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 In a Gamespot interview, RedOctane's head of publishing, Dusty Welch explains why Neversoft got the development duties for Guitar Hero.
When asked why Neversoft got the deal in the first place, Welch cites Neversoft's track record of developing blockbuster franchises. He notes that the Tony Hawk franchise exceeded more than $1 billion worldwide, so they're pretty confident that Neversoft can take Guitar Hero to another level when it comes to overall gameplay experience.
It gets annoying a bit when Welch was asked why Harmonix isn't developing Guitar Hero anymore. He dodged the questions, and gave relatively safe answers like, "We believe it was a natural and neutral decision for us to look at other opportunities" and he kept on pitching and selling the idea that through Neversoft the game will continue to deliver "phenomenal gameplay."
Well, you can't blame him, it's his job to sell their company's games.
When asked if the franchise's success has made acquiring rights to popular songs easier or not, he says that it somewhat has. He says that there are now a lot of music labels and artists that want to work with them. He also adds that they are considering increasing the proportion of songs done by the original artists as opposed to sound-a-likes. He says:
As Guitar Hero becomes increasingly integrated into the mass market, definitely more original artists and bands will be receptive of having their music in the game. We are considering that option for future titles.
Oh, and if you're a fan of the songs from the original Guitar Hero, Welch asks you not to worry. He explains:
While the songs that will be available for download through the Xbox Live Marketplace have yet to be confirmed, we can assure our fans that they can likely expect to see these songs.
For the complete interview, feel free to use our "Read" link below.
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