Joystiq

Axl Rose's Guitar Hero 3 lawsuit dismissed

Richard Mitchell — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 12:30:00 EST

The last vestige of Guns N Roses lead singer Axl Rose's lawsuit against Activision has been dismissed, reports the San Marino Tribune. Originally filed in 2010, Rose's suit alleged that Guitar Hero 3 associated the song "Welcome to the Jungle" with former GNR guitarist Slash. According to Rose, the association constituted both fraud and breach of contract.

The judge tossed the fraud claim out of court last year, as the statute of limitations had expired. According to today's report, Judge Charles Palmer has dismissed the breach of contract claim as well.

Thus ends another case in the litany of lawsuits filed against Activision over its music games. Let's recount, shall we?

Gibson: Lost, countersued, settled
No Doubt: Settled
Courtney Love: Nevermind
Adam Levine: Marooned?

Oh, and as for the Guitar Hero franchise itself: Dead.

Axl Rose's Guitar Hero 3 lawsuit dismissed originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 11 Feb 2013 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: Guitar Hero 7 used only a six-string guitar, canned in 2011

Jessica Conditt — Wed, 05 Dec 2012 19:45:00 EST

Guitar Hero 7 was a game that existed, at least in a development phase, until Activision canceled it in early 2011, Kotaku reported, citing an anonymous source.

Guitar Hero 7 had only a guitar, ditching the drums, mic and bass that surfaced once Rock Band entered the market. The guitar saw some changes, however, and had a full six strings and an extra button in the neck. It was expensive, unresponsive and development was, overall, a "disaster," Kotaku said.

Vicarious Visions, the team in charge of developing Guitar Hero 7, had some great ideas about creating a morphing, unique music video for each song. The songs themselves posed a problem: "The game had all of the worst hits from the 1990s," Kotaku wrote, quoting its source. "They realized that, with our lack of budget and time, they couldn't get quality music so they bought bargain-basement music like 'Closing time' and 'Sex and Candy.' There were some songs in there that had been used at least three times in the GH franchises before."

The music video idea quickly became unwieldy, too, and development fell apart. Guitar Hero 7 was canceled in the middle of an expected two-year development cycle. Just think, we could have had a new Guitar Hero on our GOTY lists this year. Maybe.

Maybe not.

[Pictured: Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock]

Report: Guitar Hero 7 used only a six-string guitar, canned in 2011 originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 05 Dec 2012 19:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Glu Mobile closes Brazil office; Washington and California studios hit with layoffs

Mike Schramm — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 23:59:00 EST

Glu Mobile, the developers behind mobile versions of Guitar Hero and Call of Duty: Black Ops, has announced that it is closing its San Paulo, Brazil office and laying off employees in Kirkland, Washington, and San Francisco, California.

A statement from the company says that it needs to hold its research and development investments flat over the next year, and to do that, changes are being made. Twenty-five percent of the Kirkland office and 5% of the San Francisco office are being let go today as part of the restructuring process.

Glu's plan is to add "the necessary monetization and server-side research-and-development resources" to the company's existing titles, and "focus on increasing average revenue per daily active user company-wide." More monetization and more revenue per daily active user should help turn the company's financial future around, though game quality often suffers when those two elements are focused on. Joystiq hopes affected employees land on their feet soon.

Glu Mobile closes Brazil office; Washington and California studios hit with layoffs originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 15 Nov 2012 23:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Guitar Hero co-creator gets down with new peripheral gig, Green Throttle

Jessica Conditt — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 12:30:00 EST

Co-creator of the Guitar Hero franchise Charles Huang is stepping into the gaming-peripheral business once again, this time with a mobile-to-TV app and controller under a new company, Green Throttle Games. Green Throttle hopes to turn smartphone games into big-screen experiences by connecting mobile devices directly to HDTVs, playable on wireless, Bluetooth controllers via the Green Throttle Arena App.

Green Throttle consists of Huang, former Palm Pre lead Matt Crowley and previous Palm Pilot electrical engineer Karl Townsend. The whole idea seems to take the Ouya idea one step further in terms of hardware, eliminating the need for a new console while still hosting downloadable, big-screen games. Of course there's no word yet if games on Green Throttle will be free as they are on Ouya, but the company is developing games in-house and today opens the SDK to third parties.

Guitar Hero co-creator gets down with new peripheral gig, Green Throttle originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 06 Nov 2012 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Guitar Hero clone used to teach unknowable, subconscious passwords

Jordan Mallory — Sat, 21 Jul 2012 21:00:00 EST

We're not entirely sure if this new development in password technology is amazing or terrifying or both, but a group of cryptographers and neuroscientists have developed a method through which a subject can be taught a 30-character password and not even know that they know it. This is all accomplished through repeated play sessions of a keyboard-controlled Guitar Hero clone. I mean, how else would you do it?

The "game," developed by Stanford University student Hristo Bojinov, has players pressing the S, D F, J, K and L keys on their keyboards as corresponding symbols fall from the top of the screen to the bottom, as seen above. During a standard 45 minute play session, nearly 4,000 "notes" are generated and entered by the player, 80 percent of which are actually part of a cryptographic sequence. By the time the session is over, the subject has "learned" a 30-character password, though it is supposedly impossible for them to actually know what it is.

In order to "enter" the password, the subject plays a round of the game in which their 30 character password is randomly jumbled with other 30-character sequences. The subject subconsciously trained on their specific password would statistically perform better on those sequences rather than the sequences belonging to other passwords, thus verifying their identity.

Unfortunately, Bojinov's subconscious encryption engine isn't playable online at present. Maybe that's for the best, though -- we're not sure how ready we are to be implanted with unknowable knowledge.

Guitar Hero clone used to teach unknowable, subconscious passwords originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 21 Jul 2012 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Slash looks back at working with Activision on Guitar Hero

Mike Schramm — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 14:45:00 EST

Real-life guitar hero Slash was in Los Angeles last week promoting a new music game called BandFuse: Rock Legends. Speaking to Joystiq, he shared some insight on what it was like to work with Activision for the immensely popular Guitar Hero series. "A lot of kids tripped out," says the former Guns and Roses guitarist, "because they were under the impression that the character in Guitar Hero was just that character. So a lot of kids trip out that I was actually a real person."

Once they found out that he was an actual person who was in an actual band, however, Slash says Guitar Hero was surprisingly effective at winning new fans. "It opened up the doors of a demographic that was way younger than me," he says. "I had no idea that would happen." He couldn't speak to the lawsuit that claims the game took advantage of his GnR connection, but he does say the game has inspired a much younger generation to check out classic rock.

As for interest going the other way, Slash says he hasn't found the time for video games -- not even his own. "I couldn't play it," he says, "because I was actually in the game and it was too surreal."

Slash looks back at working with Activision on Guitar Hero originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 22 Feb 2012 14:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Bastion narrator takes a hilarious journey through other games

Ben Gilbert — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 17:30:00 EST

What happens when Bastion's ever-present contextual narrator lands in some of gaming's most famous titles? Pure hilarity, as seen in the Dorkly-crafted video above.

Bastion narrator takes a hilarious journey through other games originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 03 Nov 2011 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Peripheral price-drop madness: Guitar Hero, DJ Hero, and Tony Hawk bundles for 10 bucks

Jordan Mallory — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 19:30:00 EST

Toys R Us has decided that all peripherals must go, and in order to clear the shelves as quickly as possible, a ridiculous number of DJ Hero, Tony Hawk, and Guitar Hero bundles for all systems have been marked down to $9.99. If you've just got too darn much free space in your living room, make the jump for the full list of store-only mega-deals. We recommend getting a swift move on, however; even with these franchises functionally dead, we don't expect this stuff to hang around for long.

[Thanks, Teeftwo!]

Continue reading Peripheral price-drop madness: Guitar Hero, DJ Hero, and Tony Hawk bundles for 10 bucks

Peripheral price-drop madness: Guitar Hero, DJ Hero, and Tony Hawk bundles for 10 bucks originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 20 Aug 2011 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Bobby Kotick talks Guitar and DJ Hero, the fall and the coming rise

Jessica Conditt — Sat, 23 Jul 2011 16:30:00 EST

Bobby Kotick earned more than $4.4 billion through Activision Blizzard last year, which means his business success is obvious -- but so are his failures. In an interview with Forbes, Kotick described the downfall of the Guitar Hero and DJ Hero franchises with the kind of detail that can only come from lying awake every night for four years straight, obsessing over what went wrong.

"So we bought the company, and after a few iterations of the game it became one of the most successful games of all time," Kotick said. "And then we didn't really take the time that we usually take to understand audience behavior.... But we created this critically acclaimed, highly rated game -- and these are the hardest failures, when you put your heart and soul into it and you deliver an extraordinarily well received game, and nobody shows up to buy it. So that's what happened with DJ Hero. At the same time we were so excited about going down this new direction with DJ Hero, I think we abandoned a bit of the innovation that was required in the Guitar Hero franchise.

"And so it was the double whammy of DJ Hero was unsuccessful, and then Guitar Hero became unsuccessful because it didn't have any nourishment and care."

Kotick said ending the music-game franchises was a smart move, but that doesn't mean they'll be gone forever. "So we're going to take the products out of the market, and we're not going to tell anybody what we're doing for awhile, but we're going to stop selling Guitar Hero altogether," Kotick said. "And then we're going to go back to the studios and we're going to use new studios and reinvent Guitar Hero. And so that's what we're doing with it now."

Kotick promised Activision Blizzard listens to its consumers and will use fan input to innovate Guitar and DJ Hero. That Kotick plans to resurrect the series must mean some fans, somewhere, are inputting something other than "Kill it, Kotick."

Bobby Kotick talks Guitar and DJ Hero, the fall and the coming rise originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 23 Jul 2011 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg on True Crime, Bizarre Creations, the 'Hero' franchise, and transparency

Christopher Grant — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 13:43:00 EST

When Eric Hirshberg stepped into the role of CEO of Activision Publishing last July, the company had just begun an ugly, public battle with the founders of Infinity Ward, having fired the creators of the company's Call of Duty cash cow just four months prior. Frequently villainized in the press, the appointment of Hirshberg seemed to indicate that Activision was eager to turn its brand identity around. Hirshberg cut his teeth as CEO and chief creative officer of marketing firm Deutsch LA making ad campaigns for brands like PlayStation -- you may not recognize that name, but if you've seen a Kevin Butler commercial, you know his work. And as Activision Publishing narrows its focus and energies into a few key brands, notably the aforementioned Call of Duty, tasking a marketing man with running a game publisher starts to make a lot of sense.

Last month I had the opportunity to speak with Hirshberg in his office at Activision headquarters in Santa Monica. It was less than a week after a massive leak upended the company's carefully prepared marketing plan for the latest in the blockbuster Modern Warfare series and, for Hirshberg, it was a chance to connect with that audience. "We woke up with a marketing crisis," Hirshberg told me, "and wanted to go to bed with a marketing win." Throughout our conversation, Hirshberg mentioned the need to be transparent with consumers, so I challenged him to explain some of the company's more controversial decisions since he's been CEO: the cancellation of True Crime; the closure of Bizarre Studios; and the very public retreat from the Guitar Hero and DJ Hero games.

Continue reading Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg on True Crime, Bizarre Creations, the 'Hero' franchise, and transparency

Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg on True Crime, Bizarre Creations, the 'Hero' franchise, and transparency originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 22 Jun 2011 13:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Activision claims Guitar Hero only 'on hiatus,' gets new DLC

Alexander Sliwinski — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 18:30:00 EST

A dramatic reinterpretation:

Activision CEO Bobby Kotick: But we killed the Guitar Hero franchise.

Miracle Max: Ooh-hoo-hoo, look who knows so much. Guitar Hero is only mostly dead, which means it's slightly alive. See, mostly dead I can work with. Even your own veep Dan Winters just said the franchise was only "on hiatus -- we're not ending it."

Kotick: But we disbanded the Guitar Hero business unit!

Miracle Max: Didn't you hear me? Slightly alive. Now, all dead? Well, if Guitar Hero was all dead there's usually only one thing that you can do ...

Kotick: What's that?

Miracle Max: Go through its catalog of unreleased DLC and gather up the loose change.

Continue reading Activision claims Guitar Hero only 'on hiatus,' gets new DLC

Activision claims Guitar Hero only 'on hiatus,' gets new DLC originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 13 Apr 2011 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nine more DLC tracks make it to Guitar Hero

JC Fletcher — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 15:00:00 EST

The good news is that Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock DLC continues, thanks to enthusiasm from fans. The bad news is that the DLC schedule's life has been extended just long enough to enable the release of Trapt's "Headstrong." Perhaps the series is better off dead ...

Okay, that's not fair to the eight songs in today's "Mega Pack" that aren't "Headstrong" -- or to the fact that for DLC that we didn't think would exist a couple of weeks ago, a nine-song pack is pretty generous. Check out the full lineup after the break.

Continue reading Nine more DLC tracks make it to Guitar Hero

Nine more DLC tracks make it to Guitar Hero originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 08 Mar 2011 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Harmonix brainstorming 'reimaginings' of Rock Band, new motion games

Andrew Yoon — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 19:30:00 EST

"There's no denying that Rock Band 3 hasn't yet sold to the level we hoped it would out of the gate," Harmonix CEO Alex Rigopulos admitted to Edge. "But on the flipside of that we also believe that it's a product that has a lot of life."

It may be difficult to share Rigopulos' optimism. Since the beginning of the year, Viacom sold Harmonix (back to Harmonix), MTV Games was shut down and Activision hit the pause button on its long-running Guitar Hero franchise. Still, Rigopulos offers a "glass half-full" interpretation of Activision's retraction from the genre, seeing a newfound opportunity to expand the developer's audience. "We think there are also a lot of devoted Guitar Hero fans who have probably never given Rock Band a try," Rigopulos told Destructoid. Harmonix wants to convert them and "let them know that Rock Band 3 is worth giving a try."

Rock Band 3 will continue receiving updates through the year, as Harmonix tries to "cultivate" the platform -- though Rigopulos added that "fundamental reimaginings of the Rock Band franchise" are being planned. "The marketplace is clearly demanding something very new," Rigopulos noted. "It's clearly demanding a dramatic evolution of the Rock Band franchise, I think, and I think that's actually exciting for us."

While rebooting the band genre will be an uphill battle for the company, there's still one bright star in the studio's portfolio: Dance Central. Finishing the sequel is an obvious next step, but it seems Harmonix has more motion-gaming ideas. "It's safe to say you'll see a lot more in that domain from Harmonix beyond Dance Central," Rigopulos teased. "We'd be absolutely open-minded about that."

With their future projects still shrouded in secrecy, it seems Rigopulos is confident that his team will easily bypass this dark era for music gaming. Contrary to industry perception, the company might have too much on its plate. "We have a lot of very cool new ideas in the works right now, looking out beyond both Rock Band and Dance Central."

[Image credit: RockBandAide]

Harmonix brainstorming 'reimaginings' of Rock Band, new motion games originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 28 Feb 2011 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Heroic sacrifices: The companies behind Guitar Hero

JC Fletcher — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 15:00:00 EST

The Guitar Hero series touched many people, and not just by strapping plastic guitars to them. As the series reached its absurd heights of success, it caused more game developers to enter into the service of note charts and extreme rocker-dude 3D models.

And now that Activision has stopped production on the Guitar Hero series and closed that business unit, we can look back at how it affected the people who made it -- the companies who either moved on or were chewed up and spat out by the Guitar Hero monster.

Continue reading Heroic sacrifices: The companies behind Guitar Hero

Heroic sacrifices: The companies behind Guitar Hero originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 23 Feb 2011 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Warp Zone laments 'The Day Guitar Hero Died'

Griffin McElroy — Sat, 19 Feb 2011 20:30:00 EST

Yesterday, we viewed a sad and poignant farewell to one of Activision's downsized branches, Bizarre Creations. Today, an equally poignant -- if not slightly tongue-in-cheek -- video comes to us from The Warp Zone: "The Day Guitar Hero Died." Yes, like the song. You know. The song.

Continue reading The Warp Zone laments 'The Day Guitar Hero Died'

The Warp Zone laments 'The Day Guitar Hero Died' originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 19 Feb 2011 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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No Doubt's Activision lawsuit can go to the next level

Alexander Sliwinski — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 13:00:00 EST

The LA Times reports a panel of judges, agreeing with a lower court ruling, rejected Activision Blizzard's appeal to throw out a suit by the band No Doubt over the use of its images in the game Band Hero. In a classic example of making sure to "read the fine print" on the contract, No Doubt sued after the band felt it was turned into a "virtual karaoke circus act," when its in-game avatars could be used to sing songs that were not its own.

Two years ago, when this whole situation started, the Guitar Hero franchise (and its spin-offs) were adding billions to the Actiblizzard coffers. The Guitar Hero franchise may be dead now, but the lawsuits carry on.

No Doubt's Activision lawsuit can go to the next level originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 18 Feb 2011 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Analysts explain, critique Guitar Hero's demise

Justin McElroy — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 10:13:00 EST

Man, these analysts get a whiff of blood and you just can't pull them off the corpse, huh? Formerly beloved franchise Guitar Hero has been dead all of a couple of days, and these jackals are already baring their fangs on Gamasutra and digging in:

"It had a great run, but it also had a steep fall and the customer demand just isn't there. That money can be spent on something that has better returns." -- Damn, Eric Handler of MKM Partners, you need to take it easy.

"Prudent." -- Hey Michael Pachter, where's your basic human decency?

"Declining sales as well as a less appealing profitability profile owing to the inclusion of a lower-margin peripheral hastened the decision to cancel the project." -- You, Edward Williams of BMO Capital Markets, are a monster.

... What's that? You're still not sated? You're no better than them! Here, vulture, go bask in the brutality for yourself.

Analysts explain, critique Guitar Hero's demise originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 11 Feb 2011 10:13:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Harmonix issues statement on ending of Guitar Hero franchise

Griffin McElroy — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 16:15:00 EST

You might think that the developer of the Rock Band franchise would currently find themselves doing a victory dance over the grave of the recently buried Guitar Hero franchise -- however, Harmonix's John Drake recently posted the studio's very tasteful response to the news over on the Rock Band forums. "We were sad to hear yesterday that Activision was discontinuing development on Guitar Hero," Drake said. "Our thoughts are with those who are losing their jobs, and we wish them the best of luck."

The statement acknowledges that sales in the music genre have slowed, but pledges, "In short, the beat of Rock Band marches on." Drake later adds, "It's been a wild battle of the bands since 2007, but we respect and appreciate all of the hard work and innovation of our peers who have shared the music gaming space with us, and we look forward to rocking in the future." Yeah! Maybe one day, after the wounds of battle have healed, you guys could get together, and form up some kind of supergroup-jam-band! You could call it Guitar Band, or Rock Hero, or, perhaps, Damn Yankees.

Harmonix issues statement on ending of Guitar Hero franchise originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 10 Feb 2011 16:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Guitar Hero and DJ Hero DLC supply over after February

Christopher Grant — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 10:00:00 EST

There's been some considerable debate on these here internets about the status of the Guitar Hero franchise. Thanks to "continued declines in the music genre," Activision yesterday announced that it plans to not only "discontinue development on its Guitar Hero game for 2011" (read: cancel it) but also to "disband Activision Publishing's Guitar Hero business unit." But what about the DJ Hero franchise, and the promising DJ Hero 3D, you ask? "We will release no new music or skateboarding games," CFO Thomas Tippl said of this calendar year. It certainly appears the franchise is dead, but some insist it's simply taking a year off. They'll keep making DLC, right?

Right?

"We will release the previously announced DLC track and mix packs for February, but - unfortunately," a FAQ answer on the official DJ Hero website states, "we will not be able to release new DLC packs beyond what we already have." The question specifically asked, "Are you still going to make new DLC for Guitar/DJ Hero?" Of course, existing DLC will remain available (for now) and existing games will remain available at retail (for now).

Perhaps most telling is that one FAQ question and answer was duplicated twice, at the beginning and end, bookending the official response with a rather ominous message. "Does this mean you're no longer making Guitar (and/or DJ) Hero games?," it asks ... twice. "Over the past two years, we have seen rapid declines in the music genre, and unfortunately, based on current demand, we simply cannot continue to profitably make these games given the considerable licensing and manufacturing costs."

As a means of punctuation, that sounds awfully definitive.

Guitar Hero and DJ Hero DLC supply over after February originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 10 Feb 2011 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Activision: 'No new music or skateboarding games' this year

Griffin McElroy — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 17:27:00 EST

The grim fates of True Crime and whatever installment of the Guitar Hero series that was in development are known -- but what about Activision's other perennial franchises? A few (equally grim) details surfaced during Activision's investor's call today, during which COO Thomas Tippl explained, "We will release no new music or skateboarding games" during the current calendar year.

Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg added some more insight into the company's shift away from the music genre, explaining that even though DJ Hero 2 and Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock were well-received, "demand for peripheral-based music games declined at a dramatic pace." He continued, "Given the considerable licensing and manufacturing costs associated with this genre, we simply cannot make these games profitably based on current economics and demand." However, Activision will continue to support its existing music games with DLC.

We're still left with a lot of questions, though (and we're working on the answers). For instance, what does this mean for the 3DS-bound DJ Hero 3D? What about the Tony Hawk series at large? Activision's frequently spoken about its staying power -- and if no Hawk title drops in 2011, it would be the first calendar year in the franchise's history without a new entry since 1999.

Activision: 'No new music or skateboarding games' this year originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 09 Feb 2011 17:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Activision axing Guitar Hero and True Crime; Freestyle Games reportedly hit with layoffs [update]

Ben Gilbert — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 16:20:00 EST

Despite a recent cover story in EGM, United Front's True Crime: Hong Kong won't make it to retail. Activision's latest earnings report confirms the game's cancellation, as well as the end of the Guitar Hero franchise.

"Due to continued declines in the music genre, the company will disband Activision Publishing's Guitar Hero business unit and discontinue development on its Guitar Hero game for 2011," Activision said in its financial statement. The statement goes on to confirm the cancellation of True Crime. "The company also will stop development on True Crime: Hong Kong. These decisions are based on the desire to focus on the greatest opportunities that the company currently has to create the world's best interactive entertainment experiences."

Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg went into a bit more detail on today's investor call:

"Despite a remarkable 92 rating on DJ Hero 2, a widely well-regarded Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock, as well as a 90-plus rated release from our most direct competitor [Rock Band 3], demand for peripheral-based music games declined at a dramatic pace. Given the considerable licensing and manufacturing costs associated with this genre, we simply cannot make these games profitably based on current economics and demand. Instead, what we'll do is focus our time and energies on marketing and supporting our strong catalog of titles and downloadable content, especially to new consumers as the installed base for hardware continues to grow."

Hirshberg continued, saying that True Crime's development, "was't going to lead to a title at or near the top of the competitive open-world genre." To put things more directly, Hirshberg added, "To be blunt, it just wasn't going to be good enough."

If that weren't enough bad news, Eurogamer also reports that DJ Hero developer Freestyle Games has suffered "severe layoffs," though it's unclear whether the rhythm series has been affected by the alleged redundancies. We'll update this post as we learn more.

[Update: An earlier version of this post was based solely on Eurogamer's report, which has since been partially confirmed by Activision.]

[Update 2: United Front Games has commented on the cancellation of True Crime]

Continue reading Activision axing Guitar Hero and True Crime; Freestyle Games reportedly hit with layoffs [update]

Activision axing Guitar Hero and True Crime; Freestyle Games reportedly hit with layoffs [update] originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 09 Feb 2011 16:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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DJ Hero 2 and Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock drop prices like it's hot

Alexander Sliwinski — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 00:00:00 EST

Activision has dropped the retail price for Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock and DJ Hero 2 standalone software and bundles. Warriors of Rock is now $49.99 (-$10), $79.99 (-$20) and $159.99 (-$20) for the game, guitar bundle and band bundle, respectively. DJ Hero 2 has been reduced to $49.99 (-$10) for the game and $59.99 (-$20) for the single turntable bundle.

If you've waited this long to pick up those games, you can probably hold out until the deep discounts start popping up in the coming months like they did last year.

DJ Hero 2 and Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock drop prices like it's hot originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 11 Jan 2011 00:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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FireHero brings the danger back to video game rock

JC Fletcher — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 10:47:00 EST

Just as the popularity of Dance Dance Revolution allowed Guitar Hero to enter the market, Interpretive Arson's Dance Dance Immolation has given way to FireHero, an interactive "sculpture" that uses a guitar controller to control five jets of flame.

Chris Marion hooked up a microcontroller to a Guitar Hero guitar, and programmed it to control solenoids on five propane "fire poofers." The "game" part was much simpler to implement: "the player simply watches a video of the Guitar Hero chart and plays on the guitar accordingly." Marion plans to convert Guitar Hero note charts to MIDI files for the next version, something he says will allow a program to interpret them automatically -- and thus autoplay the song.

But that's enough reading about the crazy fire machine. Head to Marion's site to see video of the synchronized flames shooting out in time to "War Pigs."

FireHero brings the danger back to video game rock originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 07 Jan 2011 10:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Music game sales continue plunge down the charts

James Ransom-Wiley — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 23:00:00 EST

If this sounds like a familiar tune, it is: Music game sales have plummeted for a second-straight year. But this year, the tune is way more off key.

According to analysis by Gamasutra, which looked at the period from January through October in each of the past three years, music game revenues in the U.S. have taken a phenomenal nose dive from an epic height of $1.6 billion in 2008 to where they've landed today: under $250 million for the year. "Short of a Christmas miracle," concludes analyst Matt Matthews, "music games won't break $400 million for all of 2010."

Ohhh ... so that's why Viacom's hawking Harmonix.

Music game sales continue plunge down the charts originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 19 Nov 2010 23:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Guitar Hero celebrates Rocktober with free track pack and Rocky Horror

JC Fletcher — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 10:30:00 EST

Filed under: News, In The News, Weird But True, Opinions, New In Pop Culture

Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock may be composed of "ancient gameplay mechanics shrouded in a campy heavy metal veneer," but for those who picked it up on Xbox, it's about to be that, with three free songs. Which is objectively better. A three-track pack is available today for Gold members, featuring Disturbed's "The Infection," Muse's "Resistance," and My Chemical Romance's "Na Na Na." It's free now, and will be available for purchase by Silver Live users on October 19.

On October 26, Activision will release a seasonally appropriate DLC pack: three songs from the Rocky Horror Picture Show! Soundgarden doesn't really have anything to do with Halloween, but selected individual tracks from the "Telephantasm" album will also be available for purchase that day -- though Activision didn't mention which tracks. See the list of known DLC after the break.

[Image: Rockyhorror.com]

Continue reading Guitar Hero celebrates Rocktober with free track pack and Rocky Horror

Guitar Hero celebrates Rocktober with free track pack and Rocky Horror originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 12 Oct 2010 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Activision and EA trade barbs over corporate cultures

Mike Schramm — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 18:05:00 EST

Filed under: Weird But True, Opinions, New In Pop Culture

Activision's Bobby Kotick and EA's Jeff Brown engaged in a little Battlefield of Duty: Corporate Warfare 2 match this week, lobbing sound bites back and forth at each other. Kotick was first, boasting in the latest issue of Edge (via Next-Gen.biz) that his company allows its studios to maintain their independent cultures; citing Treyarch, the embattled Infinity Ward and Sledgehammer Games as examples. Kotick suggested that EA doesn't offer this luxury, and that's why Activision has successfully hired developers from its competitor's ranks. "We have no shortage of opportunity to recruit out of EA," he said. "That's their biggest challenge: Its stock options have no value. It's lost its way."

Of course, Brown, EA's corp comm VP, was quick to respond: "[Kotick's] company is based on three game franchises -- one is a fantastic persistent world he had nothing to do with; one is in steep decline; and the third is in the process of being destroyed by Kotick's own hubris." Though Brown didn't clarify which franchises he was referring to, we'll throw out three names for you -- and you can play the matching game! Here goes: Guitar Hero, Call of Duty and World of Warcraft.

The two suits probably had more to say to each other, but at that point the other players muted them both, and a few seconds later the actual match started up.

Activision and EA trade barbs over corporate cultures originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 27 Sep 2010 18:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Guitar Hero iPhone gets Weezer pack

Justin McElroy — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 05:30:00 EST

Filed under: Weird But True, Opinions, New In Pop Culture

A Weezer DLC pack has been released for the iPhone version of Guitar Hero to mark the release of the band's new album, Hurley. The collection includes the new track "Memories," as well as "Buddy Holly" and "(If You're Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To" from the Weezer back catalog. You can pick up the set for $1.99.

... What's that? You're saying we posted this news just so we'd have a threadbare excuse to embed the new Weezer-centric Auto-Tune The News after the break? Why, we're positively scandalized by your assertion.

Continue reading Guitar Hero iPhone gets Weezer pack

Guitar Hero iPhone gets Weezer pack originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 16 Sep 2010 05:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock gets a bump from Megadeth's Dave Mustaine

Ben Gilbert — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 16:20:00 EST

Worried that Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock had forgotten about one of rock and roll's primary warriors, Megadeth's Dave Mustaine? Fear not! Megadeth -- and a new song made just for Warriors of Rock, titled "Sudden Death" -- will be present when the game ships on September 28.

Continue reading Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock gets a bump from Megadeth's Dave Mustaine

Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock gets a bump from Megadeth's Dave Mustaine originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 31 Aug 2010 16:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Get new Soundgarden album early with Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock [update]

JC Fletcher — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 14:39:00 EST

Filed under: Weird But True, Opinions, New In Pop Culture

Here's how out of touch we are with the music world: we get our music news from game industry announcements. We had no idea that Soundgarden was reuniting, nor that the group was releasing a retrospective album, Telephantasm, in October. Now you know about it too! Pretend you didn't already so we don't feel lame.

Here's what you may not have already heard: Activision is giving away the album with the first million North American copies of Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock. In fact, buying the game will allow you to get the CD a week before it's released elsewhere! Not only that, the album will be available as Guitar Hero DLC at launch.

Cool musical bonuses like this are likely to do much more to pique interest in the latest Guitar Hero game than, say, pig monsters.

Update: Turns out the DLC won't be free! Activision's Dan Amrich changed his announcement post to reflect this corrected information. There's no word on the actual price yet, except that it's not free.

Get new Soundgarden album early with Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock [update] originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 03 Aug 2010 14:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Guitar Hero Monthly: August DLC

David Hinkle — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 11:17:00 EST

Filed under: Weird But True, Opinions, New In Pop Culture

With Activision planning to launch Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock in September, this month allows you to build up your collection of forwards-compatible DLC, or simply bolster last year's Guitar Hero 5 and Band Hero. Expect 15 DLC tracks throughout August from bands The Used, Sum 41, Weezer, Megadeth and P.O.D.

As always, make your way past the jump to see the full list of songs, release dates and prices.

Continue reading Guitar Hero Monthly: August DLC

Guitar Hero Monthly: August DLC originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 02 Aug 2010 11:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock's song list (so far)

Andrew Yoon — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 13:00:00 EST

Filed under: Weird But True, Opinions, New In Pop Culture

Formerly known as Guitar Hero 6, Warriors of Rock promises the largest on-disc set list so far, with over 90 songs. Here's a look at the list of songs that have been announced to date.

Continue reading Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock's song list (so far)

Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock's song list (so far) originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 29 Jul 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Breaking Benjamin, Weezer and more added to Guitar Hero iPhone store

Griffin McElroy — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 19:20:00 EST

Filed under: Weird But True, Opinions, New In Pop Culture

"Hello, Apple Customer Support, this is Janice speaking. How may I help you?"

"Does my iPhone replacement plan cover ... um, if I accidentally jammed my thumbs through my screen?"

"If you jam your -- sir, I have to ask ... were you attempting to play 'My Name is Jonas' on Expert on the Guitar Hero App?"

"How on Earth did you know?"

"Sir, you're the twentieth person to call with that issue today. Oh, and the answer to your question is of course not."

Click past the jump to see all the tracks from Breaking Benjamin, Coldplay, Rise Against and Weezer which were recently added to the Music Store on Guitar Hero for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Also, be gentle with those thumbs, okay?

Continue reading Breaking Benjamin, Weezer and more added to Guitar Hero iPhone store

Breaking Benjamin, Weezer and more added to Guitar Hero iPhone store originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 23 Jul 2010 19:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Guitar Hero Pop Pack, DJ Hero Party Mix DLC available today

James Ransom-Wiley — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 14:30:00 EST

Filed under: Weird But True, Opinions, New In Pop Culture

Lady Gaga! Wait -- it's a trap dude! Can't you see? Today's Guitar Hero "Pop 1 Track Pack" is actually the Beast in disguise, casting a Top 40 enchantment. Never forget: the Demigod of Rock still awaits, imprisoned in stone, his most awesome axe lost in the void. We must unite, man -- transform! Become Warriors of Rock.

And we must appeal to our DJ Hero kinsmen -- we need their street cred in tact. They, too, are scratching and clawing to keep it real, as the urge to go Gaga grows ever stronger today. Are you with us? Resist the bestial cry to "Just Dance."

No, don't do it -- don't you dare click past the break for this week's Guitar Hero and DJ Hero DLC details.

Continue reading Guitar Hero Pop Pack, DJ Hero Party Mix DLC available today

Guitar Hero Pop Pack, DJ Hero Party Mix DLC available today originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 29 Jun 2010 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A closer look at the new Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock axe

David Hinkle — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 14:52:00 EST

Was your taste of the new peripherals in Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock not enough? Well, the attached video should satiate your desires for now, as it actually shows you how the customization works -- sans hands! It's all very Transformers like.

If all of the CGI wizardry in the video, found after the break, isn't your style, feel free to give our high-res images in the gallery below a looksee. Just don't look too closely -- we wouldn't want you transforming into a ManBearPig or something.

Gallery: Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock (hardware)

Continue reading A closer look at the new Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock axe

A closer look at the new Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock axe originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 08 Jun 2010 14:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Guitar Hero on iPhone today

Justin McElroy — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 13:50:00 EST

Filed under: Weird But True, Opinions, New In Pop Culture

From the "I could have sworn this was already a thing" file: Activision just revealed during Apple's WWDC 2010 event that its venerable Guitar Hero franchise is headed to the iPhone today for $2.99. The new version, which includes tracks from Queen and The Rolling Stones, has you tapping notes and swiping the screen in place of strumming.

Side note: If you didn't already have this information, it means you're not following the Steve Jobs' WWDC keynote, and we're going to need you to leave your nerd badge with Sheila on the way out.

Gallery: Guitar Hero for the iPhone and iPod Touch

Guitar Hero on iPhone today originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 07 Jun 2010 13:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock unveiled with trailer

JC Fletcher — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 10:34:00 EST

Filed under: Weird But True, Opinions, New In Pop Culture

Though alerting the general public of Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock's existence has been taken care of, Activision provided new details about the upcoming music title in an official announcement today.

Warriors of Rock will include a newly-designed guitar controller inspired and born from the game's unique art style and specifically made for "shredding." With this controller (or presumably with one of your countless old plastic guitars), you'll play over 90 "guitar-shredding tracks" included on the disc -- which Activision notes is the largest on-disc collection for a music game yet. Apparently, it'll involve shredding.

The Gene Simmons-narrated Quest Mode will take players from the CBGB club in New York City to "the molten lava fields of rock treachery" to defeat "The Beast." In more gameplay-related news, developer Neversoft is adding a Quickplay+ mode, featuring 13 challenges for every song on the disc -- and every DLC song released since Guitar Hero World Tour. Challenges include Band Streak, High Score and Power Challenge, in which players choose any two previously unlocked "warrior powers" to attempt "ridiculously high scores."

The first set of announced tracks is posted after the break.

Continue reading Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock unveiled with trailer

Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock unveiled with trailer originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 04 Jun 2010 10:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock confirmed, detailed

Richard Mitchell — Fri, 28 May 2010 16:00:00 EST

And just like that, Nintendo Power has officially outed Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock. According to Neversoft's Brian Bright, Warriors of Rock will retain "all the cool features" from Guitar Hero 5, including the ability to play with any combination of instruments. This time around, however, the team strove to "hand-pick" the songs, which will focus on "guitar-centric rock 'n' roll" as Bright explained that "so many more people play Guitar Hero on guitar than any other instrument."

Picking up on the rock focus, the game's story and aesthetics revolve around heavy metal. Bright mentioned being inspired by heavy metal album covers "with rivers of chrome and guys on horses with bat wings and stuff." In fact, the game's quest mode is narrated by Gene Simmons (you don't say) and tells the story of the struggle between "the Beast" and "the demigod of rock." Said demigod is defeated, so it's up to players to find the demigod's legendary guitar and amass "an army of warriors to be able to defeat the beast." Boy, that sounds awfully familiar.

The article also reveals that Vicarious Visions will once again develop the Wii version, and expanding the DS-based Roadie mode. You can read the full story in the latest Nintendo Power, on sale June 8.

Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock confirmed, detailed originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 28 May 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Guitar Hero 5 and Band Hero: June DLC

David Hinkle — Wed, 26 May 2010 17:30:00 EST

[flickr]

June's shaping up to be quite a packed month for Guitar Hero 5 and Band Hero DLC aficionados. On top of a free pack of national anthems for Xbox 360 and PS3 users -- you haven't lived until you've rocked out to Germany's national anthem, "Lied der Deutschen," by the way -- three separate band track packs will be available. These will feature Stone Temple Pilots, Alice Cooper and All Time Low.

Head past the break to check out the full list of DLC. We have a feeling that Spanish foreign exchange student staying with your family this summer is going to be pumped to play some "Marcha Real."

Continue reading Guitar Hero 5 and Band Hero: June DLC

Guitar Hero 5 and Band Hero: June DLC originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 26 May 2010 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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'Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock' coming this holiday, according to Amazon.com listing

Andrew Yoon — Tue, 25 May 2010 10:45:00 EST

It looks like Guitar Hero 6 may have found a new name. A listing on amazon.com may have leaked Activision's next foray of the Guitar Hero franchise: Warriors of Rock for Wii, PS3 and 360. Unless Activision plans on releasing two Guitar Hero games in the same time frame (not unlikely), Warriors of Rock is likely the new moniker for Guitar Hero 6. The SKUs will come in three flavors: Standard, Guitar Bundle and Super Bundle (which will presumably include drums and a microphone).

For better or for worse, we can't help but conjure up images of Activision's former baby, Brütal Legend, when thinking about the new subtitle. Perhaps Activision has figured out a way to use plastic guitars in a way Tim Schafer could not?

[Via Siliconera]

'Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock' coming this holiday, according to Amazon.com listing originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 25 May 2010 10:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: Guitar Hero 6 dropping playable musicians, will work with previous DLC

Ben Gilbert — Mon, 17 May 2010 18:00:00 EST

Details about the upcoming sixth iteration in the Guitar Hero series (that is, if you don't count various spin-offs) have begun landing on the web from Official Xbox Magazine UK, reports GoNintendo. As Kiss' Gene Simmons proclaimed earlier this year, it seems he'll be emceeing the game. Alongside his appearance, Queen, Black Sabbath and Metallica's Lars Ulrich will also be showing up, though rather than being featured as playable characters, the various rockers will be recruitable characters for guidance through the game's campaign ("Quest Mode") -- that whole multiple lawsuit thing certainly couldn't have hurt Activision's decision, right?

Maybe most important of all is the inclusion of legendary New York City club CBGB (& OMFUG) as the game's "only real-world location" (at least to this former CBGB attendee), but we suppose you're probably more interested in hearing that "previous DLC" will allegedly be playable in number six ... or whatever. Activision wouldn't confirm the details with us, but you OXM UK subscribers are welcome to re-confirm the report's legitimacy in our comments section below.

[Via MTV Multiplayer]

Report: Guitar Hero 6 dropping playable musicians, will work with previous DLC originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 17 May 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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