Reports of a possible revival of music rhythm games Guitar Hero and Rock Band have been surfacing over the last few weeks, but can the genre recapture a fanbase that has moved on to other games, allowing their plastic guitars and tiny electronic drum kits to gather dust in the attic?

For a time, it was almost impossible to go to a family gathering or hang out at home with a group of friends without seeing a cluster of people impatiently awaiting their turn as someone clicked and plunked their way through a Metallica solo. And of course, there was always that one guy who could flawlessly play “Through the Fire and Flames” on Expert, loudly making sure that everyone knew that fact.

But something happened somewhere in the midst of the endless sequels, Aerosmith-branded titles, and microtransaction song downloads. People got a little sick of them.

Now, the most recent Guitar Hero game was an iOS title released 5 years ago, and the last Rock Band was a 2012 spin-off mini-game title that came out on the Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network.

Why now?

One of the biggest barriers to success for games like Guitar Hero and Rock Band was the cost of the peripherals required to play the games. The full 4-player version of Rock Band and the later Guitar Hero games required two guitar controllers, a drum set controller, and a microphone. With the added cost of the games themselves and the endless supply of DLC song packs, users could spend well over $100-$200 just for one game.

The controller patent battle between Activision and Harmonix further complicated the issue, as people who played one game could not use the same controllers for another. So while gamers could easily own both Call of Duty and Battlefield, it was usually too expensive to own both Guitar Hero and Rock Band. As a result, neither side really won.

So why would the two games be itching for a comeback now? For one thing, the games’ absence has made the players’ hearts grow fonder. Despite their oversaturation toward the end, the games were actually fun to play.

Perhaps a more cynical view would be to also say that microtransactions are more popular than ever now, and players are not quite so reluctant to part with a few dollars for an extra little chunk of playtime.

photo credit: guitar hero via photopin (license)