Activision would love to sell you a new guitar with Guitar Hero 5

by JC Fletcher { Jul 14th 2009 at 9:45AM }

Surprise! There's a new, slightly different guitar controller bundled with Guitar Hero 5. The sparkly red controller includes a redesigned touchpad, which now uses digital input instead of analog. The touchpad area also has small dots to indicate the fret color, and "slight reliefs" on the neck. Neversoft's Brian Bright told IGN that "all of these changes to the slider allow you to hit the tapping sections with better precision – we also removed the purple rope in the tapping/slide sections of game play by the way :)."

Activision has yet to determine whether this guitar will be available by itself or if it will be restricted to GH5 bundles. What is much more certain is that there will be a new Guitar Hero controller every single year, just in case Activision can convince some current guitar owners to upgrade.

Tags: activision, guitar, guitar-hero, guitar-hero-5, neversoft

Related From Joystiq

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

Temidien @ Jul 14th 2009 9:49AM

No thanks.

GH was my favorite of the music games until they started releasing multiple games a year (each complete with loads of plastic periphs). I'll take the DLC and stick to World Tour.

Storm Eagle::The Blood Edge @ Jul 14th 2009 10:21AM

I put WT in the tray for the first time in a few months yesterday and was browsing the DLC. I'm aware the saying "too each his own", but their DLC is still pretty horrible. All the songs I'm interested in, I already have on Rock Band. It's like they don't know what kind of music they want to offer either. Atleast with Rock Band, it's an even mix of genres, they know they're a ROCK game. Guitar Hero has everything from Pop to Country to freaking Reggae. Pick a demographic already!

John @ Jul 14th 2009 10:35AM

@Storm EAGLE

I don't see how giving people options is a bad thing. I like how GH have different genres. I love Reggae music. Remember, the game is called GUITAR HERO for a reason. The game is not called ROCK HERO. There are several different genres where a guitar is played.

Damian @ Jul 14th 2009 10:50AM

These fishsticks are hard as TITS!

dark_inchworm (on Steam!) dark inchworm (on XBL!) @ Jul 14th 2009 11:04AM

Do remember that Rock Band eventually plans (or planned?) on releasing Snoop Dogg DLC, among other non-rock things.

The problem I see is that Rock Band has DLC that's consistently good or at least admirable, while GHWT has some DLC that's amazing and scores of DLC that's unbearable.

I do have to give Guitar Hero some props, though, on releasing Nickelback DLC. Not because they're a good band (they aren't) but because it happened within days of the lead singer basically telling us that Guitar Hero is for idiots. Ownage, indeed.

The Dark Wang @ Jul 14th 2009 2:38PM

Rock Band has country, reggae, and a lot more genres than GH, so Storm Eagle you don't know what the hell you're talking about.

Hafkie @ Jul 14th 2009 9:51AM

Fixes the problem of the WT guitar (strum bar, I had to put new switches in mine). That is all I need to hear. I need a new guitar right now, and my WT controller can become the 2nd player controller if the strumbar is truly fixed. My Xplorer's wire has frayed, and I never had a Xbox 360 Les Paul (I had a Wii LP, but I moved up to the 360 last summer. No regrets!)

Also, here comes all of the comments with people bitching about buying a controller that is in a completely optional package.

dark_inchworm (on Steam!) dark inchworm (on XBL!) @ Jul 14th 2009 10:13AM

The X-plorer is the best Guitar Hero/Rock Band guitar... ever.

Spike @ Jul 14th 2009 11:28AM

just buy an xplorer, they're 6x cheaper
toys r us ftw

Hafkie @ Jul 14th 2009 11:32AM

Nah. The X-Plorer was always my 2nd guitar for a reason. I have very large hands, and the neck is too skinny for me. This is also why I don't like Rock Band's Stratocaster controllers. The SG/LP/WT neck sizes are much more comfortable for me.

dark_inchworm (on Steam!) dark inchworm (on XBL!) @ Jul 14th 2009 11:42AM

There is indeed some level of discomfort involved with the X-Plorer - and my hands are kinda small - but I find all the guitar controllers somewhat uncozy after playing for a while. What I like is that, in my experience, it has been the most precise of all the controllers and the least likely to spontaneously fail to register my strums and presses.

On a different note, I sprained my wrist playing Rock Band once, and I think this was with the Les Paul. That... sucked.

sony boy @ Jul 14th 2009 12:40PM

get metallica more fun.

rambodude72 @ Jul 14th 2009 3:55PM

my wt controller has had a sticky blue button its whole life and now my les paul doesnt have responding green or orange buttons im afraid its new guitar time :(
btw some good dlc coming to guitar hero this month look it up eagles of deeath metal ftw

Chowder @ Jul 14th 2009 9:51AM

Touch Pad? Interesting...

Mazrael @ Jul 14th 2009 2:21PM

you can tell Neversoft aren't musicians.. having to move my hand have the way down the next to slide, or moving my right all the way up to tap... shouldn't the 5 buttons have been replaced by the touch pad, with a second touchpad down by the body of the guitar, so you can tap either end... but then that sounds too similar to Rock Band, but then you can slide their non-fisher-price-buttons

ilovethewaggle @ Jul 14th 2009 9:52AM

please no more strum clicking, thats ridiculous when the clicking noise was louder than the music comming from the TV.

Luke @ Jul 14th 2009 10:15AM

That's a problem? Seriously? You have volume control on your TV?

guzzy2792 @ Jul 14th 2009 9:54AM

this is so not cool. i bought the guitar kit for ghwt for 100 bucks last christmas, and now they sell the full bundle for 89.99. It's getting ridcoulous. And they even decide, hey lets screw them over some more and seperate the games by making band hero....???

I will never buy a guitar hero game again, maybe rent but that's it. activision has taken it too far.

rock band is kinda doing the same thing but not so drastically. they have rock band 1, 2, beatles, and then there little track packs which cost like 20 bucks each.

Rock Band > Guitar Hero.

Hafkie @ Jul 14th 2009 10:01AM

Uh, the $90-$100 WT bundle was a weekend only sale price at gamestop. Sale price.The band kit at RO's website is $169.99.

Guitar Hero 5 is full band. Have you been paying any attention at all? Band Hero is more like Lego Rock Band, as it will have songs aimed towards a family audience. Except no legos.

guzzy2792 @ Jul 14th 2009 10:26AM

you my sir...dont have a clue what im saying

Guitar Hero is not full band. You can play it full band, but it is meant as a guitar only game like older guitar hero games before world tour. Guitar Hero 5 is only being sold in a guitar kit. No drums, no mic. Band Hero is meant to be GHWT2 in a sense, with them selling a total kit with guitar, mic, drums, for 199.99.

You should look stuff up before typing idiotic things. :D

guzzy2792 @ Jul 14th 2009 10:29AM

actually let me correct myself.

GH5 is full band, but is not being sold with drums or a mic, just a guitar kit.

Band Hero IS aimed for a E10 rating, for kids really, but will be the only one coming with new drums and mic and guitar.

Either way, Activison is stupid

Hafkie @ Jul 14th 2009 11:03AM

For the record, I thought you were talking about gameplay. You never specified which in your post.

Also. Red Octane has neither confirmed or denied the GH5 have Guitar-only bundles. Sure, their store doesn't have them listed, but that doesn't mean that they aren't doing them. It could mean that they aren't showing them because the new drums have not been officially revealed. Granted, the Band Hero page has black placeholder band boxes. It could just mean that you can expect instruments. You don't know, since you are not Red Octane.

Given the fact that I play these games all the time, have every GH and RB game (besides the portable ones,) and have over 250 downloads in Rock Band, I know what I am talking about.

The Dark Wang @ Jul 14th 2009 2:47PM

Don't worry there will be a band kit for GH5 because Activision wants to get as much money out of it as they can before people realize GH sucks ass.

The Baron @ Jul 14th 2009 8:45PM

OK, you call him an idiot and then go on to correct a very minor, opinion-based technicality in his post. That's not how you make friends.

Also I don't know what you're saying - they charged $100 for a guitar bundle of GH:WT, and then the full band bundle went on a sale at gamestop for the same price (which Activision had nothing to do with).

You don't need to buy a new guitar if you already have one, so why complain about GH5 if you just want the songs?

Hoffer @ Jul 14th 2009 9:55AM

Well, I still prefer the GH3 Les Paul to the GHWT guitar. I even bought a new Les Paul when the Metallica game came out. BB was selling them for like $10 when you bought Metallica. I don't see getting this new one.

Storm Eagle::The Blood Edge @ Jul 14th 2009 9:55AM

I'll stick with my perfectly functional Explorer II thank you.

Tapping be damned!

lego91994 @ Jul 14th 2009 9:56AM

For anyone who has a sears near them, i just got a guitar hero aerosmith guitar bundle on clearance for $8. It comes with a les paul, which is almost as good as WT's guitar.

Storm Eagle::The Blood Edge @ Jul 14th 2009 10:16AM

Really? $8? At Sears...Investigating.

The Baron @ Jul 14th 2009 9:57AM

Does the strum bar break after an hour of play on this one?

Not to sound ungrateful for anything, but that happening twice with £10 shipping fees for repair each time kind of tainted my memory of GH:WT.

Hafkie @ Jul 14th 2009 10:04AM

I'm assuming that's what they meant by improved durability of the strum bar. The IGN article that is linked has that in it, but this Joystiq entry says nothing about it.

Kdiggy @ Jul 14th 2009 10:01AM

Wow Activision over inflating the price of there games with needles plastic peripherals, who would have thunk it? Oh that's right, they are notorious for it.

Hafkie @ Jul 14th 2009 10:04AM

Or you can buy the stand alone game............

Zack11190 @ Jul 14th 2009 10:31AM

They didn't even announce a price for it, and I'm sure it will be the same as WT and RB2.

MystileArmor @ Jul 14th 2009 10:03AM

Activision would love to sell me anything they could sell. They'd sell ice to a polar bear if it was profitable.

Blaggers @ Jul 14th 2009 10:12AM

And you wouldn't?

MystileArmor @ Jul 14th 2009 10:24AM

No I wouldn't.

There is more to life then just money. I'd rather do something I'd enjoy to put some bread on the table.

baby sea tuna @ Jul 14th 2009 10:35AM

What if your hobbies included making copious amounts of cash?

MystileArmor @ Jul 14th 2009 11:18AM

There could still be more decent ways to do that. Sell something that's a good value or provide a service that you do better then anyone else. Show some character.

joshua @ Jul 14th 2009 10:12AM

Next thing ya know they will be putting strings on it

dark_inchworm (on Steam!) dark inchworm (on XBL!) @ Jul 14th 2009 10:17AM

That's about the only feasible upgrade left, right?

Left... right...

Storm Eagle::The Blood Edge @ Jul 14th 2009 10:22AM

Up...Down....Up...Down

MystileArmor @ Jul 14th 2009 10:24AM

A,B,A,B
START SELECT

Storm Eagle::The Blood Edge @ Jul 14th 2009 10:26AM

Yeah, we totally butchered it.

Tiptup300 @ Jul 14th 2009 9:16PM

I thought a palm mute button would be a neat addition.

stelisco @ Jul 14th 2009 10:26AM

United Breaks Guitars!!!

asdfghjkloo @ Jul 14th 2009 10:31AM

I still have my Guitar Hero I guitar and it's the best made guitar of them all. The Les Paul's blue button started sticking and the guitar that came with GH:WT down strum stopped working after 2 hours of gameplay. Needless to say, I got pretty damn good with the upstrums.

ANYWAY, Guitar Hero is washed up--STOP WHILE YOU'RE AHEAD.

aggrazel @ Jul 14th 2009 10:34AM

Fender strat II all the way.

Maulok @ Jul 14th 2009 10:56AM

"Activision would love to sell you a new guitar with Guitar Hero 5"

No thank you, I only came on this trip for the free 2 night vacation, I will not be purchasing your wares.

Hellion42 @ Jul 14th 2009 11:03AM

I wish my Xplorer had solo buttons for two things: BREs, and stuff like the end of the Blackened solo. Why is it so frigging hard to make a guitar with a strum bar that doesn't suck the ass of a diseased ocelot corpse?

Fantasy (plastic) guitar: Xplorer strummer and fret buttons, Strat 2 whammy and solo buttons (only larger so I can push one down without hitting the one next to it), WT star power activator. Oh, and a CORD. Added latency FTL.

Shadow El @ Jul 14th 2009 11:16AM

If they sold this controller separately and at a reasonable price, I would look into it, for multiple reasons: Full band play/guitar dueling in World Tour (only game I had prior to that was III, and I had that on Wii, while I have World Tour for 360), it doesn't look ugly as shit and would probably actually work, and I also need a better working controller for Guitar Hero: Van Halen.

That's right. I said it. Call me what you will, but I love the Van Halen.

| 1 | 2 | Most Recent | Next 50 Comments