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DJ Hero 2 trailer: Two turntables and a microphone

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Activision, E3, Music, PlayStation 3, Wii, Xbox 360,

We were big fans of the original DJ Hero, so you can bet that we’re really excited about DJ Hero 2 and all the enhancements that come with the title. Launching this fall, DJ Hero 2 aims to be more social than the original by focusing on multiplayer aspects. Obviously, in the trailer, you’ve got three people playing together—two of them using turntable controllers, and the third singing into the mic. As far as artists features in the game, you can expect names like Dr. Dre, The Chemical Brothers, Kanye West, Metallica, Lady Gaga, Rihanna and over 85 others.

Another complaint about the original DJ Hero was that you kind of had to stick to the script. A big part of DJing is freestyling your way to creating your own sound. In DJ Hero 2, that’s fixed as well, with over 70 tracks available for you to do your will with. We will hear more about the title at E3 next week, and seriously, fall can’t come soon enough.


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No Doubt Suing Activision Over Band Hero

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Artist News, Rock,

Band Hero logo are suing the makers of a music video game.

The American rock group agreed to have their name and likenesses used in Band Hero, but the band’s manager, Jim Guerinot, said they were “mortified” to find out that players could use singer to perform other artists’ songs. “They’re just like, ‘What? We didn’t sign up for this,’ ” Guerinot said.

No Doubt - whose hits include “Don’t Speak” and “Just A Girl” - are suing the game’s manufacturers Activision for breach of contract and fraudulent inducement. Activision said it “believes it is within its legal rights with respect to the use and portrayal of the band.”

Click to continue reading No Doubt Suing Activision Over Band Hero


Swift, Wentz, Cuomo, and Barker Appear in New Band Hero Ad

Posted by Robin Paulson Categories: Music, Internet, News, Video,

Taylor Swift, Pete Wentz, Rivers Cuomo, and Travis Barker appear in new Band Hero commercial

Continuing with its string of Risky Business-inspired commercials, Activision’s latest TV spot stars Taylor Swift, Fall Out Boy’s Pete Wentz, Weezer’s Rivers Cuomo, and Blink-182’s Travis Barker. With a quartet like that, how could any marketing exec not feel accomplished at what she does?

Shot last week in Los Angeles by director Brett Ratner, the four musicians rock out to Taylor’s song, “Love Story” (seen after the jump). It’s cute how the guys are slightly dwarfed by Taylor’s model-esque height. The game is out in stores now.

I want to play Band Hero with Rivers Cuomo!

Click to continue reading Swift, Wentz, Cuomo, and Barker Appear in New Band Hero Ad

Read More | Just Jared

Nirvana Mates Urge Activision to Lock Cobain

Posted by Robin Paulson Categories: Music, Legal Issues,


Who cares about the respect for a deceased rock star’s image and likeness when you’re a billion-dollar video game company? Activision sure doesn’t.

Remaining Nirvana members Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic are currently urging Activision to lock up Kurt Cobain’s character in Guitar Hero 5.

Click to continue reading Nirvana Mates Urge Activision to Lock Cobain

Read More | E! Online

Activision New Game Lineup

DJ HeroWe already mentioned the new Guitar Hero 5 that will be coming out this year. In addition, Activision has released the rest of their lineup for PS2, PS3, Xbox and Wii that includes:

  • Tony Hawk: Ride
  • Modern Warfare 2
  • DJ Hero
  • Guitar Hero 5
  • Blur
  • Singularity
  • Prototype
  • Wolfenstein
  • Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
  • Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2

Lots of titles, lots of variety and, most important, a whole lotta music goin’ on.

By the way, you can win a set of 5 tickets to 5 different concerts if you enter the GH5 scavenger hunt. Look for the list of artists that will appear in the game by searching online and verify the information by June 25.

Read More |

Guitar Hero 5 - New Features, More Musicians

GH 3Activision has announced that Guitar Hero 5 will be available for the PS3, PS2, Xbox and Wii this fall. The new game has a set list of tunes from 85 different bands such as the Stones, Tom Petty, Kings of Leon and the White Stripes. The company says more than 25 musicians will make their debut in the game. Also new to the game are Party Play and RockFest modes, and Band Moments that gives the entire band a point boost for a good performance.

Read More | Activision

Guitar Hero player enters Guinness World Records, Rush still shunned from Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame

Posted by Alex Lifschitz Categories: Activision, Culture, Music,

From the Department of Plastic Instruments, we present you this little nugget of wondrousness: While you were struggling with a bag of cheese doodles, 14-year-old Danny Johnson entered the Guinness Book of World Records by scoring an astounding 973,954 points on “Through The Fire and the Flames”, the song infamous as a destroyer of worlds and eater of babies. It’s a 99% attempt, which is less than previous title holder Chris Chike’s astounding 100% run-through (see above video), but it IS possible to get a higher score with careful Star Power placement. Hit the jump for the full press release.

Click to continue reading Guitar Hero player enters Guinness World Records, Rush still shunned from Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame


Guitar Hero: Aerosmith - Hot Deal

Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Activision, Hot Deals, Music, Xbox 360,

Guitar Hero: AerosmithWalk this way to get a tuneful game for less. Guitar Hero: Aerosmith is available this week (or until they sell out) for a mere $24.90. The game features master tracks from the band as well as others chosen by them like Cheap Trick and Joan Jett. It is region free and works on any Xbox 360. Originally released July 2, 2008, grab one quick and show your buds that you truly are the master musician.

Read More | Play-Asia

Forbes Magazine calls Rock Band “Shameless Knockoff” of Guitar Hero, Alex Rigopulos’ Head Asplodes

Description

Hay fanboys, listen up! And before you read anything, the following was from FORBES, not Bobby Kotick, for the sake of / wars everywhere.

In a recent profile of CEO and industry provocateur Bobby Kotick, Forbes decided to talk about a number of Activision bread and butter franchises, such as Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater (whose empty, frail husk now litters that halls of Activision, milked clean of its sweet, sweet nectar). Somewhere around the end, though, is an interesting little snippet of text:

“EA also teamed with MTV to sell Rock Band, a shameless knockoff of Guitar Hero that added drums, bass and a microphone to the world of make-believe rock stars. EA says it is returning to an “auteur model” of designing games, taking bigger chances on fewer ideas.”

Look, we should all see this kind of writing for what it really is: Unresearched and inflammatory. Even if you didn’t know that the Rock Band guys are the guys who made Guitar Hero in the first place, it’s a wee bit unprofessional to take sides. I’ve worked for Activision, and they’ve said some crazy things regarding the music game timeline, but don’t confuse the quote as coming from Kotick.

Funny how they don’t mention Guitar Hero: World Tour anywhere.

Read More | Forbes

Metallica’s Death Magnetic Come to Guitar Hero III This Friday

Death Magnetic Guitar Hero III

If you’re keen on the ways of the music world, you may be interested: Metallica’s new album, Death Magnetic, will be released in its entirety on III this friday. It’ll also have full compatibility with the upcoming Guitar Hero: World Tour on all instruments, and will feature two exclusive renditions of the song “Suicide and Redemption” featuring extended solos. It’ll cost $17.99 on PSN or 1440 MS Points, though I would hope they might offer it for free to people who blew money on St. Anger. If you haven’t heard the new songs yet, they’re actually a pretty good throwback to the “...And Justice For All” days, though perhaps not to the stuff they wrote before bassist Cliff Burton succumbed to a bad case of being crushed by a tour bus. Check out the full press release after the break.

Click to continue reading Metallica’s Death Magnetic Come to Guitar Hero III This Friday


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