Yes, I'm going to be the first to say it. Harmonix, and Activision, you are SCREWING GAMERS. I want to say first that I love these music-rhythm games, so this is not a blog rant about people getting hooked on them and not playing real instruments or whatever. This is a plead to the companies. Please stop warring, you are milking poor gamers and parents of young gamers for money. Its gotten ridiculous.
First of all, the instruments for Rock Band 2 and Guitar Her World Tour are slightly different. The GHWT drum pad has one less pad (so there are three in the center instead of four) and adds two cymbal-pads. Great, how the HELL are you supposed to choose which works for you better? And the guitar for GHWT has a touch-pad for faster shredding. Great, so, if I had RB already, i'd now want to spend 70 or 80 bucks for a new guitar controller (or two if you have guitar and bass).
Now, on to the Song Lists. By separating song lists, you divide gamers and friends. If two friends each get a different game (one gets RB2 and the other GHWT) depending on what kind of songs or bands you like, you will prefer one or the other game. So, if you arent into the other game's songs, or dont know them well, when it comes time for a party, you may be put off, or, if its down to a decision of whose party-house to goto, someone will get left behind. So, you just spent 180 bucks on a game that your friends may not wanna jam with you on. Guess you should just hope that you can find some online friends via forums or something.
On to DLC, which doesnt require as much time as ive mostly covered this in my songlist rant. By having artists choose one or the other, you are polarizing people. What if your favorite band hasnt made an appearance on either game and finally, you hear about it coming out for the OTHER version than the one you purchased? Guess you gotta flush out another $60 to buy the other game's disk and download the content.
Unlike the Console-Wars where certain companies sign on with each console beforehand, and that title or series is always seen on that console (even if it is later ported to others as well) you are making a generally stable investment. You know your favorite games and gaming companies, and you can make a stable investment to ensure that you have the correct console for the games you like when they release. You do not get this guarantee from the artists. First off, artists are not publishing on their sites their preference to which game they want their songs on (and i understand the legal reasons behind this) second, each company is not telling their player-base the specific songs and bands that they are trying to get ahold of. This means you have NO IDEA if your favorite band will make an appearance on either game.
So, basically, when companies war, the gamers/players lose. Hands-down. I've scoured many forums and there are a LOT of people who are just going to get both games. This is ridiculous. Personally, I believe that the two companies need to work together and create the next music-rhythm game. This would be ideal, because they could pool their ideas, money, and resources, and the companies would look more legitimate when presenting the idea to the various artists. As we've seen RB2 and GHWT have ~15 songs in common! What the hell guys?! Please dont make gamers pay twice for something they already have, this is ridiculous. If you are going to compete, be competative, not replicative.
In the end, I believe that the two companies getting separate set lists and instrument tweaks/designs, it is a terrible disservice to the gamers, and to fans of music and the artists.
I will state, however, that if I have to choose, I will likely be getting GHWT. The reason behind this is that my favorite bands are Tool, Slipknot, Nine Inch Nails, Static-X, Rage Against the Machine, A Perfect Circle, System of a Down, Korn, (old)LinkinPark, just to name a few, and to finally see Tool release not one but THREE songs for a rhythm game is amazing, plus that may also mean more Tool and possibly APC downloadable content. Also, they've had RAtM and Slipknot music on GH before, so, it just seems to me to be my best bet. On a side note, what the hell is up with them putting Lacuna Coil's Our Truth on there??? Why the hell wouldnt they put the vastly better recognized "swamped"? This is my complaint for a lot of the bands on GH and RB is that the put songs on there that fans of the band specifically would know, but the average joe who listens to the genre wouldnt. I think they need to put more songs on there that are best recognized by the majority, and then later release whole albums for the hardcore fans of the artist, but thats just my opinion and im sure someone will tell me that the songs listed are in fact the most recognizeable, or something like that. I would love to see SOAD's 'Steal This Album' on there, and definately none of the stuff from LinkinPark's newest album should be on there, but that is just my personal opinion. But, I was very pleased to see Korn's Freak on a Leash, and Filter's Hey Man Nice Shot. I would love to see some Powerman 5000, Rob Zombie, Marilyn Manson, and Godsmack on there too.
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