guitarhero
Latest
Wii and friends: A Great Match
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/nintendo/Wii_and_friends_A_Great_Match'; Why do we love the Wii with friends? Because we want all to share the splendor and majesty that comes from playing the best home gaming console around. So that's why we set out to bring you a nice, easy package of great multiplayer games for the Wii. Both online and local multiplayer is covered, as well as games that have released and those that are still in production. We hope you find this useful in your own life, in some small way, or at least a good place to link a friend who has no idea what they're getting into with the Wii. So read on and see what we have in store, then come back here and tell us what multiplayer experiences you enjoy most on the Wii!
Nyko shipping its Rock Band / Guitar Hero III compatible PS3 wireless guitar
While we fully support a baseless and antagonistic war between Rock Band and Guitar Hero III fanboys, Nyko has those profit margins to worry about. The new Front Man wireless guitar for the PS3 works with both games, and can be switched via that fancy red stomp box. Wireless range is about 25 feet, and you can get about 80 hours of rock out of the thing before you need to swap the batteries. You know, the batteries of rock and roll. Too bad the guitar costs $60, what most retailers are charging for the first party controllers.
Les Paul costs less money
Those of you in the market for another guitar for Guitar Hero III will be happy to know that RedOctane has dropped the cost of the wireless Les Paul guitar. Originally fetching a price of $69.99, it is now $10 cheaper.Have you been holding off on picking up an extra guitar until the price dropped? Have you been waiting to get one but just can't find one? Want a free one? Or do you go from hotel to hotel enjoying the Guitar Hero III they have to offer?[Thanks, Eric!]
Hotels are wising up, providing Wii Sports and Guitar Hero to bored guests
We keep telling ourselves we're going to play through Mario 64 some day on one of those ubiquitous N64s embedded into hotel entertainment systems, but we never get around to it -- primarily because of our unhealthy addiction to "next-gen" graphics and gameplay. Lucky for us, hotels are starting to get in on the action and hand-delivering consoles to guests, sticking a Wii in the fitness center, and offering Guitar Hero nights in the hotel bar. Best of all, Hotel Sax Chicago networked its Xboxen for Rock Band and Guitar Hero multiplayer with other hotel guests. Unfortunately, most of these hotels are charging an arm and a leg for the priveldge -- $50 an hour of Wii rental? Ouch! -- but it's starting feel like these places have at least figured out which century we're living in.[Via Joystiq]
Guitar Hero III squeezes out version for BlackBerry
Poor Bessy, the Guitar Hero cow is getting her teats squeezed raw by Activision. Hands-On Mobile announced another addition to the GH III oeuvre as the "number one selling" mobile version of Guitar Hero III became available for BlackBerry smartphones. Come on Bessy, just keep squirting.According to Hands-On the mobile version of Guitar Hero III has achieved 7.5 million song downloads in less than six months and will be available on the nation's top four mobile carriers by April. Oh well, more power to 'em. Observing someone play GH III on a phone can't possibly be more awkward than it'll be watching someone play the DS version of GH III on the subway in the morning.
Come for the soft beds, stay for the Wii Sports
What's a good way to get folks into your hotel? We have no clue, what with being a game blog and all, but it looks like some hotels might have found a good way to get folks in their doors: gaming. We imagine if you have something the people like and want, they'll flock to you. That must be the thinking behind some hotels in the U.S. incorporating some of the most popular games into their repertoire of activities available to patrons. Games such as Wii Sports and Guitar Hero III. While we can't comment on whether this is a good decision from a business perspective, we can comment that this is a good decision from a customer service perspective. Now top Wii Sports bowlers and fast-fingered freaks in Guitar Hero III need not worry about getting rusty while they're attending that convention in Tuscaloosa.[Via Joystiq]
Colorware gets ahold of Guitar Hero axes -- we're in love
If you thought a Colorware'd DS Lite was the new heat, get a load of this. The company famous for making gadgetry of all kinds look its best has turned its talents on the iconic Guitar Hero axe, and we must say, we're infatuated. Wii, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 thrashers are all invited, and while users can join the revolution for as little as $198 (that includes the title and a painted instrument), current slingers can send their guitar in and get it colorized for as little as $99. For those on a budget, we strongly recommend not clicking the links below. Those completely unafraid of purging their wallet on impulse buys can go ahead.[Thanks, Adam]Read - Colorware's Xbox 360 guitarRead - Colorware's PlayStation 3 guitarRead - Colorware's Wii guitar
First Guitar Hero: Aerosmith tracks include 'Draw the Line,' 'Sweet Emotion'
Though we were briefly distracted by mention of some other bands set to feature in Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, Activision has reminded us that the rhythmography will, in fact, include Aerosmith tunes. Gamespot reports that of the 40-plus songs in the game, 60 percent will be devoted to the increasingly decrepit crooners.Ah, but age is just a number and fans aren't likely to care when they start pressing plastic in rhythm to these confirmed numbers: "Make It" "Uncle Salty" "Draw the Line" "No Surprize" "Sweet Emotion" Expect further songs to be revealed at an excruciatingly slow pace as the game's June release walks this way.
Counting Rupees: Battle of the brands
Each week Jeff Engel and Geoff Brooks contribute Counting Rupees, a column on the business behind gaming: When Guitar Hero 3 launched last year it was an immediate success, selling out at a fairly quick pace throughout the holiday season. Following just behind it was Rock Band, selling very well, but not nearly as quickly as Guitar Hero. So far, all versions of Guitar Hero III have sold about 9.1M copies, versus just roughly 1.5M for Rock Band. Of course, part of the discrepancy lies in the fact that Rock Band launched on two platforms while Guitar Hero 3 launched on four, but that is about to be remedied with Harmonix's recent announcement of Rock Band for Wii. While Rock Band was a more ambitious game and representative of an evolution of the music game, it did seem like Activision may have made the right choice in buying the Guitar Hero publisher (and thus the Guitar Hero brand), but not the developer. With so much brand awareness already built into Guitar Hero, was there any way that Harmonix could possibly top the original creation that it no longer owned the rights to?
Guitar Hero: Aerosmith gets more non-Aerosmith tracks
For all of you that were hoping a game called Guitar Hero: Aerosmith would contain as littleAerosmith as possible , know that today pushes the title further into your good graces. A slew of new bands were confirmed to be in the game and not a single one of them is called Aerosmith.New tracks confirmed for Guitar Hero: Aerosmith (via Game Informer) include Mott the Hoople's "All the Young Dudes", The Kinks with "All Day and All Night," Joan Jett with "Hate Myself for Loving You" and Cheap Trick with "Dream Police." While not entirely clued in to the kids and their crazy music, our interest in this game is growing through each new non-Aerosmith song. What about you all?[Via Joystiq]
Friday Video: Guitar Hero world record-setter
It may not be the Wii version of the game, but anyone that can throw down in Guitar Hero as good as this kid can is certainly deserving of all the fame and fortune that comes from being featured on Wii Fanboy. The fame of being recognized by avatar-less commenters and the fortune of having 14 people see your video are just some of the small things Wii Fanboy can bring to the table.All kidding aside, this guy is good. In fact, we wonder what would happen if him and that little kid got together in the same room. It'd like totally cause a rift in the space/time continuum or something. [Via Joystiq]
Gibson still thinks a video game is a musical instrument, sues Harmonix for Rock Band
We still think Gibson's attempt to claim that Guitar Hero violates its patent on "simulating a musical performance with a musical instrument" is totally unfounded and ridiculous for a number of reasons (it involves a "3-D headset," for one), but we can sort of see why the company is now suing Harmonix as well -- they're a Fender outfit, after all. The third in a series of petulant lawsuits filed by the notoriously litigious guitar maker over the patent claims Harmonix, Viacom, and Electronic Arts are all liable for Rock Band, but it's not clear if Gibson is going after just the guitars or the drum kit as well, which is probably closer to actually counting as an instrument. Of course, the patent itself hasn't changed since the last time we read it, and it's obvious that Gibson's going to have itself quite a challenge convincing the court that playing Guitar Hero or Rock Band involves musical instruments of any kind -- after all, it's just Simon, right?Disclaimer: Nilay is a lawyer and a rock star, but he's not your lawyer (or your monkey, man) and this is not legal advice or analysis.
Gibson fires Guitar Hero lawsuit at Wal-Mart, other retailers
Last we checked we actually weren't in the Twilight Zone, but quite frankly, the bigwigs at Gibson just might be. Seemingly out of nowhere, the famed guitar manufacturer sparked up a lawsuit against Activision claiming that Guitar Hero titles violate one of its patents. Now the company appears to be on the warpath, suing Wal-Mart, Target, GameStop, Amazon, Toys 'R' Us and Kmart in an attempt to get the game off of store shelves. Reportedly, Gibson took "this action reluctantly, but is required to protect its intellectual property." For the retailers that did comment, they chimed in only to say "we aren't commenting," and judging by the looks of things, the games are still widely available -- for now.
Nyko's Tele-shaped Frontman Wii Guitar Hero controller hits shelves
Given how clumsy some of Nyko's other Wii accessories are, we didn't exactly have high hopes when we heard that the company was shipping the first third-party Wii Guitar Hero controller -- so imagine our surprise when we found out it's in the shape of a Telecaster, our fave axe and one thus far criminally ignored in the Guitar Hero pantheon. Just like the official controller, the Wiimote slips into the chassis to do most of the heavy lifting, but you won't have spend quite as much to get your multiplayer on -- $50, about $10 cheaper than the Activision Les Paul. The white version includes black and pink pickguards, while the blonde edition comes with black and white -- anyone have a spare IGNORE ALIEN ORDERS sticker handy?
Activision believes Gibson's patent has 'no merit'
Activision has made a formal statement about its lawsuit against Gibson Guitar Corporation's patent claim on Guitar Hero. Activision calls Gibson's squeeze-play a "transparent end run ... on patent assertions that Gibson knows have no merit." According to Activision, Gibson waited three years until this past January to make its patent allegations and only did so after Activision said it was no longer interested in renewing its "marketing and support agreement with Gibson." Poor Gibson, looks like it's just a little bitter about (Warning: double cliché alert) not seeing the light on its patent many moons ago and missing the boat on a billion dollar franchise. Meanwhile, Harmonix is still making money off the franchise it lost and is currently working out a deal with Activision over the $14.5 million the company says it's due in royalty fees.
Guitar Hero III Guinness record holder wins tournament, beats previous record
Chris Chike, currently the Guinness world record holder for points in Guitar Hero III, won the Play N Trade GHIII tournament last weekend and bested his record-setting score. Chike's Guinness score was 870,647 (seen in video above) before he won the tournament, along with $2000 of in-store credit, with 889,256 points. The best part of this story is that Chike actually drove two hours to compete at the Play N Trade store in Bloomington, Minnesota. Guess when you're the world record holder the trip seems worth it, considering you've probably got the win in the bag. Chike says he still hasn't done as well at any tournament event than he's done at home. The good thing about tournaments and competition is you only have to be better than second place.
Guitar Grip gives DS owners the means to rock out
Good news, DS owners! You too will soon be able to shred just like those kids with stay-at-home consoles -- sort of, at least. According to a first look over at Video Games Zone, the summer-bound Guitar Hero on Tour title can be really enjoyed with the aptly-named Guitar Grip. As you can see above, it is limited to just four buttons, but nevertheless, it allows users to hold the DS upright and tap the buttons of the peripheral -- which is suitably fitted into the GBA slot -- and strum the touchscreen to take care of the pickin'. Sure, it's a far cry from wielding a full-fledged axe, but it's not too shabby for shredding on the run. Check out a smorgasbord of pictures and a promo video in the read link below.[Via NeoGAF]
Gibson says Guitar Hero violates patents, Activision says nuh-uh
We're not exactly clear on how Gibson's legal team managed to license all those brand names and guitar designs to Activision for this many Guitar Hero games before realizing that the company maybe-sorta had a patent on the idea, but here we are: Activision filed a lawsuit yesterday asking the US District Court for Central California to invalidate a 1999 Gibson patent on "simulating a musical performance," because apparently Gibson's bugging them about it since January. Wait, just January? Seriously, people, you'd have thought this would've come up by now. Anyway, Activision says that Gibson is still a "good partner," just that it "disagrees with the applicability of their patent and would like a legal determination on this." We're sure it would. Gibson's patent apparently involves playing an instrument of some kind along with a pre-recorded concert while wearing what is described as a "3-D headset," so there seems to be some overlap, but we'll see what the court says -- something tells us explaining Guitar Hero to the judge is going to be relatively amusing.Update: On reading the patent, Gibson's system is designed to be used with a "musical instrument" -- and no matter what the Guitar Zeros have to say, we don't think Guitar Hero controllers really qualify. It'll definitely be interesting to see what the court has to say about that, no? [Thanks, Matt G.]Disclaimer: Nilay's a lawyer and a decent Guitar Hero player, but he's not your lawyer, and none of this is legal advice or analysis.Read - Article on lawsuitRead - Gibson patent
The best thing you'll see today: Guitar Hero for the Commodore 64
After Guitar Hero made its way to mobile phones, this shouldn't come as much of a surprise: The game has (unofficially) made its way to the Commodore 64. Creator Toni Westbrook calls it Shredz64. We call it a ridiculously cool labor of love, and the best thing we've seen today.Far from master tracks, the game only plays SID files, but for the decidedly (and necessarily) retro graphics of the game, it totally works. If you need proof, skip to about 4:30 in to see Toni wail through the Legend of Zelda Overworld theme. There's another equally impressive song after the break if you're interested. And if you're not, we're totally breaking up.
Third-party Xbox 360 wireless Guitar Hero axe hits the market
Although Nyko's wireless FrontMan axe is slated to land for Xbox 360 this June, it seems as though it has been beaten to the proverbial punch by some random rival from who knows where. Known only as "3rd Party," the aforementioned company has seemingly crafted a wireless Flying V that plays nice with the Xbox 360, and better still, it looks to be available right now. Still, considering the fact that it's labeled "Guitar for Games" and designed to function with the "X 360," we're not entirely sure we'd be willing to risk our $41.94. But hey, if you see "quality" written all over that image pictured above, we certainly aren't going to stop you from pulling the trigger and hoping for the best.[Via XBox 360 News]
