Guitar Hero Live Vs. Rock Band 4 – Which Game Will Come Out On Top?

E3 2015 showed off two new rhythm games that will see their way to the market this coming Fall – Guitar Hero Live and Rock Band 4. Both are new installments to old franchises and both are likely to be loved by fans of this genre of gaming, but only one can come out on top as the successful rhythm game of Fall 2015. This is not to say that both games will not prevail. However, with these rhythm-style games, they obviously have to compete with one another in terms of sales and player satisfaction to be on top for this genre of gaming. So there lies the question – which game will come out on top this Fall?

Which Game Will Have More Sales?

One of the most important aspects when looking at competing games is seeing which game will provide the most revenue and will sell the most. For one, Guitar Hero Live will be a lot less expensive than Rock Band 4 – by a whole $100. Rock Band 4 will sell for $250, and Guitar Hero Live will sell for $150. That includes the instruments and everything – perhaps if you just buy the game alone it would be a lot cheaper, but seeing that neither game will support backwards compatibility with previous controllers. Both games might seem a bit costly for your average gamer, but because Guitar Hero Live will be a bit cheaper, more people will probably buy it. However, because Rock Band 4 is so expensive, the revenue might be more than Guitar Hero Live. In addition, Guitar Hero Live will be sold on more platforms – Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Wii U; Rock Band 4 will release solely on Xbox One and PlayStation 4.  It will be a tough call in terms of revenue, but it looks like Guitar Hero Live will sell more copies than Rock Band 4 just because it’s more compatible and it’s cheaper.

Which Game Will Have The Best New Content?

New content is vital to keeping a franchise going. Without it, all franchises would die after their first release. Guitar Hero 4 will see something that it never has before – a sixth button. The addition of the 6th button will add a lot of new possibilities for expert modes in the game. In addition, chords can even be made with the guitar, because the frets will be 2×3, so there will be two rows with three buttons. The beginner modes will only use the first row of buttons whereas the expert modes will use both rows and much more chords. Besides new songs and a wider variety of music, that’s about it for Guitar Hero Live in terms of new content that we know of at this time. Rock Band 4 will be much more vast with its new content. This includes a wider variety of songs, freestyle guitar solos, and a reward and penalty system for career mode. In addition, vocalists can improvise to a degree to add to a song and drummers can count off to the start of a song, as they would in real life. In terms of new content, Rock Band 4 will pass by with flying colors.

Which Game Will Satisfy Fans?

Both games have new features that will satisfy their fans. However, Rock Band 4 will likely satisfy fans a bit more than Guitar Hero Live because of the new content it’s bringing in. In addition, Rock Band 4 is expected to have more songs and will have lots of downloadable content, which will probably include a lot of songs that the game doesn’t come with. This will also help with Rock Band’s revenue, as downloadable content can never go wrong (unless you over-do it, like what Nintendo is doing). Both games will feature a wide variety of music as well. Guitar Hero Live will feature groups/artists such as Fall Out Boy, Green Day, Rolling Stones, Queen and My Chemical Romance. Rock Band 4 will feature groups/artists such as The Who, The Killers, Ozzy Osbourne, Aerosmith, and even Elvis Presley. Even though both games seem to be at a tie with the variety of music they are releasing, Rock Band 4 will most likely satisfy fans more because it will be more fun to play in a group with this game than Guitar Hero Live because of how realistic it will feel. It will feel like you are performing at actual gigs and there will be actual rewards and consequences, which is something that neither game has shown before in previous installments.

So… Which Game Will Come Out On Top?

Both games are likely to succeed and satisfy their fans, but Rock Band 4 takes it just a few more steps forward than Guitar Hero Live. With all of the new content, it is bound to satisfy fans and come out on top as the best rhythm-style game for Fall 2015. The only places Rock Band can really go wrong is the initial platforms it will release on and the price – which is at a whopping $250. Therefore, Rock Band might not be the game for some gamers, but for those who do decide to get the game, it will definitely be worth it. Rock Band 4 will feel realistic and will most likely see the most sales out of all of its previous installments. Rock Band 4 will definitely prevail as the top rhythm-style game of Fall 2015.