Joystiq http://www.joystiq.com Joystiq http://www.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif Joystiq http://www.joystiq.com en-us Copyright 2008 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/MS: Xbox 360 instruments from Rock Band 2, GH: World Tour and Rock Revolution will be cross-compatiblehttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/19/microsoft-xbox-360-instruments-from-rock-band-2-gh-world-tour/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/19/microsoft-xbox-360-instruments-from-rock-band-2-gh-world-tour/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/19/microsoft-xbox-360-instruments-from-rock-band-2-gh-world-tour/#commentsFiled under: , ,


Clarifying its stance on rhythm game compatibility issues, Microsoft's Gamerscore Blog announced today that all the instruments for Rock Band 2, Guitar Hero: World Tour and Rock Revolution will be "cross-compatible" on Xbox 360.

Sony announced yesterday that PlayStation 3 would feature full cross-compatibility among the three games as well. Guess that leaves only Nintendo to make it official.

Update: The Instrument Compatibility Matrix has been updated
[Thanks, Mike]

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]]>activisionactivision-blizzardbreakingnewsghghwtguitar-heroguitar-hero-world-tourharmonixkonamirock-bandrock-revolutionAlexander Sliwinski2008-08-19T17:50:00+00:00SCEA: Universal compatibility for PS3 Rock Band 2, GH: World Tour and Rock Revolution instrumentshttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/18/scea-universal-compatibility-for-ps3-rock-band-2-gh-world-to/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/18/scea-universal-compatibility-for-ps3-rock-band-2-gh-world-to/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/18/scea-universal-compatibility-for-ps3-rock-band-2-gh-world-to/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

It's about time someone stepped in and took an active role in fixing this nonsense. SCEA Director of Publisher Relations Michael Shorrock has announced on PlayStation.Blog that Sony has reached an agreement with Activision, Neversoft, Harmonix and Konami to ensure that all the instrument peripherals for Rock Band 2, Guitar Hero: World Tour and Rock Revolution will work across all games for PlayStation 3.

In case you're too stunned to comprehend what should've been no-brainer functionality from the start, your PS3 Rock Band 2 drum set should now be guaranteed to work with GH:WT and RR, and likewise for every game's guitar and drum peripherals. Said Shorrock, "We're still working hard to ensure compatibility between the Guitar Hero and Rock Band titles currently on the market, and we hope to have an announcement on that shortly."

We're excited, but at the same time, we're a bit dismayed it took this long to sort out. To be clear, instrument compatibility has not been confirmed for Xbox 360 (although we do know GH:WT instruments work with RB2) or Wii versions of the music games. Microsoft, Nintendo, we're looking to you to make this universal compatibility, erm, more universal.

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]]>activisionbreakingnewsghghwtguitar-heroguitar-hero-world-tourharmonixkonamimichael-shorrockneversoftrock-bandrock-band-2rock-revolutionsceasonyRoss Miller2008-08-18T12:37:00+00:00Activision believes Gibson's patent has 'no merit'http://www.joystiq.com/2008/03/20/activision-believes-gibsons-patent-has-no-merit/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/03/20/activision-believes-gibsons-patent-has-no-merit/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/03/20/activision-believes-gibsons-patent-has-no-merit/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,


Activision has made a formal statement about its lawsuit against Gibson Guitar Corporation's patent claim on Guitar Hero. Activision calls Gibson's squeeze-play a "transparent end run ... on patent assertions that Gibson knows have no merit." According to Activision, Gibson waited three years until this past January to make its patent allegations and only did so after Activision said it was no longer interested in renewing its "marketing and support agreement with Gibson."

Poor Gibson, looks like it's just a little bitter about (Warning: double cliché alert) not seeing the light on its patent many moons ago and missing the boat on a billion dollar franchise. Meanwhile, Harmonix is still making money off the franchise it lost and is currently working out a deal with Activision over the $14.5 million the company says it's due in royalty fees.

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]]>activisionghgibsonguitar-heroguitarheroharmonixlawsuitAlexander Sliwinski2008-03-20T16:43:00+00:00Guitar Hero III Guinness record holder wins tournament, beats previous recordhttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/03/20/gh-guinness-record-holder-wins-gh-iii-tournament-beats-previous/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/03/20/gh-guinness-record-holder-wins-gh-iii-tournament-beats-previous/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/03/20/gh-guinness-record-holder-wins-gh-iii-tournament-beats-previous/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Chris Chike, currently the Guinness world record holder for points in Guitar Hero III, won the Play N Trade GHIII tournament last weekend and bested his record-setting score. Chike's Guinness score was 870,647 (seen in video above) before he won the tournament, along with $2000 of in-store credit, with 889,256 points.

The best part of this story is that Chike actually drove two hours to compete at the Play N Trade store in Bloomington, Minnesota. Guess when you're the world record holder the trip seems worth it, considering you've probably got the win in the bag. Chike says he still hasn't done as well at any tournament event than he's done at home. The good thing about tournaments and competition is you only have to be better than second place.

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]]>chikechris-chikeghgh3ghiiiguitar heroguitarheroguitarheroiiiplay-n-tradeAlexander Sliwinski2008-03-20T10:15:00+00:00Harmonix sues Activision, then withdraws suit to talkhttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/03/12/harmonix-sues-activision-then-withdraws-suit-to-talk/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/03/12/harmonix-sues-activision-then-withdraws-suit-to-talk/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/03/12/harmonix-sues-activision-then-withdraws-suit-to-talk/#commentsFiled under: ,


Variety reports developer Harmonix sued Activision on Monday for $14.5 million in royalties owed them from the Guitar Hero franchise, only to pull the suit Tuesday night. The filing of the lawsuit seems to have been all Activision apparently needed to talk things through outside of court.

The lawsuit revolved around Harmonix's technology being used in creating Guitar Hero III and royalties owed them for that deal. Harmonix, which created the first two GH's before publisher Red Octane was purchased by Activision, also claims it has not been paid for GH DLC, in-game advertising and other nitty-gritty details. Activision originally stated it had paid what it owed to Harmonix and "the claims otherwise do not have merit."

With Activision looking to drive the Guitar Hero franchise into the ground the seventh level of hell, it looks like Harmonix wants to get some money out of watching its original cash cow get milked into oblivion.

Read -- Viacom withdraws 'Guitar' suit
Read -- The full court docs.

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]]>activisionghghIIIguitar-heroharmonixlawsuitsueAlexander Sliwinski2008-03-12T01:00:00+00:00Two feet, two guitars, one interesting Guitar Hero phenomenonhttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/02/05/two-feet-two-guitars-one-interesting-guitar-hero-phenomenon/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/02/05/two-feet-two-guitars-one-interesting-guitar-hero-phenomenon/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/02/05/two-feet-two-guitars-one-interesting-guitar-hero-phenomenon/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Have no friends? No self-respect? No foot fungus? Then the below video of an unorthodox method for playing two Guitar Hero parts at once might just be for you!

When tipster Rob first sent us this extraordinary video, we thought it was somewhat unique. Apparently, though, playing Guitar Hero with your feet became a minor internet trend while we weren't looking. Some wimp out by only doing a solo part, or using their hands for one of the parts. Some use their feet out of necessity, others out of camaraderie. Some take it seriously and some just ham it up. But all of them use their feet for a game that ostensibly requires hands.

One other thing seems constant too... they all pretty much suck. Unsurprisingly, hitting those fret buttons with your stinky toes makes it nearly impossible to play on anything past Easy difficulty ... and even then it's no bed of roses. Think you can prove us wrong? Send us your video of Expert-level, foot-controlled Guitar Hero and we guarantee you a spot of internet semi-fame on this very page. To those about to rock with their feet ... we salute you.

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]]>activisionfeetGHguitarguitar heroGuitarHeroharmonixred octaneRedOctaneKyle Orland2008-02-05T21:00:00+00:00PS2 guitar pedal allows for precision rockinghttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/01/30/ps2-guitar-pedal-allows-for-precision-rocking/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/01/30/ps2-guitar-pedal-allows-for-precision-rocking/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/01/30/ps2-guitar-pedal-allows-for-precision-rocking/#commentsFiled under: , , ,



Sure, everyone loves activating star power and wailing on the whammy bar in Guitar Hero. But for a certain, incredibly anal subset of players, these actions and their distracting arm movements represent potential streak killers. Well, those finicky gamers are in luck, because peripheral maker React has now released a foot pedal that transfers those pesky arm motions to your feet, which were just sitting there tapping out a rhythm before.

The wireless pedals, which require 4 AA batteries and work with any PS2 guitar, might seem steep at $25, but they're a bargain for the truly compulsive GH player. As the sole Best Buy reviewer put it, "I bought this pedal primarily because activating Star Power by raising my guitar usually results in missed notes." And was we all know, rock music is about exacting precision above all else.

[Thanks Dan]

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]]>activisionghguitarguitar-heropedalsPS2red octaneRedOctanestar-powerwhammy-barKyle Orland2008-01-30T14:00:00+00:00Buy Tony Hawk's board-burdened GH guitar, help starving musicianshttp://www.joystiq.com/2007/04/04/buy-tony-hawks-board-burdened-gh-guitar-help-starving-musician/http://www.joystiq.com/2007/04/04/buy-tony-hawks-board-burdened-gh-guitar-help-starving-musician/http://www.joystiq.com/2007/04/04/buy-tony-hawks-board-burdened-gh-guitar-help-starving-musician/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

hawk's guitarHere's a charity item we guarantee no one has ever auctioned off before: a Guitar Hero controller bonded to a skateboard fragment -- with Tony Hawk's siggy, no less. Bidding starts at $100 and proceeds go to the MusiCares organization, which catches panhandling musicians in a delicate safety net and provides them with "critical assistance" (read: not a record deal). Some 29 other celeb- and rocker-decorated GH controllers are also up on eBay to support the cause.

For anyone hoping for more than just a geeky display piece, please note the fine print: "Owing to customization, the controller is offered solely as an art object and is not guaranteed to have retained any functionality; buyers who choose to connect the controller to a console do so at their own risk." (Ever seen a skate-guitar asplode...?)

[Via IGN]

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]]>activisionauctioncharitycontrollercustomebayghguitarguitarheroharmonixmodmusciaresmusicps2redbullredoctaneskateboardtonyhawkJames Ransom-Wiley2007-04-04T19:26:00+00:00Eight-year-old is better than you at Guitar Herohttp://www.joystiq.com/2007/01/15/eight-year-old-is-better-than-you-at-guitar-hero/http://www.joystiq.com/2007/01/15/eight-year-old-is-better-than-you-at-guitar-hero/http://www.joystiq.com/2007/01/15/eight-year-old-is-better-than-you-at-guitar-hero/#commentsFiled under: ,

We here at Joystiq have posted a lot of insane videos of people playing Guitar Hero and other rhythm games, even going so far as to declare one pizza-fueled shredfest as the best GH vid ever. Well we were wrong. This video of an eight-year old getting five stars on Guitar Hero II's Psychobilly Freakout on expert difficulty is, in fact, the best Guitar Hero video we've ever seen.

While we can't confirm for sure that this performance isn't faked somehow, the video's frequent close-ups on the frets and consistent, unbroken point-of-view make it seem unlikely. The best part of the video is the way this kid disdainfully turns away from the screen during some of the hardest sections, essentially playing blind just because he can. Now that's rock and roll.

So, to the anonymous little guitar god in this video, we salute you with the new title of best Guitar Hero video ever. Until the next one comes along, that is.



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]]>ghgh2godguitarguitar heroGuitarHeropsychbilly freakoutPsychbillyFreakoutrhythmKyle Orland2007-01-15T18:45:00+00:00Guitar Hero 2 experts are already better than youhttp://www.joystiq.com/2006/11/06/guitar-hero-2-experts-are-already-better-than-you/http://www.joystiq.com/2006/11/06/guitar-hero-2-experts-are-already-better-than-you/http://www.joystiq.com/2006/11/06/guitar-hero-2-experts-are-already-better-than-you/#commentsFiled under: ,


You might think that today's release of Guitar Hero 2 marks the official start of the race to master the game's new songs. But that would be naive. The real battle for Guitar Hero perfection started when the demo was released to the general public in Official Playstation Magazine issue 110. In honor of the official release of the game, we've scrounged up some highly-variable-quality videos showing off some people who are already on their way to true Guitar Heroism.





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]]>GHGH2guitar heroguitar hero 2GuitarHeroGuitarHero2harmonixredoctanevideosKyle Orland2006-11-06T15:00:00+00:00Rock out with Guitar Hero tournamentshttp://www.joystiq.com/2006/08/25/rock-out-with-guitar-hero-tournaments/http://www.joystiq.com/2006/08/25/rock-out-with-guitar-hero-tournaments/http://www.joystiq.com/2006/08/25/rock-out-with-guitar-hero-tournaments/#commentsFiled under: ,

Last month, RedOctane teased visitors to the Guitar Hero MySpace page with a graphic cryptically promoting something called G.H.O.U.L. Earlier this week, they revealed the project as the Guitar Hero Organized Underground League, a set of sponsored tournaments where you provide the organization and promotion and RedOctane provides the banners and prizes.

We were totally stoked about this, until we saw that RedOctane is only taking "a limited amount of sponsorships" for the time being. But why should that stop you? Here's a quick checklist of things we recommend to have on hand for your own rocking Guitar Hero party/tournament:
  • PS2, Guitar Hero, two guitar controllers (consider investing in wireless)
  • A good speaker system (crank it to 11!)
  • Plenty of alcohol (or grape juice, if you're under 21 *cough*)
  • Non-greasy finger food (don't want any slippery frets)
  • Atmosphere (Disco ball, strobe light, smoke machine, etc.)
  • Costumes (fake wigs, top hats, mascara, etc.)
  • Plenty of floor space (for tricks/excessive rocking)
  • How to Play Air Guitar (to peruse in between rounds)
  • Plenty of beginner and expert players (for two tourney brackets)
  • Massive whiteboard/poster board (to display results)
Anything to add, Joystiqers?

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]]>GHguitar heroguitar hero 2GuitarHeroGuitarHero2tournamentKyle Orland2006-08-25T11:25:00+00:00