Guitar Hero '80s edition in June -- maybe July
by Alexander Sliwinski 
{ May 2nd 2007 at 1:00AM }
A Guitar Hero: '80s Edition for PlayStation 2 was unofficially announced back in January by EGM. Although the game still hasn't been officially announced -- like some other games that kept popping up without official confirmation -- sites are starting to show release dates for GH: '80s.Gamespot says GH: '80s is being released June 4, 2007. However, Gamefly and Amazon Canada (but not US) have the title slated for a July 31 release. Gamefly has been a pretty reliable source for a title being legitimate, but the release date is up for debate. What we do know is that the ESRB has not rated the game yet. So rockin' to the '80s is in the cards for the near future, but we hope to get a solid date real soon for this still officially unannounced game.
[Thanks, Brian]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Dave Silva @ May 2nd 2007 1:04AM
FINALLY! WOO HOO!
Rubang B @ May 2nd 2007 1:06AM
Hey I used to know those guys when I was like 5.
Fernando Rocker @ May 2nd 2007 1:07AM
Yes! Finally some good music...
Guitar Hero II is a crap... Nirvana sucks, MTV Bands sucks...
Only a few are good: Megadeth, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Kiss... and some other.
Guitar Hero I... almost every song is a good song.
sheppy @ May 2nd 2007 1:11AM
Mathew Good Band > jOO!
Having said that, as long as we can manage to get through this without the ultimate in "it's fucking rubbish, let it go" songs, Every Rose Has It's Thorn, I'll be happy.
Cmo4Ever @ May 2nd 2007 1:12AM
NO good artists in GH 2? Come now. Iron Maiden, Alice Cooper, Pearl Jam, STP, Jane's Addiction, Alice in Chains, Rolling Stones, Allman Brothers. That game is bursting with great music.
Negativecool @ May 2nd 2007 1:11AM
More milking of GH I see...Instead of coming out with one outrageously amazing game with the master list of songs--hey let's milk this thing for all it's worth and come out with "era" editions, "dub" editions, "remix dub" editions, and the all important "platinum mega super remix uber 1337 X-edition". GH's are going to be coming out like Pokeman, Madden, Need for Speed, etc. Soon they will find a way for them to be on every console, PC, and handheld. And people will buy them...because people are stupid. Thank you.
Pojo Baon @ May 2nd 2007 1:12AM
I hope they either port this to 360 or make it available for download.
Fernando Rocker @ May 2nd 2007 1:15AM
We need some Poison, Iron Maiden, Whitesnake, Skid Row, AC/DC, Metallica, Bon Jovi, Judas Priest, Deep Purple, Ozzy, Black Sabbath, Van Halen, ahh and of course... DIO!
And the difficult songs: Steve Vai, Eric Johnson, Batio.
Oh men! I love fucking 80's!!!
Fernando Rocker @ May 2nd 2007 1:16AM
@Cmo4Ever
I know... they are some great bands (you miss Guns n Roses)
I was talking the shitty new rock-punk bands...
Fernando Rocker @ May 2nd 2007 1:18AM
@Cmo4Ever
And you also miss Rush...
quazi @ May 2nd 2007 1:24AM
any word on a 360 version =(?
KShark28 @ May 2nd 2007 1:30AM
I feel like the first two games were 80's-heavy enough as it is...I would really rather have a little more classic '70s rock, or even early 90's stuff like soundgarden and sublime...
Cmo4Ever @ May 2nd 2007 1:28AM
I left a couple out, just saying I think the majority of the music in the game is good. I also leftout Rage because the cover freaking sucks.
samfish @ May 2nd 2007 1:33AM
Jeez, this series is doing to be milked dry before 2009, I suspect.
Anyway, I pretty much hated the 80's, musically, so this is a definite pass for me.
uglyteeth @ May 2nd 2007 1:56AM
I hope they release 5000 different versions of guitar hero. It's all about the songs to me. New songs, more songs = happy me.
RT @ May 2nd 2007 2:08AM
Why won't they announce the game officially already?! It's killing me.
Purple Haze @ May 2nd 2007 2:14AM
@ Fernando Rocker
I haven't listened to much of Black Sabbath's 80's music but i know they didn't have ozzy and also all they're really famous songs like war pigs and iron man were written in the 70's with ozzy. But god dammit they better not haveany of that bark at the moon shit! I still wonder why in the hell they didnt have something like crazy train or i dont know, instead they have one of ozzys worst songs.
Also they should have the 60's instead of the 80's or at least the 70's, seeing as it doesn't make much sense having a guitar game without hendrix.
Enviable27 @ May 2nd 2007 3:18AM
Master of Puppets Baby!!!
bounchfx @ May 2nd 2007 2:24AM
GH2 was a bajillion times better than gh1
Guy- @ May 2nd 2007 3:08AM
Guitar Freaks is on its 14th version (and its almost 10 years old) its far from being dead. Guitar Hero will unfortunately never end.
Jeff @ May 2nd 2007 3:13AM
I know I'm not the only person on the planet that wants some classic hardcore punk in this game. Black Flag, Descendents, Dead Kennedys, Minor Threat, Husker Du...so many great bands. I mean, I'm sure they'll skip all those and just throw crappy hair metal at me, but I can dream.
Aex @ May 2nd 2007 3:17AM
@Guy-
"Guitar Hero will unfortunately never end."
I don't see where this is unfortunate...
Vexorg @ May 2nd 2007 3:56AM
There's not a whole lot of 80s stuff I care for (at least not 80s stuff that would fit into a GH game) but I'd love to see a classic rock version, chock full of stuff like Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, The Doors, Hendrix, The Rolling Stones, Clapton, Eagles, The Who and other stuff like that. GH2 does actually provide some good selections in that department (I've had Deep Purple's "Hush" going through my head quite a bit lately after playing it) but I'm not a big fan of the newer stuff.
serotoninzero @ May 2nd 2007 4:08AM
Expect the songs to be downloadable for 360's GH2 for the low, low price of $95. Hey man. Don't complain. The rights for the songs cost a lot of money.
2kings @ May 2nd 2007 5:08AM
bring it!!!!!!!!!!!
warren @ May 2nd 2007 5:12AM
I don't see why a 360 version can't be released to just Xbox Live (I know they will need one for people with out live) But they can have three models.
Game with Guitar
Game
Game downloaded off of Live
Hoffer @ May 2nd 2007 6:36AM
I want this on the 360 and I want a full DVD release. I want my achievements. :-)
FSK405K @ May 2nd 2007 6:39AM
Malmsteen!
Loki @ May 2nd 2007 8:22AM
Hey microbunghole some of us live where broadband is not available put the shit on disc and on xbox live...
GOD I HATE DIAL-UP....
Matt @ May 2nd 2007 9:35AM
Yeah show us 360 owners some love! I want to rock some hair metal.
LoopyChew @ May 2nd 2007 10:24AM
Please, PLEASE let "Walk Like an Egyptian" be on there...
Thisguy @ May 2nd 2007 9:52AM
I'm sure they'll release the song via Live for the 360 but I think I'm going to save about 50$ by buying only the game for the PS2. I wonder how those 6.25$ 80's edition song packs will be packaged thought. The Captain and Tennille & Elton John with Metallica?
Christopher7xii @ May 2nd 2007 10:03AM
I want more songs to play, but sadly 80s isn't where I wanted to look. I want some more punk / industrial. Pennywise, Bad Religion, older AFI, Millencolin... Hell, throw in some Sublime, Billy Talent, KMFDM, Rammstein... off the top of my head.
Then again, I said wanted Rage Against the Machine after Cochise being on the first guitar hero... They immediately made me regret wishing that when they recorded "Killing in the Name Of" though.
And hey, to the guy in the beginning that said...
"GH's are going to be coming out like Pokeman, Madden, Need for Speed, etc."
-Its pokemon, and it's nowhere NEAR as bad as Madden or Need for Speed. Both of those are EA owned with yearly (at least) releases with little or no improvement. Pokemon has only had 4 releases throughout a 10 year history (counting red/blue/yellow as the same release). Two games for GB, One for GBA, and one now for the DS. That's nowhere near as bad as Final Fantasy, Madden, or Need for Speed.
Crono @ May 2nd 2007 10:21AM
People asking for punk don't get what GH was all about to begin with.
I hate GH2 set list, except for about half of the encores, and Jessica. The encores were all the best songs. Almost everything else was crap, because it was all MTV and crappy metal.
80's edition should be 10 times better, because metal died in the 90's thanks to grunge, and we're only now starting to get back to what metal should be with bands like Dragonforce.
We needs some dragonforce on GH. That would rule.
Viridium @ May 2nd 2007 10:24AM
Wow, and I thought they couldn't make the game suck any harder!
zander106 @ May 2nd 2007 11:02AM
Wow, here comes the Guitar Hero backlash. This is a game that's *made* for song packs and expansions, and frankly it's one where the initial formula (and the tweaks for GH2) are so good that I don't really care if they only give us song packs.
I also like the elitist comments like "People asking for punk don't get what GH was all about to begin with." Actually, I thought the game was "about" playing a freaking rock guitar, not playing a guitar in a particular style, genre, or setting. If Guitar Hero were about "arena rock" or "classic rock" or "epic metal," then why would the Ramones make an appearance, or even Matthew Sweet or the Donnas for that matter?
Guitar Hero is like karaoke for the guitar, and there's nothing wrong with admitting that. If you want to be hardcore, then why not just advocate for a metal song pack rather than disparaging those who don't "get" what Guitar Hero is "supposed" to be?
The song pack I'd like to see? Late 90s indie rock. I know it will never happen, but playing "Carry The Zero" by Built to Spill, "Slack Motherf*cker" by Superchunk, or anything by Sleater-Kinney would be guitar hero heaven for me.
Jared @ May 2nd 2007 11:27AM
FYI, Beautiful Katamari has been officially announced...with a press release and everything:
http://www.vggen.com/news/news.php?id=4694
Unless I'm reading the post wrong, but it seems like you're implying it hasn't...
Vader582 @ May 2nd 2007 11:26AM
This will be available on XBL for the low, low price of $287.41. Awesome deal, great job!
Crono @ May 2nd 2007 11:43AM
zander, there was an EGM interview with the original creator of Guitar hero where he basically said he wanted to make a game to show people who think todays music is awesome what real music is. I'm not being elitist, the freaking creator is. If you don't like it, don't play the game. That will be one less guy calling for crappy music in an otherwise awesome game.
So no, you don't "get" guitar hero. Guitar Hero is about rocking out to proper rock and metal; not grunge, not punk, not emo. Its about the guitar Solo, which went out of fashion for basically the whole of the 90's, with a few exceptions.
And those who think it is about grunge and punk and emo, don't get it. Simple as that.
Fernando Rocker @ May 2nd 2007 12:10PM
@Crono
You are so fucking rigth Crono... and you know who who to blame?? Fucking Nirvana! Nirvana turn the good rock into crappy rock, with no solos, with no high voices... Nirvana was the start of the crap rock.
zander106 @ May 2nd 2007 12:23PM
Crono: I defy you to find a reputable rock critic who would regard the artists I called for in a future Guitar Hero -- Built To Spill, Superchunk, or Sleater-Kinney -- as anything close to "crappy music." In particular, Doug Martsch's work with Built To Spill is if nothing else a return to the epic guitar solos whose absence you decry. "Indie rock" is not garage, punk, or emo. It has more crafstmanship than those subgenres (even if it uses elements of some of them).
So don't assume that just because you don't listen to the good music that exists nowadays that there is no good music. You just have to be willing to look for it. Is the stuff on MTV generally crap? Yeah, I'd agree with you on that. But it's not all that exists in the world.
Anyway, GH is a game that allows people to play what they want, and I don't see what's wrong with that. I don't understand why people would want to run around pulling off stunts in GTA games or sit around at the auction house all day in WoW, but hey, that's their prerogative. Same with GH -- I wouldn't want to play that Sum 41 song all the time, but if people want to do that, it's their game and their time.
Dave Silva @ May 2nd 2007 12:39PM
I'm probably the only guy here that likes every song in Guitar Hero. I mean, some songs may not be good, but they're FUN to play, and that's what matters to me.
I've been waiting for this game since I first heard of it. As long as it has different characters, I'll be happy... heck, I'll hopefully be able to use a Valley Girl while playing something by Iron Maiden. ;D
OTAM @ May 2nd 2007 1:36PM
They BETTER have Pour Some Sugar on Me and Bang Your Head (Metal Health).
samfish @ May 2nd 2007 2:03PM
"You are so fucking rigth Crono... and you know who who to blame?? Fucking Nirvana! Nirvana turn the good rock into crappy rock, with no solos, with no high voices... Nirvana was the start of the crap rock."
No, Nirvana was the start of the end of that crap-fest that was the 1980's garbage metal.
sheppy @ May 2nd 2007 2:30PM
Jesus Christ, just when I thought morons couldn't get anymore ridiculously elitists in the gaming arena, along comes Guitar Hero snobs. Congrats, douche bags, you've done it.
I'd really love you people to walk right into Harmonix and tell the developers the true intent with their game. You know why? Because you little bastards weren't there supporting Frequency and Amplitude. You people don't even realize Karaoke Revolution was their baby too. You just strum along to the beat like fucking chimps somehow impressed with what you PERCEIVE as "the true intent." I have one little fact that blows that little perception away.
One of the lead designers on the game, and he was on majority of the mixing boards and hammering out tunes, is a member of Freezepop. Got that? Your elitists rock image handed to you by a man in a synthetic pop band. Before blaring about how Hendrix is a god, the man behind the game delivered these lyrics....
"Another day goes by
Time travel gone astray
My mind in disarray
I could have run away to be with you
I could have run away to be with you
I should have run away to be with you
Once we got lost in the woods with your hand interlaced between mine
And I stared straight at the sun and imagined the beams realigned
Emotions and photons that flicker like bees when I look in your eyes
Intertwined"
So all you people complaining about the game and how it's SUPPOSED to be need to realize, it's a game. You can bitch and rant about how My Chemical Romance doesn't belong but at the end of the day, it's one of the funnest songs to play. You can bitch about how Girlfriend sucks, but I love playing that song. And you can talk about the true lineage of rock and it's ultimate purpose, but you're taking a game from a guy who does sugary pop music and saying what kind of game HE envisioned.
I have no doubts in my mind that the only reason why Dr. Feelgood would make the cut is simply because the tabs would be fun to play. Hell, do you honestly think anyone looks at Cherry Pie as a great masterwork?
POOLSCLOSED @ May 2nd 2007 11:50PM
Screw the 80's, it's all about the late 60's and the 70's.
Crono @ May 2nd 2007 3:21PM
Hey sheppy, I'm not telling the designers what its supposed to be. They told me through the EGM interview.
Or did you miss that tidbit of information in your rabid attempt to discredit me by posting... lyrics... to some guys pop band who happens to work for harmonix.
But it really doesn't matter what GH was supposed to be, because MTV owns it now. And like everything else MTV, it'll start out cool and go stupid real quick.
But you are right that many of the songs are included due to their funness to play. Even the crappy songs are fun to play. Doesn't make them any less crappy.
And we're not really guitar hero snobs. We're music snobs, and GH is a music game.
And stop talking like a freaking douche. Damn. Get a grip will you. Your so angry all the time. Chill.
Sharkmenow @ May 2nd 2007 4:54PM
Nirvana was a good band? Are you frigging serious?!
I play REAL guitar ok, Nirvana songs are some of the easiest songs to learn out there for beginners and do not belong in GH. In fact, most modern rock and punk rock (emo) do not belong in GH for the simple fact that 90% of those bands have little to no actual musical talent.
You honestly think somebody would rather play "Smells like Teen Spirit" over "Master of Puppets"?
I promise you that if expansion packs come out the metal one will be by far the best selling, as it is the most rewarding,technical, and fun to play.
Fernando Rocker @ May 2nd 2007 5:27PM
@Sharkmenow
Thats my point... I play real guitar too, and I can say, 100% sure, that Nirvana doesnt contribute nothing to music.
sheppy @ May 2nd 2007 5:46PM
Okay, Crono... maybe I came off too gruff. Actually, not really. Because, rather than finding a topic where people are going "Maybe they'll include more songs from David Bowie or even a couple Cure songs" I find a ranting and raving back and forth on what true music is and blah da blah.
One fact everyone here needs to realize is music games will always be based on popular music and popular music is not what is considered the best of the best.
Personally, I can't tell you what songs are more rewarding in real life and which ones aren't. I'm just now getting around to learning Guitar and slowly making my way through the Beatles catalog, hardly overly technical shit. My music creation weapons of choice in the past have been various soundboards, a MicroKorg, and Orion Platinum. From my aspect, I can sit back and go "fuck yeah, popular music sucks" but mainly because I normally follow electronica and almost every mega hit from that genre is usually derived from techniques and loops created well over 8-10 years ago. I can get on a high horse and bitch about Moby when all he does is reiterate the lessons learned from The Prodigy, Underworld, and Apollo 440. And their roots go back even further.
But despite ragging on Moby in real life, I can tell you this, I never once bitched about his music when it was in Beatmania. In fact, Britney Spears is worthless garbage, but the Garage mix of Toxic on Beatmania 11th style is damn fun to play. Games are Toys first, grand teachers of life lessons, totems of musical hierarchies, and general elevated purposes second.