Activision giving free guitar with UK pre-orders of Guitar Hero: World Tour bundle

by Griffin McElroy { Sep 20th 2008 at 3:30PM }

We imagine that Activision Blizzard has more green cash money than a number of medium-sized countries thanks to their ownership of some ridiculously profitable franchises. While the skeptical industry analyst might expect them to sit on their surplus, or perhaps swim through it Scrooge McDuck style, a recent announcement from Activision revealed that they're using said wealth to provide faux-rockers with a pretty terrific pre-order bonus for Guitar Hero: World Tour -- an extra guitar peripheral.

As far as we can tell, the offer is only extended to those living (and purchasing rhythm games) in the UK, and is limited to pre-orders of the GH:WT bundle (currently retailing for £150 in most online stores). While it's scientific fact that the modern gaming enthusiast already owns approximately seven guitar peripherals, newcomers to the rockstar simulation genre will now be able to play with a full band without incurring any pesky fees for an extra axe. Would-be bassists, rejoice!

Tags: activision, activision-blizzard, bass, guitar, guitar-hero-world-tour, pre-order

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Joe @ Sep 20th 2008 3:55PM

Pre-ordered on friday.

Thanks activision!

Now all I need is the rock band 2 disc when that comes out on PS3 in the UK
and I'm in rhythm gaming heaven.

Jakka(A tribute to whose who fought and failed during the Epic Flamewar of L.A. Noir) @ Sep 20th 2008 5:01PM

Lies! Wii doesn't count as a console. I'm right and you're all wrong. Period.

Jakka(A tribute to whose who fought and failed during the Epic Flamewar of L.A. Noir) @ Sep 20th 2008 5:03PM

Bloody Comment System...

Yeah, I guess YOU can be wrong too!

shadow024 @ Sep 20th 2008 3:54PM

Now thats what I call a preorder bonus!

Immortal Technique PSN: johnnynumber5 @ Sep 20th 2008 3:56PM

Nice bonus. I know I could use a second guitar for free. But, unless something has changed and Rock Band instruments are now compatible I won't be re-purchasing the same instruments just for this game. Damn shame that these companies can't come to some compatibility agreement. It's not feasible for people to purchase two sets of peripherals for what is essentially the same product.

Where this might help Guitar Hero is the multiple releases. If all future or some previous Guitar Hero games have full instrument allowance I might make the switch. For example, if there was a patch that made GH:Aerosmith work with the other instruments I would be all over it. They seem to release a couple of games each calendar year compared to the annual release of Rock Band.

Hafk @ Sep 20th 2008 4:20PM

Instruments will all be compatable on PS2, PS3, and Xbox 360 versions of Rock Band 2 and Guitar Hero World Tour.

This has been confirmed for a while now.

Roto13 @ Sep 20th 2008 4:22PM

You're kind of out of the loop, aren't you?

Immortal Technique PSN: johnnynumber5 @ Sep 20th 2008 4:25PM

@Hafk

Thanks. I thought that it was only confirmed that Rock Revolution would have instrument compatibility with those games.

@Roto

Obviously.

Immortal Technique PSN: johnnynumber5 @ Sep 20th 2008 4:30PM

Any confirmation for people who do not own the game on a 360? I pulled up some stuff in google that only mentions 360 compatibility.

Hafk @ Sep 20th 2008 4:34PM

http://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/18/scea-universal-compatibility-for-ps3-rock-band-2-gh-world-to/

Straight from Sony.

Jakka(A tribute to whose who fought and failed during the Epic Flamewar of L.A. Noir) @ Sep 20th 2008 4:36PM

Rock Revolution, Rock Band 2,Rock Band,GH3 and GHWT will be fully cross-compatible with each other on any platform.Or that's what it said at least.

Apparently some Gamer's Rights Organisation got sick of this bullshit and made it compulsory for every rhytm franchise.

Hafk @ Sep 20th 2008 4:40PM

Jakka. Sony and Microsoft called for compatability. Nintendo still hasn't said a single word about it though. Sad.

Haggard (Mr.ESC resurrection force) @ Sep 20th 2008 4:42PM

Will Rock Band 1 instruments work with GH:WT?

MowDownJoe @ Sep 20th 2008 4:42PM

Last I heard, RB and RB2 instruments are compatible with GH:WT, and GH3 and GH:WT instruments are compatible with RB2 (dunno about RB1, though).

MowDownJoe @ Sep 20th 2008 4:42PM

I R SLOW

Immortal Technique PSN: johnnynumber5 @ Sep 20th 2008 4:46PM

As far as the Wii - If both games are based on using the Wii mote it should be fine. I remember one using USB and one using the Wii mote.

RB 1 instruments will work with RB 2.

Moptimus Slime @ Sep 20th 2008 4:55PM

@Jakka Thats not possible on the Wii. Activision actually has a team that gives a damn working on the Wii version of World Tour, whereas EA/Harmonix take the PS2 version and slap a Wii label on it (guess which one I'm buying).

Moptimus Slime @ Sep 20th 2008 4:59PM

I guess what I was trying to say is that GHWT Wii uses the Wiimote as a power source (making the instruments a shell), whereas RB used USB for power, so I doubt they'll be compatible

Jakka(A tribute to whose who fought and failed during the Epic Flamewar of L.A. Noir) @ Sep 20th 2008 5:03PM

Lies! Wii doesn't count as a console. I'm right and you're all wrong. Period.

Foetoid @ Sep 20th 2008 8:16PM

You're right Jakka, its much more than that. It's on a whole new plateau of its own, providing better gaming experiences than a normal 'console'. I own a 360 and a Wii, the Wii gets played far more. As a 25yr old picky hardcore gamer, it's hard to believe, but if you look hard enough, there are dozens of excellent Wii titles.

Haggard (Mr.ESC resurrection force) @ Sep 21st 2008 3:18PM

*drops sandwich*

...well, that was an unexpected proclamation

ANTCEP @ Sep 20th 2008 4:06PM

finally a company that knows how to sell rhythm games to people in the uk

Haggard (Free Mr.ESC!) @ Sep 20th 2008 4:26PM

Wish I'd waited for this.

Importing Rock Band bundle (with a guitar which has a broken tilt) = £145
Buying Rock Band disc to get EU DLC to work = £45
Importing a metal plate to fix my broken drum pedal = £25

Asylum Night @ Sep 20th 2008 4:34PM

Everlasting hate of Harmonix peripherals?

Priceless.

Jakka(A tribute to whose who fought and failed during the Epic Flamewar of L.A. Noir) @ Sep 20th 2008 4:48PM

For a second there I thought we were talking about a real guitar.

I had an epiphany when I realised that it's easier to play "One" irl than it is to do it on GH on Hard.

Also it turns out the the GHWT vs RB2 fight is over before it even begun.

jsn @ Sep 20th 2008 5:03PM

over? what's the fight exactly? Nothing they do is going to prevent RB2 from selling several million copies or selling its weekly DLC. What the guitar hero franchise does really has no impact on them.

Jakka(A tribute to whose who fought and failed during the Epic Flamewar of L.A. Noir) @ Sep 20th 2008 5:10PM

What fight? The Epic Kung-Fu Showdown of Werewolf Zombie Europe Sales, of course!

If you ignore all audiences outside of US, then you honestly can't say that you have a chance to do better than your caring competitor who even ships the game to Aussies.

So yeah technically Guitar Hero's sales outside of US won't impact Rock Band since nobody wants to/can get the latter in first place.

KIMP @ Sep 20th 2008 5:14PM

Again pretty much everyone complain for anything...
Just DONT BUY the game if you dont like it, its as simple as that!

And all the hate towards the Wii is getting beyond ridiculous.

Most are only looking for the "best" graphic and sound but in the end what matters is GAMEPLAY! Thats why I still play the NES and SNES.

I aint sold to Nintendo (the GameCube sucked!), but the whole Wii concept is amazing and a lotta fun when done correctly!

As for GHWT... this cool free guitar gift NEEDS to be available for those living in North America too!

Snowblind @ Sep 20th 2008 5:19PM

100% agree. Too bad the Wii has very few games with decent gameplay..

KIMP @ Sep 20th 2008 5:46PM

Well I both my Wii only about two months ago and most games I've played have great gameplay:

Wii Sport
No More Heroes
Mario Galaxy
Metroid
Super Smash Bros
SW Force Unleashed

And there's plenty of games I have yet to try.
If they release ONE good game every month its more then enough for me.

knighty (GT: ZeraKnight) @ Sep 20th 2008 6:05PM

Pity the Wii has been out for almost 2 years now eh? Also I personally think Sunshine > Galaxy, MP1 > MP3, No More Heroes sucked and Melee > Brawl (for its time....Brawl is technically better but I haven't played it a hundredth of the time I played Melee for) but whatever. Oh and did I mention that Sunshine and MP1 actually looked good too. I guess it's not so impossible to make a good game with good graphics eh? Shame Nintendo can't be arsed anymore.

Foetoid @ Sep 20th 2008 8:19PM

*COUGH*

Mario Galaxy
Re4
SSBB
Metroid Prime 3
Tales of Symphonia 2
Lost Winds
Zelda:Tp
GH3
GHIV
Zack and Wiki
Naruto: Clash of Ninja Revolution (and the imminent sequal)
Metal Slug Anthology
Super Paper Mario
Gyrostarr
The Godfather
Mad World
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
Okami
No More Heroes
Mario Kart
Tony Hawk Downhill Jam (best in the series IMO)
Sonic and the Secret Rings
Pikmin 3
Disaster: Day of Crysis
The Conduit
Sadness
Fatal Frame IV
Fragile: Farewell Ruins of the Moon

*COUGH*

Yeah yeah, some aren't our yet, most are, and all listed games are excellent.