Axl Rose Pissed over Guitar Hero using GNRs songs

Axl Rose has partially emerged from hiding, and he’s putting his litigious foot forward. After tossing some threats towards Dr. Pepper, the G N’ R frontman had some less than complimentary things to say about Activision’s Guitar Hero franchise, which Rose accused of using “Sweet Child O’ Mine” and “Welcome to the Jungle” in an unauthorized manner.

Rose said that he had no problem with Guns guitarist Slash appearing in the game and went as far as to say that Slash has the right to perform the songs, but maintained that Activision did not obtain the proper license to use either one of them. Activision, possibly preparing to get in the ring, has not responded publicly to Rose’s allegations.

Shame on Activision for poaching Guns N’ Roses songs in Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock. That’s band frontman Axl Rose’s testy take in a sprawling missive delivered at band fan site Mygnr.com. According to Rose, Activision used GnR songs inappropriately and without proper authorization. While he’s doesn’t lay out any legal particulars, his “it’ll take some sorting” comment has bloggers in a tizzy.

In the post, Rose explains that former GnR guitarist Slash’s appearance in Activision’s Guitar Hero series doesn’t bother him

…unless it’s being done at my expense…or to keep him associated [with GnR] as in Guitar Hero. Him being Guitar Hero’s fine but not when Activision is using Jungle, having Yahoo use Sweet Child unauthorized, claims no involvement with Slash, his or anyone’s image or VR or anyone or anyone’s music in either camp in promotion or commercials etc. I wasn’t broadsided. I read about it as it moved along but Activision continually denied it right up to the release. That’s some low life chicanery on all their parts.

Yes Slash was in Guns and on Jungle (and the whole I came to him for his riff is as much crap as him saying he brought Locomotive and Coma in as complete songs) and he has rights to perform it but not to be represented in this context in association with Guns. And since they weren’t granted the license it’ll take some sorting.

Universal has Guns under contract but I own the name.

Rose and Slash don’t get along. Haven’t for years. Rose wants Slash to keep his mitts off GnR’s namesake, and Activision to get its song-usage certification papers sorted, apparently.

As if that wasn’t enough, Rose no longer wants to be a Pepper too. The singer and his band are hacked off over a botched deal with Dr. Pepper, wherein the soft drink manufacturer was to offer a free soda to every American if Chinese Democracy, the band’s new album, were released in 2008. The album made it out the door on November 23, but Dr. Pepper’s website reportedly malfunctioned during the 24 hour giveaway period.

Guitar Hero has not peaked

Lagging sales of Guitar Hero: World Tour are not an indication that the $1 billion-plus franchise has “peaked,” said analyst Todd Greenwald with Signal Hill.

“Guitar Hero sell-through a bit soft, but not a disaster,” said Greenwald of Activision’s latest franchise entry, which incorporates microphone, drum and guitar controllers. He said the full band bundle has sold well, but admitted sales of the standalone game and guitar/software kit have been “sluggish” when compared to the record-breaking Guitar Hero III.

However, he refused to believe that the franchise’s popularity has peaked. “Despite this ‘weakness,’ we disagree strongly with those who contend that Guitar Hero is a ‘fad,’ or that the franchise peaked last year with [Guitar Hero III].”

Greenwald added, “For the year, the overall Guitar Hero franchise is up substantially (including extensions like Guitar Hero Aerosmith and Guitar Hero On Tour). North America sales are likely to be up over 20 percent for the year, while Europe could be up nearly 300 percent. Furthermore, the title count will expand materially in 2009, driving further growth with potential titles like GH: Metallica, GH: Jimi Hendrix, DJ Hero and more.”

UBS analyst Ben Schachter recently reported that the Guitar Hero franchise sold 1.7 million units in the U.S. during November, down 25 percent year-on-year. Rival music franchise Rock Band sold a relatively few 629K, although sales were up 65 percent for the busy shopping month.

Greenwald’s comments counter those made by Electronic Entertainment Design and Research analyst Jesse Divnich, who said that franchises like Guitar Hero and Rock Band will have a large, loyal fanbase for the next 10 years, but argued that sales show popularity is reaching its peak.

Guitar Hero Metallica Reveal Trailer

So what if the Metallica edition of Guitar Hero still hasn’t been officially announced? The band itself has been talking about it all willy-nilly; it’s been in Game Informer; there was even a teaser in Guitar Hero World Tour. And now … well, the trailer is out. Not from its publisher, Activision, but on the band’s website.

Perhaps some fine print in the band’s contract stipulates that it gets to handle the PR for the game. Perhaps the mere mention of the game is being considered an “exclusive,” since it’s “unannounced.” Perhaps it’s time for a press release already.

Peak Starpex Guitar Hero Controller Review

Eyewitness News Reporter Tommy Noel continues to test toys this month for his “Does it Really Work?” segment.

For today’s product, some of the testers just couldn’t put it down!

A lot of Channel 3 employees like Guitar Hero, so we’ll have them test out the Peak Starpex Guitar Hero Controller.

Guitar hero has caught the attention of gamers of all ages.

“Whenever I go to my cousins that have it I usually just play it the whole time,” says Theo Dawson.

“After a hard days work, I go home and relieve stress by playing Guitar Hero,” says Kerri Huyck.

“It makes you feel way awesome,” says Scott Dixon.

But could the Peak Starpex Wood Controller make you even more awesome?

First impressions. All three of our testers immediately noticed the difference in size compared to a regular controller.

“It was really heavy,” says Kerri.

“It was big. Compared to the others, it’s a lot bigger,” says Scott.

“It’s a little heavy but it’s pretty cool,” says Theo.

So the coolness factor may make up for the extra weight. Our testers consist of experts, close-to-experts, and novices. All played a song at their appropriate skill level.

“The square buttons made it easier to roll around your fingers,” says Theo.

“It just looked way cooler,” says Scott.

The testers had their opinions fairly quicky of the Starpex, it was just difficult to pry them away from it. The main drawback for our testers, the size.

“I just didn’t like the weight, that’s it,” says Theo.

But our evening producer Scott was impressed.

“It was better than I expected. The other guitars are all made of plastic and cheaply made, this one felt pretty solid could last thru a lot of stuff,” says Scott.

Turning to the Noel-O-Meter.

“I would give it a three,” says Kerri.

“I’d give it a four,” says Scott.

“Maybe a four,” says Theo.

So this may be a good Christmas gift… Except for Sarah Schwabe.

“We failed, that’s how bad we are,” says Sarah Schwabe.

New Guitar Hero World Tour DLC announced

Activision has announced another month’s worth of downloadable content for Guitar Hero World Tour which will be released weekly right through to the end of January 2009.

This latest batch of DLC includes an eclectic mix of tunes from the likes of country superstars Brooks and Dunn to Australia’s own Silverchair, Wolfmother and The Vines. The biggest chunk of DLC comes in the form of the previously announced Oasis album “Dig Out Your Soul” which will be available for 1520 Microsoft Points (or $19 US) on January 29.

PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 owners will have the choice of buying individual songs for $2 US (160 Microsoft Points) or snagging the entire bundle for $5.50 US (440 Microsoft Points). Wii owners will be able to purchase individual tracks for 200 Wii Points each, but no bundles will be available on the Wii Shop Channel.

The Guitar Hero World Tour DLC release schedule for December – January will look a little like this:

Untitled Track Pack (Released December 23)
* Hinder – Use Me
* Nickeback – Because of You
* Rev Theory – Light it Up

Country Rock Track Pack (Released January
* Rascal Flatts – Me and My Gang
* Brad Paisley – Ticks
* Brooks & Dunn – Hillbilly Deluxe

Travis Barker Track Pack (Released January 15)
* Blink 182 -”What’s My Age Again
* +44 – Lycanthrope
* Flo Rida – Low (Travis Barker Remix)

Australian Rock Track Pack (Released January 22)
* Silverchair – Tomorrow
* Wolfmother – Dimension
* The Vines – Outtathaway!

Oasis’ Dig Out Your Soul (Released January 29)
* The Turning
* I’m Outta Time
* (Get Off Your) High Horse Lady
* Falling Down
* To Be Where There’s Life
* Ain’t Got Nothin’
* The Nature of Reality
* Soldier On
* Bag it Up
* Waiting for the Rapture
* The Shock of Lightning

Activision Announces Guitar Hero 5

At an in-game advertising conference in downtown Manhattan, hosted by the Microsoft-owned Massive Inc, publisher Activision Blizzard announced its 2009 line-up of sequels with new entries slated for its Guitar Hero, Call of Duty and Tony Hawk franchises.

This falls in-line with what Activision CEO Bobby Kotick told investors in early November. When explaining as to why the company was dropping high-profile titles such as Chronicles of Riddick and Ghostbusters at the time, Kotick said “[These games] don’t have the potential to be exploited every year on every platform with clear sequel potential [or] have the potential to become $100 million dollar franchises.” It appears as though we can now say for certain as to which franchises he was referring to.

Activision didn’t have much to show of the freshly announced Guitar Hero 5 (which is most likely a working title), though since the conference was focused on advertising, it did show off a scene from the game, complete with a Burger King ad in the background. In the case of Call of Duty, gamers can look forward to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, a sequel to last year’s hoo-rah inducing Middle-East shooter. While nothing has been confirmed, the absence of series numbering leads us to believe that Activision is planning to split the franchise in two, with one series focused on a modern setting while another stays in its original World War 2 format.

Veteran skater Tony Hawk is coming back from a vacation next October, having taken the year off due to an intense new rival in EA’s Skate. Activision is looking to mix things up for the tenth entry in the series, promising that players won’t be using a controller in their hands to play it, hinting towards a possible foot or motion based controller. Regardless, the title is once again being developed by the series creator, Neversoft.

Finally, if you’re tired of sequels, Activision-owned Bizarre Creations is working on an original racing title that they describe as “Mario Kart meets Forza Motorsports.” But you’re not tired of sequels, are you? Just in case, Bizarre will also be hard at work on the next James Bond game, though it is set to be an original adventure and not tied to any movie storyline whatsoever.

Guitar Hero Robot has 98% Accuracy

This Guitar Hero robot is in a league of its own, boasting an accuracy number up to 98%. In the video below, it hit 99% of notes in Living Colour’s “Cult of Personality” on Guitar Hero 3 for the Wii. Pretty crazy.

The Cythbot is not a humanoid robot but instead a collection of components cleverly patched together to create an automated device that can read the notes flowing on a screen and play them — mimicking what a gamer would do with the game.

Guitar Hero Team struggled for years before success

Although MTV bought Harmonix in 2006 for $175 million, the company struggled for years before making a profit.

Yes, more than a decade before Guitar Hero and Rock Band would simultaneously blow up the video game world and play savior to the music industry, founders Alex Rigopulos and Eran Egozy struggled mightily. The story has been documented before, but perhaps never so thoroughly or articulately than in last month’s Inc. Magazine.

Inc. Magazine, October 2008: They were obsessed with an idea. It started with “Growing Music From Seeds: Parametric Generation and Control of Seed-Based Music for Interactive Composition and Performance,” Rigopulos’s 80-page master’s thesis in 1994 at MIT’s Media Lab. The paper had something to do with encoding the essence of music into software.

That thesis would inspire a company — Harmonix opened shop in 1995 — and several awkward and ultimately unsuccessful products, including a piece of software titled The Axe that sold 300 copies and a joystick slapped onto a guitar and wired into a karaoke machine.

In 2000, Harmonix turned to games, but again met with failure. Their first title, Frequency, received a 9.0 rating from IGN, yet along with its sequel Amplitude, sold poorly.

Next up was 2003′s EyeToy: AntiGrav, a virtual hoverboard game that sold well, but left the Harmonix team feeling like they’d lost their connection to music, which was got them started in the first place.

The success was a punch in the gut. “We were like, God, are we just idiots?” Rigopulos says. “Are we a game company? Are we a music company?” “We were thinking, Is our entire company mission statement basically a complete flaw?” says Egozy.

Enter Red Octane — makers of the Dance Dance Revolution pad — a company that knew something about designing quality peripherals.

Harmonix and Red Octane teamed up to release Guitar Hero in 2005, and although Best Buy was initially the only store to buy units, the game would go on to revolutionize two industries.

In the last two months of 2005, Guitar Hero did about $15 million in sales, more than the previous 10 years of sales at Harmonix combined. And the train kept a-rollin’. Bars started having Guitar Hero nights. Real rock stars started playing. The raunchy cartoon South Park devoted an episode to the craze titled “Guitar Queer-O.” A pitcher for the Detroit Tigers, Joel Zumaya, missed the American League Championship Series in 2006 with an unexplained wrist injury. Yes, he had played too much Guitar Hero.

For more on Harmonix’s early struggles, watch GameSpot’s Behind the Games interview with co-founder Alex Rigopulos: