Remember earlier in the month when we mentioned that the eleventh season of South Park on DVD would include three mystery Rock Band tracks? Well, the mystery has been solved and those songs are ... nothing, nothing at all. Yes, it seems a studio spokesperson has confirmed the three-tracks were not happening after all and that retailers actually had incorrect information.
If we could speculate for a second as to why. Considering South Park had an entire episode dedicated to Guitar Hero and that the concept art for the eleventh season DVD set shows Stan and Kyle rocking out to Guitar Hero-style controllers it's possible that the tracks were never intended for Rock Band but for ... you guessed it, Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock. But why would a retail insider say Rock Band? Well, for the same reason your mother calls all your videogames Nintendo. They just don't know the difference.
The studio spokesperson did say new details on the set are coming soon, so stay tuned.
Not to be outdone by its more innovative brother Rock Band, Activision Publishing CEO Mike Griffith revealed the Guitar Hero franchise has recently surpassed 15 million individual song downloads. The announcement was made during a recent earnings call where Activision also revealed future plans of the Tony Hawk, Call of Duty and James Bond licenses.
Viacom, owner of Harmonix, recently announced Rock Band has reached the 10 million song download mark.
It's notable that the Guitar Hero announcement seems to relate to both Guitar Hero II (Xbox 360) and Guitar Hero III (Xbox 360 and PS3) downloads while the Rock Band announcement appears to be a combination of Xbox 360 and PS3 online sales. While Harmonix and Activision continue their urinating contest over numbers, we'll just assume both are doing well in the content sales department for future reference.
Oh teh noez! Sifting through the news today we discovered that we forgot to remind everyone that there's new Muse Guitar Hero III downloadable content on the XBLM. But we're only a few days late on our reporting, so that's not all that bad ... right? We still cool? Sweet. Available for 500 Microsoft points is a Muse Track Pack featuring the master tracks "Exo-Politics", "Stockholm Syndrome" and "Supermassive Black Hole". Now that you're in the know, go purchase some Muse DLC and rock out.
It's been a looong time since the first 360 Laptop, and console modder extraordinaire, Ben Heckendorn, has been busy. His newest project is designed to allow users to use their Guitar Hero controllers with a single hand. The controller plugs into a modified Guitar Hero 3 Les Paul wireless controller, and operates the strumming and whammy. Placing ones foot into the pedal depresses the heel and inserts ones toes into the metal trough. Tapping your toes and foot up and down is the equivalent of strumming, and raising your heel is the equivalent of the whammy bar. Plus, they look cool. From laptops to controllers, you're doing some pretty unique things Ben, keep up the great work!
Activision just sent word that a three song pack of new Guitar Hero III downloadable content is making its way to the XBLM featuring British rockers Muse. The Muse Track Pack will be available for purchase on Thursday, May 8th and feature their three hits "Exo-Politics", "Supermassive Black Hole" and "Stockholm Syndrome" all for (what we expect) to cost 500 Microsoft points. You can check out the complete press release after the break.
For your downloadable content information, Guitar Hero III's previously announcedDef Leppard Track Pack is now available for purchase off the XBLM. The track pack includes three Def Leppard songs including the two live tracks "Nine Lives" and "Photograph" as well as the master recording of "Rock of Ages" all for 500 Microsoft points. Which, for analytical minds, breaks down to around 166 MS points per song. GHIII DLC, it's rare, so grab it before it magically disappears.
In today's edition of what's wrong with this picture, we present to you a "candid" photograph of a few Google Zurich employees taking some time off from their Googling stresses in the company's Guitar Hero III lounge. So, what's wrong with the picture? (begin obnoxiously long Jeopardy thinking music ...) Time's up! The problem with this candid photo is that it really isn't all that candid, it's actually very staged. The GHIII intensity seen in the Google workers' eyes is actually the result of playing the Xbox 360 dashboard. Yup, on the screen to the left you can see exactly what they see. No intense GHIII face-off, it's just the 360's dash. Staged photos FTL ...
The driving fools at Toyota and the strumming chaps at Activision have set forth plans for an Xbox Live All-Nighter event where gamers are encouraged to rock out with friends on Guitar Hero III until the early AM hours. Beginning April 26th through the 27th, gamers can register for the All-Nighter fun by downloading the registration picture off the XBLM, then enter by pulling an All-Nighter. After you awake from your crash, you can then complete a writeup of you All-Nighter festivities and send it Microsoft's way. For your efforts, you could win a super nifty (and fully functioning) Peavey AG RiffMaster guitar complete with custom All-Nighter artwork. Check out all the event details after the jump.
It's been a while since we've heard any big Guitar Hero III news. The assault of Rock Band and its variety and scope of DLC shoved GHIII out of the limelight for many. Whether this new development is any sort of attempt to bring back the game's popularity or not, we can't help but think that this would do better in Rock Band. Basically, Def Leppard is going to be releasing its new single "Nine Lives" via GHIII before any retail or online release. The song will be available in a three song pack that will be online for download April 24th in the US and May 8th in the UK. The other two songs in the pack include "Rock of Ages" and "Photograph".
That was quick. Only a week after Activision announced a Dropkick Murphys downloadable content pack for Guitar Hero III, it's already here. Then again, it's not like there was much time left before St. Patrick's Day (which is relevant because the Dropkick Murphys is a Celtic punk band, you see. Best of all, the content is absolutely free. Here's a reminder of what you'll find in the new DLC pack (all the tracks are master tracks):
Just remember, if anyone plays one of these songs without wearing any green, it is your legal right to pinch them. You should also remember that anyone playing Guitar Hero is automatically carrying a blunt weapon, so pinch at your own risk.
It looks like the rhythm game battle between Activision and Harmonix extends beyond the sales gap between Guitar Hero III and Rock Band, as Harmonix sued Activision on Monday. The suit was withdrawn on Tuesday as the threat of a legal battle was apparently enough to make Activision talk with the company. According to the lawsuit, Harmonix asserts that it is owed $14.5 million in unpaid royalties for the use of its technology in Guitar Hero III and further asserts that the company has not received any money for song downloads, in-game ads, and related products. Variety reports that the lawsuit was "clearly intended" to lay down a precedent for future iterations of the Guitar Hero series (of which there are many, manyplanned). Activision, for its part, claims that it has paid Harmonix "sufficient" royalties.
Well, any rhythm game really, but this example uses Guitar Hero III. Honestly, we'd never heard of amBX before, but Phillips would have you believe it's the next step in interactive technology. Nope, it's not touch screens or big ass tables, it's ... colors? Desperate marketing aside, when combined with Guitar Hero III, amBX does make for an impressive light show. Whether or not it gives the $99 Rock Band stage kit a run for its money remains to be seen. At twice the price, you'd think it would (or hope so anyway). Unfortunately, it looks like we'll have to wait for the 360 version of amBX hardware -- this video utilized the PC version -- as it's still in development. We're waiting with sarcastically bated breath.
"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:
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:
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?
Remember earlier in the month when we mentioned that the eleventh season of South Park on DVD would include three mystery Rock Band tracks? Well, the mystery has been solved and those songs are ... nothing, nothing at all. Yes, it seems a studio spokesperson has confirmed the three-tracks were not happening after all and that retailers actually had incorrect information.
A new track pack for 
