Activision has published some of the biggest series in gaming, and have undeniably altered gaming culture along the way. We’re taking a look at the best and most influential Activision published series which we can be thankful for.
Say what you will about Activision’s modern business model, the publisher has hosted a plethora of beloved and memorable titles – as well as some which really sucked, though those won’t make this list.
Guitar Hero
Guitar Hero is somewhat of a wildcard on this list, but the series’ popularity and enjoyable gameplay can’t be denied. The Guitar Hero series rode the Rhythm game trend when it first arrived on PlayStation 2 in 2005, being praised for its catchy combination of popular music and rhythm play, and undefeated replayability.
Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock is said to be the first game to ever surpass one-billion dollars in sales, marking Guitar Hero’s prominence as a household name as a lot of families found the game enjoyable.
Legends of Rock featured one of Guitar Hero’s best song lists and is unrivaled from the series’ other entries, and released after Activision announced it had acquired Guitar Hero developer RedOctane – marking a good starting point for the publisher moving forward with (at the time) the best selling game of all time, but meaning that the likely only way from there was down sales-wise.
Activision’s decision to become the parent company of RedOctane gave us the Guitar Hero titles we remember today and provided the Guitar Hero developers with a lot more resources and exposure as a known name.
Later entries in the series, such as Guitar Hero World Tour, didn’t dwindle in quality, despite never reaching the almost impossible standard of success set by Legends of Rock.
While competing with RockBand, Guitar Hero steadily remained popular over similar Guitar rhythm games until its sales starting dropping in 2009, calling for its long hiatus in 2011.
Despite the latest entry Guitar Hero Live lacking in some areas and taking a bold step away from the rest of the series by adding a ‘Live’ element, in which songs are performed to a concert/festival audience which reacts according to how accurately the player performs, the series still sits fondly in the hearts of a lot of gamers as one of the more memorable rhythm games in the west.
