Tag Archives: guitar hero III

NPD’s confirmed that Wii Play is the biggest-selling game of all time in the US, with Guitar Hero III and GTA: San Andreas coming second and third respectively.

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Guitar Hero fans are being asked to cast their votes onlineto determine the order songs will be revealed for Guitar Hero: Smash Hits.

It’s no longer titled Greatest Hits, in case you didn’t notice.

Previously announced tracks can be found here.

Read on for the press release.

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In the wake of selling to Activision, FreeStyleGames boss Chris Lee has told VG247 that the English developer is currently working on a brand new IP for the publisher, and that the studio is to play a major role in the expansion of Guitar Hero throughout Europe.

“A big part of Activision’s growth strategy for [Guitar Hero] in Europe is to work with more local developers and to create more localized song content that resonates with the European market,” he said.

“Our studio will play a big part in that strategy. It’s been great fun to be able to work on this content and we continue to grow the team that’s working on this. We’re also working on an original intellectual property, which we’re very excited about and itching to say more about this when the time comes.”

FSG has already completed much Guitar Hero III DLC work for Activision, and is now focused on Guitar Hero World Tour, said the exec.

The move into Activision appears to have been a painless one: Lee confirmed there had been no job losses as a result.

“Yes,” he said when asked is all staff would remain employed.

“All current management have signed long terms contracts with FreeStyleGames. All the teams and projects continue as normal. Nothing will change within the studio, other than an increased support network within Activision and a little more financial muscle to continue our recruitment drive and deliver world class games.”

Read our full interview with Chris after the break.

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English metal band DragonForce, who you might recognize from “Through the Fire and the Flames” and “Your Nightmares,” will soon be releasing a song pack for Guitar Hero III.

Whereas before, you could only grind your fingers to mush in one DragonForce song, now you’ll have three more to just barely survive.

“Guitar Hero fans will have their shredding skills pushed to the limit with ‘Revolution Deathsquad’ and ‘Operation Ground and Pound’ from their third album Inhuman Rampage, in addition to ‘Heroes of Our Time,’ which will set players’ fingers ablaze as they try to keep up with some of the most challenging riffs to date,” reads the press release.

Also noteable, “Heroes of Our Time” is a brand new track from DragonForce’s upcoming fourth album, Ultra Beatdown.

The song pack will be released August 21, so, uh, have fun?

Thanks Evilavatar.

By Nathan Grayson

The theme from Top Gun’s being released as free DLC for Guitar Hero III this Friday, July 4.

We could talk about bulging muscles and volleyball, but we won’t. Or the white t-shirt. Or the real genius. Iced water. I just don’t want anyone to know that I’ve fallen for you. Press release after the link.

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Yep, MTV Multiplayer is reporting that Guitar Hero will soon have its own line of moving, grooving character replicas.

The set will include Axel Steel, Johnny Napalm, Lars Umlaut, and God of Rock. To own one of these imaginary rockers, you’ll be expected to plunk down 10-15 of your hard-earned dollars.

But the saddest part of all this isn’t that it’s yet another thinly-veiled attempt to milk Guitar Hero until its dry of every last penny – oh no. It’s that children these days probably recognize Axel Steel and co. better than they do any actual classic rock stars. “Oh, Slash? You mean that guy from Guitar Hero III?”

By Nathan Grayson

Shachnews is reporting that a track “inspired by Blizzard’s PC MMO World of Warcraft” will soon be available for download on PSN and Xbox Live.

The track, “I am Murloc,” is a thrash-metal song that was played at BlizzCon 2005, “a tongue-in-cheek tribute to the beloved race of fish-people by Blizzard Entertainment’s house band, Level 70 Elite Tauren Chieftain” apparently.

Can’t wait.

By Mike Bowden

UBS analyst Ben Schachter has called for higher profile third party titles for the Nintendo Wii following the May NPD software numbers.

“While overall hardware and software trends for the Nintendo Wii continue to be strong, we would like to see more third-party hits on the platform,” said Schachter.

“To date, Guitar Hero III, Sega of America’s Mario and Sonic: Olympic Games, and TTWO’s Carnival Games are the only third-party Wii games that have sold more than 1 million units to-date according to NPD, and there are many third-party Wii exclusives that have come-and-gone with minimal reaction from the market,” he added.

“Nintendo’s share of software dollars on its platform has approximated almost 50% since the Wii was introduced, and reached an all-time high in May of 68%.”

The statement comes after it was revealed that Spielberg’s Boom Blox only sold 60k, although NPD analyst Anita Frazier puts the poor performance down to EA’s puzzler being released in amongst “Super Smash Bros. Brawl, GTA IV, Wii Fit, Mario Kart and the upcoming Metal Gear Solid 4″.

Thanks GameDaily.

By Mike Bowden

May’s NPD data has shown that Guitar Hero III is leading the rhythm action stakes in the US over Rock Band this year.

NPD analyst Anita Frazier said, “A lot of folks are interested in the battle of the bands. Year-to-date, Guitar Hero III has sold 2.5 million units compared to Rock Band’s 1.3 million which lands them both in the top 10 titles for the year so far.”

Neither game, however, features in May’s top ten.

Thanks, GameDaily. Read the rest of our May NPD coverage here.

Absolutely insane. After the link is a video of a guy getting 100 percent on “Through the Fire and Flames” by Dragonforce on Guitar Hero III. By the end of it the kid’s hands are shaking and all he can say is “holy shit”. You, sir, are a genius. Watch it. Thanks, X3F.

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Activision’s to release five DLC oacks for Guitar Hero III in June, the publisher’s just confirmed.

Bands involved include Kaiser Chiefs, the Sex Pistols and Motorhead, although Ace of Spades is absent which makes the entire thing worthless.

And there we are. Press release after the link.

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A Dallas teenager, Daniel Johnson, has beaten the world record for highest score on a Guitar Hero III track, knocking up 890,971 points on “Through the Fire and Flames” by Dragonforce at Expert Level.

The record was beaten at a 24-hour event in Texas.

All we can think about is South Park. Press release after the link.

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Shacknews is reporting that if you own the PS3 version Guitar Hero III, a free God of War-inspired track will be available for download on June 5.

Given how much we love standing in front of the TV pretending to be musicians, we simply can’t contain out excitement. And therefore have nothing more to add.

By Mike Bowden

According to this press release, Muse is to release a second song pack for Guitar Hero III.

The three tracks will be Exo-Politics, Supermassive Black Hole and Stockholm Syndrome, and they’ll all release on May 8.

According to Def Leppard’s site, the band’s latest track will be made available for download on Guitar Hero III a week before it’s made available to buy elsewhere.

The song, Nine Lives, will release as part of a three-song pack for the game on April 26 in the US and May 8 in the UK.

More through the link.

Country musician Charlie Daniels has hit out at Guitar Hero III after the game showed his song – “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” – being played in the game surrounded by monsters and other evilry on stage.

“I want any of you parents out there whose children have this game to know that I did not grant these people my permission to pervert my song and am disgusted with the result,” said Daniels on his site.

“Unfortunately I lost the publishing rights on the song many years ago in a settlement with a former partner and the license to Guitar Hero was granted by the company who now owns the publishing. I would never grant permission for some company to create a video game version of a song I wrote in which the devil wins a contest and I’m sorely disappointed with the company who owns the copyright for not policing the situation. As it is they have allowed these people to violate the very essence of the song.”

The irony. Just amazing.

“Lots of flashing coloured lights and wailing” is probably the best way to describe a movie of amBX playing alongside Guitar Hero III. Not quite sure how this is working on a console – amBX is PC-only at the moment – but we’re sure someone will tell us. See for yourself after the link.

Update: It’s the PC version of GHIII. We knew that. We were just testing.

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Wow. And we thought they were BFFs. Not only is Gibson suing Activision over a patent related to Guitar Hero III, but it’s undeterred by the fact the publisher’s asked a court to block the action and has said, in no uncertain terms, that it intends to get mediaeval on its maggot-farming ass.

Gibson, based in Nashville, issued a statement today saying that it “intends to vigorously defend its rights and to pursue any rights it may have against Activision and any other persons.”

What happened? Guitar Hero III ships with a controller based either on the Gibson Les Paul model guitar or on the Kramer Striker, which is also a Gibson brand, so it’s not as if the companies didn’t know what they were getting into.

Gibson’s complaint is related to the fact Guitar Hero III replicates musical performance, allegedly in contradiction to one of its patents. The guitar-maker is seeking make Activision take out a license to make the game or stop all sales.

Lovers’ tiffs are never pretty.

Harmonix has filed then immediately dropped a case against Activision for the alleged non-payment of $14.5 million of Guitar Hero III royalties. Apparently the mere filing of the case was enough to get Activision to the bargaining table and the two parties are now expected to continue discussions out of court.

How much money do you want, Harmonix? Haven’t you got enough yet?

Here. The Modern Metal Pack is now available to download from Live Marketplace and the US PSN.

The pack consists of “Almost Easy” by Avenged Sevenfold, “The Arsonist” by Thrice, and “Hole in the Earth” by Deftones.

It costs 500 MS Points, and while it hasn’t been released on the European PSN yet, the US price is $6.25, which equates to £3.10.

If this wasn’t enough, the soon-to-be-released Dropkick Murphys’ Pack will be free in celebration of St Patrick’s Day, and will consist of three tracks from the Celtic punk band’s sixth album, “The Meanest of Times”. The announced songs are “Famous for Nothing,” “(F)lannigan’s Ball” and “Johnny, I Hardly Knew Ya.”

By Mike Bowden