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
You show one wood carving and all of a sudden an influx of tree-related game paraphernalia come into the tip line. Okay, so we really only got one tip -- from Patrick, who made a maple veneer faceplate for his Guitar Hero III controller. And to be honest, we're impressed - now do it for our Rock Band drum kit. Check out the highlights for today:
Closing out this year's CES keynote, Microsoft's Robbie Bach invited Guitar Hero champion Kelly "TipperQueen"Law-Yone on stage to play Guns n' Roses' "Welcome to the Jungle" on Guitar Hero 3. Not willing to be outdone, keynote speaker Bill Gates brings out Slash - of Guns n' Roses fame - to play "Welcome to the Jungle" on a real guitar. We'll leave the real vs. virtual guitar debate to you and South Park. Instead, we'll just spend our time wishing for this performance - and The Office parody from earlier in the keynote - show up as online video soon.
Today on PSN a double dose of Rock Band tunes finally squeezes its way through the pipeline, bringing with it a mess of Guitar Hero III tracks. If toy instruments aren't your forte, consider investing in some new cars for ProStreet (how can you resist a bimmer for a mere $2.50?) or shed those pads and wrap your arms around a real man in the free NFL Tour demo. That, or sit back and watch be jealous that Japan is actually playingGT5 Prologue.
Euro folk can peep this week's "surely not" offerings over on PS3 Fanboy. Full details of the US update are posted after the break.
For a port of a two-year-old game, RE4: Wii Edition didn't have a whole lot going for it. It had the same extra features as the PS2 port of the game, not-so-updated graphics, and slightly lower reviews than its original iteration -- and yet, somehow, just by changing how the game is controlled, Capcom created an entirely new adventure. When the peculiar controls for the Wii were first announced, this is the type of interactivity that I imagined from the future games for the system -- responsive, accurate, and realistic. The only way they could have made the gunplay feel any more natural would have been to package the game with an actual gun, which you shot at the on-screen zombies. Once.
Well, perhaps the song selection will make more sense to you than the headline. Still not content with the initial track list in Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock, Activision has revealed the contents of the rock 'n rhythmer's next set of downloadable content (but not the price, so no accusing them of pitching a con-tent just yet). Right, on to the content:
"Free, exclusive rock rendition" of a holiday classic
"We Three Kings" by Steve Ouimette
In fitting with tradition, you can expect the Warner/Reprise/Wrist Slasher Special track pack to cost $6.25 when it appears on the Xbox Live Marketplace and the PlayStation Network sometime in December. We'll let you know as soon we've confirmed the prices of the individual songs.
You're a rebel. You don't listen intently for thoughtful gift ideas before hitting the mall months ahead of the holiday shopping season. No, you march to your own tune – a tune, which we should add, is more than likely generated by clicking brightly colored plastic buttons on a plastic guitar – and you wait until the last minute to get your gift ideas from a blog, a video game blog, of all places.
Relax, you're amongst peers. Which is why we just had to show you these vinyl guitar straps with that i am 8-bit aesthetic we know you're so crazy about. Yeah, it's really a Christmas present for yourself, but you've been good this year, right? We thought so.
'Tis the season for shredding plastic guitar controllers in a virtual environment for screaming, adoring virtual fans - do you know if your plastic axe can rock with your game? Through playtests and corroboration via other sources, we have combined three handy charts (one for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and now Wii) to let you know what guitar controllers work with what games.
First, the Xbox 360:
Rock Band Stratocaster
Yes
No*
No**
Guitar Hero 3 Les Paul
Yes
Yes
Yes
Guitar Hero 2 Xplorer
Yes
Yes
Yes
Notes: * Can navigate menus, but during the songs the green button is stuck down, orange is red, and everything else is dead ** Interestingly, the drums are recognized, so you can actually navigate menus using them, but playing songs is a no go.
The PlayStation 3, however, has a much "easier" choice (after the break).
Check out all our impressions from Xbox 360 Spring Showcase!
Interview: CliffyB talks Gears of War 2.
Gears, Banjos, Pinatas and more -- highlights from Xbox 360 Spring Showcase!
Wii Fanboy reviews the WiiWare lineup!
Meet Big Download, Joystiq's new PC news (and downloads!) site
Listen to the Joystiq Podcast (because your ears can't read)
Posts with tag guitar-hero-3
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.
