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Guitar Hero 5: November DLC
Sure, November may lack the phonetic building blocks which allow the word "Rock" to be tucked in there somehow, but that doesn't mean it won't bring any hard-rockin' jams to Guitar Hero 5. We've got the full list of DLC that's coming to the game next month posted after the jump, including selections from Lenny Kravitz, Metallica, KISS and others. One bundle, the "Neversoft Thanks the Fans Track Pack," will be absolutely free. The other packs, will follow the 160 ($2, 200 Wii Points) per song, 440 ($5.50, 550 Wii Points) per three-song pack pricing structure of last month's releases. In addition, on Nov. 5, players will be able to import 61 of Band Hero's tracks into Guitar Hero 5 for 400 ($5, 500 Wii Points), or 69 of Guitar Hero 5's tracks into Band Hero for 480 ($6, 600 Wii Points). Hooray for sharing!
Rock Band Weekly: KISS, Motley Crue, Alien Ant Farm
Your regularly scheduled Rock Band Weekly and Rock Band Wiikly will not be seen today, as we interrupt your programming with an amalgamation of the two. Harmonix has announced the latest round of Rock Band DLC and, as post headlines would have you believe, it contains notable amounts of Blink-182, Weezer, and KISS. Don't let your parents know you're downloading any KISS, though. It totally stands for Knights in Satan's Service. Select a platform below to view complete DLC listing:
Gene Simmons AXE Game Controller available now
Whether you consider him a marketing genius or just a sellout, Gene Simmons has managed to slap the logo of his band KISS onto everything from lip balm to a singing toothbrush. Now he's after your money, music game fans. Mr. Simmons also appears to be specifically targeting Sony fans, as the Gene Simmons AXE Game Controller is available exclusively (for now -- the Wii version will be released next year while the Xbox 360 version's release date is TBA) for the PS2 or PS3. The wireless controller is a 3/4 size replica of the original Gene Simmons Axe Guitar and it will work with both Rock Band and Guitar Hero via an included dongle. Place you order here now for $79.99.[Via Joystiq and Reuters]
Gene Simmons brings branded 'AXE Guitar' to Guitar Hero and Rock Band
Hoping to enlist new members into his Army, KISS bassist Gene Simmons is looking to jump on the guitar peripheral bandwagon. The wireless Gene Simmons AXE Guitar is coming November 15 for $80 and will be compatible with PlayStation 3 and PS2 versions of Guitar Hero and Rock Band games, using a packaged dongle (pictured, not to scale). The peripheral will be a 3/4th size replica and is currently available for pre-order.A Wii version for Guitar Hero only is coming December 1st, but if you can wait until January 31 there's another Wii axe coming that's compatible with both GH and RB. Xbox 360 owners will have to wait until April 2009. As of this writing, there's been no indication of a Limited Edition version of the AXE with makeup kit and Gene Simmons tongue extender™, but hey, we can dream.[Via Reuters]
Detroit Metal City makes for awesome action figures
Upon first seeing Detroit Metal City: Death Shout, we came to a conclusion: the game was the perfect amount of crazy for us. It's no secret that we enjoy odd things here at DS Fanboy, so we'd like to point out that the game is now getting action figures, allowing you to act out scenarios you might not find in the Japanese title.As you can see to the right, Johannes Krauser II came out wonderfully in his action figure. He's not only available as you see him there, but also in another costume. Joining him for this run of action figures is also the band's drummer.So, anybody want to pick these up for us? Our birthday is, uh, soon or something.
The DS Life: Love Triangle
The DS Life is a weekly feature in which we scour the known world for narrative images of Nintendo's handheld and handheld gamers. If you have a photo and a story to match it with, send both to thedslife at dsfanboy dot com.The trouble with dating a gamer ...
Rock Band Weekly: B-52's, Faith No More and KISS
Roam if you want to, roam around the world, but first check out this week's Rock Band downloadable content, bringing us party-favorite listening from the B-52's in the form of Roam. Oh, how we long for Love Shack or Rock Lobster, but that'll have to wait. Plus, it's hard pulling off Fred Schneider's talkie voice without feeling a little self-conscious.Individual songs Roam - B-52's (160 MS points/ $2) We Care a Lot - Faith No More (160 MS points/ $2) Calling Dr. Love - KISS (160 MS Points / $2) As per usual, we've got videos for the songs after the break. Now if you'll excuse us, it's time to head back to our own private Idaho.[Thanks to all who sent this in]
Gene Simmons on file sharers? Sue them off the face of the planet
Kiss front man Gene Simmons, makeup-wearing progenitor of high-brow fare such as Rock And Roll All Nite, Plaster Caster, and Love Gun, as well as star of the intellectual gem Gene Simmons Family Jewels has a message for file sharing aficionados out there: you deserve to be sued. Or, as Gene subtly puts it to Billboard while discussing college student's downloading habits, "Every freshly-scrubbed little kid's face should have been sued off the face of the earth." When asked about Radiohead and Trent Reznor's recent forays into new online distribution methods, our man Simmons retorts, "I open a store and say 'Come on in and pay whatever you want.' Are you on f*cking crack? Do you really believe that's a business model that works?" We don't know Gene, but we can't wait to download your new record.[Via Digg]
Harmonix confirms Rock Band Nov. 20 release, launches community site
We're thankful to the powers that be for having the good sense to move up Rock Band's official release date from the previously announced November 23, aka Black Friday, to the less frantic Tuesday before Thanksgiving, November 20. However, we're slightly more interested in new information concerning Harmonix's recently launched RockBand.com social networking website, which promises leaderboards, customizable band pages and blogs, and even classifieds for those looking to fill out their pseudo-band's ranks.Certainly community sites for games are nothing new, but Harmonix's plans for the Rock Band website is if nothing else ambitious. Beyond those features mentioned above, the site will also allow you to load your in-game characters into your band's online profile as a way of spreading the word of your accomplishments, as well as plans for a "photo creator" feature to help capture the look of your virtual band. We're imagining that most will err on the side of 'seriously cheesy' while trying to be 'seriously intense,' though we cannot wait to see shots of players mimicking the likes of KISS from the comfort of their parents' basement.
I wanna spend $399 all night (and play Guitar Hero every day)
Okay, before you lolz out loud at people willing to spend $399 on a plastic Guitar Hero controller painted with some KISS artwork, read the fine print: it's actually a real guitar that's been modded to have the GH fret buttons and strum bar put in. Who's laughing now, eh? Well, we would be, if this wasn't so freakin' cool. Gamespot has the details on this axe, which is currently only for the PlayStation 2. The question remains though: Can you re-string this sucker and jam out for reals? No one knows. Maybe that's just too much rockination for one instrument to bear. Come on, it already has Gene Simmons' tongue on it, what more could you ask for?
Cisco planning "souped-up" set-top boxes
It looks like Cisco is about to make its biggest push into the consumer market to date, with BusinessWeek reporting that the company is readying a "souped-up" set-top box that'll supposedly combine a number of different products into one. Of course, as BusinessWeek points out, this shouldn't come as too much of a surprise, especially given the company's recent acquisitions of Linksys, Scientific-Atlanta, and KiSS Technology. As you may be able to surmise by that confluence of companies, the new do-it-all box will apparently be networked like nobody's business (wireless, naturally), including the ability to pull content off the Internet and distribute it to other devices around the house. It'll reportedly include its own web browser as well. While Cisco's pulling all the strings, it apparently won't be slapping its own name on the boxes, selling them instead directly to consumers under the Linksys brand and offering 'em up to various cable companies. If all goes as planned, you should be able to snag one for yourself by the end of this year or early next year.[Thanks, Mercurial]
Gamasutra gets into "boy on boy action"
Gamasutra published a round-up of the Bully situation and even goes on to ask in the headline, "Is gay content on the rise?" The article serves as a primer on instances of gay content appearing in video games, but never gets close to answering the "Is gay content on the rise?" question. It may have been a nice topic to explore, but what we actually end up getting from the piece are two interesting sections with Peter Molyneux and infamous SimCopter programmer Jacques Servin. Sex in Video Games author Brenda Brathwaite also makes an appearance as the voice of sexual reason and context.Molyneux explains that the gay content in Fable wasn't about social consciousness or trying to be fair, but pretty much was born out of laziness, he says, "Our villagers each had a simple concept of 'attraction to the hero.' We'd have had to write extra code to remove that in the case of same-sex interactions. This seemed like a ridiculous waste of time."Servin is remembered as the man who made male-on-male kissing sprites occur in SimCopter during the mid-'90s -- he was immediately fired when this was exposed. Servin says, "Will [Wright] is great, brilliant, fun to work with ... there was no homophobia, nor was there any problem with gay content." Of course, Will Wright would go on to create The Sims, a very gay-friendly game. Although it isn't mentioned in the Gamasutra piece, Servin in a previous interview stated he added the content to get back at his manager for being overworked.Molyneux closes the piece saying that Fable 2 will allow players to mold their characters sexuality and even allow them to choose their gender this time around, "This isn't a moral stance ... We create games for everyone, and attempt to be as inclusive as possible." Translation: Whatever gets the widest amount of people to purchase the game works for him. Money talks ...See also: Warm Tea: The Bully boy-on-boy kiss goes mainstream
