"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..."

"LOS ANGELES -- One of the hottest trends in video games is one of the oldest pastimes of the human race.

A virtual symphony of music-playing games will soon be lining store shelves as game publishers and console makers try to capitalize on the growing popularity of the genre. The latest is from Nintendo Co., which unveiled its "Wii Music" game here at the E3 video game convention Tuesday.
In almost every genre of game, if you see a big spike, it's largely attributable to one or two titles..."

"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..."

"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..."

"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 ..."

"It seems to me like Gibson is just trying to make some easy money off of an established franchise."

""Guitar Hero is one of the biggest brands and one of the most powerful distribution platforms in all of entertainment today," said Michael Griffith, president and CEO of Activision Publishing, Inc. "Guitar Hero's popularity with broad audiences is a confirmation that video games have become a true mass medium."

But wait, there's one more feather for Activision to stick in their no-doubt very large and well ornamented hat: since Guitar Hero III's release in November, it has surpassed 5 mill..."

"Christine and Justin would really like a Nintendo Wii. Should anyone be (stupid enough?) willing to offer up the retail price for Nintendo’s hit console in return for the canvas-bound interpretation then the eager couple will immediately purchase said Wii and cross that particular item off their list of material ‘wants.’"

"In fact, the immense popularity of the hit Guitar Hero franchise--the third iteration of the game, Guitar Hero III, brought in $115 million during its first week on the market--may be the best thing that has happened to the instrument, to rock 'n' roll, and to guitar instructors, in a long time.

"I have an overwhelming feeling that my business is safe for years to come when I see kids playing Guitar Hero," said Dan Emery, owner of New York City Guitar School. "These kids are really enjoyin..."

"This episode follows the last year's hugely popular "Make Love, Not Warcraft" episode, which helped garner the long-running animated show an Emmy."

"As per Download content from Microsoft, each title is only allowed to have it's own DLC. So, unfortunately, all the DLC for Universe 1 will only be compatible for Universe 1. Same thing goes for 2 when it comes out. DLC for Universe 2 will only work for Universe 2."

"Yet another outrageously priced track pack has been released for Guitar Hero II over the Xbox Live Marketplace. For a whopping 500 Points, wannabe rock stars can get Teenagers, Famous Last Words, and This is How I Disappear by My Chemical Romance. Players can also preview the songs with the 46 MB trailer that was released alongside the pack."

"Today, this intricately crafted LEGO Guitar Hero controller appeared on the internet, and GamerSquad's jaw duly dropped.

Obviously, constructing a replica of Guitar Hero’s Gibson Explorer-inspired controller using just LEGO is a feat worthy of applause on its own, but get this: it even works with the game."

"Innovative rock game Guitar Hero II will go head to head with Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories at the 25th Golden Joystick awards.

Both have six nominations, including best soundtrack and ultimate game.

Massively multiplayer online games such as the Lord of the Rings and World of Warcraft also featured heavily in the shortlist, both with five nominations.

The winners - voted for by gamers - will be unveiled at a ceremony at a London hotel on 26 October.

Gamers can vote for thei..."

"Readers, say "hello" to the Guitar Heronoid, a creation brought to you by robotics enthusiast Rafael Mizrahi and the letters ‘W’, ‘T’ and ‘F’. The purpose of Mizrahi’s bizarre invention? Simple - to play the PlayStation 2 version of Guitar Hero II more perfectly than any human being ever could."

"Name: Guitar Hero Track Pack 4
Price: 500 Points
Availability: Not available in Asia
Dash Details: Wanna Be Sedated as made famous by The Ramones, Smoke on the Water as made famous by Deep Purple, You've Got Another Thing Coming as made famous by Judas Priest, For all song credits please visit www.redoctane.com"

"10.) Ikaruga
9.) House of the Dead III
8.) Guitar Hero II
7.) Halo 2
6.) ToeJam & Earl
5.) The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures
4.) The Simpsons Arcade
3.) Double Dragon
2.) Gauntlet
1.) Contra"

""Download Festival is being held at Donnington Park from June 8 to 10 and, from 10pm each night, Guitar Hero gods can perform on the Third Stage in front of up to 3,000 moshing fans. Rockers can choose from one of the 40 songs in Guitar Hero II on Xbox 360 before strutting in the spotlight.""

"I Wanna Rock - Twisted Sister
I Ran - Flock of Seagulls
Round and Round - as made popular by Ratt
I Want Candy - as made popular by Bow Wow Wow
Metal Health - as made popular by Quiet Riot
Holy Diver - as made popular by Dio
Heat of the Moment - as made popular by Asia"

"Pelican has released a new USB adpater with the following features:


1. 5-year warranty. Pelican will replace or repair your console if a Pelican product damages it.

2. It has a “PS Home” button on it and four red LEDs to indicate controller number.

3. “Guitar Hero(tm) 1 and 2 Ready: Plug in your favorite guitar and rock out to Guitar Hero 1 and 2 on your PS3.”

4. It doesn’t support rumble.



During the tests we were only able to show that the PS Home button works and that ..."

""Sales associates at the stores were eager to point out that the games would disappear rather quickly (within hours) once they hit the shelves," said Kreher. "Second controllers for the game continue to be unavailable, with none for sale at any of the stores surveyed. At this point it appears that unmet demand is not a function of technical issues surrounding the whammy bar, rather the inability to produce enough guitar controllers. We believe Activision is currently seeking ways to increase ..."

"According to whispsers, there are three new song packs on the way. Here's what is, possibly, in store!

Content Pack 1:
“Cowboys From Hell” - Pantera
“I Love Rock & Roll” - Joan Jett & The Blackhearts
“Cochise” - Audioslave

Content Pack 2:
“Godzilla” - Blue Oyster Cult
“I Wanna Be Sedated” - The Ramones
“Sharp Dressed Man” - ZZ Top

Content Pack 3:
“Iron Man” - Black Sabbath
“Take Me Out” - Franz Ferdinand
“Smoke on the Water” - Deep Purple"

"Since Guitar Hero first exploded onto the scene in 2006, thousands of wannabe rock stars have been locked away in their homes fiddling their fingers up and down the frets of a plastic guitar, rocking out to classic guitar tunes. Having conquered the hearts and minds of PlayStation 2 owners, developer Harmonix and publisher RedOctane recently took an axe to the Xbox 360, with an improved version of Guitar Hero II featuring online leaderboards and downloadable tracks.

We had the chance to sp..."

"If you own Guitar Hero II on your Xbox 360 console, there is a 99% chance that you've experienced the bane of having a broken Whammy Bar. You would have seen the “official” responses from Red Octane saying they are looking it to it and in the mean time avid GHII gamers found their own fix by tweaking the internal workings of the guitar.

Finally Red Octane have released a Software update that fixes the Whammy Bar issues across all models of the controller and heaven rejoice sang all gamers ..."

"Apparently Red Octane discovered the problem in their guitars and fixed it with a software patch this morning. On Red Octane's website they're saying that as of 4 AM pacific today a patch is available via Xbox Live that "should resolve the situation where input from the whammy bar was not always recognized."

Red Octane admitted a week ago that two models of their Xbox 360 guitars were "defective." This followed a week of wannabe guitar heroes discovering that their axes were having problem..."

The xbox 360 version of Guitar hero 2 now has song packs released on live, the following packs are availible.

Pack 1: "Bark at the Moon," "Hey You," "Ace of Spades"
Pack 2: "Killer Queen," "Take it Off," "Frankenstein"
Pack 3: "Higher Ground," "Infected," "Stellar"

The problem is these tracks are quite pricey at 500 points per pack, which works out around $2 per song. By this standard, the 48 songs of GH (selling for $40 new on PS2) would cost you just under $100 on Live.