Guitar Hero World Tour Day One DLC

October 9, 2008October 9, 2008| schommerschommer| 0 Comment| 3:31 pm
Categories:

How can Guitar Hero compete with Rock Band given Rock Band’s got early drumming and vocal adopters? By promising awesome content and enforcing that fact that they too, have downloadable content (DLC). Not only do they have DLC, but they’ll have DLC on launch day.

Of course, they could have tossed some fluffy songs out there for the first day or “promised” 20 downloadable songs which we’ve yet to get confirmation e-mails on using a big registration code. But, they’re starting out strong with a serious showing. We’re talking about:

  • Rock and Roll Band by Boston
  • Hot Blooded by Foreigner
  • Jessie’s Girl by Rick Springfield

With respect to these initial songs, it’s obvious their targeting the 30 somethings looking for some nostalgic feeling (more than a feeling?!) These are considered the Classic Rock Track Pack and you can buy them individually as well.

That same week we’ll get a few more track packs and songs including “No Rain” by Blind Melon which is an epic song for all instruments. We see this being well received and will spur some initial pre-sales now that we’ve got confidence we’re getting a rocking set list and additional content in the form of DLC that’s worth buying.

Read on for their full press release!

R.E.M., BLIND MELON, METALLICA, AND CLASSIC ROCK ANTHEMS HEADLINE LAUNCH WEEK LINEUP FOR GUITAR HERO® WORLD TOUR

SANTA MONICA, CA – October 9, 2008 – With music ranging from one of the first and most influential alternative rock bands, R.E.M., to the timeless GRAMMY® award-winning rock anthem “Jessie’s Girl” by Rick Springfield, Activision Publishing, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI) today announced a rich and diverse lineup of launch week downloadable content for the highly-anticipated Guitar Hero® World Tour.  Available exclusively on Xbox LIVE® Marketplace for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft for two weeks starting October 30, the R.E.M. Track Pack features three songs, which can also be downloaded as singles, from the band’s newest album, Accelerate, “Horse to Water,” “Man-Sized Wreath” and “Supernatural Superserious.”

Available at the launch of Guitar Hero World Tour is the Classic Rock Track Pack that offers fans three rocking party anthems “Rock and Roll Band” by Boston, “Hot Blooded” by Foreigner and “Jessie’s Girl” by Rick Springfield, also available for download individually.

Created specifically for Guitar Hero World Tour, the Guitar Duels, original compositions by Ted Nugent and Zakk Wylde, will be available for free at launch to download and play outside of the Career.

The 1990’s era-defining “No Rain” by alternative rock group Blind Melon will be available as downloadable content during the launch week of Guitar Hero World Tour.  The breakthrough single off the band’s quadruple platinum, self-titled album reached No. 1 on the U.S. Mainstream Rock and U.S. Modern Rock charts and firmly planted the group in 1990s pop culture.

Fans who have been shredding to Metallica’s critically acclaimed Death Magnetic on Guitar Hero® III: Legends of Rock since its day-and-date release with the album need not purchase the album again as it is forward compatible and will integrate seamlessly with Guitar Hero World Tour.  The Death Magnetic downloadable album, compatible with both Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock and Guitar Hero World Tour, will continue to be available for download on Xbox LIVE Marketplace for Xbox 360 and in the PLAYSTATION®Store for the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment.

The R.E.M Track Pack, Classic Rock Track Pack and “No Rain” single will be available for download on Xbox LIVE Marketplace for Xbox 360 and in the PLAYSTATION®Store for the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment.

When the house lights go down on October 26, a new generation of guitarists, drummers and fearless frontmen will come together and rock with Guitar Hero World Tour.  The latest installment in the #1 best-selling video game franchise of 2007, Guitar Hero World Tour transforms music gaming by expanding Guitar Hero’s signature guitar gameplay into a cooperative band experience that combines the most advanced wireless controllers with new revolutionary online* and offline gameplay modes including Band Career and 8-player “Battle of the Bands,” which allows two full bands to compete head-to-head online for the first time ever.  The game features a slick newly redesigned guitar controller, drum kit controller and a microphone, as well as an innovative Music Studio music creator that lets players compose, record, edit and share their own rock ‘n’ roll anthems.  Music creators will also be able to share their recordings with their friends online through GHTunesSM where other gamers can download and play an endless supply of unique creations.

Guitar Hero World Tour is being developed by Neversoft Entertainment for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system.  The Wii™ version is being developed by Vicarious Visions.  The PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system version is being developed by Budcat. The game is rated “T” for Teen by the ESRB.  For more information on Guitar Hero World Tour, please visit worldtour.guitarhero.com.

About Activision Publishing, Inc.
Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, Activision Publishing, Inc. is a leading worldwide developer, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment and leisure products.

Activision maintains operations in the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Sweden, Spain, the Netherlands, Australia, Japan and South Korea.  More information about Activision Publishing and its products can be found on the company’s website, www.activision.com.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Post

Xbox 360 Fall Update Too Big For Diskless UsersXbox 360 Fall Update Too Big For Diskless Users

If you’ve got an Xbox 360 arcade edition or an older console without a hard disk, you’ll want to clear up at least 128MB of your flash card before powering on your console after the fall update hits. Wait, you’re flash disk isn’t 128MB in size? Oh oh.

Latest reports are stating that consumers that own a 360 without a hard disk, albeit a small group, will not be able to simply install the fall update as the rest of us because they don’t have enough disk capacity. What is Microsoft doing about that? Microsoft’s Larry Hryb says saying they will be “offering storage solutions” for such customers.

We’re wondering, are they going to actually ship people free hard disks? Perhaps a coupon for a larger flash card? Interesting indeed!

“The new Xbox experience will require 128MB of free space. A hard drive is recommended for the optimal experience, to take advantage of some new features, and to be able to enjoy the great movies, TV shows and games available on Xbox LIVE. While we expect the majority of consumers to download the New Xbox Experience without a problem, a small percentage of Xbox 360 owners do not have enough memory to accommodate the update. To help ensure all Xbox LIVE members are able to download the New Xbox Experience and enjoy its new features, Microsoft will be offering storage solutions to the Xbox LIVE community. We are not sharing details of this offering yet. Be sure to check xbox.com for more details in the coming weeks.” (1up)

It was really only a matter of time before the Xbox 360 out grew the fact that they allow consumers to roll with a diskless console. No other console limits you by having both a disk and diskless option; we know why they did it, but now it would seem their having some growing pains.

No doubt, the next Xbox 360 console will come complete with hard disk! Hopefully you were wise and got the bigger console complete with disk.

Read MoreRead More

Battle of the Mega Powers: EA Wants Take-TwoBattle of the Mega Powers: EA Wants Take-Two

We’re already looking at the results of an Activision Vivendi union and now Electronic Arts is slowly working towards taking over Take-Two. Activision Blizzard is larger than that of EA but would the Take-Two buy-out grow EA into the number one publisher once again?

For gamers, it’s changing the map of the industry. We grew up with many of these seemingly big companies but their all clamoring together to make the next big mega-power. While they struggle for ultimate domination we, the gamers, are going to either benefit from the competition or become victims, or perhaps a little of both.

Let’s assume EA and Take-Two form one entity, similar to the the Destructicons forming “Devastator,” they can reign hell upon the earth and anyone under their mighty fist shall perish! That might be a bit of an exaggeration but it’s safe to assume they’ll wield mighty power, more than ever before and their epic foe will be Activision Blizzard and, perhaps, Ubisoft. In a battle for sales and consumer acceptance the companies will be willing to out do each other at every step with huge funds at their disposal.

As a consumer, competition is a great way to produce innovation, technological advancements and excitement in the industry. These giant development houses are only this large because we’ve given them our hard earned money in return for entertaining video game titles. World of Warcraft is a major player in sucking money from our wallets in a consistent, addictive, manner while Guitar Hero explores new possibilities in music and rhythm gaming and controller accessories.

(more…)

Read MoreRead More

Sierra’s Franchise Titles Fade Into HistorySierra’s Franchise Titles Fade Into History

One of the great downfalls of an acquisition or merger, in the game industry, is the loss of great franchise titles. Sierra, or Sierra Online, once stood on its own as a company with great gaming titles but later fell into the depths of Hades under many different company names.

Sierra’s last stop on the acquisition highway was Vivendi, years after much of Sierra’s steam had slowed. Now, they’re part of Activision Blizzard so we had high hopes they’d find a great use for some of the old Sierra properties long since collecting dust. Space Quest, Kings Quest, Leisure Suit Larry and especially Gabrielle Knight were some of our favorites, but times have changed.

“We are retaining only those franchises that are a strong fit with our long-term strategy including Crash Bandicoot, Ice Age and Spyro, as well as Prototype and a second game that has not yet been announced. We will not publish any other titles that previously were part of the Vivendi Games portfolio and we are currently reviewing our options regarding those titles,” says Activision Blizzard (joystiq)

This is unfortunate news, Activision Blizzard now has a large set of franchises on their hands, many of which have collected dust for years. Those dust collecting franchises could rise from the dead and reinvigorate their old fan base… or be dropped to the earth as unwanted scrapes after a big hunt with the vultures awaiting their take (sorry, too much watching of Animal Planet)

A reworked Kings Quest or Gabriel Knight could have seriously awesome potential in this time and age, imagine a dark comedy version of Gabriel Knight or a huge scaled world in King Quest using todays graphic engines. Although, these titles could also go the way Atari has gone and taken a well remembered franchise and made mud of its great name (*cough* Alone in the Dark).

Unfortunately, we’ll probably never know the distance an old franchise could go in this new world. We’ll have to pull out an old copy of our prized posessions and remember just how great they once where.

Read MoreRead More