Guitar Hero Video Game Series

The first part of the series, i.e. Guitar Hero, debuted in 2005 on the PlayStation 2 console. The production, the fruit of cooperation between Harmonix Music Systems studio and RedOctane company, was sold in a set with a special controller in the shape of a guitar. The title was an artistic and commercial success, so a year later it saw a continuation, the game released on the PlayStation 2. Guitar Hero IIwhich also hit the Xbox 360 in 2007. Following the blow, the same year the developer and publisher put into the hands of players the third installment of the series, namely Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock, which appeared on all major platforms (including personal computers) and was a spectacular commercial success; suffice it to say that it was the first video game in history to generate sales revenues in excess of a billion dollars.

After RedOctane was acquired by Activision and Harmonix studios by MTV Games, Neversoft Entertainment, previously known primarily through the series of Tony Hawk. We did not have to wait long for the fruit of the new team's labor, because already in 2008 on consoles (and in 2009 on PCs) appeared the game Guitar Hero: World Tour. This time, players could play not only guitarists, but also drummers or vocalists. The full-fledged fifth installment of the series, the Guitar Hero 5, made its debut on consoles in 2009. It is worth noting that 2009 marked the peak of the popularity of the brand in question; Activision argued at the time that it ranked third on the list of biggest brands among video games, placing behind the series Super Mario and series Madden NFL. The sixth installment of the series, viz. Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock, on the other hand, appeared in 2010. Despite the numerous successes, over the years the popularity of the series (and at the same time of the entire genre) began to wane, so after the release of the last mentioned position, Activision decided to shelve the described series. In 2015, the publisher decided to try once again to conquer the market, releasing a reboot of the series, the game Guitar Hero Live, developed by FreeStyleGames studio. However, the title did not live up to expectations, so shortly thereafter the team responsible for it was sold to Ubisoft, and support for the game itself came to an end.

Over the years, the series Guitar Hero has lived to see a number of side installments, such as those focused on individual bands Guitar Hero: Aerosmith (2008), Guitar Hero: Metallica (2009) i Guitar Hero: Van Halen (2009), as well as the games Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s (2007), Guitar Hero: Smash Hits (2009). In addition, the brand received spin-offs, in the form of the game Band Hero (2009) or the series DJ Hero (2009-2010). In addition, the games were released Guitar Hero, designed for handheld consoles and mobile devices.