Earlier today we learned of the existence of a Streets of Rage remake that didn't happen. Some longtime fans of the series, upon hearing this news (and after seeing the concept trailer), were all fairly bummed to find out what could have been.
Though just now there is word that there was once a Guitar Hero 7 in development. And one has to wonder how longtime fans of that particular franchise feel about such news.
But the better question might be: do such people still exist? Hence one possible reason behind its cancellation. According to Kotaku, the plug was pulled by Activision in early 2011.
Details behind the project are somewhat intriguing. Like how it was a return to the series roots, meaning part seven only featured a guitar; the bass, drums, and mic were dropped, which were all mostly weapons against Rock Band to begin with.
Though the new game introduced a brand new type of guitar controller as well, which saw six strings in the place of the strum bar, plus an extra button on the neck. Apparently the new input was a technical disaster. Not only were the strings unresponsive but the new controller was also too costly to produce.
There were issues with the game itself as well. Vicarious Visions, the new developers, decided to start from scratch, which meant dumping all the previous assets and creating a new art style. The end result was some questionable aesthetic choices, but the real deal killer was the music that they would have to utilize. According to Kotaku's sources:
"The game had all of the worst hits from the 1990's. They realized that, with our lack of budget and time, they couldn't get quality music so they bought bargain basement music like 'Closing time' and 'Sex and Candy.' There were some songs in there that had been used at least three times in the GH franchises before."
Some games are cancelled despite holding much potential, but in the cast of Guitar Hero 7, some are also canned because it's just better that way.
