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Mad Catz pulled out of Guitar Hero before it hit big
Think of the original Guitar Hero, and two names pop immediately to mind: Harmonix and Red Octane. A third name that you might not be aware of: Mad Catz. Speaking to Kotaku, Mad Catz CEO Darren Richardson has revealed that peripheral maker was originally part of the Guitar Hero project. Mad Catz was responsible for the Xbox version, but eventually decided to pull out of the project thanks to a lawsuit filed by Konami -- which resulted in Guitar Hero being exclusive to PS2. Furthermore, Mad Catz actually paid $300,000 to remove itself from the project, only to see it grow into the gigantic success it is today. Says Richardson, "Everyone else made hundreds of millions and we paid money to not be a part of it." Ouch.
Guitar Hero 5 and Band Hero: January DLC
If you've been jonesing to play along to a song performed by a fictional, cartoon heavy metal band, then look no further: Activision has announced a downloadable Dethklok song coming this month to the Guitar Hero line, as part of a metal track pack. On the opposite extreme, January will see a Vampire Weekend collection released for Guitar Hero 5 and Band Hero to coincide with the band's new album, as well as a three-track Creedence Clearwater Revival set and a collection of songs from "up-and-coming blues masters." (We assume that these so-called masters are real people and not cartoon characters.) All tracks packs will be available for $5.49 on PS3, 550 Wii Points, or 440 on Xbox 360. In addition, all songs will be available a la carte for $1.99, 200 Wii Points, or 160. Head past the break for the complete January DLC lineup.
GM-1 connects real drums to Guitar Hero, Rock Band
If you're the type of person who spends the weekend stuffing wads of cash into your Skeet shooter, only to blow 'em to pieces with your golden shotgun once they're airborne, then the $250 Omega Music Technology's GM-1 may be the perfect accessory to your expensive hobbies. The system is essentially an intermediary between Guitar Hero or Rock Band gaming drums, allowing you to play along with the games' drum tracks on the real thing ($500 drum set sold separately). As Ars Technica points out in a recent hands-on with the product, "It's an interesting idea, but you need to be willing to put some serious time and money into the project to get worthwhile results." Aside from owning a set of real drums, you'll need the "fake" ones, too -- the GM-1 sensors send feedback from your drum set to the attached Guitar Hero or Rock Band drums, which then send the in-game cues to the gaming console. Sure, it might work, but who's got the time and money? Oh, that's right, you, Mr. I Own the Biggest Music Game Peripheral Ever. Congratulations.
LGJ: Cross-Licensing Complications
Mark Methenitis contributes Law of the Game on Joystiq ("LGJ"), a column on legal issues as they relate to video games: Image Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/diaper/ / CC BY 2.0 You may have seen the news that ASCAP, one of the major music licensing groups, is asking for royalties over Guitar Hero arcade units because they view them as jukeboxes. This kind of story demonstrates a gray area that LGJ has touched on before: music down stream licensing in games. Given just how nebulous and complex this can be, it seems as though this is an appropriate time to discuss the issue in full. It's a complexity that speaks to the age of the industry, and just how many elements out there really haven't been sorted out as well as other media, like movies and television, have. It's also something that doesn't just affect game developers, but also establishment owners and musicians, like frequent Guitar Hero artist An Endless Sporadic. This is one of those instances where there are so many moving pieces it's difficult to determine the most logical point to begin. The idea of collective music licensing is probably as good a place as any. Copyright law dictates that the creator of a work holds certain rights to that work, which we've discussed at length in LGJ. Based on those rights, if you want to integrate a copyrighted work into another work, you would need a license. As you could imagine, however, if you're creating a film or running a radio station, tracking down each and every artist for every song you want to use would be a labor intensive process that would likely never end. Enter companies like ASCAP and BMI as the solution to that very problem.
Xbox Live deal of the week: The Maw for $5
For $5, you could probably buy a value meal fit for a king -- but you know what you couldn't get? A delightfully charming action platformer starring a purple, omnivorous and gelatinous blob. No, wait! This week -- and this week only -- you can get a delightfully charming action platformer starring a purple, omnivorous and gelatinous blob. The price of Twisted Pixel's The Maw has been slashed from 800 MS Points ($10) to 400 MS Points ($5). And here we thought Christmas was over. Additionally, today's holiday XBLM deal is a Rolling Stones live track pack for Guitar Hero 5. It can be yours for only 360 ($4.50), half the usual 720 ($9) price. Shortcut: Add The Maw to your 360 download queue [Via Xbox.com] Shortcut: The Rolling Stones Live Track Pack [Via Xbox.com]
New Music Games store arriving on Xbox Live today
enlarge with the power of rock (or just click) Microsoft has announced that it's rolling out the real Xbox Live Music Games stores. When the latest Dashboard Update rolled out earlier this year, this section was comprised solely of Xbox Live Marketplace entries for music game DLC, but now each game will be receiving its own themed store. So, if you want to pick up Rock Band or Guitar Hero tracks, you can open up the corresponding store and start browsing. Each store will also allow users to preview songs, so there's no need to fire up each game to see if you like a particular track. The stores should be going live sometime today, so keep an eye on the Music Marketplace section of the Xbox 360 dashboard. The games that will feature their own stores include Rock Band, Rock Band 2, The Beatles: Rock Band, LEGO Rock Band, Guitar Hero 5, Guitar Hero: World Tour, Band Hero, Lips and Lips: Number One Hits. Check out images of the new storefronts in the gallery below. %Gallery-80775%
Guitar Hero VIP Pass is your waypoint for DLC
In the same way that Master Chief 'n friends have relegated their Xbox Live forces to Halo Waypoint, Neversoft has created a one-stop shop for all your Guitar Hero needs on the service. The "Guitar Hero VIP Pass" is now on the Xbox Live Marketplace, gathering all DLC for the music series into a centralized hub. Sadly, unlike a real life VIP Pass, the DLC store does not carry with it the opportunity to get Joe Perry to sign your cleavage, though we can tell from your expression during the first half of this sentence that we all had very different experiences during the '80s. [Via 360Sync]
Deal: Guitar Hero 5 plus two guitars for $100
Just in time for the holiday season, RedOctane has kicked off yet another Guitar Hero deal. In exchange for $99.99, patrons of the Guitar Hero Store can snag a copy of Guitar Hero 5, plus two wireless guitar controllers, on either Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3. And if you're thinking about this as a gift for someone special this holiday season, be sure to check out of our gift guides, which are chock full of ideas for gaming gifts.
Christmas Light Hero brings rhythm to the holidays
You gotta hand it to this kid's parents, who managed to turn up their boring old Christmas lights to 11 and into quite the Guitar Hero homage. It's not the first time we've seen Activision's franchise mix it up with some Christmas lights, but it's certainly the most unique and inspired. We've embedded the video past the break so put on your favorite Rudolph sweater (the good one with the blinking nose you keep in the back of the closet), pour yourself a hot cup of cocoa and give it a watch.
Van Halen and Crash Time 3 demos hit XBL
Major Nelson has revealed that two new demos are available on Xbox Live Marketplace. The first is Guitar Hero: Van Halen. It's like Guitar Hero, but with Van Halen in it. At this point, if you need more description than that we can't really help you. The demo is available in all regions. The other demo is for Crash Time 3. Honestly, how that game ever made it past Crash Time 1 is a mystery we will never solve. The demo is available in European regions only. You can add either demo to your 360 download queue by clicking the links below. Shortcut: Download the Guitar Hero: Van Helen demo [Via Xbox.com] Shortcut: Download the Crash Time 3 demo (Europe only) [Via Xbox.com]
HexoLight brings light shows to your videogame concerts
If there's one thing we're missing when we're jamming "Cool for Cats" on Rock Band, it's a Squeeze-worthy display of lights. That's all about to change, with the introduction of Rock Gear's HexoLight LED-lighting system, a flashing display of lights to the beat of your tunes. If transforming your living room (or bedroom, or dorm room) into a place that even Jools Holland would be proud to step into is high on your list of priorities, the HexoLight -- which boasts an audio sensor to sync up to the beat and is compatible with nearly any stereo source -- is probably something you're going to want to check out. HexoLight is available today for prices starting at $30. Full press release is after the break.
Guitar Hero 5 and Band Hero: December DLC
Activision is pulling out a majority of the stops for the last month of 2009, adding a highly varied assortment of tracks to Guitar Hero 5 and Band Hero throughout the next 31 days. Included are track packs from OneRepublic and The Fall of Troy, an "Indie Rock" pack which includes songs from Spoon, Pavement and Nada Surf, a "New Years Rock" pack which features music from Taylor Swift, Maroon 5 and No Doubt, and finally, a totally free song which will arrive shortly before the holidays: Steve Ouimette's version of "Hark The Herald Angels Sing." These songs follow the franchise's usual DLC pricing structure: Each single track will cost 160 ($2, 200 Wii Points), while each track pack will cost 440 ($5.50, 550 Wii Points). For a full list of song titles and release dates, just click past the break.
Band Hero clothing and accessories head to Xbox Live Marketplace
We might normally scoff at the array of Xbox Live Avatar clothing being made available for Band Hero – a near ubiquitous occurrence with game releases for the Xbox 360 these days. Not today though, friends. Nope, today we have the opportunity to get our Avatar a totally rad, Say Anything style boombox. We know, we know – finally. For the low, low price of 240 ($3), you too can be as cool as Lloyd Dobler (though there's no promise of landing a lady as fine as Diane Court with said item). We suppose you could pick up the other stuff too, available for 80 ($1) to 240 ($3), if you're into that kinda thing. You could get a microphone or a shirt or a ... just get the boombox, alright? You don't wanna end up being given a pen and getting told how "valuable the friendship" is, do you? Hmm?
Activision applies for Drum Hero trademark
Activision has applied to trademark Drum Hero. Yes, your initial reaction is likely the same as ours: "Wait, how did Activision not do that already?" Good question, but apparently the Guitar Hero, DJ Hero, and Band Hero publisher only applied for the trademark in late October. This does not guarantee a percussion-based Hero title is in the works, but, once again, aren't we all a little surprised one doesn't already exist? If the inside of your cranium is tickling with the distinct feeling like you have memory of a Drum Hero trademark, the confusion may have to do with the Guitar Villain and Drum Villain trademarks, that were apparently filed back in 2007 -- which is when one would think the Drum Hero trademark would have been filed as well. [Via MTV Multiplayer]
Guitar Hero and Rock Band drums combine for ultimate MIDI kit (video)
We've seen our fair share of Guitar Hero / Rock Band drum kit mods, but without exception, this one is our fav. Tipster (and tinkerer) Jordan has taken the time to wire up a Guitar Hero kit and a Rock Band kit in order to create the most bodacious set of MIDI skins this planet has ever seen. Using a combination of Osculator, JunXion Lite and Logic, he was able to rig up the Rock Band pedal to operate as a high-hat pedal, while reprogramming some of the heads to act as cymbals. We'd bother explaining more, but we'll just point you past the break and advise you to watch (head to 2:20 if you're short on time!). [Thanks, Jordan]
Activision-Blizzard makes lots of money, no update on Blizzard earnings
Activision-Blizzard has released their third-quarter numbers for the financial year of 2009, and as you might expect for the company in charge of Call of Duty, Guitar Hero, and World of Warcraft, business is brisk. They were expecting to bring in around $700 million, and ended up pulling in around $50 million more than that. It's good, we guess, to be the king. Blizzard, in particular, laid claim to three of the top five selling PC games in North America on the good side, and on the bad side, Activision acknowledges in the press release that they're happy to have WoW back online in China, but a little worried about the troubles it's seen over there lately. Strangely enough, there is no information in the earnings about how much money World of Warcraft has pulled in for the company, or any updates about subscriber numbers. Usually, that gets at least a mention, so maybe, with subscribers certainly down in China, Activision-Blizzard wants to keep that under their hat for now.
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?
No Doubt suing Activision for Band Hero 'circus act' appearance
The multi-platinum rock band No Doubt has filed a lawsuit against Activision in a L.A. County Superior Court claiming its likeness was "transformed" into a "virtual karaoke circus act" in over sixty songs in the recently released music title, Band Hero. According to TMZ, No Doubt claims gamers were only supposed to be able to use their likeness with three of its own tracks; however, the band is available as playable characters through the game's entire music catalog. Of particular note is lead singer Gwen Stefani's displeasure that her likeness can be used to sing "Honky Tonk Woman" by the Rolling Stones -- a song which references sex with prostitutes -- using a male voice and mannerisms. For its "circus act" inclusion, No Doubt is seeking an injunction to halt the "unauthorized use" of the band's name and likeness, as well as an unknown amount of damages (aka mad monies). Seems like Activision can't keep rock stars happy, dead or alive. [Via TeamXbox]
Nintendo World Store holding Band Hero launch event tomorrow
No, that isn't your high school gym teacher (pictured right), that's Weezer front man Rivers Cuomo and he's joining with Nintendo to help launch the upcoming Pop-centric music title, Band Hero. Tomorrow, November 1, beginning at 11AM (EDT) at the Nintendo World Store in Rockefeller Plaza, players will have a chance to play both the Nintendo Wii and DS versions of the game before lining up for an exclusive autograph session with the singer from 3PM to 4PM. Need more incentive to join the party? The first fifty players in line will walk away with a pre-release copy of the game to call their own and other random giveaways. Finally, you yourself can interrupt your sister's Taylor Swift karaoke sessions in homage to Kanye West's VMA performance. We call that, "emergent gameplay." [Image Credit]
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!
