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Counting Rupees: Battle of the brands
Each week Jeff Engel and Geoff Brooks contribute Counting Rupees, a column on the business behind gaming: When Guitar Hero 3 launched last year it was an immediate success, selling out at a fairly quick pace throughout the holiday season. Following just behind it was Rock Band, selling very well, but not nearly as quickly as Guitar Hero. So far, all versions of Guitar Hero III have sold about 9.1M copies, versus just roughly 1.5M for Rock Band. Of course, part of the discrepancy lies in the fact that Rock Band launched on two platforms while Guitar Hero 3 launched on four, but that is about to be remedied with Harmonix's recent announcement of Rock Band for Wii. While Rock Band was a more ambitious game and representative of an evolution of the music game, it did seem like Activision may have made the right choice in buying the Guitar Hero publisher (and thus the Guitar Hero brand), but not the developer. With so much brand awareness already built into Guitar Hero, was there any way that Harmonix could possibly top the original creation that it no longer owned the rights to?
Activision and RedOctane send guitar faceplates to Guitar Hero III owners
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/nintendo/Activision_says_it_s_sorry_to_GH3_Wii_owners'; Activision has made some mistakes with the Wii edition of Guitar Hero III, and it probably wasn't all too much fun for game owners to send in their discs and await fixed copies. The company, along with RedOctane, are trying to get back into people's good graces, though, by sending a free guitar faceplate to people who've replaced their discs.We think this is a great move on Activision's part, especially since they didn't announce their good will publicly. It's nice that they're trying to compensate gamers for the inconvenience they've caused, considering they could have done nothing but fix the problem at hand -- that's what we call good customer service. From what we understand, the faceplates will arrive a few weeks after customers get their fixed editions.So, what do you say, Guitar Hero owners? Will you forgive Activision, or will the company still be sleeping on the couch tonight?To see Activision and RedOctane's love note to customers, check past the break.
Good music possible in Guitar Hero: Aerosmith
In addition to the rumored (but now unlikely, according to the RedOctane press release) drum and microphone compatibility, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith may have one other saving grace: bands that are better than Aerosmith. Buried in the original press release is a note that you'll be able to play not only Aerosmith songs, but also "songs from celebrated artists that the band has either performed with or has been inspired by in some way." USA Today mentions "opening acts" in a blurb about the game, and a Best Buy flyer says that you'll be able to "rock out with Aerosmith and all their favorite bands." Hopefully all of Aerosmith's favorite bands are not also Aerosmith. An Aerosmith fansite even goes so far as to say "think Run-DMC." We would like to think that, thank you. Aerosmith has, of course, performed with Run-DMC.There's also the unfortunate possibility that the "opening act bands" featured in the game could be worse than Aerosmith, but that seems statistically unlikely. And don't forget, even with other bands, it'll be hard to avoid Aerosmith in a game called Guitar Hero: Aerosmith.
Red Octane lets loose separate Wii Guitar Hero III controller
It looks like Wii users wanting to expand their Guitar Hero arsenal (or replace an axe after they got a little too into things) won't have to wait much longer, as Red Octane is now set to let loose a separate wireless Les Paul controller for the system. It doesn't exactly come cheap, however, with the company listing the controller at $70 on its own website, although Toys R Us is now taking pre-orders for $60 (Best Buy and others don't seem to be offering it just yet). What's more, while Red Octane only goes so far as say "ETA: March 2008," Toys R Us is giving a ship date of March 4th, so it looks like this one should be landing in your capable hands in no time.Read - Red OctaneRead - Toys R Us[Thanks, Nic]
Rock Band bundle only $149 at Target this week
If the price is the only thing holding you back from Rock Band, then you might want to swing buy your local Target sometime this week. Starting today, Target's offering the PS3 and 360 versions of the special edition bundle for $149 USD, $20 off the normal price. The offer's only good from the 17th to the 23rd, and sadly doesn't apply to the PS2 version. Despite those setbacks, it's still the cheapest we've seen the Rock Band bundle thus far. If you've already purchased the game, maybe this is a sign to buy it for a friend (or your favorite blogger who might have a birthday coming up...)[Thanks, Jon B]
Two feet, two guitars, one interesting Guitar Hero phenomenon
Have no friends? No self-respect? No foot fungus? Then the below video of an unorthodox method for playing two Guitar Hero parts at once might just be for you!When tipster Rob first sent us this extraordinary video, we thought it was somewhat unique. Apparently, though, playing Guitar Hero with your feet became a minor internet trend while we weren't looking. Some wimp out by only doing a solo part, or using their hands for one of the parts. Some use their feet out of necessity, others out of camaraderie. Some take it seriously and some just ham it up. But all of them use their feet for a game that ostensibly requires hands.One other thing seems constant too... they all pretty much suck. Unsurprisingly, hitting those fret buttons with your stinky toes makes it nearly impossible to play on anything past Easy difficulty ... and even then it's no bed of roses. Think you can prove us wrong? Send us your video of Expert-level, foot-controlled Guitar Hero and we guarantee you a spot of internet semi-fame on this very page. To those about to rock with their feet ... we salute you.
PS2 guitar pedal allows for precision rocking
Sure, everyone loves activating star power and wailing on the whammy bar in Guitar Hero. But for a certain, incredibly anal subset of players, these actions and their distracting arm movements represent potential streak killers. Well, those finicky gamers are in luck, because peripheral maker React has now released a foot pedal that transfers those pesky arm motions to your feet, which were just sitting there tapping out a rhythm before. The wireless pedals, which require 4 AA batteries and work with any PS2 guitar, might seem steep at $25, but they're a bargain for the truly compulsive GH player. As the sole Best Buy reviewer put it, "I bought this pedal primarily because activating Star Power by raising my guitar usually results in missed notes." And was we all know, rock music is about exacting precision above all else. [Thanks Dan]
Activision opens pre-registration for Guitar Hero Wii replacement discs
For those of you who own the Wii version of Guitar Hero III and figured out you couldn't hear what the other speaker was saying, Activision is slowly beginning to remedy Guiter Hero Wii's mono sound. There is now a page up on the Activision's support site with information to pre-register for a replacement disc. The pre-registration is available for North American customers only, and the site claims new discs will be available in "early 2008." If you don't feel like pre-registering at this time, there is also a notification by email option for receiving updates on the situation. Guitar Hero Wii's mono sound should find a nice place in "How'd the heck that happen?" History, right next to Dead Rising's teenie tiny text.
Dad finds son smoking pot, attacks his weak point for massive damage
When eBay seller k_lid found his fifteen-year-old son Isaac smoking marijuana on the patio with two of his "delinquent friends," he did what any respectable parent would do: he calmly removed his son's copy of Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock from beneath the Christmas tree, and put it up for sale on eBay, complete with a lengthy description about why it was being auctioned.With the listing underway, all that was left to do was show the auction page to Isaac, who apparently "was not amused" by the sight of his number one Christmas present going on sale. Funny, that.But kudos to k_lid, we say. That's a pretty calculating, imaginative punishment, and there's nothing wrong with a bit of tough love. Didn't do us any harm. Apart from the panic attacks. And the nightmares. And the endless twitching.[Thanks, Chris!]
Guitar Hero Mobile trailer is unsurprisingly terrible
You know it's a bad sign when the trailer for a game only uses six seconds of gameplay footage. To be fair, what did you expect? When we first heard the idea of Guitar Hero on a cell phone, we scoffed so hard that we needed to sit down. You may feel just like Hendrix as you shred on your touch-tone pad, but something tells us if we saw anyone actually playing this in public, it would look like they were trying to disarm a tiny cellular bomb.
Red Octane VP excuses axe incompatibility, blames Rock Band issues
Alright, try to stay with us here. Guitar Hero III's axe works just fine with Rock Band, but only the Xbox 360 hardware -- and Rock Band's guitar won't play the first note on any flavor of GHIII. Yeah, it's a bit confusing, but apparently the folks over at 1UP were downright tired of being dizzy, and phoned up Guitar Hero publisher Red Octane's co-founder and VP of Business Development, Charles Huang, to chat about the totally confusing compatibility quandary. We fully understand the complexities in getting the instruments to work with other games, as well as the potential business impact, but Mr. Huang chose to take a different route in explaining why no Guitar Hero title would accept a Rock Band controller. He was quoted as saying that Red Octane wasn't "too interested in having [Harmonix] guitars work on its game, because [Harmonix is] having a lot of issues with its guitars." Of course, this logic begins to fall apart when you realize there was absolutely no compatibility even before these malfunctions came to light. Nice try, though.[Via DailyTech]
Wii Guitar Hero III getting DLC and replacement discs
It's pretty clear that the Wii version of Activision's rockstar simulator is the ugly stepsister of the Guitar Hero III family (aside from the PS2 version, but who plays those things anymore) -- it's got no downloadable content, requires friend codes for online play, is sans Grim Ripper, and to top it all off, it only transmits sound monaurally. However, Activision is not neglecting its rockers of the tiny white box, as it has announced that it will be offering remastered game discs early 2008, and will also enable DLC for the system sometime next year.The new, stereo-enabled discs will be free of charge through Activision, though they haven't announced exactly when they'd be available, or how they would be shipped out. Also, we're not exactly certain how DLC will work on the system (our Wii's system memory is already bogged down by VC gems like Donkey Kong Jr. Math and Urban Champion), but RedOctane is reportedly working feverishly with Nintendo to figure out a method of getting new songs on the Wii. Apparently, trying to wish them onto the system hasn't been working out very well.Read - Guitar Hero III Wii DLC Expected Next YearRead - Fix Coming For Wii's Guitar Hero III Mono Problem[Via 1UP]
Harmonix discusses the origins of Guitar Hero
Just as it should be, Guitar Hero's genesis began not with a bang, not with a whimper, but with a guitar. Inspired by the popularity of the Guitar Freaks franchise in Japan, peripheral manufacturer RedOctane approached developer Harmonix with one question: if we make an awesome guitar, will you make an awesome game for it?With that, Guitar Hero was born, and it was good. Gamasutra has posted an excerpted interview with Guitar Hero's lead designer Rob Kay, from Iain Simmons' new book, Inside Game Design. The interview discusses how Guitar Hero evolved from a pretense to manufacture guitar controllers to one of the greatest games of all time. Simmons' book contains the rest of the interview, as well as development sketches, profiles and interviews with other industry giants like Valve, Bizarre Creations, and Keita Takahashi. Sounds like a great holiday gift for that special gamer in your life.
Pachter predicts 7.5 million Guitar Hero units sold by year's end
And as Atreyu mourned the loss of Artax, the great Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter emerged from the Swamps of Sadness to dispense some relatively happy predictions for Activision stock holders. Pachter believes Guitar Hero will sell 7.5 million units this year and will begin to see declining sales next year due to Rock Band competition. He guesstimates the Guitar Hero franchise will generate $550 million for Activision this fiscal year.Pachter expects decent revenues from Spider-Man and Shrek sequels for Activision's fiscal year '09 and sees their new James Bond game generating between $100 -150 million in sales. But Guitar Hero is Activision's great source of revenue and imperative in keeping them in the #1 US publisher spot.
The Romantics sue over 'virtually indistinguishable' cover in Guitar Hero '80s
What I like about you, is you really know how to sue. The Romantics are suing Activision, Harmonix, and Red Octane over their song "What I like About You" in Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the '80s because -- and try not to laugh -- the cover of their song sounds too much like them! The Romantics want to halt the sale of the game (their lawyers use the fancy term "enjoin") and want accounting of all profits from the game, along with unspecified "compensatory and punitive" damages. That's totally tubular dude!The suit alleges that the cover of their song used in the game is "virtually indistinguishable from the authentic version" and therefore would confuse the consumer. Ironically, if said consumer heard the song on the game and liked it, the version they would 99.9% be purchasing is The Romantics original version -- as cover artist "Wavegroup Sound" probably won't be found in the local HMV or on iTunes. We don't know the real technicalities of an issue such as this, but we're pretty damn sure that all corporations involved in the production of the title made sure to get the license to use it. So, yeah, um, dear rhythm game developers, for fear of getting sued, please make sure all future covers you do for songs are really, really, bad. Update: Heh, what do you know, Wavegroup's version is on iTunes. Now nobody will buy The Romantics version. Doomed, they're doomed we says. Mwahahahaha.[Thanks, Qkthr]
Velvet Revolver, Foo Fighters Guitar Hero III track packs hit Xbox Live
We think the signs are pretty clear now that Activision isn't taking the threat from Rock Band lying down. Just a bit more than a week after Guitar Hero III was released, we already have two meaty song packs to download through Xbox Live and enjoy.For 500 points ($6.25) you can get either a Foo Fighters pack that includes "The Pretender" from the new album "Echoes Silence Patience & Grace", "All My Life" and "This Is A Call" or the Velvet Revolver pack, with "She Builds Quick Machines","Slither" and "Messages". Each of the packs are by the original artists. With a nice boost like this to the track listing before the old songs have even gone stale, it's clear Red Octane is playing for keeps. ... You may not want to count Guitar Hero out just yet.Update: Activision has also announced that boss battle anthems and "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" will be downloadable (for free!) later this month for play outside the game's Career mode.
You don't say: Guitar Hero III bringing in the big bucks
Earlier today, Activision announced Q2 revenues of $318 million, a 69% increase on the same period last year.Now, those figures alone are worthy of applause, if that kind of thing floats your boat. However, the recent release of Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock on the Wii (and, y'know, some other consoles you may have heard of) is tipped to boost Q3 earnings to unprecedented levels, with many expecting Activision to shatter the $1 billion mark in net revenue. And sure enough, despite the odd issue, the game has made a fine start in the US, with Activision crowing today about first week revenues of $115m.Of course, it's not exclusively the Wii version of Guitar Hero III that will have contributed to that mind-boggling number, but you can bet your bottom dollar it will have played its part, thanks to the sheer ubiquity of the Wii, not to mention its popularity at social occasions. So "yay" for the Wii, "yay" for Guitar Hero, and "yay" for capitalism. A winning combination.Incidentally, don't forget that Legends of Rock headbangs its way into Australasia tomorrow, while Europeans will be rocking out from November 23.[Via Joystiq]
Slash & Poison launch Guitar Hero III in Los Angeles
Slash, Poison, the casts of Reaper, Chuck, and that chick with the awesome power to learn things by watching them on TV from Heroes were just a few of the celebrities who helped launch Guitar Hero III at a Best Buy in Los Angeles this past Saturday night. They also had a really awesome launch party up on the roof, which included different stations where each version of the game were set up, free food and booze (a rock and roll staple), and a concert from Poison, complete with the Burning Man-esque stage from the game.However, proving that every rose does indeed have its thorn, the upstairs roof-raising party wasn't open to the general public. So while the masses waited below to buy their copies at midnight, the red carpet and velvet rope brigade partied upstairs on sushi, BBQ, and Red Bull. Just like the real rock and roll world. Check out video from the event after the jump, along with some sneak peeks from our gallery. So, how many of you picked up a copy on Sunday?%Gallery-9284%
Guitar Hero III's wireless guitar battery pack costs you more moolah
For all the innovation that the "new-gen" of consoles have brought us, there's one thing that will apparently never change: ridiculously over-priced accessories. Giving the wireless Guitar Hero III controller a feature it should have had from the get go is the $19.99 single recharge kit, which removes the need to use and dispose of single-use batteries. This continues on from the precedent that Microsoft set with its wireless controller, which only comes bundled with a case to stick a couple of AA batteries inside. You can grudgingly pick up this necessary but over-priced accessory on October 31st from Red Octane's store.
Hear GH3's fiddle-free version of 'The Devil Went Down to Georgia'
Though we already knew "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" was going to be in Guitar Hero 3 we didn't realize it was going to be the final track (the end boss, if you will). A helpful press release just informed us of the distinction while pointing us to this MP3 file of the now fiddle-free version. Gone is the violin and in its stead is, of course, a guitar – a fast guitar – played by one Mr. Steve Ouimette who, when asked for comment said, "I told you once, you son of a bitch, I'm the best that's ever been."Peep the entire track list to date after the break (with helpful YouTube links!).
