Skip to Content

AOL Games

aerosmith posts (Subscribe to this feed)

Guitar Hero: Aerosmith at a crazy, amazin' price

Looking for more songs to complement that Guitar Hero: World Tour purchase you just made? Probably not for several months, but maybe you can do some shopping in anticipation of that -- especially (only) if you really like Aerosmith. Amazon's Deal of the Day knocks half the price off of Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, to a perfectly reasonable twenty bucks. The Xbox 360 version is also on sale, if you would prefer (though obviously we can't endorse such a decision!)

This is the game only, and doesn't come with any guitars or anything, but provided the song list meets with your approval, 41 new Guitar Hero tracks for $20 isn't bad at all.

Activision CEO: Music labels should pay us

Activision Blizzard CEO Robert Kotick is a pretty opinionated dude. With the music and rhythm games skyrocketing to popularity, Kotick sees the games as a means to bring new consumers to the bands, not vice versa. "When you look at the impact [Guitar Hero] can have on an Aerosmith, Van Halen or Metallica, it's really significant," Kotick said, further adding "so much so that you sort of question whether or not, in the case of those kinds of products, you should be paying any money at all and whether it should be the reverse."

Kotick backs up his point even more by stating that the games "have lots of music to choose from, lots of artists to choose from" and that a "12-year-old kid has no idea who Steven Tyler is or who Aerosmith is," but that the game can introduce them to that particular artist. Kotick went on further to say that the majority of people who enjoy these games "will tell you they're not purchasing the products based on the songs that are included. They're purchasing based on how fun the songs are to play when they're playing them."


[Via CVG]

Source (subscription required) - Activision's CEO speaks

WRUP: Rockin' out with Aerosmith edition


This week's notable title is none other than Guitar Hero: Aerosmith. With nothing else on the radar, we're wondering how many of you pounced on this one? Personally, we're not big Aerosmith fans, but that's just us.

If you aren't playing that, then what's going to be spinning in your Wii? What are you be playing?

Rock Band guitars don't play nice with Guitar Hero: Aerosmith


While the above image comes from the Xbox 360 port of Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, we're fairly certain the same can be said of the Wii version of the game. In all likelihood, it doesn't play nice with your Rock Band guitar. But, considering how gimped Rock Band is for the Wii (let's hope that Rock Band 2 is a more full-fledged port, like Guitar Hero: World Tour), we're sure most of you are enjoying the game with your wireless Les Paul from Guitar Hero III.

Get Fit with new Nintendo Channel videos

The most noteworthy new video added to the Nintendo Channel this week is the first installment of the new longform Wii Fit ad/exercise program "Get Wii Fit with Alyson." In this introductory video, a group of young Disney Channel-ready actors looks on as Alyson undergoes her first Wii Fit Body Test. If you've yet to pick up Wii Fit and would like to see it judging people, watch this. A new edition of "Get Fit with Alyson" is also available on the website.

Other new videos include promos for Guitar Hero: Aerosmith and Rock Band, footage of today's WiiWare game, and a bit about the new controls in NCAA Football '09. Step onto the Balance Board, do a stretch or two, and enjoy the videos on the Nintendo Channel!
  • Get Wii Fit with Alyson
  • Gyrostarr Info Video
  • Guitar Hero: Aerosmith Orpheum Video
  • Rock Band TV Spot
  • NCAA Football 09 All Play Info Video
  • Tamagotchi Connection: Corner Shop 3 Info Video (DS)
  • My Fashion Studio TV Spot (DS)

Nintendo Channel videos this week are alive with the sound of music games


The Nintendo Channel has received its weekly infusion of new videos. Sure, the weekly updates usually feature more videos than this, and the Samba de Amigo trailer is actually one we've already seen, but there's interesting new stuff contained within. Especially if you want to see what Block Breaker Deluxe looks like without having to buy the thing.

Aside from the WiiWare videos, this week's update is entirely musical. The aforementioned Samba de Amigo trailer is still enjoyable, and two other trailers focus on upcoming Guitar Hero games: the new DS iteration and the Aerosmith version.

  • Developer's Voice - Guitar Hero: On Tour (DS)
  • Block Breaker Deluxe Gameplay Trailer
  • Cocoto Fishing Master
  • Guitar Hero: Aerosmith
  • Samba de Amigo

Joystiq pushes play with Guitar Hero: Aerosmith

Want to know what songs to expect in Guitar Hero: Aerosmith? Thanks to our useless hard-working friends at Joystiq, we can give you an idea of what to expect -- at least partially. Our favorite all-encompassing video game blog also got its hands on the upcoming game, essentially describing it as Guitar Hero III, only with more Aerosmith. So, if you liked the third game or just enjoy songs like "Sweet Emotion," there's a good chance that you'll be swayed to pick this one up.

As promised, there are also some non-Aerosmith songs to look forward to, although Steven Tyler and company dominate the playlist. To give you an idea of what to expect, fourteen of the twenty-five revealed tracks are Aerosmith songs.

Click on past the break to see the partial list in its entirety, or just head on over to Joystiq.

Continued →

Promotional Consideration: Moons, Zombies, Dodgeballs, and Tactics



Aside from its preview page tease and Time Hollow's localization, there wasn't much in the way of exclusive DS news in this month's Nintendo Power, at least compared to what we've seen in recent issues.

Paging through the magazine, however, we spotted at least two advertisements that we wanted to share with you. As we were tearing them out to throw into our scanner, we thought, "Why not post all of the other DS ads (and the cover)?" Join us past the break for the scanned pages!

Continued →

Watch Aerosmith's digital selves rock out in Guitar Hero

Having an Aerosmith-only Guitar Hero game sounds like a great idea for fans of the band; however, non-Aerosmith followers will probably want to skip over this one. So, with that said Aerosmith fans, this one is for you. Check out this footage of the digitized musicians rocking it out on the virtual stage. Get a taste of "Sweet Emotion," "Love in an Elevator," and also a bit of the few non-Aerosmith tracks in the game. So, enjoy the performance, but whatever you do ... don't follow Steven Tyler backstage if he calls you to walk this way, capiche?

Aerosmith exclusive to Guitar Hero, Rock Band DLC denied

Rock Band fanboys who never plan on ever going back to the Guitar Hero days yet fully support Steven Tyler and his band will be shedding a tear today. Shedding a tear because it was just revealed that Aerosmith struck a deal with the Guitar Hero franchise allowing them exclusive use of their music, meaning no Aero love for Harmonix or Rock Band. Which isn't all that surprising seeing that Activision has been treating Aerosmith like royalty lately, with plans of releasing a special Guitar Hero: Aerosmith edition later this June and licensing their likeness, names and music. All said, Rock Band owners can still experience a bit of Aerosmith with the game's "Train Kept A Rollin" track which was licensed prior to the band's agreement with Activision. It'll be the only Aerosmith Rock Band sees for a long, long while.

[Via Joystiq]

Aerosmith locked into Guitar Hero exclusivity, no Rock Band DLC


Those of you patiently waiting for that song from that video with that girl from Clueless in it, or that song from that movie about those working-class guys who blow up an asteroid to wind up in the Rock Band Store may want to sit down for this news: Outside of Rock Band's "Train Kept a Rollin," Aerosmith's entire catalogue of rock and/or roll hits will be exclusive to Guitar Hero. Newsweek got confirmation from an Aerosmith publicist and Activision PR that the band's songs would be locked down for "an unspecified period of time." Is this the beginning of the licensed song wars? Our Magic 8-Ball says, "Probably."

Guitar Hero: Aerosmith bundle revealed, costs $99


Click for high-resolution image.

The next Guitar Hero game may highlight Aerosmith, but it'll feature a number of songs from other bands, including The Clash, Cheap Trick, Joan Jett and The Blackhearts and more. Activision has just announced their pre-order bonuses for the upcoming music game. For $99, you'll get a special bundle which includes another guitar, the "exclusive" Aerosmith faceplate, an Aerosmith tour book and a copy of the game.

Check out images of the new guitar faceplate in our gallery. Aerosmith launches this June.

First Guitar Hero: Aerosmith tracks include 'Draw the Line,' 'Sweet Emotion'


Though we were briefly distracted by mention of some other bands set to feature in Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, Activision has reminded us that the rhythmography will, in fact, include Aerosmith tunes. Gamespot reports that of the 40-plus songs in the game, 60 percent will be devoted to the increasingly decrepit crooners.

Ah, but age is just a number and fans aren't likely to care when they start pressing plastic in rhythm to these confirmed numbers:
Expect further songs to be revealed at an excruciatingly slow pace as the game's June release walks this way.

New Guitar Hero: Aerosmith video (Looks Like a Cash-in)



Okay, so that title is (possibly) the last time we're going to be snide about Guitar Hero: Aerosmith. The band might not be our cup of tea, but heck, Guitar Hero is fun, and the not-Aerosmith tracks are actually showing real promise for non-Aerosmith fans.

However, just in case you forgot who the real headline act is, Activision cooked up a video of the title in action, and it oozes Aerosmith. There's plenty of bragging about the band's (admittedly very impressive) achievements, before we cut to 3D models of Stephen Tyler and his fellow grandfathers bouncing about the stage to "Sweet Emotion." Actually, the rubber-lipped, leathery-skinned Tyler proves to be perfect fodder for a caricature -- visually at least, he and Joe Perry seem to be a good fit for a Guitar Hero game.

Gameplay-wise -- and we barely need to mention this, but we shall -- it looks identical. And why not? It's a winning formula.

Counting Rupees: Battle of the brands


Each week Jeff Engel and Geoff Brooks contribute Counting Rupees, a column on the business behind gaming:

When Guitar Hero 3 launched last year it was an immediate success, selling out at a fairly quick pace throughout the holiday season. Following just behind it was Rock Band, selling very well, but not nearly as quickly as Guitar Hero. So far, all versions of Guitar Hero III have sold about 9.1M copies, versus just roughly 1.5M for Rock Band. Of course, part of the discrepancy lies in the fact that Rock Band launched on two platforms while Guitar Hero 3 launched on four, but that is about to be remedied with Harmonix's recent announcement of Rock Band for Wii. While Rock Band was a more ambitious game and representative of an evolution of the music game, it did seem like Activision may have made the right choice in buying the Guitar Hero publisher (and thus the Guitar Hero brand), but not the developer. With so much brand awareness already built into Guitar Hero, was there any way that Harmonix could possibly top the original creation that it no longer owned the rights to?

Continued →

Joystiq Features





Featured Galleries

Firefighter 360 (iPhone 3GS)

Firefighter 360 (iPhone 3GS)

Ghosts 'n Goblins: Gold Knights (iPhone)

Ghosts 'n Goblins: Gold Knights (iPhone)

Monster Rancher DS (11/10/09)

Monster Rancher DS (11/10/09)

Again (DS) (11/10/09)

Again (DS) (11/10/09)

Deadly Premonition (Xbox 360)

Deadly Premonition (Xbox 360)

Dawn of Heroes (DS)

Dawn of Heroes (DS)

ToeJam & Earl 4 concept art/pitch

ToeJam & Earl 4 concept art/pitch

Comet Crash

Comet Crash

Darksiders (11-06-09)

Darksiders (11-06-09)

 


Team Joystiq

 
Chris Grant
Editor-in-Chief, Email
James Ransom-Wiley
Managing Editor, Email
Ludwig Kietzmann
Senior Editor, Email
Andrew Yoon
East Coast Editor, Email
Randy Nelson
West Coast Editor, Email
Justin McElroy
Reviews Editor, Email
Justin Glow
Developer, Email

Joystiq Podcast

New episodes every Friday! Now playing: Joystiq Podcast 115, for Friday, Oct., 30.



Archive | RSS | iTunes