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Gamestop prices Guitar Hero: World Tour bundle at $189
In order to remain competitive with Harmonix's pre-existing multi-instrument rockstar simulator, Activision's upcoming entry in their insanely lucrative franchise, Guitar Hero: World Tour, needs to match the price of the game it so closely resembles, Rock Band. According to a recent listing on Gamestop, it'll do just that -- the game alone will cost $59.99 on PS3 and 360 ($49.99 on Wii and PS2), a "guitar kit" bundle will run you $99.99, and the full band kit (which we assume will contain a guitar, a mic, and a drum kit) will run you $189.99 on 360, Wii and PS3, and $179.99 on PS2.If these prices are accurate, you'll be paying $20 more for Activision's bundle than Harmonix's -- perhaps their five-piece drum kit costs more to produce than Rock Band's four-head. We don't mind shelling out the extra Jackson to get our hands on Activision's new skins -- the thousands of dollars we'll spend expanding our living room to contain two fake drum kits and four fake guitars, however, may have a noticeable impact on our finances.[Thanks, Hashbrown Hunter.]
Guitar Hero World Tour priced, given release date
Now that we've been enticed with what Guitar Hero World Tour will look like, GameStop has revealed the upcoming rock simulator's price and release date. $189.99 will get you the Guitar Hero World Tour "Band Kit" with drum kit, guitar, and microphone. Meanwhile, the "Guitar Kit" at $99.99 will come with just the guitar controller. For those of you who want to use your current controller (assuming current controllers will work), the game-only version will run $59.99 (or $49.99 for the PS2 and Wii). The game's ship date, as of now, is set at 10/27/08.
Guitar Hero: World Tour drum kit gets demoed on video
We've already had a few glimpses of the drum kit for the now-official Guitar Hero: World Tour, but if you want a better look at the device that'll be cluttering up your apartment this fall, you may want to hit up the site linked below, which contains a promotional video showing the kit being played by some actual drummers. There's not a lot of new information to be found otherwise, but as none other than Stuart Copeland helpfully reminds us, the kit is in fact wireless. No headband included though, it seems.[Via Xbox 360 Fanboy]
Screen Grabs: Guitar Hero on HIMYM, pants not required
Screen grabs chronicles the uses (and misuses) of real-world gadgets in today's movies and TV. Send in your sightings (with screen grab!) to screengrabs at engadget dt com. Everybody knows us bloggers are a bunch of pantsless hooligans, but a lesser known fact is that Guitar Hero: Aerosmith comes with a new pants-free mode, as demonstrated in a lengthly sequence on this week's episode of How I Met Your Mother. Problem is, Jason Segel -- who we most fondly remember as Nick the drummer from Freaks and Geeks -- likely wouldn't be caught dead playing Aerosmith on the guitar, so stop trying to mess with our heads CBS. We know the truth.[Thanks, Jeff]
Guitar Hero IV gets a name, official features, and release date-ish
When it comes to sussing out info on Guitar Hero IV, we've seen blurry images and scanned pictures, but now Activision is getting all official on us with a Fall release date and complete feature list. So here's what we know: Guitar Hero: World Tour (as it's called) will include a drum kit with cymbals, a new guitar controller, and a microphone. In terms of game modes, look for a Music Studio music creator that will let you compose, record, edit, and share your own music -- fear that -- and an 8-player "Battle of the Bands" should keep things interesting both on and offline. They're calling it "The Guitar Hero experience reinvented" and we can't argue with that, at least until the game actually comes out in Fall 2008 for Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, and PS2. Peep the official trailer and Lenny Kravitz ubiquity after the break.[Via Boy Genius]
Guitar Hero IV's new axe spotted: Activision goes indie
Now that we know what Guitar Hero IV's drums will look like, it seems Activision is saying "We don't need no stinkin' replicas!" for the game's guitar controller design. Spotted in Guitar Hero: World Tour's debut trailer, the new axe appears to be a black or cherry non-Gibson, non-Fender, non-anything instrument of random design. We're not surprised, as Activision is surely gun-shy after all those lawsuits and what-not.
Wii Guitar Hero axe transformed into MIDI controller
Whatever the DS can do, Wii can do better, right? Apparently Dave agrees with said mantra, as he has converted a Wii Guitar Hero axe into a full-fledged MIDI controller. As in, there's a 5-pin jack down there and everything. In its current state, you can play two octaves of an eight note scale at time, alter the keys / octaves, change tonal modes, use the whammy bar to bend the pitch and blow the minds of electrical engineering buds you still see on a regular basis. Granted, this mod isn't exactly for the faint of heart, but feel free to hit the read link if you're hacker enough to handle it.[Via MAKE]
Ted Nugent confirms his appearance in Guitar Hero IV on talk radio show
For a game subtitled "Legends of Rock", Guitar Hero III didn't feature that many real-life six-string virtuosos. Sure, you had Rage's Tom Morello, GnR's Slash and a brief cameo by VH1's latest lothario, Poison frontman Bret Michaels -- but many classic rock aficionados who tried their hand at Activision's shredding simulator were left unsatisfied in terms of quantity (and in the minds of those belonging to the churches of Hendrix and Clapton, quality).Until now, we've yet to hear anything about the roster for the next legit entry in Activision's golden goose franchise (no, we're not nor will we ever count Guitar Hero: Aerosmith), however, that silence was recently broken by the whistle of a flaming arrow through the night air, fired from the heavenly compound bow of the Motor City Madman himself, Ted Nugent. Listen to his radio interview on Detroit's WRIF (about 12:30 in), where he uses all manner of colorful language to describe the mocap process. Now, if they could only get the rest of the Damn Yankees involved, it would definitely ensure a purchase on our end. How 'bout it, Blades?[Thanks, Tyler.]
Konami unveils Rock Revolution drums, forgets to try
Brilliant, just brilliant. As if Rock Band wasn't living room clutter enough, Activision is busting out a drumset for Guitar Hero IV, and now Konami is getting in on the "pretending to play music" meme with its very own Rock Revolution title. If the oversaturation of incompatible music peripherals wasn't enough to make you take pause, the janky-ass nature of Konami's kit certainly might. Granted, there are more things to hit on Konami's set, Rock Revolution allows you to improvise in between the proscribed hits, and doesn't require that pesky kick drum until midway through its five difficulty levels, but MTV Multiplayer's Patrick Klepek didn't have too easy of a time hitting on it, while his buddy did a lot of plastic smashing attempting to improvise -- not a promising start. Oh, what was that? We can play "Sk8er boi"? We take it all back, when can we buy?[Via Joystiq]
Guitar Hero IV drum kit gets pictured, "cymbals" and all
Game Informer is at it once more: after securing the first snapshots of Rock Band's prototype drum set and microphone last summer, the gaming mag has now produced the first image of Guitar Hero IV's kit. Apparently designers wanted this one to resemble an actual electric kit a bit more than the one bundled with RB, most evidenced by the pair of "cymbals" perched atop the trio of circular pads. Upon banging on a "first-run prototype" in the Neversoft offices, Game Informer was fairly impressed with the layout, but we're still left to wonder if these will be compatible with Rock Band (or vice-versa). Another faux drum kit in the den and we'll be struggling to maintain sanity (and a functional relationship).[Via Joystiq]
Guitar Hero: On Tour to land in Nintendo DS bundle this June
There's not a lot of details on this one just yet, but Activision CEO Mike Griffith has dropped word in an earnings conference call that the company's upcoming Guitar Hero: On Tour game / controller combo will not only be released on its own this June, but in a new Nintendo DS bundle as well. No word on a price, unfortunately, nor is there any indication that the DS itself will be undergoing any Guitar Hero-inspired changes, but it seems like those little details should be making themselves known soon enough.
Ben Heck maintains his reputation with Guitar Hero pedal controllers
Modder extraordinaire Ben Heckendorn could easily be resting on his laurels by now but, thankfully for us, he continues to churn out console mods and accessories like nobody's business, and his latest creation easily meets the high standard he's set for himself. Designed for the Games for Health conference, this one continues his line of one-handed controllers, with the pedals in this case replacing the strum and whammy bar from a standard Guitar Hero controller, letting you use a single hand for the chords. As you can see, everything is also obviously done with Ben Heck's usual fit and finish, and even a bit of clever salvaging, with an Atari Jaguar controller cable used with one of the pedals -- Ben just hopes that "doesn't jinx anything."
Guitar Hero Air Guitar Rocker now available for $30
Brace yourself -- the moment you've been waiting all year for has finally arrived. Yes, rock star wannabes, the Guitar Hero Air Guitar Rocker is finally in major retailers. The Jada Toys' device, which was showcased at CES, consists of a miniature guitar amplifier, a sensor-laden belt buckle, an assortment of pics and an Air Cartridge, which packs "ten signature guitar riffs" ranging in skill from one to five. Once you rock the wind out of the $29.99 base unit, you can look forward to "encore packs" -- which will include themed belt buckles and new Air Cartridges -- arriving later this summer for $14.99 each. Oddly enough, we think a "gnarly" is order here.
Guitar Hero III getting triple-pack of Muse on May 8
It seems that Activision has stumbled across the correct formula for getting us to drop our drumsticks and don our trusty, dusty Les Paul peripherals -- a three-song DLC pack for Guitar Hero III featuring the music of the epic British prog-rock trio, Muse. As of May 8, "Supermassive Black Hole" and "Exo-Politics" from their 2006 album Black Holes and Revelations as well as the fan-favorite "Stockholm Syndrome" from 2003's Absolution will be available to download for a heretofore unannounced price (we're assuming it will match the $6.25 price of former GHIII packs). We've got videos for all three tunes after the jump -- go decide which ones are purchase-worthy! (Hint: All of them.)
Watch Aerosmith's digital selves rock out in Guitar Hero
Having an Aerosmith-only Guitar Hero game sounds like a great idea for fans of the band; however, non-Aerosmith followers will probably want to skip over this one. So, with that said Aerosmith fans, this one is for you. Check out this footage of the digitized musicians rocking it out on the virtual stage. Get a taste of "Sweet Emotion," "Love in an Elevator," and also a bit of the few non-Aerosmith tracks in the game. So, enjoy the performance, but whatever you do ... don't follow Steven Tyler backstage if he calls you to walk this way, capiche?
PS2 to PS3 converter bridges the Rock Band / Guitar Hero divide
It doesn't look like Activision and Harmonix are ever going to make nice and implement broad hardware compatibility for Rock Band and Guitar Hero controllers, but if you've got a sizable investment in PS2 gear, The Ant Commandos' new converter might let you ignore all the nastiness and keep rockin' anyway. TAC's Universal PS2-to-PS3 Converter is compatible with PS3 Rock Band and PS2 / PS3 GHIII, and it works with basically every PS2 axe you can think of, wired and wireless. Not bad for just $20, but c'mon, guys, let's just make this stuff work for real, alright?
Guitar Hero 'Slashbot' riffs uncontrollably, plots mankind's downfall
It's clear that everyone is looking for a way to game the system these days. The video game system, that is. In the vein of that Guitar Hero cheat-mod we saw the other day, four undergraduate students at Texas A&M University have built a Guitar Hero playing robot that can shred with the best of them... no hands required. The system -- dubbed Slashbot -- works as a completely standalone process, using a converter box to translate specific pixel information from the screen intro note presses and strums on the mechanical contraption. On average, the bot is achieving 90 percent accuracy in expert mode, and has yet to be defeated by a human challenger. Next up? It plans to eradicate all human life on Earth, of course! Check the video of Slashbot playing -- what else? -- Cliffs of Dover after the break.
Guitar Hero IV to get drumkit, microphone?
Hey hey, what's this? Not only is Activision CEO Bobby Kotick quoted in this month's Conde Nast Portfolio saying that future versions of Guitar Hero will have "other instruments" and "vocals," but our crew over at Joystiq says that a source within Activision has confirmed that Guitar Hero IV will feature a microphone and drumkit, and that Activision is planning on pumping out new downloadable content as often as "weekly" once Guitar Hero: Aerosmith comes out in June. These aren't particularly surprising developments, considering how well Rock Band went over, but here's hoping Activision and Harmonix can set aside their differences at least long enough to make those drumkits compatible -- as anyone with Rock Band knows, they don't exactly disappear in a living room.Read - Interview with Activision CEO Bobby Kotick in PortfolioRead - Joystiq post about Guitar Hero IV
Guitar Hero hack takes cheating to ridiculous new levels
We've already seen one hack to automate Guitar Hero, but it had the slight disadvantage of having to be pre-programmed for each song, and even then it was slightly hit-and-miss. Now, a father looking for a way to finally beat his son at the game has taken things considerably further, with his hack actually using the composite video input to determine which notes need to be hit in real time. That, as you might have guessed, is way beyond any notion of practicality, and far outside the realm of the average DIYer's skill level, but it seems like it does indeed work, although there are apparently a few minor kinks left to be worked out. If you're still not undaunted, you can find the schematics and other information you'll need at the link below, and check out a video of the setup in action after the break.[Via Hacked Gadgets]
GHSkinz adds style to your fake instruments
Folks looking to jazz up their plastic Les Pauls for Guitar Hero or instruments they'll be jamming with in Rock Band, take note. Website GHSkinz is looking to offer you skins and other accessories for your fake instruments.The skins themselves look like they're high quality, but with that comes the problem of price. It won't be cheap to outfit your instruments. But, then again, when your guitar looks as badass as this, we're not sure you're going to care about how much you spent to make sure it looks this way.See also: Give your Rock Band drums some extra lives
