MTV Buys Harmonix. Is Guitar Hero Ruined?

When Activision bought Guitar Hero publisher Red Octane earlier this year, Guitar Hero geeks rejoiced; the purchase meant more money and development power for Red Octane, and that meant more frequent releases and updates for us.

The announcement today that MTV has purchased Harmonix -- the other half of the Guitar Hero team -- is not eliciting the same throwing of goats and rocking out of star power.Harmonix deserves the money, no one will dispute that, but the acquisition is certainly worrying. Part of the reason Harmonix has been able to get away with dumping obscure, yet appreciated and known, songs and artists into their Guitar Hero games comes from their independence from the mainstream, but aligning themselves with MTV is essentially the polar opposite.

On one hand, MTV's resources could allow Harmonix to truly blossom as a studio. The darker, more cynical hand, however, believes Harmonix will be forced into promoting MTV's band-of-the-minute. Now That's What I Call Punk Pop: Guitar Hero Edition, featuring Fall Out Boy, The Audition and Panic! At The Disco --- coming soon? Tears are rolling already.MTV hasn't done anything good for music or popular culture in over a decade, so there is legitimate cause for concern, but Harmonix is just one half of the creative team, so there's a very good chance that the cash infusion and legitimacy (within the mainstream, and with the damn kids today) that MTV brings to the game will help future releases, while the involvement of Red Octane, Activision, and -- oh yeah, the creative people at Harmonix who love this game as much as the players do -- will prevent the same people who ruined MTV from ruining Guitar Hero.

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