Crispy Gamer News

When fans of Guitar Hero said they wanted some “killer” tracks added to the series’ downloadable content, Activision decided to take them literally. The company announced today that multi-platinum alternative rockers The Killers will celebrate the release of the band’s third album, Day & Age, with a new selection of downloadable content, available simultaneously with the album’s release on November 25th, The new downloadable tracks will feature two singles off Day & Age: “Human” and “Losing Touch”. The track pack will also feature the song “Mr. Brightside” from the band’s debut album, Hot Fuss.

The Killers Track Pack will be available on Xbox LIVE Marketplace for 440 Microsoft Points and on the PlayStation Store for $5.49. In addition, all three tracks will be made available as single downloadable songs for Xbox 360 for 160 Microsoft Points, the PlayStation 3 for $1.99, and for Wii via the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection for 200 Wii Points.

The Activision machine just added an extra cog this morning as the publisher announced that it has acquired Iowa based video game developer Budcat Creations. Budcat is best known for developing games on the Wii and the Nintendo DS. Activision had already worked with Budcat on the development of multiple games in the Guitar Hero franchise including Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, and Guitar Hero World Tour. According to Activision’s announcement, Budcat is also currently developing a new game in the Guitar Hero franchise.
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Since Activision still seems to have time before the upcoming Nintendo DSi makes its Guitar Hero On Tour DS peripheral obsolete, the company has decided to milk it for as long as it can. Today, Activision unveiled the full set list for the sequel to its portable Guitar Hero hit, dubbed Guitar Hero On Tour: Decades. Featuring more than 40 years of rock’s most celebrated artists with 28 master recordings, the set list will include: (more…)

We all knew it was coming. You just can’t talk guitar without invoking the name of Hendrix. True to form, Activision announced today that the legendary artist will take the stage once again, along with the Jack White/Brendan Benson band The Raconteurs, as downloadable content in Guitar Hero World Tour.

Hendrix, already confirmed as a playable character in the game, will have three additional downloadable master tracks: “If 6 was 9,” “Little Wing,” and a live version of the iconic track “Fire”. The Jimi Hendrix Track pack will be available as downloadable content for Guitar Hero World Tour on November 13th.
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Y’know, the game isn’t even out, and the hits keep on coming. Activision announced this morning that fans looking to find an ‘Oasis’ in their Guitar Hero World Tour experience will get their wish on November 6th with the release of the downloadable Oasis Track Pack.

Featuring “Bag it Up,” “Waiting for the Rapture” and the first single, “The Shock of the Lightning”, from the band’s seventh studio album, the Oasis Track Pack will be available on November 6th for the Xbox 360 and PS3. In addition, the three tracks will be released as single downloadable songs. The Dig Out Your Soul album, in its entirety or via individual singles, will be available for download into Guitar Hero World Tour sometime in 2009.

So, you’re sitting there planning out your launch day plans for Guitar Hero World Tour, and you’re thinking to yourself, “Hey … I don’t know if the game’s 86 song track list will be enough to satisfy my inner rock god. Whatever shall I do?” Well, Activision has got you covered, announcing earlier today its plans for downloadable tracks timed for release right alongside World Tour’s launch on October 26th.

First stop on the DLC express is R.E.M. Available exclusively on Xbox LIVE Marketplace for two weeks starting October 30, the R.E.M. Track Pack will feature three songs from the hit band’s latest album, Accelerate. The songs, which can also be downloaded individually as singles, include: “Horse to Water,” “Man-Sized Wreath” and “Supernatural Superserious.” Starting on November 14th, the R.E.M. Track Pack will also be available for download over the PlayStation Network.
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In a new interview with the Wall Street Journal, Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick said that Guitar Hero is so good that maybe music labels should pay his company. Tongue in check comment? I honestly hope so.

Mr. Kotick believes that Guitar Hero has a huge influence on the music included. He goes farther, saying that maybe music labels should pay his company for being included in their games.

“We compensate artists and publishers extremely well. There are millions and millions of dollars that are being made and paid. There’s a misunderstanding of the value we bring to the catalog. What happens to your catalog in digital downloads? What happens to your merchandise? What happens to your ticket sales? When you look at the impact it can have on an Aerosmith, Van Halen or Metallica, it’s really significant, so much so that you sort of question whether or not, in the case of those kinds of products, you should be paying any money at all and whether it should be the reverse,” he said to WSJ.

Kotick is also not buying into the theory that the music actually sells the game; rather, it is the game that helps promote the music: “We have lots of music to choose from, lots of artists to choose from. A 12-year-old kid has no idea who Steven Tyler is or who Aerosmith is. The bulk of our consumers will tell you they’re not purchasing the products based on the songs that are included,” he said. “They’re purchasing based on how fun the songs are to play when they’re playing them.”

This is an ironic argument when you take into account how much the game industry complains about intellectual property rights, DMC and piracy. Are the music industry’s IPs less important somehow?

Source: GameDaily