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Guitar Hero coming to multiple new platforms
According to Eurogamer, Activision CEO Robert Kotick let it drop at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia XV Conference (that's a mouthful) that Guitar Hero would appear "on every significant new format." We can only guess this means whammy-barring on the Xbox 360 is pretty much confirmed, with Gamestation employees hearing earlier this week that they will be getting Guitar Hero II for that console in early 2007. With the Wii, DS, PSP and PS3 being significant new formats, chances are you might be able to jam just about anywhere.
A confirmed Guitar Hero 2 song lineup
Confirmed in the October issue of EGM, here's the list everyone has been curious about ever since they first got their rockin' fingers on the original's colorful plastic frets. Take a look at the Guitar Hero 2 song list and tell us your personal favorites: Nirvana; "Heart-Shaped Box" Primus (original recording); "John the Fisherman" Stone Temple Pilots; "Trippin' on a Hole in a Paper Heart" Anthrax; "Madhouse" Motley Crue; "Shout at the Devil" The Police; "Message in a Bottle" The Pretenders; Tattooed Love Boys" Spinal Tap; "Tonight I'm Gonna Rock You Tonight" Heart; "Crazy on You" Allman Brothers Band; "Jessica" Lynyrd Skynrd; "Freebird" Avenged Sevenfold; "Beast and the Harlot" Dick Dale; "Misirlou" Lamb of God; "Laid to Rest" Alice in Chains; "Them Bones" Reverend Horton Heat; "Psychobilly Freakout" Black Sabbath; "War Pigs" KISS; "Strutter" Butthole Surfers; "Who Was in My Room Last Night?" Van Halen; "You Really Got Me" Guns N' Roses; "Sweet Child O'Mine" The Rolling Stones; "Can You Hear Me Knocking?" Rush; "YYZ" (The bands I can't wait to mimic: Nirvana, STP, Skynrd, Black Sabbath and GnR. Rock on Joystiqers!)
PAX: Tycho melts faces at Guitar Hero Omegathon challenge
Tycho and Penny Arcade's biz dude Robert Khoo started round four of the Omegathon correct with an intense round of STP's "Trippin' on a Hole in a Paper Heart" in Guitar Hero II ... on Expert ... twice (it crashed half way through the first time). Then, 'cause he can, Tycho smashed his guitar. I wanted to yell out, say something about how starving kids in Africa don't even have guitar controllers at all, but the spirit of the evening washed over me, and my outrage morphed into delight.After their intro, the eight remaining Omeganauts took the stage for four rounds of one on one Guitar Hero II. Eight enter, but only four will leave. More pics and info after the break.
Rock out with Guitar Hero tournaments
Last month, RedOctane teased visitors to the Guitar Hero MySpace page with a graphic cryptically promoting something called G.H.O.U.L. Earlier this week, they revealed the project as the Guitar Hero Organized Underground League, a set of sponsored tournaments where you provide the organization and promotion and RedOctane provides the banners and prizes.We were totally stoked about this, until we saw that RedOctane is only taking "a limited amount of sponsorships" for the time being. But why should that stop you? Here's a quick checklist of things we recommend to have on hand for your own rocking Guitar Hero party/tournament: PS2, Guitar Hero, two guitar controllers (consider investing in wireless) A good speaker system (crank it to 11!) Plenty of alcohol (or grape juice, if you're under 21 *cough*) Non-greasy finger food (don't want any slippery frets) Atmosphere (Disco ball, strobe light, smoke machine, etc.) Costumes (fake wigs, top hats, mascara, etc.) Plenty of floor space (for tricks/excessive rocking) How to Play Air Guitar (to peruse in between rounds) Plenty of beginner and expert players (for two tourney brackets) Massive whiteboard/poster board (to display results) Anything to add, Joystiqers?
Free Bird in Guitar Hero II
In the original Guitar Hero, one of the loading screen tips warned potential rock gods, "They don't really want you to play Free Bird. They're just heckling you." I guess the guys at Harmonix didn't take the tip to heart, though, because a new video has surfaced showing that the Lynyrd Skynyrd classic "Free Bird" will be playable in Guitar Hero II.This comes on the heels of a recent revelation that Guns N' Roses' "Sweet Child of Mine" will be in the game and brings the number of songs confirmed for the game to 14. Can a full list of all 55 songs be far off? Check out the video after the jump.
Brain Age bestowed Edge award, beats out Guitar Hero, others
Nintendo's Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day! has received Edge magazine's 'Edge Award,' which recognizes games that show "the willingness to aim higher and try something new." Brain Age beat out cult hits like Guitar Hero (PS2) & Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan (DS), along with Amped 3 (Xbox 360), Dragon Quest VIII (PS2), Electroplankton (DS), Indigo Prophecy (PC/PS2/Xbox), and Killer 7 (GameCube). "Only Nintendo could make arithmetic fun," remarked Nintendo UK general manager David Yarnton upon accepting the award.Edge also presented an award to InfoSpace's Dirty Sanchez for best mobile game.
Bedridden 'Guitar Hero' to make full recovery
An Omaha man, known simply as Jimmy, reports he will soon be walking again after a botched guitar toss during his "Texas Flood" solo on July 3 left him with a broken knee. To clarify, Jimmy isn't in a Stevie Ray Vaughan cover band, he's just a Guitar Hero addict.Catch up on his freakish accident (read: ogle gruesome surgical pics) on his website, guitarherobrokemyknee.com, where Jimmy writes, "Against the urging of my mother I plan to practice and return to Guitar Hero as the champion of my neighborhood."Anyone got a video game scar that tops this?[Thanks, Dan]
Joystiq interviews Rob Kay of Harmonix
In our second interview from the Develop Conference in Brighton this week, Jen and I sat down with Rob Kay of Harmonix. Rob was project lead on the cult classic Guitar Hero, a game which is part of a new wave of hyper accessible games that is all about catching the mindset of the mainstream, as well as addicting millions of hardcore gamers. We talked with Rob about song licensing, Konami's recent "Guitar Revolution" trademark and the possibility of a Trombone Hero.You talked about clones of Guitar Hero in your seminar. Specifically you talked about how other companies are being inspired by the premise of games like Guitar Hero. I don't know if you heard about Konami trademarking a Guitar Revolution game?Yeah, I read that on the internet. To give Konami props, they started this whole instrument simulation in games thing when they did games like GuitarFreaks which they released in Japan. We worked with Konami on Karaoke Revolution and Karaoke Stage as well. So, I think it's great actually. I'm kind of the opinion that whoever is making these games with us then we're exploring this new ground together. I've got friends who have played Karaoke Revolution, and they wanted more songs so they've gone out and bought SingStar. So I think great, more people are out there playing these types of games.
Konami trademarks "Guitar Revolution"
Following the rockstar reception Harmonix's Guitar Hero has received, it appears Konami might try to emulate that success by bringing the heretofore Japan-only Guitar Freaks series to the US under the recently trademarked moniker, Guitar Revolution.Filed on 6/29, the Guitar Revolution trademark covers, "video game machines for use with televisions with video game controller in the form of an electronic toy guitar, sold as a unit." So we think what they're trying to say is you'll be able to buy a killer guitar controller to shred your way through a game. Now it comes down to who gets what songs and whose guitar controller rocks harder. That one just ain't cutting it, Konami.[Via Gamespot]
Forget Wiimotes, we need beer controllers
Wired News' Lore Sjöberg considers the popularity of novelty controllers like the Guitar Hero axe and Nintendo's revolutionary console controller ("and its myriad attachments") and follows it to its logical conclusion: we need a beer controller! Well, he doesn't arrive right at beer controller. His argument evolves from action-figure controller ("Remember when you'd take two action figures and 'make them fight'"?) to brick controller ("It would be great to have a game where you take down enemies by heaving an actual brick at them. I guess it would have to be a foam brick ...") to a roadie controller ("And the controller for all this exciting work in the world of sweaty entertainment? Your trusty Leatherman, of course.") ultimately arriving at the delicious, refreshing beer controller, of which Sjöberg pines, "The controller could have a light that goes off when you're supposed to drink, a tilt sensor to make sure you're drinking, and a motion sensor to call 911 when you drop it due to the onset of alcohol poisoning."Then, and only then, would we buy the whole gaming addiction thing. Make it happen, Nintendo.[Via Boing Boing]
Video Games Live seats in Indy up for sale
Tickets are now on sale for the two Video Games Live shows planned in conjunction with Gen Con Indy Friday & Saturday, August 11-12.After a stop in Philly earlier this month, the VGL tour is moving on to Houston July 14th, Chicago August 5th, and then Indianapolis the weekend after that. More on reserving seats for the Hilbert Circle Theatre can be found on the official announcement page (via the pic to the right or the Read link below).Judging by the reviews of the Philly show so far, Video Games Live sounds like it could be a lot of fun. If they keep providing public access to Guitar Hero II, they may have sold this blogger on going already. We hope Midwestern gamers not attending the Chicago show can make a pitstop in Indy to keep Tommy's show on the road. So, yeah ... rock on.See also: Official VGL report from Philly (with some local links to boot) Video Games Live ticket purchases opened a bit early The official page for Gen Con Indy PS2 impressions: Guitar Hero II
Gaming products dominate top tech list [update 1]
PC World's list of top 100 tech products of the year praised our sister blog Engadget and gave Apple lots of love but the categorical winner of the list is undoubtedly gaming. The following products aren't all directly gaming related (you could use some of them to run spreadsheets) although there's a quite clear video gaming subtext underlying many of the choices. Lets just say that they're as close to being gaming technology as Uri Geller is to being locked up in an asylum. 1. Core Duo - the first chip to enable desktop level performance in games on laptop computers.2. Athlon 64 X2 - for that ultimate gaming rig you always wanted (but couldn't, and still can't, afford).10. Boot Camp - Apple's Mac gaming solution.16. GeForce 7600GT - hits that price/performance sweet spot.19. Guitar Hero - we think that this is some kind of video game.55. Raptor X - 10,000RPM Hard Drives were invented for gaming.58. X1900 XTX - ATI's biggest, baddest GPU. Stupid name though.63. A8N32 mobo - it's all about the SLI, baby.89. Xbox 360 - we've heard of this! Isn't it designed to hold your lunch?92. GeForce 7900 GTX - nVIDIA's biggest, baddest GPU. Stupid name though.I personally own several products identical or similar to products on this list (a MacBook with a Core Duo CPU running Windows via Boot Camp is being used to write this post - I'm off for some Eve Online in a sec). Do you agree with these choices? What's missing?P.S. If anyone from PC World is reading this, I apologize for desecrating your logo.[Update: "top tech," not "top ten tech". Thanks Ahms!]
Guitar Hero alongside bands at Download UK
There's something about playing Guitar Hero that appeals to the exhibitionist in all of us. This year, the UK's Download Festival will cater to that by allowing Guitar Hero players to take to the Third Stage in between acts -- although there will be limited walk-up opportunities, they'd like you to register in advance.This might not seem like quite such a good idea when fifteen consecutive rockers fail to finish Bark at the Moon on expert, as events like this often lead us to overstretch ourselves in an attempt to show off. However, it's a clever marketing move for RedOctane as well as a great chance to break some of gaming's stereotypes -- or at least the one about us all being self-conscious tone-deaf nerds.
PS2 impressions: Guitar Hero II
Red Octane's Guitar Hero II is on show and we tried out the co-op mode. It's an improvement on Guitar Hero's multiplayer modes, as it assigns different parts to both players; we took the bass part to another player's lead, and made some beautiful music.Inevitably the bass line has less sparkle than the lead, so this allows less skilled players to accompany those more proficient. The single-player mode caters to the harder end of the spectrum with three-finger chords -- a Red Octane employee hinted at four finger chords too. Before you run away in terror, remember it takes just as many fingers to play a real guitar.
Red Octane's rags-to-riches story ends in acquisition [update 1]
Red Octane, publisher of the smash-hit Guitar Hero game was sitting in the ghetto of E3's Kentia Hall this time last year. Today, Activision announced that they'd be acquiring the company (and the Guitar Hero franchise along with it) in order to build an "early leadership position in music-based gaming." Cha-ching, hip swing. We're predicting that more publishers go on an acquisition jag during this time of lean. The console transition is cruel to publishers and developers both, but we gather that some publishers are still sitting on sizable warchests that they mean to put to use by snapping up smaller companies who've shown promise (or who hold the rights to hot franchises). Chances are, this also means that future iterations of Guitar Hero will launch on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 (instead of the PlayStation only). [Thanks, CheapyD] [update 1: cleared up publisher/developer confusion in the first paragraph.]
Preview of new Guitar Hero II co-op mode
In case you missed it on Friday, IGN posted a pre-E3 hands-on preview of Guitar Hero II's new co-op mode. It's a departure from the first game's multiplayer mode in that the two players have to depend on each other a lot more to pass each song and thereby make beautiful music together.While the old multiplayer option will still be around in the sequel, the new mode mixes distinct lead guitar and bass or rhythm parts where each player affects the other in various ways, whether by failing if either performance slips (as in DDR), sharing the same Rock Meter (with mistakes from either player resetting the score multiplier), and needing to both go vertical at the same time to activate the shared Star Power. Thankfully, different difficulty levels can be assigned to each player.The Joystiq team out in L.A. will probably find something to do until they get their sweaty paws on a guitar controller or two on the E3 show floor (maybe one of those wacky press conferences will help pass the time), but we're sure the wait to try the latest build of this rockin' series will be worth it. The seven songs available at E3 are listed below.[Thanks, murph]
Joystiq Review: Guitar Hero (European release)
Note: Guitar Hero has been released in the US for six months, but is a new release in Europe. This review uses the European version of the game. Once, I dreamed of being on stage, lights in my eyes and music in my ears. Yesterday, for five glorious, rock-filled minutes, I was living my dream. Sliding my fingers up and down the fretboard in power chords, using fingers which haven't borne callouses for years, I was creating music… and what music it was! Songs I remembered tentatively picking out came to life, finally, with consummate skill. The fact I was pressing five brightly coloured buttons on a reduced-size guitar that looks like a child's toy is irrelevant. I was engrossed in the music, concentrating hard, picking out notes and chords with a frown when I missed and a smile when I did well, the audience's cheers and boos echoing my success. Welcome to Guitar Hero.
Guitar Hero II interview, dude
"Do you OD and die at the end of the game?"That's undoubtedly the best question that the IGN guys ask the creators of Guitar Hero in their interview on the subject of the sequel to the first game which is due this fall. The answer is "Yes and No", so we're thinking that the sequel can judge you as a good or bad rockstar by how crap your timings are (ie. how drunk you are). So what else did they have to say regarding the features of Guitar Hero II? Ability to play separate lead, rhythm and bass tracks in multi-player, but single-player will still only let you play as a drugged up lead guitarist. No specific details on new songs apart from that there'll be 55 songs. They're still in licensing talks apparently. Guitar Hero II won't screw people over when it comes to peripherals. The old guitar will work just fine. People have mastered the original Guitar Hero on expert mode, as this video suggests. Don't be surprised if the sequel's more challenging. In the meantime, check out a video of a Guitar Hero owning expert mode after the jump.
Guitar Hero hack - a sequencer is born
Here's a class project that you probably wish you'd managed to get credit for. By interfacing the Guitar Hero peripheral with a sequencing program, these students at the University of California have managed to turn the five-button guitar into something approaching a real musical instrument. From novelty sound effects to an almost orchestral piece, it's an impressive start which could spark off a whole series of musical Guitar Hero hacks.[Via /.]
RedOctane CEO: More music games coming
In an interview with GamesIndustry.biz, RedOctane CEO Kelly Sumner revealed that the company's "got other products in development" in the music genre.The former Take Two Interactive Europe CEO's statement that he "can't tell you what [these other products] are and when they're coming" would lead us to believe he's not talking about the Guitar Hero sequels (sorta like song expansion packs) already announced.A rhythm line-up to rival Konami's Bemani brand, perhaps? This blogger would love something to take advantage of the RedOctane drum peripherals created for Namco's Taiko Drum Master, and it wouldn't be too hard for Harmonix to work up a karaoke game considering their work on Karaoke Revolution (unless licensing prevents it). Whatever the case, fans of music gaming would love to see what Sumner's got up his sleeve.[Thanks, murph]See also: Guitar Hero readies for European tour A whole range of Guitar Heroes to be available A postmortem on Accordion Hero (with a little info on Guitar Hero, too) RedOctane Guitar Hero Specialty Store [where'd the cherry SG go?!]
