What Guitar Freaks Could Have Been Like In North America

Before Guitar Hero was a hit and Rock Band was a billion dollar franchise Working Designs attempted to bring Konami’s Bemani music game Guitar Freaks overseas.

“We were trying to bring Guitar Freaks over at the same time, “Vic Ireland, President of Gaijinworks, told me in an interview. Patent problems with Harmonix’s guitar controller prevented Working Designs from moving forward with the project.

The Guitar Freaks Ireland envisioned would have custom PlayStation 2 guitars. Each rock star replica would unlock tracks from that musician. A Billy Idol guitar, for example, would unlock Billy Idol songs. “They concentrated on the bands not the guitarist,” Ireland explained.

Plans to localize Guitar Freaks with rock and roll were canned a long time ago. What if Working Designs launched the game as an early competitor to Guitar Hero? Do you think it could have been a hit?