Konami trademarks 'Guitar Revolution'

By Patrick Caldwell, GameSpotPosted Jul 10, 2006 3:57 pm PT

The maker of Guitar Freaks may be planning a new axe-based music game for US release.

Perhaps hoping to capitalize on some of the success of Red Octane's breakout hit Guitar Hero, publisher Konami has made a filing with the US government to trademark the moniker "Guitar Revolution"--a title that shares the nomenclature found in the company's other music and rhythm games.

The trademark, filed with the US Patent and Trademark Office on June 29, is littered with selected keywords and phrases used to describe the company's new endeavor. Among the trademark's listed descriptions are "video game controller in the form of an electronic toy guitar, sold as a unit," "stand alone electronic game machines with electronic toy guitars," and "coin-operated video games."

If Konami does release a guitar-based rhythm game, it won't be unfamiliar territory for the Japanese company. In 1999 it released the arcade and PlayStation game Guitar Freaks, often seen as the inspiration for last year's Guitar Hero on the PlayStation 2. Red Octane's Guitar Hero has since spawned a sequel and scored critical praise, industry nods, and more than 400,000 copies sold, despite a hefty $70 price tag.

The name of Konami's trademark--"Guitar Revolution"--also fits snugly into Konami's current line of other Revolution music-based games, Dance Dance Revolution and Karaoke Revolution.

Konami had not responded to a request for comment as of press time.

53 Comments

  • Horrormaster

    Posted Aug 24, 2006 6:22 am PT

    GAY

  • AJmon13

    Posted Jul 21, 2006 7:56 am PT

    d00d! I just had a thought...what if they put Daikenkai into this Guitar Revolution game? It would work ^_^

  • beinss

    Posted Jul 20, 2006 11:44 am PT

    too bad the only system that can do drums perfectly would be the Rev.

  • GERARDAMO

    Posted Jul 18, 2006 9:50 am PT

    Darn... so much for Drummania, that could have been what made Guitar Freaks (...Revolution... ugh) more popular than Guitar Hero. I doubt I'll buy either game. This sucks, I really wanted Drummania.

  • Yankeefan320

    Posted Jul 16, 2006 5:17 am PT

    Gutar Hero 2 is gonna be awsome but i wish you could download your own songs and play those, that would be sweet.

  • EvilPizzaMan

    Posted Jul 14, 2006 3:21 pm PT

    Hmm, Konami's Guitar game will probably be good, but I doubt it will top Guitar Hero. The music in the Revolution games is usually pretty bad in my opinion. Can't really say what the gameplay will be like though.

  • senpuuken

    Posted Jul 12, 2006 1:14 pm PT

    this is gonna be awesome, the only thing i wish is too keep the soundtrack the same as the most recent japanese release, guitar freaks V2. Anything close to that as an home console, would be amazing. woot!

  • Binky42

    Posted Jul 11, 2006 9:58 pm PT

    "when all is said and done, I think Guitar Hero has done more for the rhythm genre than probably any other game that has ever come out, or will come out... hands down... the game is so near perfect only the sequel could ever top it..."



    ............


    Is that a joke??

  • Dominuss

    Posted Jul 11, 2006 8:33 pm PT

    Whatever the case may be - be it Konami ripping off Red Octane or vice versa - I just hope the have the sense to let us use the same controller for Konami's new game instead of buying a new one. That would be plain stupid on their side.

  • DDRMark

    Posted Jul 11, 2006 7:10 pm PT

    its about **** time!

  • montesol

    Posted Jul 11, 2006 3:37 pm PT

    the more chances I get to rock out with my, well to rock out while pretending to be on stage is fine by me.

  • Skylock00 Site moderator

    Posted Jul 11, 2006 1:02 pm PT

    Once again, those who think that this is Konami ripping off of Harmonix are a bit mistaken, as Konami was pretty much the first company to go full out with performance based music games, having made Guitar Freaks before the turn of the millenium. They've also made music games based on playing the drumset, keyboards, congas, in addition to their dancing games (DDR, DancemaniaX, ParaParaParadise), so Konami started this whole genre.

    Harmonix did a great job on Guitar Hero in making it for the Western Market, by having a solid interface, well formed note patterns, and a good song selection with relatively accurate renditions being used. The existance of two guitar simulation games isn't going to be that problematic, IMHO, and will only benefit the music game genre by appealing to a wider audience through different music library choices.

    At any rate, please keep comments either bashing either company, or making broadbased statements regarding music/culture from either Japan or Western countries to youselves to avoid needless heat. Thanks.

  • i_love_my_ds

    Posted Jul 11, 2006 10:45 am PT

    awesome! I've never played guitar hero, but it looks pretty cool

  • RazMasters

    Posted Jul 11, 2006 10:44 am PT

    "Guitar Hero is ripping off Konami. Red Octane just basically took the idea and threw in a bunch of trashy old metal to attract the Western audience."

    Someone's a little jealous.

    As a fan of Konami's music games, I've played all of them, except for "Pop N Music." "Guitar Freaks" is a game I really appreciate because I do love Japanese music, but it is in no way technically superior to "Guitar Hero." Furthermore, to say that Red Octane and Harmonix simply ripped Konami off isn't kind, nor deserved, as Harmonix has done favors for Konami in the past (including the creation of the "Karaoke Revolution" series). They have enjoyed a mutual relationship, not a bitter one, as your fanism would imply.

    Also, if you dislike the music in "Guitar Hero," you must not have a taste for rock, as there are many classics and good examples of talented guitar riffing in there. Either that, or your adoration for Konami has blinded you to the talent of the people at Red Octane and Harmonix.

  • Kodai_kun

    Posted Jul 11, 2006 10:07 am PT

    All the music in Guitar Hero is very popular in Japan. I wish Guitar Hero would incorporate songs of the great Japanese guitarists like Tak Matsumoto and Hide. There are a ton of amazing Japanese guitarists that people even inside J-music fandom never hear about because it's so hyperfocused on a few styles and artists. To choose a popular song, there's no way anyone wouldn't enjoy playing "Kurenai" by X on Guitar Hero. Awesome opening licks, killer solo (even better with GH2 because X was a 2 guitar group, often doing a lot of harmonizing with them) and very difficult middle. Or how about Art of Life?

    I seriously doubt that GR will be anythign close to GH in terms of quality. The people at harmonix are simply masters of the genre, and the fine-tuned touch they bring to it is superior to anything any other studio has managed to put out

  • BobbyBobby85

    Posted Jul 11, 2006 10:05 am PT

    Why is everyone calling this game a rip-off of Guitar Hero? If any of you presumed "gamers" had any REAL knowledge of the industry you cherish so dear, it wouldn't take a lot to know that Konami made Peripheral based guitar games FIRST. Sure they may have been arcade only, but if you want to get technical, Guitar Hero is ripping off Konami. Red Octane just basically took the idea and threw in a bunch of trashy old metal to attract the Western audience.

  • WolfSkill5544

    Posted Jul 11, 2006 9:53 am PT

    Wow, I'm really excited about Konami's news.

  • metdevthegamer

    Posted Jul 11, 2006 8:56 am PT

    black_cat19 said:
    "I'm not really interested on a guitar-sim if it doesn't (and there's NO WAY it will) have metal tunes on it..."

    I wish it had metal tunes on it, then I might actually play it. J-Pop's interesting in its own way, but it won't sway me to play this game like metal would.

  • ReyWing

    Posted Jul 11, 2006 8:18 am PT

    Gawd, dont forget about the DJ. Beatmania IIDX is where it's at. Plus, I dont think Guitar Hero was that revolutionary. THe GUI looks like Frequency's GUI. And the basic concept is just a USA version of Guitar Freaks. Guitar Hero is still a pretty awesome game that I need to play more of though.

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