Joystiq

PSN Thursday: Novastrike, Civ Rev demo, Commando 3, much more

Alexander Sliwinski — 2008-06-05T20:20:00+00:00

Filed under: Sony PlayStation 3, Sony PSP, Online

Big fat update this week. For starters, it's time for PS3 owners to jump in the pool and try out the Civilization Revolution demo. So far, our thoughts are positive, but conflicted. PC Civilization players will jump right in and notice some major changes, but will console gamers find joy in the methodical (yet incredibly streamlined) Civ gameplay?

Enough thinking, what about some twitch action? The free God of War theme for GH III is available today, along with the PSN's first game self-published by a developer, Novastrike. Also, storming out of left field is Wolf of the Battlefield: Commando 3. There's also a couple other nice additions in this week's update, so check it out after the break.

The PS3 Fanboy's got your European PSN update on their site, but be sure to bring chocolates. They like chocolates.

Qore Digital Magazine:

Qore Episode 001: June, 2008

Downloadable Games:

Wolf of the Battlefield: Commando 3 ($10)
Novastrke ($10)

Add-on Content:

GH III God of War theme (Free)
GH III: Motorhead track pack -- "Stay Clean," "(We Are) The Road Crew" and "Motorhead" by Motorhead.
Rock Band DLC

Game Demos (free):

Civilization Revolution
Battlefield: Bad Company MP
NASCAR '09

Game Videos:

Guitar Hero III - God of War add-on
Resident Evil 5 Spring Trailer 2008
Wolf of the Battlefield: Commando 3 Trailer
LEGO Indiana Jones Trailer
Dead Space Story Trailer
Fracture Trailer and Behind the Scenes "Story"
Hail to the Chimp: 3:00AM

PS3 Themes:

Retro

Game Music (Free):

God of War "The End Begins"

PlayStation Store for PC:

SOCOM: Fireteam Bravo 2 ($16)
SOCOM: Fireteam Bravo 2 trailer
SOCOM: Fireteam Bravo 2 TV Spot 1
SOCOM: Fireteam Bravo 2 TV Spot 2
SOCOM: Fireteam Bravo 2 Wallpaper (x4)
SOCOM: Fireteam Bravo 2 music tracks (x5)

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Guitar Hero III Mobile sells a million

Alexander Sliwinski — 2008-05-28T20:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Rhythm, Business, Mobile

Guitar Hero III Mobile has sold over a million units according to publisher Hands-On Mobile, which had previously announced that the game had also seen over 7.5 million song downloads in under six months. Mobile phones are one thing, but we still have to wonder whether we'll see people playing Guitar Hero DS on the train in the morning.

As there's obviously a market for this title, we might as well mention that the June song pack for the game will feature "Stricken" by Disturbed, along with covers of "Talk Dirty to Me" by Poison and "Rock and Roll All Nite" by KISS. We want to try and understand why people download GH Mobile, but we just hope Phase is doing as well.

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Activision settles suit over Wii Guitar Hero's mono sound

Kyle Orland — 2008-04-08T14:30:00+00:00

Filed under: Nintendo Wii, Rhythm

Those replacement discs and free guitar faceplates that Activision has been sending to jilted, mono-version buyers of Wii's Guitar Hero III are now enshrined in law. Gamespot is reporting that the publisher has officially settled the class-action lawsuit brought late last year by gamers who were angry over getting fewer sound channels than they were promised by the game's marketing and packaging.

The settlement stipulates that wronged parties will be able to get a replacement disc and a free faceplate through Aug. 31. It might not quite be the full profit stripping that the original suit sought, but we suppose it is something to have the replacement program enshrined in the law.

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Nyko ships PS3 Rock Band/GH III compatible guitar

Alexander Sliwinski — 2008-04-05T08:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Sony PlayStation 3, Peripherals

Nyko is now shipping to retailers its Rock Band/Guitar Hero III compatible Front Man wireless guitar for PS3. The third party controller is $60, which is the same price some retailers charge for first party controllers.

The Front Man guitar works up to 25 ft and allegedly gets 80 hours of play time, it also uses a "stomp box" to switch between the two rival rhythm games. It's great that the guitar is compatible with both games unlike the first party controllers, but isn't the whole point of a third party peripheral to be much less expensive than first party? Oh well, we had no complaints about the controller when we got some hands-on time with it at GDC. The Front Man seems like an alternative for those who need another ax quick and a first party controller isn't at the store .

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Guitar Hero III Guinness record holder wins tournament, beats previous record

Alexander Sliwinski — 2008-03-20T10:15:00+00:00

Filed under: Culture, Sony PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wii, Microsoft Xbox 360

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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Play N Trade holding national Guitar Hero III competition March 15

Alexander Sliwinski — 2008-03-12T05:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Culture, Competitive Gaming, Rhythm

This Saturday, video game retailer Play N Trade is holding a Guitar Hero III tournament with a national grand prize of $2000 (in store credit). Competitors should check if their local store is participating in the tournament and confirm the time matches start. Entry fee is $10 beforehand or $15 on the day of the event.

Players will compete by single elimination in best 2 out of 3 matches. The top player from each store then plays Through the Fire and Flames on Expert and their score is sent in to determine a national champion on March 17 for the aforementioned $2000. Second place national winner receives a PS3, GH3 bundle and $500 in store credit; third place receives a GH3 bundle and $200 in store credit. Depending on how confident players feel in their TtFaF skills, this could either be a sure bet or an exercise in futility.

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Harmonix sues Activision, then withdraws suit to talk

Alexander Sliwinski — 2008-03-12T01:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Rhythm, Business

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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Rock Band outsells Guitar Hero III on Xbox 360 in January

Alexander Sliwinski — 2008-02-15T12:30:00+00:00

Filed under: Microsoft Xbox 360, Business

IGN reports January's NPD data shows that the Rock Band bundle on Xbox 360 barely beat out Guitar Hero III in sales for the month. This would be the first time Rock Band has been able to catch GH III on any of the platforms it is available on. Although it would be easy to dismiss the accomplishment because GH III had already sold millions before Rock Band was even out of the gate, it does mean consumers don't think of Guitar Hero as the end all music game.

Despite Rock Band's higher price point for the full bundle, it appears gamers are willing to spend the extra cash for the "platform." Sales of the game have been steady and the the constant flow of DLC has come back to MTV/Harmonix in a river of cash. With the announcement by Activision of retail game Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it's become clear that Activision and MTV/Harmonix have very different ideas on how to establish longevity for the franchises.

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Activision was #1 US publisher in 2007

Alexander Sliwinski — 2008-01-18T16:30:00+00:00

Filed under: Business

Activision became king of the hill in 2007 as the number one US publisher. According to NPD data the company's current market share is 17.7%, a 7.2% increase over last year. Of course, Activision utilized the powers it has as a third-party publisher to sell Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock and Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare,the number one and three titles in sales respectively, across multiple platforms. This is the first time in the company's history that it reached the top spot.

Activision was certainly on a financial and critical acclaim rampage in 2007. COD4 got a spot on our Top 10 list and GHIII was the number one game for our significant others. As successful as last year was, it's now looking like Rock Band is poised to make GHIII yesterday's news, which could be troubling for Activision considering how financially successful the Guitar Hero series has been. Then again, this year we'll start seeing the armed and fully-operational Blizzavision (yeah ... still working on that name).

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Zero Punctuation wails on Guitar Hero III

Alexander Sliwinski — 2007-12-12T14:55:00+00:00

Filed under: Sony PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wii, Microsoft Xbox 360, Rhythm

Yahtzee puts in plain speak during the latest Zero Punctuation review that Guitar Hero III is when the Guitar Hero series stopped being fun. Because you see, there's this wall that players hit and the game becomes impossible. Yahtzee doesn't want to hear it -- and neither do we -- if you're the only guy in your village who beat everything backward and forward. You aren't average, normal, or in any way a part of the natural order of sheep that make up the population of our little planet. Also, in this very special episode of Zero Punctuation, Yahtzee puts questions about his sexuality to rest.

Find your weekly dose of (NSFW) unhinged rage after the break.

[Thanks Mromson]

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Pachter predicts 7.5 million Guitar Hero units sold by year's end

Alexander Sliwinski — 2007-11-27T18:30:00+00:00

Filed under: Business

And as Atreyu mourned the loss of Artax, the great Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter emerged from the Swamps of Sadness to dispense some relatively happy predictions for Activision stock holders. Pachter believes Guitar Hero will sell 7.5 million units this year and will begin to see declining sales next year due to Rock Band competition. He guesstimates the Guitar Hero franchise will generate $550 million for Activision this fiscal year.

Pachter expects decent revenues from Spider-Man and Shrek sequels for Activision's fiscal year '09 and sees their new James Bond game generating between $100 -150 million in sales. But Guitar Hero is Activision's great source of revenue and imperative in keeping them in the #1 US publisher spot.

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Activision strums up Q3 financial forecast

Alexander Sliwinski — 2007-11-27T09:30:00+00:00

Filed under: Business

Activision is loving modern warfare and plastic guitars as it increased quarterly revenue expectations by $180 million. The company was originally expecting revenues at $1.05 billion this quarter, but its revision is now set for $1.23 billion. The company's full year outlook went from $2.07 billion to $2.30 billion. The change was made due to higher than expected sales of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and a little title known as Guitar Hero III.

Activision continues to hold the top US publisher spot, which it took from EA earlier this year. Activision's CEO says the publisher's had 16 years of growth and that this will be its most profitable quarter ever. It's good to own the Guitar Hero -- really good.

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Comparing Rock Band to Guitar Hero in difficulty

Alexander Sliwinski — 2007-11-15T22:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Sony PlayStation 3, Microsoft Xbox 360, Rhythm

Games Radar has put together a little piece comparing the difficulty of Guitar Hero to Rock Band. Their basic conclusion is that "Guitar Hero III hard = Guitar Hero II expert" and "Rock Band Expert = Guitar Hero II hard." They say that Guitar Hero is tough to jump into and Rock Band may be too easy at the medium level for seasoned vets.

Having had significant time with Rock Band on a visit to Harmonix on Tuesday, we can say that when comparing the guitar portion of the game, Rock Band on hard feels close to Guitar Hero II on medium -- except you do have to deal with that pesky orange button, so in essence it feels the same. That doesn't mean that there isn't a challenge in there for the average player, it's just a point of reference for jumping in. Now that's just the guitar, we're not even talking about the beasts of drumming and singing, nor the extreme joy the social interaction of the game provides.

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Velvet Revolver, Foo Fighters Guitar Hero III track packs hit Xbox Live

Justin McElroy — 2007-11-08T09:19:00+00:00

Filed under: Microsoft Xbox 360, Rhythm

We think the signs are pretty clear now that Activision isn't taking the threat from Rock Band lying down. Just a bit more than a week after Guitar Hero III was released, we already have two meaty song packs to download through Xbox Live and enjoy.

For 500 points ($6.25) you can get either a Foo Fighters pack that includes "The Pretender" from the new album "Echoes Silence Patience & Grace", "All My Life" and "This Is A Call" or the Velvet Revolver pack, with "She Builds Quick Machines","Slither" and "Messages". Each of the packs are by the original artists. With a nice boost like this to the track listing before the old songs have even gone stale, it's clear Red Octane is playing for keeps. ... You may not want to count Guitar Hero out just yet.

Update: Activision has also announced that boss battle anthems and "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" will be downloadable (for free!) later this month for play outside the game's Career mode.

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Guitar Hero III makes $115 million in first week

Alexander Sliwinski — 2007-11-06T15:27:00+00:00

Filed under: Sony PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wii, Microsoft Xbox 360, Business

Piggybacking on the information that Activision is going to have a record quarter and Guitar Hero III may be in short supply this holiday, Activision released some financial numbers that show how popular their game is. Activision says that GHIII sold over $115 million in its first week, making it the best launch in the company's history.

Activision believes they'll continue to do well against EA and MTV's Rock Band due to their "unparalleled number of music tracks, a highly competitive price point and the only game in its genre available worldwide." Although, much like the console war, we're thinking the music genre showdown between Rock Band and Guitar Hero won't be answered until years from now -- and there's always the possibility of peaceful coexistence.

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Slash & Poison launch Guitar Hero III in Los Angeles

Kevin Kelly — 2007-10-29T14:58:00+00:00

Filed under: Culture, Sony PlayStation 2, Sony PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wii, Microsoft Xbox 360, Video, Rhythm, Galleries

Slash, Poison, the casts of Reaper, Chuck, and that chick with the awesome power to learn things by watching them on TV from Heroes were just a few of the celebrities who helped launch Guitar Hero III at a Best Buy in Los Angeles this past Saturday night. They also had a really awesome launch party up on the roof, which included different stations where each version of the game were set up, free food and booze (a rock and roll staple), and a concert from Poison, complete with the Burning Man-esque stage from the game.

However, proving that every rose does indeed have its thorn, the upstairs roof-raising party wasn't open to the general public. So while the masses waited below to buy their copies at midnight, the red carpet and velvet rope brigade partied upstairs on sushi, BBQ, and Red Bull. Just like the real rock and roll world.

Check out video from the event after the jump, along with some sneak peeks from our gallery. So, how many of you picked up a copy on Sunday?

Gallery: Guitar Hero III Launch Event in Los Angeles

Here are some images for you looky loos. Check out the video down below and prepare to rawk.

The waiting is the hardest part ...

Local rockers LAX Gurlz were present to kick out the jamz.

Custom faceplates, key fobs, and other gear for your guitars.

The party scene, complete with massive domes under the night sky.

Seven custom-made Gibson guitars. Swanky.

The goods, under the watchful eye of khakied and blue-shirted guards.

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Consumer check: Make sure Wal-Mart's Guitar Hero 3 bundle is one you want

Alexander Sliwinski — 2007-10-28T11:45:00+00:00

Filed under: Sony PlayStation 2, Microsoft Xbox 360

As many prepare to rock with Guitar Hero III today, we've received a few tips about consumers accidentally getting wired Xbox 360 controllers at Wal-Mart instead of the much ballyhooed wireless guitars. According to Wal-Mart's website, they are currently carrying several bundles of Guitar Hero III -- including ones with a wired x-plorer guitar for Xbox 360 (pictured) and SG controller for PS2. Target also has a similar bundle currently. The only reason we haven't started our voodoo to punish Activision and Red Octane for this trickery is that there actually is a price adjustment for these bundles. The Xbox 360 bundle and PS2 wired bundles are both $10 less than their wireless counterparts.

The basic thing to do in this situation is to make sure you go to the store and read the box. If they don't have the one you want, it's your right as a free consumer to go shopping someplace else. We've been informed that some Wal-Marts only have one version of the bundle -- it may not be fair, but all we can do is let you know to check the box before you buy. Oh, but if they are selling the wired bundles for the same price as the wireless ones, then we'll call our voodoo priestess and start the incantations.

[Thanks Nick and everyone else who sent this in]

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Target's $110 Guitar Hero III special edition for PS2

Alexander Sliwinski — 2007-10-18T17:55:00+00:00

Filed under: Sony PlayStation 2

This holiday Target stores will stock a special edition of Guitar Hero III for PS2 which includes two specially designed SG wired guitars for $110. Cutting to the chase, this means the extra guitar is $30, saving you $10 off the guitar's normal $40 price. Considering co-op and competition seem to be a focus in this latest Guitar Hero, the bundle doesn't seem like a bad deal for those who don't already have a guitar sitting around. There is no announcement about a Wii, PS3 or Xbox 360 bundle, but each of those systems should have online options to find another player -- with varying degrees of success.

Target is also sponsoring a Guitar Hero competition at E for All this week. We contacted the PR reps for the event and the bundle won't be a prize at the competition. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock hits store shelves on Oct. 28.

[Via Press Release]

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Guitar Hero competition at E for All

Alexander Sliwinski — 2007-10-16T21:30:00+00:00

Filed under: Culture, Microsoft Xbox 360

For those still attending E for All, y'all might as well make the best of it and win some prizes at the Guitar Hero event/competition sponsored by Target. The event will be held during E for All in the South Hall at the LA Convention Center, which we're guessing means you have to purchase an E for All ticket to enter the competition.

Judging will be based on scoring, accuracy and performance. So even if you aren't the most proficient Guitar Hero player, if you put on a good show you may still win something. You're also allowed to bring your own guitar. Winners will receive "$3,000 in cash and Target gift cards." The press release says there will be "celebrity judges," but for all we know that could mean Charo. Actually, Charo would be awesome!

[Via Press Release]

Gallery: Guitar Hero 3

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PS3's Guitar Hero III dongle explained, leading to more questions [update]

Alexander Sliwinski — 2007-10-11T13:58:00+00:00

Filed under: Sony PlayStation 3, Rhythm

Answers are slowly starting to emerge about the mysterious dongle the PS3 uses for wireless guitar capabilities in Guitar Hero III. The over-simplified version is that even though PS3 and Wii both use Bluetooth, the Wii guitar plugs directly into the Wiimote hijacking the signal, while the Sixaxis doesn't plug into the guitar -- hence the USB wired dongle as a wireless bridge.

Before we go any further, this isn't just a GH III problem. Rock Band will also use some sort of PS3 dongle. This might also explain a lot about why there isn't a Wii version of Rock Band announced yet. Although it's completely disputable, here's our basic idea: Two USB ports on the back of the Wii for the drum and mic (which are wired on every console), then if Harmonix wants the guitars to be wireless they need to design a guitar modeled around the Wiimote to plug into so that Rock Band does the same signal hijack that GH III accomplishes.

Apparently Sony doesn't feel up to talking about why these dongles are necessary as they stonewalled 1UP when the site went looking for answers. Maybe Sony will give Red Octane and Harmonix the tools to make their guitars work dongle-less one day, but to get things done for this holiday season this was the only (or most cost effective) solution available.

Update: We were trying to avoid bringing the Xbox 360 into this, but considering there is some confusion, the Xbox 360 version of Guitar Hero III is "dongle-less." Meaning a direct connection is made between the guitar and Xbox 360. Regarding Guitar Hero I & II support on PS3, Red Octane wrote us: "In regards to your other question about GH and GHII (on PS2), they do work on PS3 (w/ both SG and Kramer), though they will require an appropriate adapter for the guitar controller."

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