Buy Guitar Hero 5, get Guitar Hero: Van Halen for free
by Justin McElroy 
{ Aug 11th 2009 at 1:45PM } 
OK, it's not quite enough to cure our Beatlemania, but damn it if it doesn't make picking up GH5 considerably more appealing. [Update: This offer is good only in the USA.]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
TheE3Guy @ Aug 11th 2009 1:49PM
MUST...RESIST....
Rob @ Aug 11th 2009 1:56PM
Fight it man! Fight the temptation for getting a game for free!
Shagittarius @ Aug 11th 2009 2:05PM
It makes it more appealing until you remember they are both Guitar Hero franchise games.
Manly Mcbeefington (Mr. ESC Vice President and PR of Wiizers Sweatshop Inc.) @ Aug 11th 2009 2:38PM
Row Row fight Da POWAR!
Tiptup300 @ Aug 11th 2009 2:45PM
I'm just going to rent both...
MarkHawk @ Aug 11th 2009 5:21PM
You could always wait to pick them up used when everyone starts trading int here free copy of GH:Van Halen. Price will have to drop fast!
It's a good deal but I am able to resist knowing I'd have to swap discs and such. Besides, who am I kidding. I'm a Rock Band (Whore) fan. :D
J Dogg @ Aug 11th 2009 7:14PM
Better idea... Eschew GH:5 completely and rent GH:VH for a week for the paltry sum of $7, finish all the songs and you're satisfied. Buy GH:VH four months down the road pre-played at your local video store or GameStop and you've only paid $22. Penny-pinching FTW!
Honestly, GH:VH only has 25 Van Halen songs and you have to watch porcine Wolfgang Van Halen play bass instead of Michael Anthony, a travesty in and of itself. It is not worth your hard-earned duckets.
Captain Planet (now accepting new Planeteer recruits and official sponsor of the Cody is a Douche contest) @ Aug 11th 2009 1:51PM
IT'S A TRAP
216 @ Aug 11th 2009 1:57PM
Good thinking Cap!
Storm Eagle [Resident Capcom Megafan] @ Aug 11th 2009 1:58PM
http://www.lolsauce.com/RandomBS/Ackbar.jpg
For the "Get's It" Impaired.
Sly [Planeteer | Power of Tea & Crumpets] @ Aug 11th 2009 2:46PM
i guess you're not captain planet anymore. admiral planet? ?
and yes, cody is a douche.
captainprotonx @ Aug 11th 2009 3:19PM
Why don't they just make the songs downloadable to be added to the GH5 list?
Code = songs.
Ghen @ Aug 11th 2009 1:52PM
Well I don't care as much for Van Halen as I did for Metallica, and GH5's setlist is lame compared to $60 worth of rock band downloads, so I'm still good. Thanks for the heads up though!
David Blas @ Aug 11th 2009 1:55PM
Where is this promotion being held? Is it at a certain place like a gaming market like Gamestop or is this every market venue like Best Buy and Target?
I need more info because I reserved this game(GH5) at Gamestop and want to know if this promotion is still valid even if GH5 is reserved.
Storm Eagle [Resident Capcom Megafan] @ Aug 11th 2009 1:56PM
I imagine you'll have to redeem your copy via the Guitar Hero website via some code inserted within initial shipments of the game or something like that. Or send away the PoP with a copy of your receipt showing the date you made the purchase. That's usually how these things work.
Storm Eagle [Resident Capcom Megafan] @ Aug 11th 2009 1:55PM
Done and Done. I was going to get GH5 anyway and I do enjoy me some Van Halen from time to time so this is pretty damn nice of them.
I guess KoDICK's PR rep informed him of the all the bad press his company was getting and said they needed to make a move. I like this Activision, but this doesn't change things between us..
PR0F3TA @ Aug 11th 2009 2:00PM
apparently it did, even tho when its convenient for you.... but they get the money either way
Alzheimers @ Aug 11th 2009 1:57PM
Or, to put it another way, buy Guitar Hero: Van Halen and get GH5 for free!
asdfghjkloo @ Aug 11th 2009 1:57PM
Sigh, can't even give them away anymore...
gs942002 @ Aug 11th 2009 1:58PM
..... ehhhhhhhhhhhh ok then. maybe i'll get it?
Maulok @ Aug 11th 2009 1:58PM
This sounds great in theory, why am I still hesitant?
Rob @ Aug 11th 2009 2:02PM
It puts money in the pocket of Activision? I mean I was thinking of getting one of their games, then they turned into humongous jerks.
Supercool4 @ Aug 11th 2009 2:02PM
130 of the best is an overstatement.
Kyattsuai @ Aug 11th 2009 2:08PM
More like 130 of THE BEST THE BEST THE BEST THE BEST THE BEST THE BEST
(That song's in GH:VH, that's the only reason I bother bringing it up.)
David Blas @ Aug 11th 2009 2:04PM
Yeah, I just checked out this site for more info.
http://hub.guitarhero.com/vanhalengameoffer/
The Baron @ Aug 11th 2009 2:04PM
Looks like they figured GH:VH will probably tank, so they decided to bundle it into GH5.
Sounds good though. I'll definitely consider, though the asking price for console games in the UK (£40, and most high street stores go even further than that) is just too high for me to consider buying them before they go budget. That's more than half of my monthly disposable income, and I need booze to while away the hours too.
The Baron @ Aug 11th 2009 3:16PM
Only USA? Screw GH5 then :P
Travis @ Aug 11th 2009 4:05PM
GH: VH is the only one that's looked interesting to me, and a bunch of my friends.
sleepydumbdude @ Aug 11th 2009 2:05PM
Might go for this. Sadly my guitar gave out on me after all the bundles were clearanced out near me cheap. Might for this since I am going to have to get a new bundle anyways.
charlie b. @ Aug 11th 2009 2:05PM
so, am I correct in assuming that Activision is giving the game away for free because they know it's the only way they'll be able to ditch all their overstock?
Snake Robot Podium @ Aug 11th 2009 3:14PM
I think you're on the right track Music games aren't selling too hot. And not only is this the 5th (console) guitar game of the year, but this it's coming out the SAME WEEK as Christmas.
dark_inchworm (on Steam!) dark inchworm (on XBL!) @ Aug 11th 2009 2:06PM
I have entirely too much shit to buy already, so I'm afraid I'm gonna have to pass. I will admit, though, that moves both packages up from "meh" to appealing.
Hoffer @ Aug 11th 2009 2:11PM
Do you only have to buy the standard version of GH5? You don't have to buy the full bundle of the game for $180 or something?
I'm still into the fake guitar games. I had debated getting GH5, since I'm not super excited for the song selection. Now I'm for sure going to get it.
DeadPlasmaCell @ Aug 11th 2009 2:18PM
Looks like it's just the game you need to buy. The website sends you to GameStop to pre-order it.
Sly [Planeteer | Power of Tea & Crumpets] @ Aug 11th 2009 3:02PM
yeah, you only have to buy the standard game. not any bundles or anything.
T @ Aug 11th 2009 2:17PM
It says a LOT about Activision's confidence in their product when they're giving the damn thing away before it's even out yet...
Helix @ Aug 11th 2009 2:23PM
this deal is NOT enticing at all. it essentially breaks down to $30 per game. these games will be individually marked down to these prices or lower soon after their release dates anyway by amazon, newegg, gamestop, or anyone else that finds themselves massively overstocked. with all these music titles hitting shelves within the same 3-4 month window blowout deal are inevitable. spend your money on some other really great must play release. wait for a clearance sale to pick up these dime a dozen music games.
Sly [Planeteer | Power of Tea & Crumpets] @ Aug 11th 2009 3:03PM
"these games will be individually marked down to these prices or lower soon after their release dates anyway by amazon, newegg, gamestop, or anyone else that finds themselves massively overstocked."
EXACTLY. but do you know what the difference is? if you get this deal, you get GH5 when it comes out AND GH:VH before IT EVEN RELEASES.
TheE3Guy @ Aug 11th 2009 2:20PM
I bet there's a catch, like you have to buy the whole band kit or some stupid shit
Manly Mcbeefington (Mr. ESC Vice President and PR of Wiizers Sweatshop Inc.) @ Aug 11th 2009 2:41PM
Probably you have to get the full kit to get GH:Van Halen or they truly want to create some sort of hype for the game they killed with their own hands.
Sly [Planeteer | Power of Tea & Crumpets] @ Aug 11th 2009 3:02PM
nope, the game only. you don't have to get the bundles.
murph @ Aug 11th 2009 2:22PM
holy target marketing batman. i was trying to resist, but this is just too good to pass up. i love VH!
Brambler @ Aug 11th 2009 2:29PM
I am almost tempted to do this just to get the Foo Fighters song that is on GH VH. I don't care much for VH
Sly [Planeteer | Power of Tea & Crumpets] @ Aug 11th 2009 3:04PM
you know that the foo fighters song will come to rock band at one point or another, right?
Eh @ Aug 11th 2009 2:29PM
If you cant play the Van Halen songs in the main GH5 game then I could absolutely care less. Im never going to buy or play a music game that requires me to switch discs just to play a song or 2 from one band. These stupid discs arent even worth getting for free.
Manly Mcbeefington (Mr. ESC Vice President and PR of Wiizers Sweatshop Inc.) @ Aug 11th 2009 2:46PM
"Im never going to buy or play a music game that requires me to switch discs"
Boy you need to get to a GYM A.S.A.P,they are not all that expensive.
J/K.
Although a good deal from Activision is both weird and suspiciously good,if this came out the same month as The Beatles Rock Band I would be *genually interested.
*word I probably misspelled.
Gemini Ace @ Aug 11th 2009 3:00PM
How do you play other games if you don't like to switch discs?
Martin @ Aug 11th 2009 3:10PM
This lazy switch disc bullshit has run its course. Get off your ass already, sympathy time is over.
VaultICEE @ Aug 11th 2009 3:53PM
Come on. Think of it this way.
Would you like to listen to all of your music in a program like iTunes or Winamp, or have to constantly change CDs from a CD player? And then in Guitar Hero's case, navigate menus for a while until you can actually play the song?
If you want me to disc swap with something like Halo games or Call of Duty for different things, thats fine, but in music games they barely change anything that makes me want to go back to play Guitar Hero Van Halen after I play Guitar Hero 184953
CTC XBL-supapaypamawio PSN-ctclaw @ Aug 11th 2009 4:05PM
It's pretty obvious you guys don't play with very large groups of people. Disc switching takes a good 10 minutes each time if you have a large crowd that doesn't really know what they're doing. First you have to go to the dash and remove the disc, get through all the videos and loading, choose your characters (this usually takes a couple minutes because everyone feels they need to see what everyone looks like), then finally pick a song while praying that no one hits the back button on their guitar or feels the need to do a drum solo on the drums. It's an unnecessary pain to switch discs. Why would you want to when you can just go straight to the next song you want to play?
Do you guys own iPods? If so then damn, you are so lazy. Get up and switch your CD's, it's not hard.