Beginning this Friday, September 12th, you can get a jump on building your Guitar Hero World Tour library by purchasing the new Metallica album, Death Magnetic, on Xbox Live (1440 / $18) or PSN ($17.99) -- you can even practice the guitar parts using Guitar Hero 3. In other words, the DLC album, which happens to be releasing day and date with the not-for-toy-instruments version, is compatible with both games, but you'll have to wait until World Tour is released in late October to channel your inner Lars or reach deep inside your chest cavity to unleash your best Hetfield impersonation. What you will get on Friday, assuming you do have a copy of Guitar Hero 3, is access to two exclusive cuts of "Suicide & Redemption" with extended solos by Hetfield and Kirk Hammett.
"We're proud to be setting a new precedent for our two industries, making an entire new album available in two different mediums simultaneously," Activision's Tim Riley boasted. How about you do us one better? An entire new album available in two different mediums in one download! We'd sure like to export those tunes to our Zune iPod as we wait for World Tour. (But maybe that's just a pipe dream.)
Microsoft is running an "Extended Play Download Days" promotion between now and the end of October, with select downloadable content discounted for six Xbox 360 titles. Sure, half of the promotion consists of Beautiful Katamari accessories and stages, but we've also got Forza Motorsport 2, Mass Effect, Guitar Hero 3, Lost Odyssey and a deep discount for Oblivion Shivering Isles (from $30 to $20). Not coincidentally, today also marks the first day of the new Xbox 360 price drop.
British power metal squealers DragonForce will debut a new and inevitably over-the-top single in a Guitar Hero IIItrack pack later this week. Taken from their new album, Ultra Beatdown, "Heroes of Our Time" will no doubt challenge serious shredders with a never-ending string of shifting notes and finger-knot solos when it arrives on Xbox Live Marketplace and the PlayStation Store on August 21.
The DragonForce Track Pack will also provide two other overwrought songs, namely "Revolution Deathsquad" and "Operation Ground and Pound," from the album dubbed Inhuman Rampage. Expect this one to go for the usual 500 MS Points ($6.25).
Rhythm games have certainly been keeping the tempo up for financial growth in the industry. GameDaily notes UBS analyst Ben Schachter's report, showing "music-themed games" have made up 15% of software sales year-to-date and 32% year-over-year growth so far.
The Guitar Hero franchise is already up 82% this year, with Guitar Hero: On Tour taking in $15 million in July alone. Meanwhile, Rock Band, across all platforms, took in $47 million in July ... and that doesn't even count any DLC sales. Unless the rhythm game bubble bursts in the next few months, GH: World Tour and Rock Band 2 sales -- along with their respective DLC sales -- could make up a significant portion of another record-breaking year for the industry.
Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick finds comments made by Warner Music -- saying it should be paid more for the use of its music in games like Guitar Hero -- a little "one-sided." The Financial Times reports that the Blizzavision chief thinks comments made by Warner Music's Edgar Bronfman don't take into account the "capital and resources" required to turn the song into something "fun to play."
With the music industry taking a backseat to the games industry, it's not surprising to find record execs trying to figure out a way to squeeze more money out of a billion-dollar franchise. The thing is, though, that Activision's merger with Vivendi Games, connects it to Vivendi Universal, which owns Universal Music, the "world's largest music publisher." At the end of the day, Kotick can snap his fingers and never talk to Warner Music again, all the while squeezing every last dollar out of the Guitar Hero franchise until it stops being the soup du jour.
Though the corporate merger between Activision and Blizzard is still some months off, that hasn't stopped the two from getting awfully cozy lately, spending long, wine-filled evenings in each other's embrace, the soothing sound of Level 70 Elite Tauren Chieftain cascading against their warm bodies ...
... before we get too far, that reminds us: L70ETC's number-one hit single (for WoW players) "I Am Murloc" will be available for Guitar Hero 3 on both the Xbox 360 and PS3 platforms beginning tomorrow. Apparently the song is promotionally related to this weekend's Worldwide Invitational in Paris – not to mention that upcoming game announcement – but we know what it's really about. It's business time.
The pack features "Problems [live at Brixton] by The Sex Pistols, "Shoot the Runner" by Kasabian, and "I Predict a Riot" by Kaiser Chiefs. The set costs 500 Microsoft Points, or $6.25 USD on PS3. For a taste, check out the above video for Kasabian's "Shoot the Runner." It's kinda rockin'.
The website which reported that three Rock Band tracks would be packaged with the South Park: Season 11 DVDs has now taken that bit of info back. TVShowsonDVD.com says that a Paramount representative informed them the information was incorrect, but that there will be other bonus materials in the release. South Park's eleventh season had the infamous "Guitar Queer-o" episode.
Considering South Park had an entire episode about Guitar Hero, it would have been a little weird if the DVDs came with Rock Band downloads. However things got mixed up, it's a little sad to see the info turn out false -- unless the "bonus materials" end up being Guitar Hero III tracks.
We've known for a while that inclusion on a video game soundtrack can help drive music sales, but usually the song in question is actually available for sale when it appears in the game. Not so for Def Leppard's new single, "Nine Lives," which will premiere as a downloadable Guitar Hero III track before it's available at retail or other online services. No F-f-f-foolin'!
The track, which comes as part of a Def Leppard pack along with classics "Rock of Ages" and "Photograph," will be available on April 24th in the U.S. and May 8th in the U.K. The album "Songs from the Sparkle Lounge" follows soon after on April 28 (digital download) and May 5 (physical disc).
"I know from personal experience how much more you get into the music by playing the game," said Def Leppard Lead Singer Joe Elliott in a press release. "Guitar Hero is extremely popular with all kinds of music heads, which includes a lot of our fans - and we think releasing Nine Lives this way first is just fantastic!"
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.
Poor Bessy, the Guitar Hero cow is getting her teats squeezed raw by Activision. Hands-On Mobile announced another addition to the GH III oeuvre as the "number one selling" mobile version of Guitar Hero III became available for BlackBerry smartphones. Come on Bessy, just keep squirting.
According to Hands-On the mobile version of Guitar Hero III has achieved 7.5 million song downloads in less than six months and will be available on the nation's top four mobile carriers by April. Oh well, more power to 'em. Observing someone play GH III on a phone can't possibly be more awkward than it'll be watching someone play the DS version of GH III on the subway in the morning.
In light of today's official Rock Band Wii announcement, we asked Harmonix if there was any chance the Guitar Hero 3 controller would be compatible with Rock Band (and vice versa). The response was less than hopeful, with Harmonix telling us it's up to Activision -- in other words, no. On the bright side, it gives us an opportunity to update our Guitar Compatibility Guide. Check it out after the break.
Just in time for your weekend St. Patrick's Day celebrations (you're not really going to party on a Monday are you?) comes a trio of Dropkick Murphys songs for Guitar Hero III, available right now on Xbox Live and (we're assuming) a little later in the day on PSN.
The pack includes "Famous for Nothing", "Flannigan's Ball" and "Johnny, I Hardly Knew Ya", all master tracks and all from their album The Meanest of Times. Now, before you go complaining that they're not the DKM songs you would have chosen, you should know that the pack is free, free, totally free. Not bad for a holiday usually only good for "you're not wearing green" pinches from the 55-year-old woman in accounting.
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.
[Update: Entry period is over, folks. We're selecting our winners and contacting them by email, so go check!]
We've been feeling generous lately, so we're kicking this week off with another giveaway. This time, we're handing out five copies of Guitar Hero III. Yup, five ...
The well-dressed folks at Best Buy (they put on that launch party, remember?) set us up with three copies on each of the major now-gen consoles (that's Wii, Xbox 360, and PS3 for those of you who've been stuck in a time capsule), and we're giving away the two PlayStation 2 copies that Red Octane sent over, for a grand total of five full copies of the game (we're talking guitar and game disc). So, here's how this is going to work: You'll have five days to leave five comments for up to five chances to win one of five copies of the game.
To enter this giveaway, leave a comment on this post letting us know which console release you want AND your favorite guitar solo of all time (note: in accordance with federal law, "Stairway to Heaven" will not be considered an acceptable answer)
You must be a US resident, 18 years or older. (Which isn't very rock 'n roll, we know ...)
Limit 1 entry per person per calendar day. If you enter this giveaway more than once a day you'll be automatically disqualified, etc.!
This entry period ends in five days at 2:59pm ET Friday 2/15/08.
For complete rules you can tattoo up your arms, click here
/ $18) or PSN ($17.99) -- you can even practice the guitar parts using Guitar Hero 3. In other words, the DLC album, which happens to be releasing day and date with the not-for-toy-instruments version, is compatible with both games, but you'll have to wait until World Tour is released in late October to channel your inner Lars or reach deep inside your chest cavity to unleash your best Hetfield impersonation. What you will get on Friday, assuming you do have a copy of Guitar Hero 3, is access to two exclusive cuts of "Suicide & Redemption" with extended solos by Hetfield and Kirk Hammett.
