Axl Rose's Guitar Hero 3 lawsuit dismissed

by Richard Mitchell on Feb 11th 2013 12:30PM

The last vestige of Guns N Roses lead singer Axl Rose's lawsuit against Activision has been dismissed, reports the San Marino Tribune. Originally filed in 2010, Rose's suit alleged that Guitar Hero 3 associated the song "Welcome to the Jungle" with former GNR guitarist Slash. According to Rose, the association constituted both fraud and breach of contract.

The judge tossed the fraud claim out of court last year, as the statute of limitations had expired. According to today's report, Judge Charles Palmer has dismissed the breach of contract claim as well.

Thus ends another case in the litany of lawsuits filed against Activision over its music games. Let's recount, shall we?

Oh, and as for the Guitar Hero franchise itself: Dead.

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Bobby Kotick talks Guitar and DJ Hero, the fall and the coming rise

by Jessica Conditt on Jul 23rd 2011 4:30PM

Bobby Kotick earned more than $4.4 billion through Activision Blizzard last year, which means his business success is obvious -- but so are his failures. In an interview with Forbes, Kotick described the downfall of the Guitar Hero and DJ Hero franchises with the kind of detail that can only come from lying awake every night for four years straight, obsessing over what went wrong.

"So we bought the company, and after a few iterations of the game it became one of the most successful games of all time," Kotick said. "And then we didn't really take the time that we usually take to understand audience behavior.... But we created this critically acclaimed, highly rated game -- and these are the hardest failures, when you put your heart and soul into it and you deliver an extraordinarily well received game, and nobody shows up to buy it. So that's what happened with DJ Hero. At the same time we were so excited about going down this new direction with DJ Hero, I think we abandoned a bit of the innovation that was required in the Guitar Hero franchise.

"And so it was the double whammy of DJ Hero was unsuccessful, and then Guitar Hero became unsuccessful because it didn't have any nourishment and care."

Kotick said ending the music-game franchises was a smart move, but that doesn't mean they'll be gone forever. "So we're going to take the products out of the market, and we're not going to tell anybody what we're doing for awhile, but we're going to stop selling Guitar Hero altogether," Kotick said. "And then we're going to go back to the studios and we're going to use new studios and reinvent Guitar Hero. And so that's what we're doing with it now."

Kotick promised Activision Blizzard listens to its consumers and will use fan input to innovate Guitar and DJ Hero. That Kotick plans to resurrect the series must mean some fans, somewhere, are inputting something other than "Kill it, Kotick."

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Activision claims Guitar Hero only 'on hiatus,' gets new DLC

by Alexander Sliwinski on Apr 13th 2011 6:30PM

A dramatic reinterpretation:

Activision CEO Bobby Kotick: But we killed the Guitar Hero franchise.

Miracle Max: Ooh-hoo-hoo, look who knows so much. Guitar Hero is only mostly dead, which means it's slightly alive. See, mostly dead I can work with. Even your own veep Dan Winters just said the franchise was only "on hiatus -- we're not ending it."

Kotick: But we disbanded the Guitar Hero business unit!

Miracle Max: Didn't you hear me? Slightly alive. Now, all dead? Well, if Guitar Hero was all dead there's usually only one thing that you can do ...

Kotick: What's that?

Miracle Max: Go through its catalog of unreleased DLC and gather up the loose change.

New Guitar Hero Music Library additions:
"Lifelong Dayshift" – Middle Class Rut ($1.99)"New Low" – Middle Class Rut ($1.99)"Sad To Know" – Middle Class Rut ($1.99)"Middle Class Rut Track Pack" ($5.49)"Savor The Kill" – Darkest Hour ($1.99)"Beyond The Life You Know" – Darkest Hour ($1.99)"Doomsayer" – Darkest Hour ($1.99)"Darkest Hour Track Pack" ($5.49)"Hey Superstar" – Madina Lake ($1.99)"Ignorance" – Paramore ($1.99)"Across 5 Oceans" – Madina Lake ($1.99)"That's What You Get" – Paramore ($1.99)"Emo Edge Track Pack" ($7.49)
[Image credit: MGM; source: Netflix Move Fans]

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Silent Hill composer's guitar auctioned for Japan relief

by David Hinkle on Mar 30th 2011 9:05AM

What's scarier, being absolutely broke or regretting never taking a chance to have a piece of video game history? An auction for Akira Yamaoka's guitar and FX amps, which were used to create the audio atmosphere for a little franchise called Silent Hill, is currently underway on eBay (and will last for five days).

The auction is part of Play for Japan, a coordinated effort to present consumers and gamers with means to help the relief effort in Japan. If you partake, you'll not only feel good about donating money to Japan, but you'll possibly give this guitar a new home and outlook on life, one filled with joy, sunshine and family -- not giant death bunnies and other unspeakable horrors.

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Nine more DLC tracks make it to Guitar Hero

by JC Fletcher on Mar 8th 2011 3:00PM

The good news is that Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock DLC continues, thanks to enthusiasm from fans. The bad news is that the DLC schedule's life has been extended just long enough to enable the release of Trapt's "Headstrong." Perhaps the series is better off dead ...

Okay, that's not fair to the eight songs in today's "Mega Pack" that aren't "Headstrong" -- or to the fact that for DLC that we didn't think would exist a couple of weeks ago, a nine-song pack is pretty generous. Check out the full lineup after the break.
Modern Rock Mega Pack ( 1320 Microsoft Points, $16.49, 1650 Wii Points)
"Sorrow" by Bad Religion (160 MSP, $1.99, 200 Wii Points)"Sic Transit Gloria... Glory Fades" by Brand New (160 MSP, $1.99, 200 Wii Points)"She's A Genius" by Jet (160 MSP, $1.99, 200 Wii Points)"Supermassive Black Hole" by Muse (160 MSP, $1.99, 200 Wii Points)"Psycho" by Puddle Of Mudd (160 MSP, $1.99, 200 Wii Points)"Little Sister" by Queens Of The Stone Age (160 MSP, $1.99, 200 Wii Points)"Always" by Saliva (160 MSP, $1.99, 200 Wii Points)"Hands Open" by Snow Patrol (160 MSP, $1.99, 200 Wii Points)"Headstrong" by Trapt (160 MSP, $1.99, 200 Wii Points)

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NPD: Guitar Hero 3 is this generation's highest-grossing game

by JC Fletcher on Mar 25th 2011 10:15AM

Call of Duty: Black Ops might be the best-selling game by unit sales, but it isn't the US bestseller in terms of gross revenue. According to NPD data going back to 1995, and compiled by CNBC, the honor of the highest-grossing game of "this generation" goes to another Activision game, the Axl Rose-angering Guitar Hero 3: Legends of Rock. Black Ops is #2.

The list of the NPD's top ten best-selling games by revenue (after the break) includes a second Guitar Hero game, too -- R.I.P. -- along with Rock Band and both Wii Fits, which suggests that the best way to make a lot of revenue is simply to make your game cost more. Although Wii Play and Mario Kart Wii are also on the list, so maybe people just really like finding peripherals inside their game boxes, like cereal box prizes.

Top 10 Best-Selling Games of "This Generation" (By Gross Sales)

Guitar Hero 3: Legends of RockCall of Duty: Black OpsWii FitCall of Duty: Modern Warfare 2Rock BandWii Play (with Wii Remote)Guitar Hero: World TourWii Fit PlusMario Kart (with wheel)Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare

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More Guitar Hero and DJ Hero DLC coming thanks to 'continued support' from fans

by Griffin McElroy on Feb 26th 2011 5:00PM

Though the DLC well for the Guitar Hero and DJ Hero franchises was supposed to dry up at the end of this month, it seems that Activision's not quite ready to retire the ol' pump (or bucket, depending on how old-timey the well in question is). The official Twitter feeds for both series have announced that more DLC is planned for their respective stores, citing "continued support" from their communities for the change in position.

Both feeds promised that more information about the new content is coming "soon" -- we'll let you know when we learn more. That is, after we scold Activision for playing with our emotions so recklessly. Seriously, this is like the time our parents told us our hamster died, and then a week later, told us that they were just kidding about the hamster thing, only we later found out that, yes, our hamster was actually totally dead the whole time.

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Heroic sacrifices: The companies behind Guitar Hero

The Guitar Hero series touched many people, and not just by strapping plastic guitars to them. As the series reached its absurd heights of success, it caused more game developers to enter into the service of note charts and extreme rocker-dude 3D models.

And now that Activision has stopped production on the Guitar Hero series and closed that business unit, we can look back at how it affected the people who made it -- the companies who either moved on or were chewed up and spat out by the Guitar Hero monster.

Harmonix Music Systems

Before Guitar Hero: The small Massachusetts-based company, started by two MIT grads who met while experimenting with musical toys at MIT's Media Lab, created two music games for Sony, FreQuency and Amplitude, along with Karaoke Revolution and the non-musical EyeToy: Antigrav. In 2005, Harmonix partnered with RedOctane to release the peripheral-based music game, Guitar Hero.

After Guitar Hero: Harmonix broke with the Guitar Hero series in 2007, having made three games in the series. Activision had acquired RedOctane, and Viacom bought Harmonix, who then went on to create the Rock Band series, to be published by Viacom's MTV Games and distributed by EA Partners. Rock Band is based on the same concept as Guitar Hero, with instruments simulating a full rock band. This year, Viacom sold Harmonix to investment firm Columbus Nova, who then formed the new "Harmonix SBE Holdings Inc."

RedOctane

Before Guitar Hero: RedOctane operated a game rental and sale website, and manufactured unlicensed peripherals including dance pads and arcade sticks. It moved into game publishing in 2005 with In the Groove, and followed up with Guitar Hero. In 2006, following the success of Guitar Hero, RedOctane was acquired by Activision.

After Guitar Hero: RedOctane was shuttered in February 2010, with only staff related to instrument development and founders Kai and Charles Huang remaining at Activision in an unknown capacity.

Neversoft

Before Guitar Hero: Neversoft, developer of a licensed Skeleton Warriors game for Sega Saturn and the Bruce Willis-fronted Apocalypse, hit it big with the Tony Hawk Pro Skater series it created with Activision, and the Spider-Man games made in the same engine. Following the departure of Harmonix from the Guitar Hero series, the Activision-owned Neversoft stepped in and went on to develop nine games in the series.

After Guitar Hero: After suffering layoffs in early 2010, Neversoft remains at Activision, though its current activity is unknown. A job listing from last year suggested that the studio was working on an "action shooter." Activision ended Neversoft's long-running Tony Hawk franchise at the same time it ended Guitar Hero.

Vicarious Visions

Before Guitar Hero: After winning IGF awards for its game Terminus, the company spent its time porting games like Tony Hawk and Spider-Man to other platforms, in addition to developing Spider-Man 2: Enter Electro for PlayStation and several licensed portable games. It was acquired by Activision in 2005, and brought onto the Guitar Hero franchise in 2007. Vicarious Visions ported Guitar Hero III, World Tour, Aerosmith, Guitar Hero 5, Band Hero, and Warriors of Rock to Wii, and is the creator of the Guitar Hero: On Tour games for DS, which use a four-button "Guitar Grip" peripheral also designed by VV. The company's handheld legacy continued with DJ Hero 3D, a 3DS game shown at E3 2010.

After Guitar Hero: VV reportedly lost around 50 employees to layoffs in this month's Guitar Hero business shutdown. However, with new Transformers games announced, it's likely VV will work on the Wii and DS versions, as it did for Transformers: War for Cybertron.

Beenox

Before Guitar Hero: The Quebecois company worked primarily porting licensed games from consoles to Windows and Mac OS, before being acquired by Activision in 2005 and taking on the similarly-named Bee Movie Game. Beenox developed one Guitar Hero game for Activision, the multiplatform Guitar Hero: Smash Hits, which was a collection of past Guitar Hero songs remade for a full band setup.

After Guitar Hero: Beenox is perhaps the best off compared to any of the companies involved with Guitar Hero (aside from Activision, of course). In addition to Smash Hits, Beenox developed Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions (based on the Spider-Man tie-in franchise originated by Neversoft and Vicarious Visions); Activision announced in early 2011 that Beenox would be in charge of the Spider-Man franchise for the foreseeable future. Its next Spidey game is due this year.

Underground Development

Before Guitar Hero: Underground Development was originally known as Z-Axis, a name under which it received some acclaim for creating the Dave Mirra BMX series, and some ridicule for creating BMX XXX. Activision purchased the studio in 2004, and the name changed in 2008 -- presumably to reflect the change from developing original games to the studio's new role assisting with Guitar Hero games and ports. UD was in charge of the development of Guitar Hero: Van Halen, released in December 2009 (and a couple of months earlier as a freebie with Guitar Hero 5).

After Guitar Hero: UD's last game was Guitar Hero: Van Halen; in February 2010, when Activision announced its intention to release fewer Guitar Hero games, it closed the studio.

Budcat Creations

Before Guitar Hero: The Iowa City-based Budcat was a company formed in 2000 by two EA Tiburon vets, which started off working on NFL and NASCAR titles for EA. It handled the PS2 port of Psychonauts for Majesco, and also built the mostly original Blast Works for Wii, which took elements of ABA Games' TUMIKI Fighters and expanded it into a much larger game, with a full level editor and online sharing. After working on the PS2 version of Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, Budcat was purchased by Activision and set to work porting Guitar Hero games to PS2 (and, in the case of Guitar Hero: Metallica, Wii).

After Guitar Hero: Two years after Activision purchased Budcat, it shut down Budcat as part of an effort to "streamline [its] music development resources."

FreeStyleGames

Before Guitar Hero: The developer of the PSP break-dancing game B-Boy was formed in England in 2002. In addition to that dancing game, it made two Buzz Jr. titles. Activision purchased FreeStyleGames in 2008 to assist with Guitar Hero DLC, and also to create the spinoff spinning game DJ Hero, which was released in fall 2009.

After Guitar Hero: FreeStyleGames made a second DJ Hero game, released in fall 2010. A 3DS game based on the DJ Hero franchise originated by FSG was shown at E3 2010, with Vicarious Visions in charge.

7 Studios

Before Guitar Hero: 7 Studios developed Pirates of the Caribbean: The Legend of Jack Sparrow, published by Bethesda, Napoleon Dynamite, published by Crave, and other licensed games. 7 Studios had signed on to develop a turntable-based music game, Scratch: The Ultimate DJ, for Genius Products and Numark. Activision bought 7 in 2009, which started a protracted legal battle in which Genius accused Activision and 7 of conspiring to delay the completion of Scratch for the benefit of DJ Hero.

After Guitar Hero: A reported 30 staffers were laid off in 2009. This year, 7 Studios, who ended up supporting the development of the DJ Hero games, was shut down along with the rest of the Guitar Hero business.

Machineworks Northwest LLC

Before Guitar Hero: This mobile developer created several cell-phone Duke Nukem games before creating the mobile games Guitar Hero 3 Mobile, Guitar Hero 3 Backstage Pass, and Guitar Hero World Tour Mobile, distributed by Hands-On Mobile.

After Guitar Hero: The company is still active, recently putting out a call for partnerships with iOS, Windows Mobile, and Android developers.

Glu Mobile

Before Guitar Hero: Glu Mobile was a large mobile game developer and publisher, releasing dozens of games on multiple mobile platforms since 2005. It created Guitar Hero 5 Mobile and Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock Mobile.

After Guitar Hero: The mobile companies are somewhat lucky in that Activision showed no interest in acquiring them after their Guitar Hero releases. As such, Glu has continued releasing a great many games on many mobile platforms -- including a Call of Duty game.

Update: Vicarious Visions is the developer of DJ Hero 3D. Corrected those references.

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Rock Band Weekly: Nine Inch Nails, Pro Guitar upgrades for legacy DLC

by JC Fletcher on Feb 25th 2011 1:30PM

Can the same game really teach you both industrial noise and chooglin'? That's exactly what Rock Band 3 will be capable of doing next week, with four tracks from the remastered version of Nine Inch Nails' Pretty Hate Machine (one of which, "Head Like a Hole," includes Pro Guitar support) and Pro Guitar upgrades for legacy DLC including two Creedence tracks.

Find the full list of tracks available for your versatility training after the break.

Xbox 360 / Wii / PS3
Available: March 1, 2011
Pretty Hate Pack 01 (560 MSP / 700 WP / $6.99) "Terrible Lie" (160 MSP / 200 WP / $1.99)"Head Like a Hole" (160 MSP / 200 WP / $1.99)*"Sanctified" (160 MSP / 200 WP / $1.99)"The Only Time" (160 MSP / 200 WP / $1.99)*Pro Guitar/Bass expansion available (80 Microsoft Points / 100 Wii Points / $0.99)

Pro Guitar/Bass Upgrades ($.99 each, must own original DLC track)
Blink 182 - "Dammit"Boston - "More Than A Feeling"Creedence Clearwater Revival - "Bad Moon Rising"Creedence Clearwater Revival - "Fortunate Son"Eve 6 - "Inside Out"The James Gang - "Funk #49"The Knack - "My Sharona (Cover Version)"Lynyrd Skynyrd - "Simple Man"Metallica - "...And Justice for All"The Offspring - "Self Esteem"Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble - "Pride and Joy"

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You Rock guitar now compatible with Rock Band 3 Pro mode

by Richard Mitchell on Feb 24th 2011 4:00AM

In addition to the Mad Catz Mustang guitar controller and the upcoming Fender Squier Stratocaster, there is now a third option for realistic shredding in Rock Band 3, thanks to a firmware update for You Rock Digital's You Rock guitar. The You Rock guitar is similar to the Mustang in that it has real strings for strumming, though they don't stretch along the full length of the guitar. Unlike the Mustang's many, many buttons, the You Rock features a touch-sensitive fret board. The You Rock also functions as a MIDI instrument and includes many built in sounds and effects.

Those wishing to use the You Rock for Rock Band 3 will need to download firmware 1.2 from the You Rock website. Like the Fender Squier, the You Rock requires the Mad Catz MIDI adapter for use with Rock Band 3. The guitar is compatible with all versions of the game and, in addition to pro mode, it can be used to play standard modes as well. That's what we call a two'fer.

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The Warp Zone laments 'The Day Guitar Hero Died'

by Griffin McElroy on Feb 19th 2011 8:30PM

Yesterday, we viewed a sad and poignant farewell to one of Activision's downsized branches, Bizarre Creations. Today, an equally poignant -- if not slightly tongue-in-cheek -- video comes to us from The Warp Zone: "The Day Guitar Hero Died." Yes, like the song. You know. The song.

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Analysts explain, critique Guitar Hero's demise

by Justin McElroy on Feb 11th 2011 10:13AM

Man, these analysts get a whiff of blood and you just can't pull them off the corpse, huh? Formerly beloved franchise Guitar Hero has been dead all of a couple of days, and these jackals are already baring their fangs on Gamasutra and digging in:

"It had a great run, but it also had a steep fall and the customer demand just isn't there. That money can be spent on something that has better returns." -- Damn, Eric Handler of MKM Partners, you need to take it easy.

"Prudent." -- Hey Michael Pachter, where's your basic human decency?

"Declining sales as well as a less appealing profitability profile owing to the inclusion of a lower-margin peripheral hastened the decision to cancel the project." -- You, Edward Williams of BMO Capital Markets, are a monster.

... What's that? You're still not sated? You're no better than them! Here, vulture, go bask in the brutality for yourself.

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Nine Inch Nails headlines new Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock tracks

by Richard Mitchell on Jan 11th 2011 2:30PMReznorites rejoice, as a hefty dose of Nine Inch Nails has been delivered to Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock. The January Mega Pack features three songs by NIN, including "Head Like a Hole," "Closer" and "The Hand That Feeds." The pack also includes three tracks by A Day to Remember and four additional singles by HIM, The Used, Hawthorne Heights and The Damned Things.
The ten-song pack can be had on Wii for 1800 points, Xbox 360 for 1440 MS Points or PS3 for $17.99. Tracks can also be purchased individually for 200 Wii points, 160 MS Points or $1.99, respectively. The tracks are available now on Xbox 360 and Wii and should hit the PSN once it updates later today.
Tracks available on Wii, Xbox 360 and PS3
Nine Inch Nails
"Head Like a Hole"
"Closer"
"The Hand That Feeds"
A Day to Remember
"All I Want"
"2nd Sucks"
"The Downfall of Us All"
Singles
"We've Got a Situation Here" by The Damned Things
"Rescue Me" by Hawthorne Heights
"Wings of a Butterfly" by HIM
"Buried Myself Alive" by The Used
GUITAR HERO®: WARRIORS OF ROCK KICKS OFF 2011 WITH NEW DOWNLOADABLE CONTENT FROM NINE INCH NAILS, A DAY TO REMEMBER HAWTHORNE HEIGHTS, THE USED AND MORE
Ten Song Mega Pack Arrives Today for the Guitar Hero® Music Library
SANTA MONICA, CA – January 11, 2011 – Packing a whole lot of rock into one single day, Activision Publishing, Inc.'s (Nasdaq: ATVI) Guitar Hero®: Warriors of Rock is kicking off 2011 in a big way with ten new downloadable tracks for the Guitar Hero® music library. The January Mega Pack delivers Guitar Hero aficionados a full month of downloadable music in one shot and boasts an impressive collection of shredable hits from bands such Nine Inch Nails, A Day To Remember, Hawthorne Heights, The Used and more. The track pack is the perfect encore to a holiday purchase of Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock.
After their on disc appearance with "Wish" in Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock, industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails, are adding their unique sound to the Guitar Hero music library this month with the inclusion of three songs in the January Mega Pack. The pack contains "Head Like A Hole," the band's first major single off their debut album, Pretty Hate Machine, "The Hand That Feeds," the lead single off their 2005 album With Teeth and "Closer," the second single from their 1994 album, The Downward Spiral.
Also appearing in the January Mega Pack are three tracks from American rock band A Day To Remember. The pack includes "All I Want" and "2nd Sucks" off the bands fourth studio album, What Separates Me from You, and "The Downfall Of Us All" from their third studio album, Homesick.
Rounding out this month's mega pack are select singles from four shredtastic bands, The Damned Things, Hawthorne Heights, HIM and The Used. "We've Got A Situation Here," the lead single off The Damned Things debut album, Ironiclast, joins "Rescue Me" from Hawthorne Heights third studio album, Fragile Future, "Wings Of A Butterfly," by HIM and "Buried Myself Alive," off The Used 2002 self titled debut album.
The January Mega Pack is available on Xbox LIVE® Marketplace for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft for 1440 Microsoft Points, on the PlayStation®Store for PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system for $17.99 and for Wii™ for 1800 Wii Points™. All songs in the January Mega Pack are also availavle as downloadable singles for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft for 160 Microsoft Points, PlayStation 3 system for $1.99 and Wii for 200 Wii Points each. In addition to the in-game music store and Xbox LIVE Marketplace for Xbox 360, Xbox 360 owners can expand their Guitar Hero music library using the Guitar Hero VIP Pass Music Store, available exclusively on Xbox LIVE® online entertainment network.
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DJ Hero 2 and Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock drop prices like it's hot

by Alexander Sliwinski on Jan 11th 2011 12:00AM

Activision has dropped the retail price for Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock and DJ Hero 2 standalone software and bundles. Warriors of Rock is now $49.99 (-$10), $79.99 (-$20) and $159.99 (-$20) for the game, guitar bundle and band bundle, respectively. DJ Hero 2 has been reduced to $49.99 (-$10) for the game and $59.99 (-$20) for the single turntable bundle.

If you've waited this long to pick up those games, you can probably hold out until the deep discounts start popping up in the coming months like they did last year.

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