Activision, the number two independent game publisher, says the series is one of the fastest growing brands of all time. The company is currently preparing to release the third installment this fall next to EA’s Rock Band, a game that some are calling the “Guitar Hero killer.”
“Don’t underestimate Red Octane’s hardware,” Kassoy responded when asked about EA’s highly anticipated and more diverse music game. Rock Band not only features guitar, but drums, bass, and vocals all simultaneously.
Harmonix, who developed the first two Guitar Hero games for Activision before moving on to EA to develop Rock Band, only have experience in software development said Kassoy, suggesting that Rock Band’s hardware and software combination may not match Guitar Hero’s proven experience. He also stressed the expected price differential of both games, saying that Rock Band will cost several times more than Guitar Hero when considering all the additional instrument controllers of the former.
With regards to the company’s recent acquisition of DemonWare, Activision plans to use the technology as the infrastructure for all its online-enabled games, including those found on Xbox Live, PlayStation Network, and Wii online.
The Activision executive also dished on casual games for Wii, a topic that became something of a buzzword at this year’s E3. “You’re going to see a big shift in our development for Wii, and I’m not just talking about ported games.”