Guitar Hero 5 and Band Hero: March DLC
Next month’s Guitar Hero 5 and Band Hero DLC should satisfy would-be rockers of all types, offering an eclectic mix of – oh, there’s totally some Flogging Molly! Sorry, we just had to get that out of our system, because St. Patrick’s Day is next month and because, man, Flogging Molly is totally awesome.
There are four distinct track packs coming next month, featuring OK Go, Blink-182, the aforementioned Molly Floggers and an ’80s track pack — because nothing says March like a dusty old denim jacket with the sleeves cut off and some Night Ranger.
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Guitar Hero 5 and Band Hero: March DLC originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 25 Feb 2010 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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It’s a dim Friday for Guitar Hero Black Sabbath DLC
Were you looking forward to playing some Black Sabbath songs in Guitar Hero 5 this weekend? Of course you were — that sounds awesome. Anyway, it’s not going to happen. (And, it’s certainly not happening for you either, Band Heroes — whoever you are.)
Before the scheduled Thursday release of three tracks from Black Sabbath’s Master of Reality album, Activision announced on its Guitar Hero Facebook page that the DLC wouldn’t make its appointed release date, and added, “We hope to have the content available for download at a later date, so stay tuned!”
We were going to say, maybe the DLC was turned into steel in a great magnetic field, but, unfortunately, Iron Man isn’t one of the songs in the pack. (Although, it would appear we just said it anyway.) We’re checking in with Activision to find out what happened.
It’s a dim Friday for Guitar Hero Black Sabbath DLC originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 19 Feb 2010 12:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Luxoflux shuttered as layoffs hit Activision dev studios, publisher confirms
Reports began circulating this morning about major layoffs at a handful of Activision-owned development studios, affecting as much as half of Radical Entertainment’s staff (Prototype), an undisclosed amount of Neversoft employees (Guitar Hero, Tony Hawk), and the entirety of Luxoflux (Tranformers). An Activision rep confirmed two former studio layoffs to us this afternoon, though a representative didn’t city any official numbers — the rep also told us he could “confirm the closure of Luxoflux.”
The full, significantly more vague, company statement given out to everyone reads: “Activision Publishing continually evaluates its resources to ensure that they are properly matched against its product slate and strategic goals. In 2010, the company’s SKU count will be smaller than in 2009 driven in part, by a decrease in the number of music-based games we will be releasing. As we discussed on our earnings conference call yesterday, we are directing our resources against the largest and most profitable business segments, and as part of this initiative, we are realigning our resources to better reflect our slate and the market opportunities. At the same time, we are increasing our digital/online capabilities as we expect that digital/online will continue to become a more meaningful part of our business model in the years ahead.”
Luxoflux shuttered as layoffs hit Activision dev studios, publisher confirms originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 11 Feb 2010 18:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Wii to fret over ‘Rock of the Dead’
All you really need to know about Rock of the Dead is that it’s — as the developers at Epicenter (Real Heroes: Firefighters) describe — Typing of the Dead meets Guitar Hero. Judging by the build demonstrated to IGN, the game allows you to use a Rock Band or Guitar Hero ax to chop through the legions of the undead. Obviously, a guitar peripheral will be mandatory, though the developer is preparing contingency plan should Nintendo frown upon the requirement.
There’s quite a bit of nerdy star power behind the game, with Neil Patrick Harris voicing the main character and Felicia Day featuring as the love interest. Rock of the Dead, which aims for a “cheesy/campy” feel throughout, will be budget-priced between $30 and $40 when it shambles into retail “late spring or early summer.”
[Via 1UP]
Wii to fret over ‘Rock of the Dead’ originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 11 Feb 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Activision severely cutting music game releases in 2010
Activision plans to cut down on the number of Hero games in 2010. According to Activision Publishing CEO Mike Griffith in a conference call, the company expects the music game business to decline further as “the casual consumer proves less robust” and people are saturated enough with instrument controllers that they start buying only new discs.
“Fewer SKUs will service a broader audience,” Griffith said. “In 2009 we released 25 music SKUs, and in 2010 we plan to release less than 10.” The cuts will come in the form of PS2 versions and Band Hero bundles (leaving only standalone discs for that game), as the company focuses on Guitar Hero and DJ Hero releases in the “back half of the year.”
That 25 SKU number, by the way, is a pretty conservative estimate. We added up just each console version of Guitar Hero Metallica, Guitar Hero Smash Hits, Guitar Hero 5, Guitar Hero Van Halen, Guitar Hero On Tour Modern Hits, DJ Hero, and Band Hero — not counting various instrument bundles or special editions, and not counting cell phone versions — and came up with 26. If you were to add things like the Renegade Edition of DJ Hero and add standalone disc releases to instrument bundles, that number would go up significantly.
Activision severely cutting music game releases in 2010 originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 10 Feb 2010 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Guitar Hero 5 and Band Hero: February DLC
Things took a step towards the alternative in last month’s Guitar Hero 5 and Band Hero DLC offerings, but it seems February will see the games’ downloadable music get back on the path of straight-up rock. We’ll be seeing new (old) jams from 30 Seconds to Mars, Breaking Benjamin, Third-Eye Blind and Black Sabbath. We personally can’t wait to see Taylor Swift cover Ozzy’s part on “Sweet Leaf.”
All track packs will be available for $5.49 on PS3, 550 Wii Points or 440
on Xbox 360. In addition, all songs will be available seperately for $1.99, 200 Wii Points or 160. Head past the break for the complete list of February’s downloadable songs.
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Guitar Hero 5 and Band Hero: February DLC originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 29 Jan 2010 01:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Rhythm game devs: genre hasn’t peaked, user-generated content is key
In the latest issue of Edge Magazine, Harmonix head Alex Rigopulos and Neversoft project director Brian Bright both speak out regarding the current state of rhythm-music gaming. As you might imagine, neither developer thinks that the genre is flatlining. In fact, Rigopulos even believes that “future music games will exceed the sales success of the last generation.”
Surprisingly, though, while each heads up their own approach to the genre, the two seem to be in near-direct agreement on the next step for their franchises. “User-generated content will be absolutely critical to the ongoing success of the genre, I think,” Rigopulos says. Bright echoes his statement, saying, “I think user-created content is key to the evolution … if you can’t create or edit licensed music due to copyright laws, then you’re limited to pretending to play someone else’s music.”
That said, each developer differs in their definition of exactly what that “user-created content” will be. In the case of Rigopulos, he believes the Rock Band Network and its potentially “huge community of power-users — skilled music creators” will be his company’s next “defining moment.” Bright is less sure of a plan, simply stating, “I think the key is to create music, but make it compelling to create, so the game is in the creation.”
Rhythm game devs: genre hasn’t peaked, user-generated content is key originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 25 Jan 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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NPD: Wii Play is best selling ‘game’ of all time in the US
If there’s a statistic measuring how well a game sold, you’re likely to find Wii Play lingering in it somewhere. It’s not only been the best-selling game of 2009, but also just recently made itself known as the top seller for the last decade. Now, according to NPD data (via GameSpot), the software-hardware hybrid has claimed another throne: top-selling non-PC US game ever.
It’s a pretty prestigious list and while no exact figures are listed (save for the bundle’s October performance, selling a whopping 11.1 million units in that month alone), the other games listed should give you an indication of just how many homes Wii Play has invaded. Taking second place is Guitar Hero III, the first game to earn $1 billion in revenue, followed by Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. The others in the top ten are generally expected, including Activision’s other $1 billion earner, Modern Warfare 2 (notable because, damn, that was fast!), along with a pair of other Call of Duty games. Head over to GameSpot for the full list.
NPD: Wii Play is best selling ‘game’ of all time in the US originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 20 Jan 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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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.
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Guitar Hero 5 and Band Hero: January DLC originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 07 Jan 2010 12:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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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.
GM-1 connects real drums to Guitar Hero, Rock Band originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 06 Jan 2010 10:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Top 10 Best Selling Games
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