If officially licensed guitar peripherals aren't your thing (just too mainstream for you) then we may have found an ultra-risky third party option for you. Enter some random Chinese manufacturer's Wireless Guitar Controller for all your "X 360 guitar games".
Sporting a "working" whammy bar, five multi-colored frets and a d-pad that looks like a black hole ... how could you go wrong? Heck, even the guitar's wireless functionality is unique as it requires a baby monitor sized USB wireless adapter to fully rock out. Best of all, it isn't licensed by Rock Band or Guitar Hero, so your guess is as good as ours to whether it'll actually function or not. Also note that if you actually purchase one of these sad excuses for guitars, then expect to be whacked over the head with a NERF bat. Rock on!
"So, you guys made Guitar Hero, huh? Sounds like a perfect match for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame."
"Well, no actually. We just bought the name. Oh, and did I mention we're loaded!"
"Sold!"
The end result of that (imaginary) exchange is that Activision looks to further embed itself in the annals of rock, as the company has announced that it has become a sponsor of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland. Specifically, Activision will be sponsoring the museum's exhibit featuring famous guitarists (surprise!), and also will sponsor the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Cermony being held on March 10. Finally, Hall of Fame visitors will soon be able to play "the latest and greatest" version of Guitar Hero, Guitar Hero III (and presumably future iterations once they're released) on demo kiosks at the museum. At the rate Activision is going, the curators may soon find themselves displaying more versions of Guitar Hero than actual exhibits.
A new track pack for Guitar Hero III is now available on Xbox Live Marketplace. Entitled the Modern Metal pack, the new DLC includes three new tracks from the Deftones, Avenged Sevenfold, and Thrice. As an added bonus, all three tracks are master tracks. The tracks, which will run you 500 MS Points, are as follows:
"Hole in the Earth" by Deftones
"Almost Easy" by Avenged Sevenfold
"The Arsonist" by Thrice
In addition to the Modern Metal pack, Activision has also announced that a special pack is in the works for St. Patrick's Day later this month. The pack will include songs by the Celtic punk band Dropkick Murphys. The three (master) tracks that will be available on the pack are "Famous for Nothing," "(F)lannigan's Ball" and "Johnny, I Hardly Knew Ya." Best of all, the track pack will be free. Expect it to arrive (you guessed it) sometime before St. Patrick's Day.
A new track pack for Guitar Hero III has been released, and this time it's all about No Doubt. Yes, the same No Doubt featuring Gwen Stefani, the woman who stole Gavin Rossdale and crushed the dreams of thousands of women everywhere. The track pack includes the following songs for the price of 500 MS Points:
"Don't Speak"
"Sunday Morning"
"Excuse Me Mr"
Fans will be happy to know that all three songs are master tracks, so no one will have to suffer through someone attempting to sing like Gwen Stefani (really dodged a bullet there, seriously). So, when do we get a Bush track pack, hmmm?
Even if aren't a supporter or the least bit excited about the recently announcedGuitar Hero: Aerosmith, that doesn't mean you shouldn't take advantage of Acti's Guitar Hero III offer where you can download Aerosmith's "Dream On" for teh free. But you must hurry fellow fanboys, because the free "Dream On" download will evaporate into nothingness (much like Steven Tyler's music career) in just a few hours. You have until 5:00AM eastern to make your way to the XBLM to claim your free GHIII DLC. So get to it and after you complete your download feel free to go back to your GH bashing ways.
Activision just made it official today that the next Guitar Hero incarnation will in fact be called Guitar Hero: Aerosmith and will feature songs exclusively from ... well, the band Aerosmith.
GHAero (that's the official X3F abbreviation from now on) is scheduled for a June release when gamers will be able to play alongside Steven Tyler and truly embrace their inner Aerosmith fanboy. The number of tracks, what sort of bundle, pricing information and word about whether or not the GH franchise has been whored out have yet to be confirmed, but one could expect all the specifics to be in line with previous Guitar Hero releases. Yah dig?
Activision also revealed that in celebration of their "groundbreaking" GHAero (man are we love that abbreviation) announcement, they will be releasing Aerosmith's "Dream On" to the XBLM as a free GHIII download. The free DLC will be available from February 16th through the 18th, so be sure to gobble that up before it disappears.
Last week we predicted it and now this week we've got it. A brand new Guitar Hero III Classic Rock Pack of downloadable content has made its way to the XBLM, featuring some of rock's most classic tracks. Tracks including the Foreigner's "Juke Box Hero," Journey's "Any Way You Want It" and Boston's "Peace of Mind". But remember kids, we're dealing with GHIII, so that means this three song pack will cost you 500 Microsoft points. Don't complain either. This is the first GHIII DLC we've had since Christmas, so you'll respect it if you ever want to see anymore ever again. You do want new GHIII DLC ... don't you?
Activision has announced that the Guitar Hero franchise has officially earned one billion dollars. Furthermore, the franchise has achieved this feat in just over two years -- 26 months to be exact -- selling in excess of 14 million units across the many iterations of the series. Activision adds that Guitar Hero III was the number one title of 2007 and that it has become "the best-selling video game of all time in a single calendar year." So, we're guessing it sold a lot of copies. Finally, 5 million songs have been downloaded for the game, which ain't too shabby (just ask the Rock Band folks). Somehow, we get the feeling that Activision is happy they bought Red Octane.
Lagging a bit (just a bit) behind rival Rock Band's massive downloadable content library, Guitar Hero III will be offering up three new tracks to their DLC offerings and it's about time.
Shacknews noticed that GHIII's online leaderboards list three yet to be available and announced musical tracks. Tracks that include the Foreigner's "Juke Box Hero" (which is the most popular DLC download on Rock Band), Journey's "Any Way You Want It" and Boston's "Peace of Mind". Since Activision has yet to officially announce the new DLC, we have yet to receive any pricing information or a release schedule, but it would be a safe bet to say that all three tracks will be on the XBLM "soonish". That's it kids, brand new GHIII DLC inbound and now maybe they can work on the issue of DLC frequency. Maybe?
Kicking off February 1st and going all weekend long, Guitar Hero III will be hosting a three day Xbox Live Rock Your Party Weekend for all the rockstars of the world.
Rock Your Party Weekend will kick off on Friday morning with one of the most prize-filled Play & Win giveaways to date. Play & Win prizes including hourly giveaways of MS points and guitar straps, free video games, gaming hardware, a 50" 1080p television and faceplates autographed by Slash himself. Over $21,000 in prizes to be precise. You can register for the Play & Win giveaways now on Xbox.com or you can simply download the free "Rock Your Party Gamer Picture" for entry as well. Not only will there be Play & Win fun, but GHIII developers will be online gaming on Sunday, February 3rd from 3-7:00PM eastern allowing gamers to earn the "Meet your Maker" achievement. Complete giveaway details and list of GHIII developer gamertags can be found over at the Rock Your Party website. Rock on!
If there was one highlight from last night's CES keynote we'd have to say Bill Gates and Robbie Bach's Guitar Hero III-off was pretty entertaining. Actually, neither actually played the game as they each had their own "ringer" to play for them, but that's half the fun. We'll agree that it's a bit scripted, a bit awkward at times and a tad of a stretch, but seeing Bill Gates bringing Slash on stage and watching the over-production of it all is simply priceless. Not to mention the fact that we have Les Paul faceplate envy and hope Microsoft hooks us up with the one they used on stage. Relax, watch and enjoy.
It's sort of like the perennial Rubik's Cube gag. You see some guy fiddling with the famous puzzle toy, saying something like "these things are impossible; nobody could solve this." At that moment, a plucky young tyke will come along, pick up the toy, and solve it within seconds. Now apply said gag to Guitar Hero III and the song "Through the Fire and Flames" by DragonForce ... on Expert. Watch the video above and see 9-year-old Ben crush every ounce of Guitar Hero pride you ever had. Gasp in terror as the boy even has enough time to glance away from the screen in order to smile at the camera. In the end, he winds up landing 95% of the notes and earning a score of over 750,000 points.
Now, if you'll excuse us, we're going to weep softly in the corner for a few hours.
The holiday Guitar Hero III content announced earlier this month is now available on Marketplace, and guess what? One of the tracks is free. There is one track pack from Warner/Reprise that will run you 500 MS Points. There are also three single tracks available for 200 points each. The one free track is a rock rendition of "We Three Kings," which Joystiq seems to enjoy. Behold the complete track list below.
The Warner/Reprise Track Pack (master recordings)
"Pretty Handsome Awkward" by The Used
"Sleeping Giant" by Mastadon
"No More Sorrow" by Linkin Park
Single song downloads
"So Payaso" by Extremoduro
"Antisocial" by Trust
"Ernten Was Wir Säen" by Die Fantastischen Vier
Free holiday track
"We Three Kings" by Steve Ouimette
Anyone going to grab any of these?
[Via Joystq. Thanks, Dan \"DeadPlasmaCell\" Garcia]
We're a bit late getting to this, but we would be remiss if we didn't mention that Stootsi.com is selling the Xbox 360 Guitar Hero III bundle for a dirt cheap $79.99. Now, before you head over there and place your order, you should know that this is an "open box" item, which means it could be a returned item, demo unit, or simply one that has been opened. Stootsi does say that you will get all the appropriate parts (wireless guitar, strap, game, and sticker sheet) along with a 14 day warranty, so it's probably a safe bet. Of course, the fact that it's $20 cheaper than the retail price doesn't hurt either. If you'd like to get in on this deal, you'd better hurry, as the bundle is only available for this price for 24 hours (we're honestly not sure how much time you have left). If you've used Stootsi before, feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below.
Posted Dec 16th 2007 11:15AM by Dustin Burg
Filed under: News
Releasing to the XBLM just in time for the holidays will be a new Guitar Hero III track pack as well as European singles and a free holiday download.
Scheduled for release sometime in December is a "Warner/Reprise Track Pack " which will include master recordings of "No More Sorrow" by Linkin Park, "Sleeping Giant" by Mastadon and "Pretty Handsome Awkward" by The Used. Also releasing will be single track downloads from various European bands including "So Payaso" by Extremoduro, "Antisocial" by Trust and "Ernten Was Wir Säen" by Die Fantastischen Vier. And as if that wasn't enough GHIII DLC, Activision will be releasing a free "We Three Kings" holiday track recorded by Steve Ouimette too. Again, no specific release date has been announced or pricing details for the track pack or singles. But we do have a fancy press release posted after the break.
A new track pack for 
Activision just made it official today that the next 
Last week we 
Kicking off February 1st and going all weekend long, Guitar Hero III will be hosting a three day Xbox Live Rock Your Party Weekend for all the rockstars of the world.
