"Ah, the Rhythm Action genre. Bashing away on a fake, plastic instrument or leaping around like a loon on a bunch of arrows while a banging track plays in the background. Do it well and you’re a rock god on stage in front of thousands or the very ghost of Timberlake himself, throwing down some awesome shapes. For some people, this is escapism at its height. For others, well, they just don’t ‘get’ it."

"Blake Peebles, a 16-year-old in Raleigh, N.C., whose parents have let him drop out of school so that he can focus on a professional gaming career via Guitar Hero.

Blake convinced his folks (that is, "We couldn't take the complaining anymore," said his mom) to let him drop out last September. They hired in-home tutors to continue his education there, at least, but there's no doubt priority number one is Guitar Hero. There's a vaguely defined goal of Blake playing it professionally, either t..."

"MANKATO, Minn. — Chris Kluwe stood there with his lips pursed, focusing, sweat building on his forehead.

The crowd watching him chanted, "Kluwe! Kluwe!" as Vikings executives Rob Brzezinski and Rick Spielman watched him perform, their jaws open in amazement.

No, Kluwe wasn't punting in a pressure situation. Holding a plastic guitar inside a Mankato restaurant as people cheered, Kluwe was engrossed in his other passion, the video game Guitar Hero on Xbox 360.

Kluwe estimates that he i..."

"Warner Music Chief Executive Edgar Bronfman says "The amount being paid to the music industry, even though their games are entirely dependent on the content we own and control, is far too small.""

"Tired of plastic toys? The Peavey® AG RiffMaster™ Guitar Controller is a real Peavey Guitar that’s sure to quench your thirst for the authentic rock star feeling.

LIMITED EDITION! If you want the prestige of owning this piece of gaming history, you better hurry and get your hands on some real wood! With hot designs from legendary bands such as Kiss and Pantera, your Peavey AG RiffMaster™ Guitar Controller will impress all who set foot on your rock stage.

Controllers are currently availa..."

"At Activision’s unofficial E3 press conference Tuesday evening, one of the developers of this fall’s “Guitar Hero: World Tour” made a quick comment to the crowd about the new “GH” game being compatible with non-”GH” instruments.

Later, I asked for clarification.

Two Activision representatives confirmed that the age of cross-game instrument incompatibility is nearing its end.

They explained that the Xbox 360 version of “Guitar Hero: World Tour” will indeed be compatible with the instr..."

"There's little doubt that the artist line-up for Rock Band 2 is shaping up nicely. Guitar Hero is getting some nice exclusives as well. With Journey, Boston, Metallica, The Who and other top tier acts lending their tunes to the dominant rhythm games, there aren't many superstars left to cross off the list.

One of the artists that continues to elude both Activision and Harmonix is Led Zeppelin. It's been chalked up to a lengthy licensing process, but a recent write-up from the Wall Street J..."

"Beatles representatives are in talks with two companies to create a Beatles-themed video game in a move that could pave the way for a broader licensing of the Fab Four’s catalogue.

The representatives have held discussions with both Activision and MTV Games, the respective makers of the Guitar Hero and Rock Band games, in which players strum along to favourite songs or form virtual bands.

A final deal would be worth several million dollars, according to a person familiar with the talks..."

"Tier 1: “Getting the Band Together” (Nipmuc High School)
1. “All the Young Dudes” by Mott the Hoople (cover)
2. “Draw the Line” by Aerosmith
3. “Dream Police” by Cheap Trick
4. “Make It” by Aerosmith (re-recorded)
5. “Uncle Salty” by Aerosmith

Tier 2: “First Taste of Success” (Max’s Kansas City)
6. “All Day and All of the Night” by The Kinks (cover)
7. “I Hate Myself for Loving You” by Joan Jett
8. “Movin’ Out” by Aerosmith (re-recorded)
9. “No Surprize” by Aerosmith
10. “Sweet E..."

"The company recently decided to celebrate the fact that a couple of Guitar Hero performances would take place at this year’s Isle of Wight Festival, an event partly known for featuring one of Jimi Hendrix’s last performances before his tragic death. So how does one celebrate a fake guitar performance? By vandalizing a tribute to a real guitar legend, it seems. Activision decided to deck out a bronze statue of Hendrix to make it look like he was holding a Guitar Hero controller instead of an a..."

"When Activision stealth announced the release of Guitar Hero: Metallica via an SEC filing, fears of artist exclusivity gripped Rock Band fans. After all, Activision CEO Bobby Kotick had referred to Aerosmith as "proprietary" to the Guitar Hero format earlier this year.

While not giving outright confirmation that Metallica was free to roam on both Guitar Hero and Rock Band indefinitely, we were told that the announcement "doesn't change our plans" in relation to the developer's announcement..."

"This weekend brings us not only the first Nintendo Wii-specific screenshots of the upcoming Guitar Hero: Aersosmith, but also more of the tracklisting details, including some of the songs by bands other than Aerosmith thar players will be able to rock along to this June.

Fancy jammin’ along to the likes of The Clash, Lenny Kravitz and The Clash? Guitar Hero: Aerosmith also gives you that chance:

* The Clash – Complete Control
* New York Dolls – Personality Crisis (Cover)
*..."

"Activision has revealed that the next true sequel in the Guitar Hero franchise will introduce new instruments. A preview of Guitar Hero 4 in the latest issue of GameInformer has now shed some light on that and revealed that GH4 will introduce drums, bass, and vocals.

The preview also reveals a new gameplay element. Apparently, Guitar Hero 4 will feature custom made tracks. Players will be able to create tracks, name them, create cover art, and upload it all online for others to enjoy. Due ..."

"Have your PS2 guitar controller and want to rock out on the new PS3 console? TAC has a perfect solution for you. The PS2 to PS3 Converter will enable your old PS2 controller (guitar or non-guitar) to be used on PS3 for both Guitar Hero and Rock Band games*.

The converter has a USB connector on one end and PS2 connector on the other. Simply plug the converter into PS3, connect the PS2 controller, and set the switch to either Guitar Hero, Rock Band or Gamepad and you are ready to go."

"It’s been known for a while now that more instruments would eventually be incorporated into the Guitar Hero brand. The question is whether that means bringing drums into the mix and totally ripping off Rock Band, or creating a whole new game in the Guitar Hero universe with different toys to rock out with. The developers are currently figuring out how to move the series beyond the standard guitar and bass repertoire, as the CEO of Activision Bobby Kotick recently said, “We’ll include a lot of..."

"When Guitar Hero 3 launched last year it was an immediate success, selling out at a fairly quick pace throughout the holiday season. Following just behind it was Rock Band, selling very well, but not nearly as quickly as Guitar Hero. So far, all versions of Guitar Hero III have sold about 9.1M copies, versus just roughly 1.5M for Rock Band. Of course, part of the discrepancy lies in the fact that Rock Band launched on two platforms while Guitar Hero 3 launched on four, but that is about to be..."

"Hey fellow rock fan!

What would you give to be a rock star? It’s ok, we don’t need your soul, we just want to find someone who has the moves and attitude to embody what Guitar Hero is all about.

Simply grab a tennis racket, the dog, or whatever you have lying around and video yourself rocking out to the track of your choice and upload it for a shot at glory in our weekly video montage. We want fearless guitar-slingers and we don’t care about your looks, size or style. If you have rock ..."