On April 13th, Activision launched a new version of their popular Guitar Hero, and they celebrated the video game’s release with a star-studded event. Chief amongst the event’s attendees was Fall Out Boy’s Pete Wentz and My Chemical Romance’s Gerard Way, both of whom appeared onstage to play a round of the newest version of the popular game.
CEO Eric Hirshberg took the stage at the launch party to introduce the crowd to the newest version of the game, which featured a redesigned control that was still shaped like a guitar but more ergonomically correct. After sharing the details of the new system, he called Pete Wentz out to give the new version of the game a shot. The musician performed the game’s rendition of Fall Out Boy’s “My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark,” playing at an advanced level and missing a few notes on the controller.
Wentz went on to explain that he had been playing the game with his Fall Out Boy bandmates “since the beginning,” going on to state, “we played it on the tour bus.” He cited his favorite song to play to was Radiohead’s “Creep.” My Chemical Romance’s Gerard Way shared a similar experience with the video game. He claims that he and the band played Guitar Hero frequently throughout the writing process for their 2006 record Black Parade. He claimed that playing the game and revisiting certain songs “rekindled something for me” and inspired several of the songs My Chemical Romance has released.
Way went on to explain that he felt that the game’s experience was “pretty real.” He went on to say, “when you’re looking at that mass of people, that is really what it feels like.” The musician also took a shot at the new game playing a cover of MCR’s “Na Na Na” and performing excellently.
The relaunch of Guitar Hero symbolizes the first time that a new version of the game has been released since 2010’s Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock. Hirshberg commented on the sudden and rapid decline of interest in the game while sharing the company’s plan to keep things fresh this time around. Their biggest goal is to keep things fun instead of competing with other systems or streaming services. “The world seemed to run out of appetite for [Guitar Hero] all at once.”
He went on to explain, “to be totally candid with you, we really do try to not get confused that we are making a video game. All of our energy goes into that…Music discovery is a part of it as it relates to the game experience, but it’s an interactive experience first and foremost.” He hopes that as long as they keep the focus on a “fun experience” that fans will keep coming back.
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