experiences are now a reality; it seems that pipe dream is not too far off. Though, I must say, having a set of 4 different displays on one screen might get a bit confusing and complex to actually implement. There is also the trouble of breaking each song down into the different components, where each player has enough play time throughout the song, to still remain interesting.

Only having a limited experience with a band setup, I am not authoritative on the matter by any means; but I would assume each part might not have the same excitement factor as some of the other parts. I can think of way more guitar or vocal solos in songs then say drums.

I would think for a whole band style game, it would be more advantageous to be able to free hand write the parts into a song, or make your own, so that all parts a used equally, or at least still individually interesting.

But hey, I mainly enjoy the drunken playing experience of these style of games, so I'm sure others have different enjoyment factors on the idea.

Re:Combined

[davidbrit2]

The arcade versions of Guitar Freaks and Drummania can be linked together, so that you can have a "band" with two guitarists and a drummer. Older releases also allowed linking up the final release of Keyboardmania, giving you two keyboardists in addition. Home versions of GF/DM let you have up to three players with a multitap.

Also of note, Nintendo's Band Bros for the DS (released only in Japan) lets up to 8 players perform a song, using a variety of instruments (the instruments all play the same way - only the sounds differ).

Those titles are definitely worth looking into if you're a fan of multiplayer music games.

Re:Combined

[rtechie]

Drum Hero is in the pipe and it will likely contain a co-op mode with at least 1 Guitar Hero controller, much like how the GuitarMania/BeatMania games linked together on the PS2 in Japan. So, in theory, you'll be able to do a 3-piece band with Drum Hero when it comes out.

Will require a controller?

[silentounce]

How the hell can they have "Guitar" Hero without a guitar? Don't even ask about the DS. They might as well call it Button Hero.

Re:Will require a controller?

[HockeyPuck]

The version for the DS will include a Ukulele.

Re:Will require a controller?

[DesertBlade]

There will probably still be the guitar controller (at least for the wii) but will include motion sensing from the wiimote (like a plugin place for it). It will be cheaper to make the guitar if it could use the blue tooth technology in the wiimote and just plugin like the classic controller. The article did not go into detail.

Re:Will require a controller?

[svendsen]

Ummm it already is button hero on the ps2. Whether the buttons are on a control pad or a piece of plastic shaped like a crappy guitar all it is is a basic button rhythm game.

Re:Will require a controller?

[Anonymous Coward]

How the hell can they have "Guitar" Hero without a guitar? Don't even ask about the DS. They might as well call it Button Hero.

Or DDR.

Re:Will require a controller?

[earthbound kid]

A DS version of Guitar Hero will probably end up like some existing guitar software out in Japan. (YouTube link to some Japanese people playing DS guitar...) Yeah, it won't be as cool as the current Guitar Hero controller, but it will work the same in principle: use the D-pad to set the chord then strum on the lower screen while the upper screen shows the falling notes.

Re:Will require a controller?

[FlopEJoe]

Whoa! Never saw that. I've played Guitar Hero and the keyboard version. While they're fun rhythm and "DDR for the fingers" type games there's not really any creativity involved. With that vid you can see actually playing something other than the available songs and making your own stuff up. Not that it'd replace a real guitar or even a good synth... just looks like it could be fun. I'd probably check it if it came out.

Re:Will require a controller?

[Anonymous Coward]

I wish I knew who you were so I could friend you.

Re:Will require a controller?

[Macthorpe]

He might have been marked any of those things if he, and by extension you, actually remembered or bothered to find out that the Wiimote can be plugged into other shells. Like, say, a guitar shell.

So you were right when you said it shouldn't be troll or insightful, but "-1 Is Stupid".

Re:Will require a controller?

[Anonymous Coward]

He might have been marked any of those things if he, and by extension you, actually remembered or bothered to find out that the Wiimote can be plugged into other shells. Like, say, a guitar shell.

So you were right when you said it shouldn't be troll or insightful, but "-1 Is Stupid".

A) Where is the shell for the DS?

B) Have you actually used the steering wheel shell for the Wii? Have you used a PS2 or PC steering wheel (with pedals no less)? Do you think the Wii steering wheel shell even comes close?

C) If you're going to make a shell for the Wiimote that looks and functions like a regular Guitar Hero controller, then I have no complaint. However, he was responding to a lot of comments that assumed that wasn't necessary.

D) Where is the shell for the DS?

E) I'm tired of writing in bullet points.

On Slashdot, if we think something is wrong, we're encouraged to disagree in a reply, like you did. Marking someone down for something like this, where he was at very least half right, and definitely not trolling, is not exactly living up to the spirit of debate most of us would like to see here. Considering he was down to -1Troll the last I looked, at least 3 people felt otherwise. Too bad. When you try to shut up your opponents instead of debate them, it's hard to imagine you have a very good position to debate with. If your position is good, why not just speak up?

Re:Will require a controller?

[Anonymous Coward]

If the playstation (or xbox? don't know which system it's released for) version of Guitar Hero comes with a fake-guitar controller, I don't see any reason to think the Wii version wouldn't as well.

Re:Will require a controller?

[webheaded]

You DO realize that the people replying to our ill informed subject are not the ones doing the actual modding, right?

Re:Wii Continues To Be A Third Party Disaster

[timster]

Or, you could say that the Wii gets a major title, previously unavailable on Nintendo systems, due to its huge sales and popularity. You could say that nobody ever said a Wii game had to feature the Wiimote, just like lots of great DS games don't use the stylus. You could say that, if you weren't trolling.

Too Many Heroes

[Applekid]

For what it's worth, I think having a whole bunch of the same games for different consoles causes trouble, and one has to look at DDR and Beatmania for evidence.

Japanese releases of DDR get different songs versus US and European releases. The games go through localization which basically winds up with songs in one country's version of a game and not another's. Imagine if that was pulled with other games: a platformer that the developer made 20 different levels to play in but only 8 of them are common to all the regions and the rest are "region exclusives."

Now with alternate platforms, essentially the SAME game but tuned to different hardware doesn't carry with it the data that drives it. DDR Ultramix on the Xbox includes songs that aren't found on the PS2 analog, so if you're a real fan of a series and gotta have it all you have to get both consoles. Contrast to some other franchise games: if you like Mario games, get a Nintendo branded system and you'll get them: you don't have to worry about 2 months later a new new version of your new game to be announced for a different platform with extra goodies that you should have gotten to begin with.

It's already started with the 360 version of Guitar Hero II. It's going to feature songs not in the PS2 version. Sure, other games do things like that too (like Metal Gear Solid), but with rhythm games the controllers aren't interchangeable between platforms and you end up with a closet full of junk and a game you might pay $50 for only to get maybe $10 worth of new content.

Re:Too Many Heroes

[drinkypoo]

Japanese releases of DDR get different songs versus US and European releases.

This doesn't really matter to more than like five or six people. Most people see it in the arcade and want to play it. What matters is where the track selection varies from the arcade versions.

Re:Too Many Heroes

[denmarkw00t]

you might pay $50 for only to get maybe $10 worth of new content.

I think you're quite mistaken - I would consider myself something short of a GH "enthusiast," and I would have to say that most people who play the game find themselves considerably 'hooked' as the game brings some very fascinating aspects into the rhythm game market. Given it's addictive quality, they could re-release the original Guitar Hero songs on the GH2 engine (as they plan to do for the 360) and I would gladly pay full price, even though I own GH and GH2, simply because I think the rewards of the revamped ho/po system and the addition of rhythm/bass tracks and Co-Op/Pro Face-off would be completely worth the $50 - I can't even imagine playing Texas Flood with the reworked hammer-on's and pull-offs, not to mention Get Ready 2 Rokk, but I bet it would be awesome.

DDR was fun, but it also had two big humps to get over - 1) you have to dance like an idiot in front of your friends and 2) you had to dance like an idiot in front of your friends. Guitar Hero is different, and even though we're going to see some different songs on different platforms, the quality of the gameplay will be more universal than with the different DDR versions, mainly because (I would hope) they're going to keep the same basic principles of the GH engine, you just get slightly different song lists. And for those not wanting to shell out the money for a 360 (like me, I really don't want to), the Wii version brings hope - I'd much rather spend money to get a Wii to put along side my PS2 as long as I know that there will be a Wii GH, because one can only assume that the Wii version - like the 360 version - will include excellent downloadable content (not to mention, I would love to watch my Mii rocking out and lighting his guitar on fire!).

Re:Too Many Heroes

[twistedsymphony]

For what it's worth, I think having a whole bunch of the same games for different consoles causes trouble, and one has to look at DDR and Beatmania for evidence. Japanese releases of DDR get different songs versus US and European releases. The games go through localization which basically winds up with songs in one country's version of a game and not another's. Imagine if that was pulled with other games: a platformer that the developer made 20 different levels to play in but only 8 of them are common to all the regions and the rest are "region exclusives."

As a DDR player I GREATLY appreciate the localization of the game. I've been a fan of the series since the arcade I worked at years ago imported a brand new 2nd Mix machine from Japan. I enjoyed the game but I always thought the music was horrible. I was quite excited when they released the "USA Mix" and the more recent "Ultramix" games on the Xbox have been fantastic. I'd much rather play DDR with tracks from Black Eyed Peas or The Prodigy then some random JPop group.

Similarly I think Guitar Hero would suck if it wasn't localized. Imagine if it was developed by a Japanese company and a majority of the tracks in the game were JPop (kind of like Guitar Freaks) the game wouldn't be nearly as popular. The music is one of the most important parts of those games. Not all localization is bad, not localizing the music in music based games would be like not dubbing or subbing the speech in an RPG. The number of people who would be interested in any "original" Japanese specific music is the same niche group that is probably used to importing stuff anyway. So what if different regions get different music. If they're getting different music is because most of the people in your region probably don't like it.

Re:Too Many Heroes

[Macthorpe]

On the same note, however, as a UK-based DDR player I would much rather be dancing to Papaya than Boyzone...

Re:Too Many Heroes

[maxume]

Causes trouble for who? People who buy it, by definition, want the game more than the $50, and the company most likely pays much less to swap in songs than it does for development of the initial game(meaning that they profit even at lower sales volumes).

Re:Too Many Heroes

[_Hiro_]

If the engine doesn't change, then why not release the "Japan Mix" right next to the "US Mix" for each release? You already know the engine is good from testing the US Mix, just make sure there were no compatibility hiccups for the Japanese data, and then you're out an average of $2-4 per disc in additional development and publishing costs for a game that will sell at $30 each retail in the ~10-20K copies range. (Granted, there could be some lost sales on the US Mix, but...) Figure that wholesale is $18.00 and the publisher just made $140,000 - $280,000 less music royalties on the "Japan Mix".

I would love to have a Guitar Hero where I could rock out to some B'z or Georgie Pie...

Re:Too Many Heroes

[LoverOfJoy]

This is true of anything that becomes popular. If it becomes popular enough you'll eventually have to buy a McDonald's Happy Meal to have a "complete set".

Re:Too Many Heroes

[tepples]

Japanese releases of DDR get different songs versus US and European releases. This doesn't really matter to more than like five or six people. Most people see it in the arcade and want to play it. What matters is where the track selection varies from the arcade versions. The version of DDR Extreme (arcade) commonly seen in the United States is imported from Japan. Therefore, fans of DDR Extreme (arcade) will want the Japanese music.

Re:Too Many Heroes

[ZzzzSleep]

I think this is an excellent opportunity for downloadable content and micropayments to shine here. That way you could have a j-pop expansion, a death metal expansion and so on.

Guitar Hero?

[Shayneisgreat]

I think the propietary controller could plug into the Game Cube port similar to the way that DDR is going to have the dance pad plug into the game cube port then the motion sensing controller will be used for hand movements making the dancing a full body game. You could have two player mode with a guitar and someone else using the Wiimote and nunchuck to simulate playing the drums. Maybe the drummer could control the speed of the song you were playing and try to mess you up. Just some ideas

Re:Guitar Hero?

[MindStalker]

Have you ever seen the Wii remote, its got a handy plug in the back of it for extensions, plug the wiimote into the back of the guitar and you seriously reduce the complexity of the guitar making it even cheaper to produce.

Re:Guitar Hero?

[SpeedyDX]

Or, they could make a slot in the guitar controller, and slip the wiimote into it! No need for any unnecessary extended objects.

Re:Guitar Hero?

[Sizzlean]

True ... or the company making this could say "they're going to buy this no matter how we do it" and release a wired guitar that uses nothing that wasn't in the PS2 or 360 versions of the game. You assume they'll just let you snap in a remote cause it would save money ... why do they care? Activision is no stranger to the generic port. Maybe the Wii will get a Les Paul shaped guitar but I wouldn't count on anything revolutionary. The DS version is just a cash grab.

Re:Guitar Hero?

[MindStalker]

Sure, they might charge you the same, but if it saves money in the manufacturing and development they will do it.

Nintendo-themed songs.

[AceCaseOR]

Aside from the Legend of Zelda theme and the Super Mario Brothers theme, are there any Nintendo Franchises with theme songs conductive to being played on an electric guitar.

Re:Nintendo-themed songs.

[Anonymous Coward]

I say get the minibosses on board to make some awesome GH covers of nintendo (and other companies) songs. Their Mega Man II music would be fun synched with GH.

Re:Nintendo-themed songs.

[NonSequor]

Metroid Metal

Re:Nintendo-themed songs.

[Fozzyuw]

Aside from the Legend of Zelda theme and the Super Mario Brothers theme, are there any Nintendo Franchises with theme songs conductive to being played on an electric guitar.

Good God, if they make "Guitar Hero: Mario Mix", like they did with DDR, then I think I'll personally go down to the Guitar Hero's offices with a stereo set on repeat and play them the Mario theme song.

Seriously, the first 'techno' Mario theme I heard how long ago, was kind of cool and nostalgic the first time but that's it. Nintendo's idea that such theme music is akin to pop, rock, or any other kind of often played music is one reasons they keep their systems feeling 'kiddy' to other gamers.

Sure, a 'secret' unlockable theme song, I'll accept that, as long as I'm still rocking out to Iron Maiden, Deep Purple, Foo Fighters, etc. But in the case of Mario DDR, it was like 10 version of Mario theme music, an a handful of classical music remix, like Beethoven. It really made me feel like not wanting to touch anything Mario with a 10 foot pole. Heck, I even enjoy Mario games in general.

As for the Wii Remote, I'm sure they'll just require you to purchase a whole new guitar controller. If they wanted to do something right... they would create an adapter for the PS2 controllers to plug into the bottom of the Wii-remote. But, they want to sell accessories, so I doubt that will happen. But, now that the Wii is getting Guitar Hero, I guess I can safely sell my PS2, as it's the main reason I'm still keeping it around... that, and to play God of War 2. hehe

Cheers,
Fozzy

Re:Nintendo-themed songs.

[CelticWhisper]

Not technically a Nintendo song, but since the series was on N systems for so long... Castlevania? I mean, how many titles have found their way to NES, Super NES, Gameboy(Pocket|Color|Pocket Color|Advance|Pocket Advance Color SP|Pocket Color SP Advance Kosher Edition), and the DS? Some of Castlevania's songs would translate fantastically into guitar rock. Hell, some of them already have. "Tragic Prince," anyone?

Re:Nintendo-themed songs.

[bradkittenbrink]

tetris works pretty well in my opinion.

Re:Nintendo-themed songs.

[Pxtl]

My exact thought - who makes GH? The megaman games are chock-full of material, but they're Capcom. Minibosses cover of the Metroid themes remains my favourite.

Re:Nintendo-themed songs.

[Alzheimers]

The soundtrack to Rygar was always one of my favorites. Actraiser had some good themes too, even though the Kasandora song tribute sounds suspiciously like Richard Marx's "Hazard".

And Castlevania -- just listen to Bloody Hell from Ailsean and Kaijin over at OCRemix. Damn, I dare you to try that on Expert!

Re:Nintendo-themed songs.

[shoptroll]

The bus theme from Earthbound. 'nuff said.

Re:Nintendo-themed songs.

[_Hiro_]

Red Octane made GH1 and GH2. Future releases will be made by Neversoft/Activision.

Re:Nintendo-themed songs.

[Anonymous Coward]

Half the songs from F-Zero come to mind immediately...

Re:Nintendo-themed songs.

[tepples]

Aside from the Legend of Zelda theme and the Super Mario Brothers theme, are there any Nintendo Franchises with theme songs conductive to being played on an electric guitar.

Have you played Super Smash Bros. Melee? I heard guitar parts on a lot of the songs in that game, such as "Multi-Man Melee" and "Brinstar". Or flesh out some of K.K.'s songs from Animal Crossing Population Growing or Animal Crossing Wild World, which would involve turning off the distortion pedal to get a faux-acoustic sound.

Re:Nintendo-themed songs.

[sehryan]

"As for the Wii Remote, I'm sure they'll just require you to purchase a whole new guitar controller."

But they should be able to make a guitar controller that allows for the Wiimote to just plug in, meaning that the guitar itself should contain significantly less technology, and thus cheaper. For instance, plug the Wiimote in to the guitar, and it is instantly linked to the Wii. No extra wires or wireless components needed.

Re:Nintendo-themed songs.

[Anonymous Coward]

F-Zero, anyone? There are plenty of songs in there that would fit in Guitar Hero.

For God's sake... Metallica!

[Om]

The most perfect Guitar Hero songs is old Metallica music. I'm talking pre-Black Album. I cannot think of a more perfect blend of lead guitar and rhythm that would go perfectly well with Co-op mode.

++Om

Re:Wii Continues To Be A Third Party Disaster

[HappySqurriel]

Anonymous Coward Sony Fanboy Troll,

You seem to have a lot more anger in the tone of your postings lately then you used to ...

I used to read your overly optimistic posts about how the Wii only apealed to "Slashdot nerds" and how the PS3 was going to "Dominate" ... Now you seem to spend all your time senselessly bashing the Wii.

Anyways, back to the topic at hand ...

It doesn't really matter that games (like guitar hero) have appeared on other platforms, what matters is third parties are all starting to look at the Wii as a viable platform and are bringing their games to it; unlike other systems I could name, developers see that they can have a good ROI off of producing/porting a game for the Wii.

I for one rock out to our Guitar Heros!

[WillAffleckUW]

And head bang my way to oblivion with my Wii!

Any chance of them getting some female artists for this one?

Re:I for one rock out to our Guitar Heros!

[Desult]

Any chance of them getting some female artists for this one? What are you trying to say here? GH2 had female artists... It seems like you're slighting Chrissy Hynde, Ann and Nancy Wilson, and Axl Rose! I won't stand for it!

Re:I for one rock out to our Guitar Heros!

[WillAffleckUW]

No, I love Heart, I just mean Sarah McLachlan, Evanescence, that kind.

Re:I for one rock out to our Guitar Heros!

[Anonymous Coward]

But GH needs songs with interesting guitar parts.

Now Ani Difranco has some songs that would be perfect for the top tiers.

Re:I for one rock out to our Guitar Heros!

[_Hiro_]

Gutar Hero: Heart Edition!

I'd buy that!

Re:I for one rock out to our Guitar Heros!

[Anonymous Coward]

I met this girl, she looked like Axl Rose....

Someone needs to make "Piano Hero" so I can pretend to be Ben

Re:I for one rock out to our Guitar Heros!

[Chris Mattern]

What are you trying to say here? GH2 had female artists... It seems like you're slighting Chrissy Hynde, Ann and Nancy Wilson, and Axl Rose!

Not to mention Alice Cooper!

Chris Mattern

Turn Your DS Into a Guitar

[Anonymous Coward]

Utaeru DS Guitar M-06

http://kotaku.com/gaming/ds/turn-your-ds-into-a-gu itar-233477.php

Wonderful!

[Garse Janacek]

I've been waiting for this news for a long, long time.

However, what's with the assumption that the DS will get Guitar Hero? The actual quote is "In fiscal 2008, we'll double our offerings on DS and the Wii, including Spiderman, Shrek, Transformers, and Guitar Hero." -- it seems a peculiar assumption to make that every single one of those things is coming to both platforms. It was just a list of things they'll be bringing to Nintendo systems. Unless the company confirms this, I think it's a very odd interpretation to assume that this means the DS will get Guitar Hero.

That said, though... Guitar Hero on Wii. That single game was the biggest reason I've been tempted, for a long time, to buy a PS2 (there are other games I might play, but nothing else that was worth buying the system). Now, I know I can have it anyway if I just hold out a little while longer.

Now, if I could just find a store with the Wii in stock... :-P

Re:Wonderful!

[Leviance]

Yep, sucks for Sony and M$. I've been holding out for a while now on buying a PS or 360... only game I'm looking for is GH2. However, now I guess I can just wait for the Wii release :)

Re:Wonderful!

[Doctor Faustus]

Guitar Hero on Wii. That single game was the biggest reason I've been tempted, for a long time, to buy a PS2
If you're going to go that far, why not just learn to play guitar?

Re:Wonderful!

[merreborn]

Now, if I could just find a store with the Wii in stock... :-P

It seems the winning strategy is to check the ad for your local store at 8 AM on Sunday morning. If it says they'll have Wiis in stock, they mean it.

Re:Wonderful!

[haddieman]

Guitar Hero on Wii. That single game was the biggest reason I've been tempted, for a long time, to buy a PS2
If you're going to go that far, why not just learn to play guitar?

Come on now. Just because the parent enjoys Guitar Hero doesn't necessarily mean that they don't play guitar. I play guitar (bass actually) myself and I love Guitar Hero. I also know a bunch of guitarists that also enjoy Guitar Hero. I'm getting a little sick of people being like "OMG wannabe!!1!1" when people talk about how they like Guitar Hero.

p.s. I skateboard and I enjoy THPS, but I don't call people posers if they just play the game.

/rant

Re:Wonderful!

[Doctor Faustus]

Seriously? I tried it out at a friend's house, because I wanted to see how they simplified guitar playing. I was expecting to see things like automatically correcting timings to the nearest eighth note, only letting you play notes that are in key, fretting every note perfectly, possibly palm-muting turned on and off with a button, and probably some system to build appropriate chords from single notes.

I was pretty startled to discover that you could only do one set of notes, either right or wrong, and that it bore no actual resemblance to playing guitar. Maybe it was just disappointment that it wasn't something much better that led me to not like it.

Re:Wonderful!

[Garse Janacek]

If you're going to go that far, why not just learn to play guitar?

Well, there's a couple answers. As a related example, I absolutely love Wii Boxing (I've played my brother's system), but have no interest in actually learning how to box in real life. It's a completely different activity. I'm not using Guitar Hero as a stand-in for a real guitar, it's a fun activity all by itself (I've loved pretty much every rhythm game I've ever played).

Or, an alternate but related answer: I do have a guitar, and play it from time to time -- I'm not very good, but when I'm in the right mood it's a lot of fun. But it requires a drastically higher investment in terms of time, practice, concentration, etc., so I'm not likely to progress beyond the level of an occasional fun hobby, and I'm certainly unlikely to be able to play serious songs with a larger group -- guitar hero does approximate this kind of feel. And GH is something anyone can pick up -- I don't have any friends I can invite over to jam with on real instruments, but even people with no music experience can have fun hanging out and playing GH.

The bottom line is that GH is not at all like real guitar playing, and it's not really intended to be -- so while I'm sure there are many people who do both, they're fundamentally different activities with the only real common ground being the sense of rhythm required...

Re:Wonderful!

[haddieman]

Well, you have to remember that it is basically a rhythm game. It's not a guitar simulator. I enjoy it because I can "play" some good songs without necessarily taking the time to learn it. Also, I can play with my friends that don't play guitar on the co-op mode which is pretty fun. I don't think of it as actually playing guitar, it's just an easy way to get some instant gratification. Plus I have learned a couple songs on my bass (John the Fisherman) because it was fun playing them on Guitar Hero.

Re:Wonderful!

[syrinx]

Sounds mainly like you were expecting something completely different. It indeed bears no resemblance to actually playing guitar, but it's not really supposed to... it's DDR, but with a guitar-shaped controller instead of a dance pad.

I play guitar also, but love GH for what it is. Shit, if it were the game you were describing, you really would might as well just play a real guitar.

Re:Wonderful!

[Doctor Faustus]

Shit, if it were the game you were describing, you really would might as well just play a real guitar.
Well, yes, if you already play guitar. If someone did make a system like that, a novice could probably get to a halfway passable level in a couple of hours.

And yes, I was expecting something completely different. I do play guitar, and I assumed someone did something along the lines of what I was describing and I wanted to see how it worked out.

Oh, God, no

[Anonymous Coward]

I love Nintendo, but shoehorning their theme tunes into music games basically killed the Cube as a music game system to me. With the Wii getting DDR and Guitar Hero early in its life it seems it'll be a much more rounded music game system, but if I have to get another console to get the games with real music I'll be disappointed again.
I just don't think the Mario theme is something I want to DDR or Konga to, nor do I want to play it on a guitar. There is an infinity of better music for that purpose - the Mario theme is probably the best happy-platform-game-background-music ever and I love it for that but spreading it around dilutes it. Does anyone really think it'd be better for GH than Metallica, or better for DDR than random techno?

Re:Oh, God, no

[_Hiro_]

The only Mario song I could picture on guitar is the first zone music from Super Mario Bros. 2(US)... And that's mostly because my roommate used to jam along to the music on Guitar while I was playing the game...

controllers...

[Churla]

I agree that the easiest method would be to have a slot on the front of the axe that you click your Wiimote into, it attaches to the guitar through the nunchunk port, and some kind of click lock, or other mechanism to hold it in place...

The actual guitar hero controller is EASILY mapped to a legacy controller such as is already attached via the nunchuk port for virtual console games...

5 button - a, b, c, d, x
Strum trigger - either y button, or maybe use the analog stick to be able to track hos strong your hitting it. Alternately connect the nunchuck and hold it in your hand so it can track the hand motion.
Whammy bar - other analog stick

Movement cues...
Chuck Berry duck hop
Behind the head
Play with teeth

But lets avoid the "Smash into amp to finish the song" move please.

Obligitory

[optkk]

For those of you about to rock, Wii salute you!

Re:Wonderful! or not just PS2 NEmore

[WillAffleckUW]

That said, though... Guitar Hero on Wii. That single game was the biggest reason I've been tempted, for a long time, to buy a PS2 (there are other games I might play, but nothing else that was worth buying the system). Now, I know I can have it anyway if I just hold out a little while longer.

I agree. I actually have a PS2, but just the idea that I can get Guitar Hero on my Wii makes me want to buy that as well. All the cool girls I know love it.

Control Scheme

[Sean0michael]

This sounds like it would be great for the Wii. At first, I thought using the nunchuk would be great for strumming, but the WiiMote just isn't suited for playing the guitar. Fortunately, the Wiimote could easily become the strumming mechanism with a GH dongle plugging into the base. rotate the Wiimote to strumm, move horizontally for whammi... I could see that.

The only thing I'd be concerned about with the dongle is utility. If I've got 5 buttons up there, it sure would be nice to have a neck to slide my hand up and down. I can't really imagine playing it well without it. This will probably be the reason you'll see a full-bodied guitar--meaning GH won't utilize many of the qualities of the Wiimote. Oh well.

well, here you are:

[dunkelfalke]

band plays cannon fodder theme with video game controllers

Re: Nintendo Themes in Addition...

[trdrstv]

I love Nintendo, but shoehorning their theme tunes into music games basically killed the Cube as a music game system to me. With the Wii getting DDR and Guitar Hero early in its life it seems it'll be a much more rounded music game system, but if I have to get another console to get the games with real music I'll be disappointed again.

Though I agree that I wouldn't be drawn to a GH game made up Exclusively of Nintendo themes, there are some like The Metroid Theme that would work well. If they had an exclusive 'Venue' where they played them in addition to the traditional ones, or included them as unlockables I would be thrilled.

Not Nintendo, but...

[meringuoid]

... A whole lot of the tunes from the NES Mega Man games would work well.

The title music from Mega Man 3 is going quite nicely in my head right now, for instance.

Best video game theme rock version ever

[Pheersome]

Any Nintendo classic songs you'd love to see included on the Wii version?

Korobeiniki (AKA Tetris A-Type music), as performed by Ozma. Oh man that song rocks. I'm also partial to the Zelda theme. And maybe somebody can cut a deal with the Minibosses to use some of their work...

Activision

[r00td43m0n]

No wonder Activision went with Neversoft (subsidiary) so they could have endless cash-ins on yet another franchise.
Don't get me wrong, I bet the Wii one will be good but look at what Activision has done with a lot of their franchises, specifically Tony Hawk (another Neversoft title).

Keyboard Mania

[tepples]

Someone needs to make "Piano Hero" so I can pretend to be Ben

Konami has Keyboard Mania... IN JAPAN!

Guitar Hero... Yawn

[Mark Gillespie]

Is this now time for Playstation owners to yawn, and comment about how 2004 Guitar Hero is..

If not, then that's surely hypocrisy from the Xbox owners who said the same about the PS3 Oblivion Elder Scrolls news...