Guitar Hero III Leading the way?

[dodgyknees]

Lifted from IGN. Really surprised me as everyone I know is looking forward to RB much more than GHIII. Amongst my wrong side of 30, beer belly friends we also agreed we'd rather have had GHIII delayed in the UK the RB.

Thoughts?

US, October 24, 2007 - Rock Band, the upcoming multi-instrument music game from MTV and Harmonix, has seen a significant spike in interest in the months leading up to its November launch. But Guitar Hero III is still rocking harder in the minds of gamers, and the RedOctane/Neversoft title will likely lead the way in sales, according to a report released today by IGN GamerMetrics.

In an analysis of both games' traffic in IGN.com since the beginning of the year, GamerMetrics concluded that Rock Band may be pushing the music and rhythm genre in new and exciting directions but that Guitar Hero III is emerging as the perceived safest bet for the mass market.

"I don't expect that Rock Band will be able to keep up with Guitar Hero III with regards to sales. Guitar Hero III has a significant edge across three crucial categories: pricing, brand recognition, and being first to market," said GamerMetrics analyst Nick Williams.

The Guitar Hero III bundle has a suggested retail price of $89.99 for Wii and PlayStation 2 and $99.99 for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, while the Rock Band bundle retails for $159.99 for PlayStation 2 and $169.99 for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. The GHIII bundle includes a guitar, and the Rock Band bundle comes with a guitar, drums and microphone.

"Historically, Guitar Hero has shown that there is some flexibility in regard to consumer acceptance of [pricing] issues, but it is yet unknown where the limit lies," Williams said. "Considering that Rock Band's price-point is similar to that of some game systems it may very well be over that limit."

Guitar Hero III is set for release on Oct. 28, and Rock Band is scheduled for a Nov. 23 release.

Both games made GamerMetrics' list of IGN readers' top 12 most anticipated upcoming games - Guitar Hero III and Rock Band for the Xbox 360 took the No. 10 and 11 spots respectively.

Since the beginning of 2007, Guitar Hero III has been the king of music game-related pageviews on IGN.com, logging 22 million year-to-date. Rock Band has received 10 million pageviews.

Both games have made thousands of gamers' wishlists - GHIII makes an appearance on more than 5,700, while Rock Band made over 2,900 lists.

But it's on IGN.com's message board posts where Guitar Hero III really reigns. The third installment in the axe-shredding game has been the subject of 25,000 posts this year, compared to Rock Band's 4,000.

[hardyfoster]

well i'm sure many will not buy it once they play it.

the gamers will, but alot of others won't. i was just as excited to play it until i experienced those note charts. the game doesn't feel right at all.

"I don't expect that Rock Band will be able to keep up with Guitar Hero III with regards to sales. Guitar Hero III has a significant edge across three crucial categories: pricing, brand recognition, and being first to market," said GamerMetrics analyst Nick Williams

he forgot to analyze the name HARMONIX MUSIC.
there are many people including me that was set on buying rock band as soon as it was heard Harmonix was making it.

a guy that is a gamer type told me he didn't even like GH3. I'm not part of the gh3 /rb wars, but RB is gonna smoke GH3 in sales ! once word of mouth hits and we show RB to friends and relatives (just like GH 1) this is going to be another killler for harmonix!

next additions for Rock Band: harmonica (just kidding)

[chaopolis]

next additions for Rock Band: harmonica (just kidding)

...I'm NOT kidding... bring on the harmonica (harmonix-ica?)

[dodgyknees]

I think you're right. The amount of people that played GH2 at my house and went to the lengths of buying a 360 after not owning a games machine at all just to play GH2 at home was immense.

I can see this happening even more with RB. Especially as the song choice is more commercial. The amount of times killer queen was played when GH2 came out at a party went beyond funny! I think the RB song choices are more likely to appeal to the casual gamer.

Regarding the IGN page views, my only thought is I see quite a lot of moronic posts there. Perhaps GHIII attracts more of the LOL I AM TEH WIN SUXXXORS type.

I am buying both games, but GHIII is merely keeping RB's seat warm until it arrives at dodge towers.

[hardyfoster]

that's what i was going to do with gh3 but i don't like it. i'm not even going to play it. i tried playing it a second time, it's just not fun.

[Thrashdragon]

Guitar Hero III has name recognition, is also coming out for a platform that everyone and their brother has, but there are no freaking games for (the Wii), and it's cheaper since there are no guitar+game, drum+game, mic+game bundles at this point. Initially it will kill Rock Band in sales.

As time goes on and more people get to experience the game, and if they live up to the DLC promise, Rock Band will rule in the end.

Also, if you can afford to blow $200 on a videogame, then throwing down another $100 to get GHIII isn't a big deal. Which is why most of us are getting both, even if GHIII will mainly be a placeholder until RB arrives. The reverse isn't true.

[tbradshaw]

Flawless commentary, Thrashdragon.

[Reaper0563]

I actually decided to go with Rock Band over GH3, but I felt like I was going to miss out. Being super bummed, I downloaded the demo and played all the songs. Now I don't care that I'm missing out. The HOPO's are so easy now that there really is no point, might as well give you the points. I played the GH3 demo for a while then went back to play GH2, now I can't play GH2, got used to the way GH3 felt. Gh2 is too hard for me now and I will have to relearn the harder gameplay, thanks Neversoft :mad: .

[dodgyknees]

lol. I havent played gh2 since the demo. Still more excited about RB though. Please god it's early Q1 2008 for us Brits.

[OverkilleD]

Guitar Hero III has two distinct advantages in its favor...firstly, it's an established name. Most people aren't going to care who developed the game. Secondly, and most importantly, Guitar Hero 3 is MUCH less expensive...and that generally rules with American consumers.

However, at the end of the day, it really doesn't matter one damn bit which game sells more. Both will be successful and Rock Band will be successful enough to warrant expansions/DLC/sequels for many years to come.