Guitar Hero helped to usher in an era of music rhythm games. From its simple beginnings as a game laced with cover bands and featuring a single plastic guitar, Guitar Hero quickly became a household name. Guitar Hero was a mainstay at parties, as its adjustable difficulty could turn the most green gamers into pseudo rock stars. As time went on, Guitar Hero became overshadowed by Rock Band. The franchise has been playing catchup ever since.

Guitar Hero‘s worst kept secret is a fitting headline for the post that showed up on Metallica’s website today (January 15, 2008). We found out ages ago that Metallica would be following in the footsteps of Aerosmith by getting their own Guitar Hero game, but a release date wasn’t specific until now. On March 29, 2009, Guitar Hero Metallica will be in stores all over North America for the PS3 and Xbox 360. Other countries will have to wait until early May to their hands on the game. PS2 and Wii versions should be coming out in May as well.

Guitar Hero Metallica will be the first game in the franchise to incorporate double kick pedals and a new expert plus mode for hardcore players. 28 Metallica songs are included in the game along with other artists that Metallica likes or was influenced by such as Slayer, Foo Fighters, Alice in Chains and Queen. We’ll also see real life venues…

Activision today (July 21, 2008) announced that the upcoming Guitar Hero World Tour game will feature the likeness and music of the late, great guitar legend, Jimi Hendrix.

According to the company’s press release:

Hendrix will be featured in the game as a playable character, along with two of his most recognizable master tracks, “Purple Haze (Live)” recorded in 1969 at the San Diego Sports Arena and “The Wind Cries Mary.” Additional exclusive songs from the legendary artist will follow as downloadable content.

This naturally begs the question…

Those interested in developing the next big thing for the music gaming genre need look no further than the Guitar Hero series for a lesson in monumental success. According to GameDaily, the series has already raked in over $1 billion for the series publisher, Activision, and in a record time of 26 months. The series has sold more than 14 million copies in North America since the release of the original Guitar Hero title in fall of 2005.

As if the game wasn’t coming out for enough platforms already, Activision announced that Guitar Hero III will be available for both Mac and Windows PCs. The ports are both being handled by Aspry Media, known for porting Stubbs the Zombie and assorted other EA titles to PC. The game is set to come out more »