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Double the volume of Guitar Hero expected in 2009
If you thought that 2008's triple-billing of Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, Guitar Hero: On Tour and the upcoming Guitar Hero World Tour was, well, a lot of Guitar Hero ... you ain't seen nuthin' yet. Activision-Blizzard revealed at an event for industry analysts that it intends to double the number of Guitar Hero SKUs (not necessarily unique games, just console-specific variations of "core" titles) in 2009. The goal is to triple them in 2010. Whammy bar!Considering that we had two console Guitar Hero titles this year, that would potentially mean four in 2009 (one being Guitar Hero: Metallica) and six in 2010. That's not even counting handhelds. So ... are you ready to rock, a lot? Or is this all just way too much noise? Let us know in comments.
Lars won't confirm Guitar Hero: Metallica (spoiler: it's happening)
It's alright Lars, you don't need to keep it a secret any longer. With or without your intimations, we all know Guitar Hero: Metallica will be joining the pantheon of geriatric rock simulators right alongside that other game, probably next summer. But if you really just want to get it off your chest, go right on ahead ...When asked about the existence of the aforementioned game by MTV News, Metallica drummer and lead Napster-hater Lars Ulrich said, "... if somebody's gonna follow [GH: Aerosmith] up ... we're talking, and its exciting, and the people at Guitar Hero and Activision are rapidly becoming our best new friends in the world. You can put the rest of it together yourself." We took a moment to put those various pieces together and, sure enough, they basically assembled the retail packaging for the game. For further evidence, hit up the video after the break.
Counting Rupees: You drink their milkshake
Each week Jeff Engel and Geoff Brooks contribute Counting Rupees, a column on the business behind gaming: Guitar Hero IV is on its way, and with it are coming individual games themed around Metallica, Aerosmith, and others. This follows the strategy highlighted by Activision CEO Robert Kotick last year, in which the executive promised shareholders to fully "exploit" the company's franchises on an annual basis. The immediate response of gamers was almost exclusively negative, not least because the prospect has connotations of poor quality and high pricing. Although Activision may be the only company to announce its strategy so publicly, it's hardly the only adopting these kinds of tactics. If it irritates gamers so much, why do companies in the industry do this? And is it as bad as it seems?
Guitar Hero: Aerosmith won't support GH3 DLC
Here's some news that's sure to strike a sour chord with the legions of Guitar Hero III owners worldwide. We've confirmed with Activision that Guitar Hero: Aerosmith will not allow users to access content for GH3.It will also be impossible for those who've purchased only Guitar Hero: Aerosmith to access and download tracks currently available for GH3. For those with both games: prepare for disc-swapping. The carry-over of DLC into Guitar Hero: Aerosmith seemed like a real no-brainer; hopefully Neversoft will take Guitar Hero fans' previous purchases into account while nailing down Guitar Hero World Tour and Guitar Hero: Metallica's feature sets.
Metallica to become Guitar Heroes
Even though Guitar Hero: Aerosmith is barely off the tour bus, Activision has already announced a second band-centric Guitar Hero game: Guitar Hero: Metallica. The news was buried deep within an Activision financial report from the weekend, though details are sparse -- all we know is that the game will release during the current fiscal year (which ends on March 31st, 2009), and will "likely follow" the release of Guitar Hero: World Tour. Whether it will use the various instruments that World Tour will introduce is a mystery, as are which platforms it will appear on.It's not the first time that the aging anti-piracy campaigners heavy metal quartet has appeared in a Guitar Hero title, of course -- Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock featured the excellent (and finger-busting) "One". Some Metallica tracks that don't make us sob with their sheer, brain-addling difficulty would be welcomed in the Fanboy HQ.
Acti planning Guitar Hero: Metallica for Q1 2009
Those sneaky business execs over at Activision are really putting their Red Octane purchase to good use lately. Not only are they releasing both Guitar Hero: Aerosmith and Guitar Hero: World Tour later this year, but we just learned that there's another Guitar Hero game scheduled for release early next year and it's guaranteed to have Lars Ulrich's seal of approval.Gamespot is reporting on industry analyst Michael Pachter's discovery, where (after sifting through Activision's recent SEC filings) he found mention of a new game called Guitar Hero: Metallica that is set to release by fiscal end on March 31st, 2009. No other details were revealed in the filing, other than the obvious fact that Metallica will be a part of the new edition and that it'll probably further dilute the franchise that Activision is hell-bent on milking dry. Yes, we want fuel and yes, we want fire, but we don't think we desire a new Guitar Hero game every nine weeks. Sorry ...[Via Joystiq, Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
SEC filing reveals further flogging of the Guitar Hero horse
Wedbush Morgan analyst Edward Woo discovered something interesting whilst nosing through a recent SEC filing of Activision's. Along with the already announced Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, Guitar Hero: On Tour and Guitar Hero: World Tour, Activision has listed Guitar Hero: Metallica for their fiscal '09 plans. The assumption is that the next band-based title in the Guitar Hero series will come after Guitar Hero IV (World Tour)'s holiday release. This follows the pattern of Guitar Hero [X] and Guitar Hero [Subtitle] that we've seen since Guitar Hero II's release in 2006.There are no other details on the game, but no doubt we'll hear about it sometime this year. The only thing we're curious about is whether Activision has managed to secure exclusive rights to Metallica's music, like they have with Aerosmith. We certainly hope not.
Guitar Hero: Metallica coming before Q1 2009
Wedbush Morgan analyst -- no, not that one -- Edward Woo uncovered some interesting news after sifting through an Activision SEC filing this week. According to the filing (via Gamespot), the company plans to launch Guitar Hero: Metallica in Fiscal 2009, which, for Activision, is anytime between now and March 31, 2009. No other details are known about the game other than its existence. Will it be guitar-only or multi-instrumental a la the upcoming Guitar Hero World Tour? Regardless, we're guessing that long-awaited new single won't debut on Rock Band anymore.
