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Guitar Hero, Call of Duty franchises lead Activision's 'better-than-expected' Q3 2009
Look, just feign surprise, it makes these financial posts so much more exciting: Activision today reported net revenues of $755 million (on a non-GAAP basis) in the quarter ending September 30, 2009 -- that's $55 million more than the suits hoped to stack, according to previous projections. While the blockbuster adaptation of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen might have played a part in this outpouring of our money, we're gonna go with Kotick's explanation: "Our performance was driven by positive audience response to Activision Publishing's Guitar Hero 5, Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2, and the Guitar Hero and Call of Duty franchises, as well as Blizzard Entertainment's World of Warcraft." In fact, the CEO called Guitar Hero the year's "#1 best-selling third-party franchise in North America and Europe" through September, claiming that U.S. sales of music games increased 72 percent year over year in September. Last year's big-band-box edition, World Tour, and Call of Duty: World at War combined for total, world domination, becoming this year's "#1 and #2 best-selling third-party titles" in North America and Europe through September, according to Activision. Additionally, World at War DLC map pack sales continued to climb last quarter and have now surpassed 7.5 million purchases. Needless to say, the publisher is not backing off of its prior financial outlook. Activision anticipates annual net revenues of $4.5 billion (on a non-GAAP basis) at the close of the year. Did you remember to feign surprise?
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!
Survey says, yes, teens and tweens still want video games this holiday
Image credit: alliet What we want to know: If 86 percent of surveyed youngsters are asking for at least one video game this holiday gift-getting season, what miserable manner of childhood have the other 14 percent been living? No doubt leading a crusade to bring joy to teens and tweens everywhere (and, uh, recoup some losses), retailer Game Crazy has put together a handy buyer's guide for concerned parents.Don't know which video games to get your kids because they haven't clearly indicated them in large, bold, triple-underlined letters on their wish lists? Just follow these simple guidelines: For the "Girly Girl" whose fashion obsession is getting way too costly: Wii Sports Resort For the "Music Addict" who's not worth spending real guitar lessons on: Guitar Hero 5 For the "All Things Sports" lover who's just a tad bit uncoordinated to enjoy "outside" sports: Wii Sports Resort For "The Adventurer" who needs to learn that "real life" is largely confined to the indoors: New Super Mario Brothers Wii Oh, and parents, whatever you do, don't buy the oft-requested "Call of Duty" for your kids. It's rated M -- for Mature! -- for a reason. Might we suggest Ubisoft's wonderful line of imagination-expanding titles in its place? Don't worry, their initial weeps are totally normal. Trust us. They'll thank you later, once they've grown up to become animal doctors, champion riders, master chefs, movie stars, and ... babyz.
Beatles: Rock Band bests Guitar Hero 5 in U.S. Sept. sales
The Beatles: Rock Band's initial U.S. tour at retail has proven boast-worthy for its promoters. Following two promising platform appearances in NPD's top 10 software sales chart for September, MTV Games and Harmonix have declared B:RB "the top selling music video game in the U.S. for September." The Beatles–only game (released September 9) outsold Guitar Hero 5 (released September 1) with 595,000 units to 499,000 units in total U.S. sales for the month, according to a statement released by the NPD*. Additionally, charity-driven purchases of the "All You Need Is Love" DLC track exceeded 100,000 downloads on Xbox 360 in September.The makers of B:RB have also rubbed in a few seemingly noteworthy facts; namely, (1) U.S. purchases of GH5 in September were eligible for a free mail-away copy of Guitar Hero: Van Halen, and (2) GH5 is available on one additional platform, PS2. Of course, Van Halen isn't exactly the American equivalent of The Beatles, and the PS2 is no longer the dominant platform to stage one's acts upon. Still, despite the staggering odds stacked against its success, B:RB managed to capture the mindshare of U.S. gamers. (And we all know that Americans like to speak their minds with their monies.)The sales de-feat must feel good for MTV Games and Harmonix -- what with B:RB being burned in the sales competition with GH5 by the kingdom that birthed the band (see: Chart-Track UK September sales rankings posted after the break). What was it? Right: Guitar Hero 5 supposedly outsold The Beatles: Rock Band "2-to-1 in the UK." So, score a victory for B:RB in the battle of the bands fought in U.S. retail last month. But let's not forget there's a bigger, "World War of Rock" being waged, as well. And our wallets are the oft-unreported collateral damage.
Runnin' Late with the Devil: Guitar Hero Van Halen delayed on PS3
If you have a PS3 and Guitar Hero 5, you might have noticed that, well, you don't have your free copy of Guitar Hero: Van Halen. While copies of the freebie are shipping out for the other systems, all PS3 owners are getting right now is an apologetic email. "Unfortunately, we made a printing error on the package of Guitar Hero Van Halen," the email explains. "Fortunately, we caught and remedied the error prior to sending your disc. Our effort to ensure a completely positive customer experience has resulted in a slight delay in shipping your copy of the game." Activision promises to begin mailing the game out this week. The good news, we suppose, is that everyone affected by this delay has Guitar Hero 5 to play in the meantime. If you're an insider and can tell us what the printing error was, we have to know. Did the title say "Guitar Hero: Van Helen?" Was it rated "E" for "Eddie"? [Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]
Activision: Guitar Hero 5 launch 'probably' franchise's best, DLC sales getting 'interesting' [update 2]
If you want to know anything about Guitar Hero, you talk to Dan Rosensweig, CEO of Activision's Guitar Hero division. (Yeah, it has its own division.) Speaking to GI.biz, Rosensweig offered -- rather candidly, we might add -- some insight into the performance of Activision's latest, Guitar Hero 5, and its DLC. While one might assume that a series' strength starts to wane once it gets around to having the number "5" in its title, that's apparently not the case for Guitar Hero. Rosensweig claims that "the public report suggests that we've outsold 2/2.5/3-to-1 over Rock Band ... and we've probably sold more copies of Guitar Hero 5 than any other Guitar Hero game at launch." Sure, that's a pretty big probably, but Guitar Hero 5 is "fun as hell," after all -- and advertising the game with Playboy Bunnies probably didn't hurt sales either. As for DLC, Rosensweig suggests that it's generating a ton of revenue for the franchise -- funny how that happens when you start to stick to a regular release schedule -- as users appear eager to expand their playable music libraries. While Activision doesn't release actual figures, Rosensweig touts that "each month [in DLC sales] is a record versus the previous month, and it's getting to the point of being interesting." Heck, what'll be really interesting is seeing how much of this financial success makes its way into Kotick's bonus for 2009 ...Update 2: Activision has clarified Rosenweig's statements, saying he was, "Speaking only about Europe. The specific public report he is referring to is the September Charttrack data. For the month of September, GH5 outsold The Beatles: Rock Band by nearly 2-to-1 in the U.K." Update: Dan Rosensweig's "2/2.5/3-to-1" sales comparison between Guitar Hero and Rock Band was a bit ambiguous (Europe? North America? Worldwide?), so we've contacted Activision for clarification.
Guitar Hero 5 demo rocks XBLM
Major Nelson has dropped knowledge, and we must heed: A Guitar Hero 5 demo is now available on Xbox Live Marketplace. The demo offers three songs that can be played in the game's Party Mode, which allows players to jump in and out of a song at any time. The songs available are: "The Rock Show" by Blink 182 "Kryptonite" by 3 Doors Down "A-Punk" by Vampire Weekend If you've yet to try out the latest in the series grab the demo and give it a go. Add the Guitar Hero 5 demo to your 360 download queue
EEDAR: Game sales slowdown turned around in September
2009 hasn't been the best year for the games industry. Month after month, we hear reports of reduced sales figures, company closures, and layoffs. Things may be turning around, though, as EEDAR analyst Jesse Divnich believes software sales during September 2009 have actually gone up from 2008, the first time in seven months thanks to strong sales of Halo 3: ODST, Wii Sports Resort, Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2, Madden NFL 10 and Batman: Arkham Asylum. All in all, software sales should come in at $715 million, a 16% increase over last year.The music genre may be slowing down, but Divnich notes that "both Guitar Hero 5 and The Beatles: Rock Band have performed at levels ahead of retail expectations," with sales predicted at 800k and 1 million units respectively. The same analyst at EEDAR previously predicted that Guitar Hero 5 would outsell The Beatles 2:1. With NPD sales results dropping next week, we'll soon see how accurate Divnich's latest analysis is.
Activision: Guitar Hero beat Beatles because it's 'fun as hell'
We were just as perplexed as anyone when Guitar Hero 5 trounced The Beatles: Rock Band in the UK -- where we hear the Fab Four is fairly popular still. Thankfully, Activision's Guitar Hero business CEO, Rock 'n' Roll Dan Rosensweig, is there to explain it all. "The number one thing about Guitar Hero is that it's fun as hell -- it's focused on the guitar, and the variety and value proposition -- and the reviews are spectacular. So I guess we're the only ones not surprised." Rosensweig went on to tell GamesIndustry.biz that "internally we always talked about the Fab Five - Guitar Hero 5 - was going to beat the Fab Four." So, we've also discovered Activision's real secret weapon that keeps it ahead of the competition: Hilarious wordplay.
Swag Saturday: Guitar Hero 5 with Logitech Wireless Drums (PS3)
Ever dreamed of owning your very own ridiculously high-priced fake drum set? No no, silly goose, not that ridiculously high-priced fake drum set! The Logitech Wireless set, of course! For Swag Saturday this week, we're giving you (and consequently ridding ourselves of) a mammoth wireless drum set care of Logitech (only for the PS3/PS2, folks!) and a complimentary copy of Guitar Hero 5. All you have to do is leave a comment below telling us how you're going to celebrate your Rocktober. When the contest runs out tomorrow, we'll pick one lucky winner to receive the whole schebang. Leave a comment telling us how you're going to celebrate your Rocktober. You must be 18 years or older and a resident of the US or Canada (excluding Quebec, mostly because of the accent) Limit 1 entry per person per day This entry period ends at 8:31PM ET on Sunday, October 4 At that time, we'll randomly select one winner to receive Guitar Hero 5 ($60 ARV) and a Logitech Wireless Drum Kit ($230 ARV) For a list of complete rules, click here
Band Hero's revamped drums coming in November bundle, very limited exclusive for Wii
Guitar Hero drummers who wondered whatever happened to that revamped set we spied months ago can finally sleep more soundly at night, although while still probably tapping out "Sweating Bullets" in their dreams. The cats at IGN got some hands-on time with the new gear, and while there's no physical pics to show for it, they do report being happy with the overall design and its smaller, but still capable frame. The peripheral is reportedly due in a Band Hero Super Bundle for Nintendo Wii this November. It's a limited exclusive for the console, meaning the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 packages will include the standard Guitar Hero drums until "sometime later this year." That leaves at most seven weeks of lead time -- not too long, but in the precious time before Christmas, it's probably quite the coup.
Guitar Hero 5: October DLC
Activision has announced all of the forthcoming Guitar Hero 5 DLC tracks for ... Rocktober! Queens of the Stone Age, Billy Squier and Wolfmother are the featured track packs next month, along with some themed collections later in the month. Each pack will cost 440 on Xbox 360, $5.50 on PS3 and 550 Wii Points on Nintendo's console -- each track will also be sold separately for the respective console's $2 equivalent. Check out the full list of artists, tracks and release dates after the break.
Swag Saturday: Guitar Hero triple pack and bass pedal
It's time for Swag Saturday once again, and this week's prize is a doozy. Up for grabs we have not one, not two, but three Guitar Hero games. We've got Xbox 360 copies of Guitar Hero: Metallica, Guitar Hero: Smash Hits and Guitar Hero 5, all for the low, low price of nothing (and all released this year, if you can believe it). And, as if that weren't enough, we're throwing in an extra bass pedal (with splitter cable) too. For your chance to rock with the best of them, follow these simple directions: Leave a comment telling us about your favorite rock and roll moment. You must be 18 years or older and a resident of the US or Canada (excluding Quebec, due to a domestic dispute) Limit 1 entry per person per day This entry period ends at 8:31PM ET on Monday, September 28 At that time, we'll randomly select one winner to receive Guitar Hero: Metallica ($60 ARV), Guitar Hero: Smash Hits ($60 ARV), Guitar Hero 5 ($60 ARV), and a bass pedal game peripheral ($35 ARV) For a list of complete rules, click here
Bon Jovi turned down inclusion in Guitar Hero 5, supports Love
Even though his songs have landed in music games far and wide, Jon Bon Jovi said in a recent interview that he turned down Activision's offer to be included as a playable character in Guitar Hero 5. "They [Activision] wanted me to be on that game and I just passed," Bon Jovi told the BBC. "To hear someone else's voice coming out of a cartoon version of me? I don't know," he added, siding with Kurt Cobain's widow Courtney Love, and others tied to the Nirvana estate, against the use of Cobain's likeness in GH5. Bon Jovi explained that no one at Activision "even broached the subject with me that I would be singing other people's stuff ... I don't know how I would have reacted to that." In the meantime, Activision has retorted that Love did evidently sign a contract -- but according to Bon Jovi's statements, it appears as though she may have not reacted to the fine print.
LGJ: Come As Your Avatar, Smells Like Lawsuit? Nevermind
Each week Mark Methenitis contributes Law of the Game on Joystiq ("LGJ"), a column on legal issues as they relate to video games: The well publicized dispute over the use of an avatar of Kurt Cobain in Guitar Hero 5 has provided a good backdrop to discuss the 'right of publicity.' For anyone who doesn't want to take time to read the stories, here's a summary. Guitar Hero 5 includes Kurt Cobain as an unlockable playable avatar, much like previous titles in the series have done with other rock stars. Shortly after release, Courtney Love expressed her distaste at the use of Kurt, and Activision has stated Love signed an agreement allowing the use. Since then, other former Nirvana members have stated they think the avatar should be limited to performances of Nirvana songs. Kurt's in-game likeness is governed by the part of the law called the 'right of publicity,' also called the 'right of personality' or 'personality rights.' In the US, that is unfortunately a complicated subject. Unlike other intellectual property rights, the right of publicity is governed by the states, not federal laws. So, unlike copyright or trademark, the exact rules of the right of publicity game change in every state. This, of course, makes the topic difficult to discuss and analyze, but there are some general theories about the right that can be discussed on a universal level.
Italian gamers set new Guinness world record with Guitar Hero 5
In fair Verona, where we lay our scene, Italy set a Guinness world record for "largest number of participants to play in a single Guitar Hero session over a 24-hour period." At the FNAC store, 594 people participated in a single, massive Guitar Hero 5 play session coordinated to celebrate the European release of Activision's latest music title. The record was set using Guitar Hero 5's Party Play mode, which supports drop-in and drop-out gameplay. There's no word on whether any Montagues or Capulets were harmed during the event, but as soon as we hear something, we'll let you know.
Guitar Hero 5 goes straight to the top of the UK charts
Guitar Hero 5, which is like the tenth (give or take a couple) installment in the series, has resonated with UK consumers and hit a high note atop the Chart Track all-formats chart. The Dark Knight of Arkham Asylum -- who was perched above the charts for two weeks -- slipped off the top to the number three spot, with Colin McRae: Dirt 2 taking the silver. The Beatles: Rock Band premiered at the number four spot, which some are sure to find disappointing. Both Guitar Hero and Rock Band have previously debuted at the fourth and sixth spot, respectively, with previous iterations. Music games may be on a sales decline, but they apparently still know how to make an entrance. Source -- Guitar Hero 5 hits the right notes (Chart Track) Source -- All formats chart (Chart Track) %Gallery-63471%
Music game sales down 46%, still third best-selling genre
According to NPD, and as reported by Edge Online, the music game genre has taken quite a tumble in 2009. Thus far, year-to-date sales have declined by a whopping 46%. And yet, despite the sales slump, the music genre remains the third best-selling genre overall. The discrepancy, according to NPD's Anita Frazier, is the result of lower prices on music titles. Thus, individual unit sales remain high even though overall sales (i.e. money earned) are down. Of course, it's worth noting that -- apart from Guitar Hero: Metallica and Smash Hits -- the first half of 2009 was somewhat devoid of major music genre releases. With both Guitar Hero 5 and The Beatles: Rock Band both just released, the music genre is likely due for a significant boost. Still, it's hard to imagine sales climbing as high as they once were. With so many homes filled with plastic instruments as it is, we're sure it's getting harder to sell those full band kits -- and their higher prices. Then again, we're sure everyone still has room for a turntable.
Nirvana disapproves of GH5 Cobain avatar
Two out of three Nirvana members agree: Kurt Cobain's Guitar Hero 5 avatar is not cool. As for the third: the fact that he can't offer an opinion is kind of the whole problem. Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl, former bassist and drummer for Nirvana, issued a joint statement to register their disdain with the free use of Cobain's likeness.The pair, who have no legal say in the matter but are probably worth listening to anyway, said that they were "dismayed and very disappointed" in the use of the avatar. "While we were aware of Kurt's image being used with two Nirvana songs, we didn't know players have the ability to unlock the character."Novoselic and Grohl then entreat Activision to "re-lock" the avatar so that it can only be used to play Nirvana songs. Which is a surprisingly even-handed request.
Activision: Courtney Love agreed to Cobain avatar
This morning, we reported on Courtney Love's tweeted allegations that the ghastly Kurt Cobain avatar was included in Guitar Hero 5 without her consent. Though the company didn't mention whether or not the lawsuit has actually been filed against them, Activision just sent us a statement refuting Love's claims:"Guitar Hero secured the necessary licensing rights from the Cobain estate in a written agreement signed by Courtney Love to use Kurt Cobain's likeness as a fully playable character in Guitar Hero(r) 5."Maybe Love did sign off on it, but just doesn't remember. There, we said it. We were all thinking it anyway.
