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New Guitar Hero 3 track showed off in Edinburgh
At the Guitar Hero III screening at the Edinburgh Interactive Festival today a previously unannounced song was played to the crowd. "She Bangs the Drums" by the Stone Roses is the newest in a long list of excellent tracks featured in the game. According to NME, a very popular music magazine in the UK, the album that "She Bangs the Drums" hails from is consistently voted the number one British album ever. We're loving the track list for Guitar Hero 3 so far. There's a nice mix of eighties, geek rock and cult classics. All we need now are some decent British indie rock tunes. Click through for the known track list for the game.
Don't cut yourself just yet, MCR pack on Guitar Hero II
Major Nelson gives word that Guitar Hero II has another track pack available on Marketplace. This time, though, it's not a rehash of Guitar Hero I songs, but actually a band themed packed full of master tracks. Sounds too good to be true, right? Precisely, as it still costs 500 Microsoft Points, which is not as bad for fresh content, and the band in question is My Chemical Romance. Now, we've had a couple of rants about reader response to anything involving MCR and their 360, and expect to see more of the same here. In any case, the songs in the pack are "Famous Last Words," "This is How I Disappear," and "Teenagers." Now, remember that it's down the road, and not across the street.
Throw up the horns: Guitar Hero III boxart revealed
All of you wannabe shredders out there should get an eye full of the Guitar Hero III bundle listing over at Amazon. Even as badass as the guitar and all look, we have to protest the price tag. Even though it's 10 bucks cheaper than the bundles for the other new-gen systems, it's still the same price as the current Guitar Hero II bundle on the Xbox 360 (although Amazon sells that bundle for $84.99). Does the addition of the wireless guitar warrant a $10 jump in price?
Fully-functional Guitar Hero controller crafted from Lego
We've seen Lego-fied Wiis, robots, and weaponry, but this fully-functional Guitar Hero controller crafted by an unnamed tipster to TechEBlog might just be the best bit of Lego hackery to date. Based on a Gibson Explorer guitar, the Lego axe neatly conceals the guts of a standard PS2 Guitar Hero controller, and also ups the size to something more closely resembling an actual guitar. While there's no word on any plans to ceremoniously smash the guitar Pete Townsend-style, we have a feeling that's going to be a tough temptation to resist -- especially considering the fact that it's one of the few guitars that could actually be rebuilt after seeing such destruction.
Let the showdown begin: GHIII nabs Metallica
The gloves are off folks, after yesterday's revelation that Rock Band and Guitar Hero III would definitely be sharing songs, there was really only one other question that needed answering: what about Metallica? We know Metallica is in Rock Band, but what about Guitar Hero III? That question has been answered and answered well. As it turns out, Guitar Hero III will not only feature Metallica -- the news was slipped during an Activision conference call -- but the song to be featured is "One," and what's more, it's a master track. Metallica fans couldn't ask for much better than that. If the end result of having two competing music games is more awesome tracks for both of them, then we say bring on the competition.[Via Joystiq]
Metallica in Guitar Hero III, not just Rock Band
In a conference call where Activision re-tooted their own horn about how much money they made so far this year, they also let it slip that Metallica would be in Guitar Hero III. The song will be One, a master track off of Metallica's ...And Justive for All album. This may sound like old news, but you're probably getting confused with Rock Band also having Metallica. Yes, it is going to be hard to keep track of what games have which songs in this holiday rhythm showdown.During the conference call Activision also said that Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the '80s was the best-selling game on its first day in Activision history. They also said they are significantly increasing guitar production to meet the expected demand of Guitar Hero III this holiday season.
GHIII lays on 6 more tracks: Sabbath, AFI, more
Activision has announced the addition of 6 more tracks to Guitar Hero III. The new tracks consist of both newer bands like AFI and Queens of the Stone Age and classic groups like Black Sabbath and Blue Oyster Cult. Check out the new tracks below. "Miss Murder," by AFI "3's and 7's," by Queens of the Stone Age "Raining Blood," by Slayer "Reptillia," by The Strokes "Paranoid," as made famous by Black Sabbath "Cities on Flame," as made famous by Blue Oyster Cult "Mississippi Queen," as made famous by Mountain As usual, pay close attention to the distinction between "by" and "as made famous by." In other words, 4 of the 7 new tracks are master recordings, leaving "Paranoid," "Cities on Flame," and "Mississippi Queen" as the only covers. We also must note that "Mississippi Queen" was featured in a leaked video of Rock Band shortly before E3 (the video has since been pulled). While its inclusion in Rock Band is far from official at this point, it will be interesting to see if Rock Band and Guitar Hero III wind up sharing songs. We've posted a list (politely cribbed from Joystiq) of the 22 officially announced tracks after the break.
Guitar Hero to add new instruments in 2008?
Analyst firm Janco is predicting that the Guitar Hero franchise could be adding to the guitar-only play of the titles come next year, in an effort to combat the upcoming MTV and Harmonix joint venture Rock Band. "We expect Guitar Hero to follow a natural product evolution by adding additional music peripherals in calender year 08," said the firm.The reasoning behind the prediction is that Janco is of the mind that due to the established Guitar Hero name, it could stand to make out better financially than Rock Band. Of course, the question arises that should Activision add other instruments to its franchise, it couldn't just go on calling it Guitar Hero still, right?[Via Gamesindustry.biz]
Guitar Hero 3 adds 'Paranoid' and six more to roster
Activision has announced more songs due to rock your socks off in Guitar Hero 3. In addition to the four previously revealed to fan community ScoreHero, the following songs were also announced: "Miss Murder," by AFI "3's and 7's," by Queens of the Stone Age "Raining Blood," by Slayer "Reptillia," by The Strokes "Paranoid," as made famous by Black Sabbath "Cities on Flame," as made famous by Blue Oyster Cult "Mississippi Queen," as made famous by Mountain We're pretty interested in seeing which tracks will also be found on Guitar Hero competitor Rock Band, from original GH developer Harmonix -- "Mississippi Queen" was previously shown in one pre-E3 video. The full list of announced tracks are listed after the break.
Sousaphone Hero not living up to expectations
Self-proclaimed "America's finest news source" The Onion reports that Activision's latest virtual-instrument title, Sousaphone Hero, isn't selling as well as the company had hoped, despite a $25M development budget, innovative wireless sousaphone controller, and versions available for PS3, 360, and Wii. Complaints range from the title's $345 price tag, repetitive gameplay, lack of non-marching-band music, and unresponsive "oompah" meter, while pro sousaphone players have taken umbrage at the lack of realism in the game. "The fingering's completely different, for starters," according to one sousaphonist The Onion interviewed. The report also says Activision is considering shelving three more planned Hero titles due to the tepid response, including the hotly-anticipated Cymbal Hero. Looks like the golden age of marching bands is truly at an end.[Via Joystiq]
The Onion: Sousaphone Hero not catching on
Sad news today for fans of Sousaphone Hero, that shining hope for lovers of video games and the great marches of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. According to satire site The Onion, the game has sold only 52 copies in its first week of release. Boy, are our faces red, especially considering we've been touting the game's promise, despite its striking resemblance to Japanese favorite SousaphoneFreaks.The publication does make some good points though, especially the one about the game costing $345, a price that was intimidating even with the pack-in spats that could sense the player's marching steps. We also understand the complaints about the 100-pound controller. Perhaps the saddest news in all of this though is that the low numbers have lead to the cancellation of Cymbal Hero, Glockenspiel Hero and Steam Calliope Hero. For lovers of oom-pah music, it would seem, the forecast is sis-boom-bad.
Library lures potential readers with video games
Beware, bibliophobes! Nefarious librarians are luring gamers into their hallowed halls with promises of Guitar Hero goodness. The Fort Dodge Messenger reports that a public library in Humboldt, Iowa is using Guitar Hero as a hook to get teens interested in reading. Gaming aficionados from local schools were invited to the library to play the rhythm music game, and peers from the library's Teen Advisory Board used the opportunity to encourage reading as an enjoyable past-time. Books? Enjoyable? Who knew?[Via GamePolitics]
DIY Guitar Hero axe, oodles of assembly required
Dissatisfied with existing Guitar Hero mods (those ones that simply swap out the circuit boards from existing GH controllers), Instructables user teebee918 decided to build a high-quality face-melting axe from scratch, using two Playstation 1 controllers, and a whole laundry-list of Home Depot parts. We're going to preemptively avoid the utter embarrassment and personal injury, and not pretend like we could do this ourselves. Everyone else, feel free to ride the DIY wave. [Via Engadget]
Crafty gamer builds PS2 Guitar Hero axe from scratch
Itching for anything Guitar Hero-related to tide your over until the third iteration hits? If you just so happen to have two unwanted PS1 controllers, a whammy bar, a few screws, a motion sensor, some wood (or similar), cutting instruments, and whole slew of other random tools (seriously, it's a lengthy list), you've got a tremendous challenge ahead. An admittedly stouthearted and presumably resolute individual managed to not only create a fully-functional PS2 Guitar Hero controller from a fairly impressive list of scrap parts, but he actually took the time to assemble a how-to guide for anyone else with enough knowledge and vacation time to do the same. Put simply, this DIY endeavor ranks pretty high up there on the complexity meter, but if you think you've got what it takes, let this be the dare that gets you started. Check out the video of the axe in action after the break.[Via HackNMod, thanks Joe]
NYT covers WSVG's CBS broadcast tomorrow
The New York Times does a quick profile of the WSVG on the eve of their CBS broadcast tomorrow afternoon. I don't know if you guys knew this, but apparently gaming has been an "odd, insular subculture," and only now are gamers stepping outside into the harsh sunlight, rays blinding their sunken-in eyes as they blink at the real world around them.Idiotic gamer stereotypes aside, the article does mention a few interesting things about how the network and the WSVG have worked together to make complicated games more accessible to an audience that may not understand them. We heard a few of the ideas, including the health bars and the "Iceblock" graphic, yesterday in our exclusive interview with WSVG President Matt Ringel (that's right, the Gray Lady is picking up WoW Insider's news scraps), but there is mention of a Guitar Hero mechanic that I hadn't heard-- at tournaments, instead of just the scoreboard, there's also a "showmanship judge" that can give points for an enthusiastic performance.Are you planning on watching the show tomorrow? I am, but not necessarily because I expect it to be amazing. Just like I sat through the terrible comic book movie of Spawn all those years ago just so we could have a great comic book movie like Batman Begins, I'm going to give them my eyeballs tomorrow so we can hopefully have some great spectator eSports in the future.
GHIII nabs DragonForce, Chili Peppers, more
The pleas of Guitar Hero fans everywhere have been answered. Yes, DragonForce will finally be featured in a Guitar Hero title, specifically Guitar Hero III. The fancy lads at ScoreHero have uncovered several new groups to be featured in the game including: The Red Hot Chili Peppers -- "Suck my Kiss" ZZ Top -- "La Grange" Iron Maiden -- "Number of the Beast" DragonForce -- "Through the Fire and Flames" Even better news, all the above tracks except "La Grange" are the master recordings. A new character by the name of Midori was also revealed, along with several new locations (we can't wait to see the Kaiju Megadome). Activision is adamant that Guitar Hero III is still a contender in the face of Rock Band. With impressive songs like these, as well as the ones we already know, they might be right.[Via Joystiq]
Activision overtakes EA as top third party publisher
Activision has surpassed EA by approximately $20 million in sales the first half of this year, making it the top third party publisher on the block. Well, that explains how they could afford to hire Jamie Kennedy to make a mockery of their press conference. If this information causes a massive "¡¿QUE?!" in your mind, Activision has done insanely well with their acquisition of Red Octane (Guitar Hero), their movie license games (which people are compelled to purchase for ungodly reasons) and franchise staples like Tony Hawk and Call of Duty.Activision made $387 million up until June, versus EA's $365 million. This would be the first time somebody else has held the top third party publisher spot in ... well, a very long time. Activision's aquisition of Red Octane was obviously a smart move on their part, as the franchise is expected to break $1 billion in sales very soon and makes up a fifth of the company's revenue with $360 million in sales this year according to analysts. For the EA fanboys, don't worry, Madden still hasn't come out this year and that game always boosts EA's bottom line.[Via Gamasutra]
The Joystiq Weekend: July 21 - 23, 2007
Why bother learning to play Guitar Hero when you can teach a robot to do it for you? (Care of Hacked Gadgets) Pretty soon, we'll just be programming robots to play all video games for us, even the upcoming Wii Fit. And when the revolution of 2021 hits, who is going to be able to challenge the computers with an Omegathon to the death? Check out the highlights for today:JoystiqueryClick, watch, swoon: Joystiq's Chris Grant on Bonus RoundJoystiq impressions: Age of Conan: Hyborian AdventuresJoystiq impressions: Rise of the ArgonautsJoystiq interviews SCEA's Phil Rosenberg and John KollerPodcast Rodeo for July 22: Britney EarsToday's most delayed-and-ambitious video: TED Spore demoToday's saltiest video: Forever BlueWeekly Webcomic Wrapup: profane editionNewsEx-Take-Twoers plead guiltyWatch Kojima, Suda 51 and Mikami chatting, blowing mindsOops: Ferrari crashes while filming PGR4 adCheckers program unbeatable by humans, other computersDave Perry: Wii won't last, gamers want prettier gamesRose & Camellia: Slap your way to gaming blissEA: Wing Commander Arena on XBLA this week for 800 pointsShining Force, Kirby's Dream Course, Devil's Crush come to Virtual ConsoleNew games this week: Guitar Hero Encore: Rock the 80's editionF.E.A.R. gets new DLC yet againSony says they're giving Epic more PS3 supportSony confirms Heavenly Sword demo in Europe this ThursdayPS3 firmware 1.90 hits Japan, Europe tomorrow, NA "coming soon"Eidos and Double Fusion enter in-game ad dealBurnout heading to your mobile phone at top speedThis Wednesday: Wing Commander Arena and Super Contra battle aliens on XBLACall of Duty 4 Xbox 360 box art features 'Storage Required' stickerPlayStation thieves located through GPSTwo-tone DS Lite, Brain Age 2 bundle coming August 20Heavenly Sword planned as trilogy, part two pennedGamecock's E3 video roundupNintendo's Harrison: Microsoft rushed Xbox 360 and Sony had to price drop PS3Super SF II Turbo HD Remix achievement open callDevelopers talk about Unreal Engine 3 lawsuitJune NPD: Nintendo WiiDS out competition, industry sales grow 31%Rumors & SpeculationRumor: Possible release dates for Call of Duty 4Atari may get the boot from NasdaqCulture & CommunityNew non-game to ignore: Doing My Best Family Finance DiaryMartha Stewart makes an edible WiiGameFAQs creator calls it quitsDIY Nintendo DS Lite rumble pakHuman Brain Cloud "proves" we think about sex more than moneyFeedback Fallout: Nintendo's Wii FitPraise be to the video game clichéKatamari creator to keynote UK's GameCityEbert admits games can be art, but not 'high art'Final Fantasy retrospective beginnings: Parts I & II[Thanks, Foolio]
June NPD: Nintendo WiiDS out competition, industry sales grow 31%
Completely unaware of the abysmal news headlines it would generate, the NPD group has released US video game sales data for the month of June. Painting a familiar picture of Nintendo perched atop a mountain of freshly printed money, the results indicate that prosperity is shared throughout the whole industry. GameDaily.BIZ reports that sales for the month are up by 31% compared to last, with half of the year showing a 43% increase over the first six months of 2006. Console hardware sales notably rose by 69% to $268 million, though portable game hardware dropped by 6%.Unsurprisingly, the top-selling system for June was the Nintendo DS, followed by waggle wonder Wii. The PSP wedged itself into third place, (thanks April price cut!), right above the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. We suspect Sony's behemoth will gain enough momentum from the recent $100-off clearance sale to break through the 100,000 sales barrier next month. That'll teach you, GBA! Nintendo DS: 561.9K Nintendo Wii: 381.8K Sony PSP: 290.1K [Updated] Sony PlayStation 2: 270.7K (via Sony press release) Microsoft Xbox 360: 198.4K Sony PlayStation 3: 98.5K [Thanks again for the image, Vince]
Joystiq hands-on: Guitar Hero III
We got a lot of information on Guitar Hero III this week, we even got some solid time with Red Octane's wireless controllers, but what about the game? You can definitely tell Guitar Hero III, from a graphics perspective, was made by Neversoft instead of Harmonix (Guitar Hero I and II). The look is just "different" for better or for worse. For better is that the mouths actually move to the song now instead of just moving up and down, plus the game looks beautiful because it was designed for now-gen systems. For worse is that it just doesn't look like the first two, even the characters we've come to know and love look, um ... different. But it's not all about the graphics in GH, it's about the gameplay and music. As for the gameplay, it's Guitar Hero, the look may have changed, but the feel is still the same. We were told that many more artists are looking to be featured on Guitar Hero now that it is such a big hit, so there are far less "as made famous by" and far more original master tracks. The most amazing of which is "Paint it Black" by the Rolling Stones. Also, "Cult of Personality" was actually re-recorded by the original band Living Colour to bring it a little bit more up-to-date for Guitar Hero III -- but it is still most definitely the original song. The tracks already revealed for Guitar Hero III show that the game won't be lacking in the rock department.For fans of the series and for those who don't know all about the Guitar Hero vs. Rock Band kerfuffle, the transition should be relatively smooth. It is Guitar Hero after all and if you already have a guitar you'll be all set, or you can purchase a wireless one, available on all systems with the game, when it releases. The only thing that could resonate badly for the title is that one of the Joystiq crew came back to the room after playing Guitar Hero, having played Rock Band as well, and said, "It's great! It's just a little lonely." But as far as being a Guitar Hero game, Guitar Hero III looks and plays fine as a continuation of the series. Now we shall go seek red doors.%Gallery-4675%