WorthPlaying writes, "Grammy Award-nominated American metal rocker and former White Zombie frontman Rob Zombie adds to his Rock Band DLC catalog (currently "War Zone") with three new tracks for the Rock Band platform, including "Dragula" and "Superbeast," from his debut solo album, Hellbilly Deluxe, as well as "Burn," from his new album, Hellbilly Deluxe 2, to be released Nov. 17. Zombie also has a film currently playing in theaters – Halloween 2, which he wrote, directed and produced."
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Ben Kuchera of ArsTechnica writes:

"The great thing about Guitar Hero and Rock Band packages is that they come in OMG-XBOX-HUGE packages. Why is that a great thing? Because boxes that big cost retailers money to store, which means that, with new rhythm games coming by the end of the year, it costs more to keep them around than it does to sell them at a huge discount. That means it's time to blast out existing inventory at OMG-GAMEBOY-MICRO prices. Let's take a look at what you can grab.

You have the name of the game, the system, the old price, and the price that the bundle is on sale for. If you don't have the game, or if you just need to pick up a few instruments to have as extras, this is a great time to do so."
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Gamestop.com is running a huge blowout sale for many different bundles of Rock Band, Rock Band 2 SE, and Guitar Hero.
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Slashgamer: "Prince is considered to be one of the greatest musicians of our time. Honestly, even if for some reason you can't stand him, it's hard to argue his greatness, just look at his achievements. The artiest has won seven Grammy Awards, one Golden Globe and even an Academy Award for his work on Purple Rain.

Even with his legendary work, comes controversy. Without me getting to much into it, just go to his Wikipedia page and look under 'controversy.' With that said, PBS asked Prince on his thoughts about Guitar Hero. Although he didn't necessarily criticizes the rhythm game, he just doesn't think it should be a substitute for playing an actual guitar."
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A California court has thrown out a lawsuit filed by legendary guitar maker Gibson against Activision for allegedly violating a patent with their Guitar Hero games.
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Consumer electronics manufacturer Vivo Products has announced a couple of changes in their corporate lineup today. Bernard Stolar has been appointed to Chairman of the Board and Kelli Richards assumes the role of VP Business Development&Content Partnerships.

Vivo currently boasts three products including a Jillian Michaels Flash Drive, Gene Simmons Axe, and the Vivo Video player. The famous Axe guitar from the legendary front man of KISS, Gene Simmons is forever immortalized in plastic by Vivo for use in Rock Band and Guitar Hero games on the Playstation 2 and Playstation 3 consoles. Jillian Michaels has her likeness on 2gb flash drives that are a compliment her Fitness Ultimatum Nintendo Wii game. The Vivo Video is touted as "the ultimate all-in-one mp3 and mp4 player".
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Power Chord Academy, the nation's leading summer camp for amateur musician training, is excited to announce the addition of two new Summer programs!

GameROCKERS is an exclusive 3-day cutting edge game-musician program for the new age of musicians who play Guitar Hero or Rock Band. iROCKER is a 1-day version of the GameROCKERS program.
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That Gaming Site Writes: "I play real Guitar and Guitar Hero.

Being a fan of both, I've been subject to numerous arguments over and over about how playing Guitar Hero or Rock Band is a waste of time and that 'nerds' should try picking up a real instrument and do something productive for a change. It was in this week's edition of NME (a British Indie Music Publication) that brought me this comment, in an article that........"
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...Gene Simmons has a lot to say about it.

"I never do anything half way. My AXE controller is the closest thing you can have to being onstage in KISS. I created and designed the Gene Simmons AXE bass guitar and I can't wait for the fans to experience it for themselves," said Gene Simmons. "The Gene Simmons AXE guitar is such a recognizable symbol - people have been asking for a gaming replica ever since Guitar Hero was first introduced."
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MCV: 'Rock Star' combo blame rhythm action titles for lack of new US bands
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"Want something that looks just that little bit more authentic when you're playing Guitar Hero?

How about a three-quarter replica of Gene Simmons' guitar from Kiss?

Yes folks. You too can paint your face black and white and strut around the living room with your unfeasibly long tongue hanging out as you get to grips with the latest Guitar Hero game..."

Excerpt quoted from PS3 Attitude
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Yesterday, Logitech revealed its new $250 wireless guitar controller for Guitar Hero for the PlayStation 2 and PlayStation 3. However, there were some questions about whether or not the peripheral would see a release for the Wii or Xbox 360, or if it would work with other non-Guitar Hero branded games. And now, those questions no longer remain unanswered.
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Ever since Sunday, Rock Band 2 has been the talk of the town. Xbox 360 owners have been digging deep into the game's new set list, as well as the online battle of the bands, instrument challenges, and revamped World Tour mode. You'd think that maybe we've all started to forget about a little franchise known as Guitar Hero, but according to Activision CEO Bobby Kotick, you'd be wrong. He would like to take a moment to remind you that Guitar Hero is still the world's number one music franchise.
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Director Brett Ratner has been plenty vocal about wanting to develop a movie based on the game Guitar Hero. But Activision, the company that owns the franchise, isn't going for it. "I'd really like to do it, but they're not letting me," he tells EW.com. "I expressed my interest, but because it's such a success, it's like now there's no reason to make a movie about it."

Ratner is a big fan of the game, incorporating it into videos he's directed for Miley Cyrus and Mariah Carey, and he envisioned a story about a small-town kid who dreams of fame and wins a Guitar Hero competition. "The game is wish-fulfilling, everyone can be a rock star."

But despite the setback, Ratner is not giving up hope. "I might prevail," he says. "I usually do."
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GiN Reports: "Peak Products, a gaming peripheral company dedicated to providing the best in instrument quality gaming controllers, announces Starpex, the first-ever full-size, wood, PS2 /PS3 Guitar controller with the look and feel of an actual guitar. Starpex boasts an instrument-quality, highgloss lacquered finish with a hardwood body, neck, and headstock handcrafted by a leading guitar manufacturer giving the authentic guitar experience that Guitar Hero and Rock Band enthusiasts crave."
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Activision Blizzard Inc. on Thursday reported that Activision Inc.'s first-quarter profits more than doubled on strong sales of the "Guitar Hero" franchise and the game based on the animated movie "Kung Fu Panda."

The first quarter ended before the closing of Activision's merger with Vivendi Games, creating Activision Blizzard.

In the quarter, Activision earned $59 million, or 18 cents a share, up from $27.8 million, or 9 cents a share, in the first quarter a year ago.

In the quarter, Activision logged $654.2 million in sales, up from $495.5 million a year ago.
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Not content with the plastic miniature guitar you're forced to use when you pretend rock out? Well, if you're a PlayStation 2 or 3 owner with an extra $180 lying around, you can pick up this new wooden guitar that works with Rock Band and all of the Guitar Hero games.
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Dick McVengeance of Destructoid says,

"Let's face it: the Guitar Hero controller is not the ideal item for the game. It'd be nice to hold a full-sized guitar in your hands. We've seen people build custom controllers and put them on eBay, but those were one-off deals, and usually rather expensive."
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So time has passed, and time heals all wounds right? It was with a hopeful heart that some people bought a copy of Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, and tried firing it up with a Rock Band guitar, only to be greeted with a screen telling them, "An unsupported guitar peripheral has been detected."

Sigh.
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Welcome to New Releases for the Week!

Highlights this week include Guitar Hero: Aerosmith (Xbox 360/PS3/Nintendo Wii/PS2), Gears of War Refresh (Xbox 360) and Trauma Center: Under the Knife 2 (Nintendo DS).

Check out the full list of new video game releases (USA) for the week of June 29, 2008 on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wii, Sony PS2, PSP, Nintendo DS, and PC!
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