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Guitar Hero 5's drums getting a Rock Band makeover?
Looks like that bulky Guitar Hero World Tour drumset might be getting itself an extreme makeover in time for the launch of Guitar Hero 5. According to our source, the blurred render above is the newest plastic percussion peripheral, and while functionality remains the same, it's moved the control console to the forefront, given the cymbals a more well-rounded existence, and done away with some of that body, particularly on the top and on the stand -- all in a all, a much more Rock Band look, if we do say so ourselves. The back of the unit contains three mini ports -- two for kick pedals, and one ever mysterious black mini jack. Yeah, Rock Band's drums have that mysterious unused port, too, and who knows what nefarious needs either will serve. What's suspicious is that it's two months before GH5's release and we still haven't seen this officially, whereas the previous set was ceremoniously unveiled almost six months prior to GHWT's launch -- not that we wouldn't put it past Activision to keep it under lock and key for now, but why not let its newfound beauty shine?
Guitar Hero: World Tour gets punk rock DLC injection
Break out those tattered jeans and torn up flannel, because Guitar Hero: World Tour is getting a new DLC pack for the punk in all of us. Dubbed the Epitaph Punk-O-Rama Track Pack, the download features three tunes from three separate well-known Epitaph artists. It may be a bit more on the mainstream side of punk, but they're good tracks nonetheless.Here's what you'll get (440 XBL / $5.49 PSN): "21st Century Digital Boy" by Bad Religion ($1.99 PSN / 200 Wii Points) "Linoleum" by NOFX ($1.99 PSN / 200 Wii Points) "Ruby Soho" by Rancid ($1.99 PSN / 200 Wii Points) The track pack is available for download now in the US and Europe. Who's about to rock? We may or may not salute you.
Face-melting deal: GHWT guitar and mic for $50, today only
Everyone's favorite plastic peripheral purveyor, Red Octane, is having a bit of a deal today. The normally $60 wireless guitar and $20 wired microphone for Guitar Hero World Tour (across all platforms) are being offered together in a $50 package -- today only! If you're less than impressed by the GHWT deal from today, why not get into your fancy schmancy time machine and head back to yesterday when you could've gotten an even better deal? Oh, what's that -- you don't have a time machine? Guess you're stuck with the $50 dollar deal over at Red Octane's website then, fancy pants.
Guitar Hero World Tour sale: rock out in a financially responsible manner
Looking for another set of plastic instruments to fill that remaining spot of unoccupied floor space in your living room? Amazon has an offer that will help speed the total domination of your life by comically undersized guitars and drums. As its Deal of the Day, the site is offering the full band set of Guitar Hero: World Tour for just $89.98, a hundred bucks off the MSRP.The item is available on PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, and PS2, and we doubt it'll stay in stock all day. This is one of the cheapest offers of full band kits we've seen! It's so cheap, it almost makes these music games seem affordable.
Logitech's premium guitar controller hits in August, carries high axe-ing price
If you were to trade in or sell all eleventy plastic guitars crammed into the corner of your living room, you might just be able to afford Logitech's newly announced premium wireless Guitar Hero controller. Priced at $199 and pegged to street in August, the peripheral is a feature-for-feature equal of the previously revealed PS2 / PS3 model, only it's orange. (Why not Xbox green? We know at least one band who'd endorse it.)Like the PS3 unit, it has a real wooden neck (maple, if you're curious), a rosewood fingerboard and some seriously tough -- yet quiet -- strum and whammy bars. While it's designed with GHWT (and all 70 other Guitar Hero titles) in mind -- hence the slider/tapping area on its neck -- you'd know if you checked out our instrument compatibility matrix that it'll work with Rock Band, too. (And Rock Band 2 ... too.) Watch the video we've placed after the break to witness a Logitech rep get all touchy-feely with the controller. [Via Engadget]
Sixth European Track Pack invades Guitar Hero: World Tour
For those of you stuck in the Guitar Hero: World Tour bus, looking for some new tunes to crank out, know that some international influence is about to rock your copy of Activision's game. The sixth European track pack is now available for download, and includes the following songs: Placebo – "The Bitter End" (France) - 160 / $1.99 / 200 Wii Points Loquillo y Trogloditas – "Cadillac Solitario" (Spain) - 160 / $1.99 / 200 Wii Points Finley – "Adrenalina" (Italy) - 160 / $1.99 / 200 Wii Points You can download each track individually for the listed price, or if you would like to grab them all together in one fell swoop, you can nab the pack for 440 or $5.49 on Xbox Live and PSN, respectively.
EB Games hosting huge Guitar Hero and Rock Band sale
If you're one of the few people left on this planet whose living room, den and foyer aren't littered with fake plastic instruments, it's time for your induction. EB Games is doing a huge online sale right now for slightly "worn" copies of nearly every peripheral-centric rhythm title to come out of Activision and Harmonix. Act quickly, and you can pick up the PS3 or 360 version of the Rock Band 2 SE Bundle or the PS3 or PS2 version of the Guitar Hero World Tour Band Kit plus free 3-day shipping for just $94.99.You could also pick up the other discounted items -- the original Rock Band bundle, Guitar Hero II, Guitar Hero III and Guitar Hero Aerosmith -- but the resulting necessary architectural extension of your gaming den might strip the deal of its cost efficiency.
Stan Bush's 'The Touch' now in Guitar Hero World Tour for free
Ostensibly, we're writing this to inform you that Stan Bush's "Transformers" ballad "You Got the Touch" is now available in Guitar Hero World Tour for free. So ... now you know.Truthfully though, we're writing this post because we horde every chance to embed "The Touch" into Joystiq like a mother stuffing her asthmatic son with vitamins hoping that the nutrients within will help to someday make him stronger. Now, let us be as we let every note of Bush's crooning pump through our veins.
Guitar Hero: World Tour 'Pop Rock Track Pack' DLC available
Wannabe rockers, Guitar Hero: World Tour is unleashing some fresh DLC for your earholes. Dubbed the 'Pop Rock Track Pack,' the contents of this DLC offering are pretty much what you would expect: pop rock songs. See what Activision did there?The Pop Rock Track Pack includes (460 for the bundle on Xbox Live / $5.49 on PSN): "Everything's Magic" by Angels & Airwaves (160 / $1.99 / 200 Wii Points) "So What" by P!nk (160 / $1.99 / 200 Wii Points) "Stop and Stare" by OneRepublic (160 / $1.99 / 200 Wii Points) You can download each of these tracks right now on your favorite console, or, if you own all three, you can download them for each, but that's just silly talk.
Activision declares third-party software dominance, thanks Guitar Hero
In Activsion Blizzard's Q1 2009 results announced today, the company made no small deal out of the contributions Guitar Hero: World Tour has made to its bottom line for the quarter. Citing figures from the NPD group, Charttrack and Gfk, Activision claimed software sales dominance with GHWT drawing in more money across all platforms than any other title's cumulative earnings for January 1 through March 31 in North America. Also trumpeted was GHWT's performance on Wii as the console's highest-grossing third-party title in the US and Europe, noting in particular that it was the only third-party release among Wii's top five games in those territories. Sales of the Guitar Hero franchise in general were up 84% year over year in Europe, it said.Activision CEO Robert Kotick commented during its investors call that the Guitar Hero franchise has reached $2 billion in sales -- only the third to achieve this status -- while bad-mouthing rival Rock Band as experiencing a "rather precipitous drop-off" in sales.The "We're No. 1!" trend continued as Activision claimed the top PC spot -- a market where it holds three of the top 10 best-selling titles -- with World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King. Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart, according to figures provided by Apple, remains the top paid app for iPhone / iPod Touch, though the company didn't clarify whether that is in dollars or copies downloaded. What about Call of Duty? It did well enough to earn a brief mention in the publisher's earning statement, with publishing CEO Mike Griffith announcing that Call of Duty 4 has officially sold 13 million copies worldwide during the investor call. The franchise will likely have a much larger presence in the quarter following Modern Warfare 2's release.
Guitar Hero World Tour May DLC lineup detailed
A recent Activision presser revealed Guitar Hero World Tour's downloadable offerings for next month, and boy, is it one eclectic hodge-podge of on-rails music. One of the packs is free, too! We love free hodge-podges.May 7: Ferret/Metal Blade Track Pack (Free!) "Dez Moines" - The Devil Wears Prada "On Broken Glass" - Chimaira "Grave of Opportunity" - Unearth May 14: Pop Rock Track Pack (440 / $5.49) "So What" - Pink (160 / $2) "Stop and Stare" - OneRepublic (160 / $2) "Everything's Magic" - Angels and Airwaves (160 / $2) May 21: European Track Pack No. 5 (440 / $5.49) "Disconnected" - In Flames (160 / $2) "Oh Yeah!" - Housse de Racket (160 / $2) "Look Good In Leather" - Cody ChesnuTT (160 / $2) Like always, these tunes can't be downloaded in packs on the Wii -- each song must be downloaded separately for 200 Wii Points (except for the free ones, which are, of course, free). We've got videos for the first three posted after the jump!
Guitar Hero World Tour fan makes repair guide
When our fake plastic instruments kick the bucket, we toss them out the window onto a steadily increasing pile on the West Lawn. After that, we call the company responsible for said peripherals and start negotiating just how high the review score of its next game needs to be for it to ship us a brand-spanking new set. (The packing material? $100 bills.)But if you're in the general populace rather than a key influencer, you may have use of the thorough Guitar Hero World Tour repair guide. In an interview with Ars Technica, the guide's author, Josh Straub, said that he believed instrument failure was almost guaranteed with high use, so even if you haven't had problems, you might want to make a bookmark for yourself. You know, just in case.
Guitar Hero World Tour Xbox bundles $99 at Wal-Mart
Now, we know that Guitar Hero World Tour isn't nearly as a good as that other rhythm title, but if you're a starving faux-artist on a budget, you might be interested to know that Wal-Mart is offering the Xbox 360 version of the full band World Tour bundle for a mere $99. We'd rather see a price cut for that other game, but you can't really complain about all the plastic instruments you can bring home for that kind of cash. There's no telling how long this "Rollback" offer will last, so if you'd best act quick, lest you be stuck with having to pick up the other, much better rhythm title.Oh, who are we kidding. Wal-Mart doesn't sell Gitaroo Man anymore.
Queen track pack, Bond theme hit Guitar Hero: World Tour
We all miss Freddy Mercury, but he lives on in each and every drunken karaoke performance the world over. Now fans can trade in their public embarrassment and enjoy this activity in the comfort of their own homes, with the release of the new Queen track pack in Guitar Hero: World Tour, available for download across all platforms. The pack features the songs, "C-lebrity," "Fat Bottomed Girls," and "We are the Champions," and is priced at 440 on Xbox Live (each track will set you back 160 individually) and $5.49 on PSN. Fret not, Wii owners, for this DLC is also available to you, with each track setting you back 200 Wii Points.The new songs don't stop there, as a new recording of the classic James Bond theme song is also available on the Xbox 360, PS3, and Wii, for 160, $1.99, or 200 Wii Points, respectively. Head past the break to sample each of these tracks.
GDC09: Guitar Hero World Tour finally rockin' to PC
As you may have guessed from our headline (and the poorly 'chopped image above), Guitar Hero: World Tour is finally coming to the PC. GameSpot has revealed that developer Aspyr, the team behind the Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock PC port, will bring the best selling band-based game to PC this June. Guitar Hero: World Tour on the PC will ship bundled with one guitar controller. Aspiring virtual drummers will have to shell out for the PS3 drum kit while singers are free to use any USB based microphone. Guitar Hero's PC tour will include all of the tracks released with the original game, as well as the music creator, but the created music sharing service on the Xbox 360 and PS3 will be stripped. Whether PC players will be able to download new DLC tracks is still unclear (although the previous Guitar Hero on PC omitted that feature). Aspyr confirmed that World Tour will share similar minimum system requirements to Legends of Rock, which some reviewers blasted for lag problems. If the problems are addressed, we can't wait to get the band back together. But only if we can play our dream show in front of a real audience ... during an 11-hour flight from Tokyo to L.A. We're Laptop Heroes![Via BigDownload]
World Tour adds Nirvana, Motorhead, The Pixies and more in April
April is just around the corner and Guitar Hero: World Tour isn't slowing down, announcing new DLC tracks from five very different rock bands. Returning to the game are Nirvana, Steely Dan, Motörhead and Silversun Pickups -- with two tracks off their new album, prior to its April 14 release -- with World Tour newcomer The Pixies rounding out next month's content.Each downloadable track pack will be priced at 440 on the Xbox Live Marketplace and $5.49 on the PlayStation Store. Individual tracks will be available for 160 on Xbox 360, $1.99 on PlayStation 3 and 200 Wii Points. The entire listing of tracks for the month of April is available after the break.
Stan Bush's 'The Touch' coming to Guitar Hero
Thanks to the touch and power of the internet, Stan Bush's classic Transformers: The Movie ballad, "The Touch," is heading to Guitar Hero -- for free. The drive started when Kotaku blogger, Michael Fahey, refused to give up on helping Bush see his wish to have the song featured in Guitar Hero and/or Rock Band granted. After exchanging emails with Bush himself, Fahey looked to his blog's readers to pester Activision and Harmonix until one (or both) caved. Earlier this week, Bush contacted Transformers resource site, Seibertron, and dropped the bomb: "The Touch" would be made available in Guitar Hero -- presumably World Tour -- for free (exactly when, though, is still unknown). The grateful Bush then wrote in to personally thank Fahey and the fans who made it all possible. Oh internet, is there anything you can't do?
Amazon has full Guitar Hero World Tour kit for $120 today
Yeah, yeah, it's a little late in the day to be mentioning Amazon's Deal of the Day, but the online retailer is currently vending the full Guitar Hero World Tour bundle on current-gen consoles for $120 -- that's $70 off. The pack includes the game, mic, guitar and drums. If you were considering picking up the GHWT drums as a standalone package, this might actually be a solid alternative deal, as the drums alone retail for $100 (with free shipping and likely tax free). If you have any questions about the game's peripherals working with your other rhythm titles, be sure to check out our Instrument Compatibility Matrix. [Via 1UP]%Gallery-23477%
GH World Tour full band kit outsells guitar bundle, standalone game
Using figures provided by Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter, Gamasutra has put together a brief sales analysis of Activision's Guitar Hero World Tour. With three different bundles available at different prices, you might be surprised to learn the full band kit -- priced at $190 -- outsold both the guitar bundle and standalone game from October 2008 through January 2009. The full band package accounts for 41% of overall sales, with 35% going to the guitar bundle, leaving 24% for the standalone game. Taking the price of each bundle into account -- the guitar bundle is $90 and the game $60 -- Gamasutra points out that the full band bundle accounts for a full 61% of the revenue generated by Guitar Hero World Tour.As Gamasutra notes, the numbers seem a bit surprising given the number of compatible instruments already in gamers' hands when World Tour released, especially those of the original Rock Band, which released a year earlier. Impressive as the numbers may be, it's hard to believe Activision will be able to push as many full kits with future iterations of the franchise. That's what new instruments and accessories are for.
Guitar Hero exclusive: Rise Against's 'Death Blossoms'
Punk rock band Rise Against will exclusively debut its previously unreleased track "Death Blossoms" as Guitar Hero World Tour downloadable content.The new song, along with the band's "Audience of One" and "Ready to Fall" tracks, will be released on both XBLM and PSN on March 12 as the Rise Against Track Pack (440 / $5.49). Each track will also be available as an individual download for 160 / $2.We're told the band's lead singer, Tim McIlrath, will log onto Xbox Live on March 14 (Gamertag: GHRiseAgainst1) to participate in a Br-br-br-brush "Game with Fame" session, allowing would-be wailers to participate in a karaoke-style showdown with the singer. Mind the coffee table!
