Activision's goal is to expand the franchise to attract new players with differing tastes, but Guitar Hero CEO Dan Rosensweig is quick to note that the franchise already has a large female following.
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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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Megarom has announced the local pricing of Guitar Hero 5, Band Hero and DJ Hero in South Africa.
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NextGen Player writes:

"By happenstance I checked out the Future Shop eNewsletter today and noticed they're currently doing a Web Deals of the Day promotion until August 16. There are two deals for today, both are Guitar Hero World Tour bundles."
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Activision today released the Victory Track Pack for Guitar Hero World Tour on Xbox 360, PS3, and Wii. The pack includes the three tracks "NJ Legion Iced Tea" from A Day to Remember, "Bomb the World" from The Sleeping, and "I Am The Arsonist" by Silverstein.
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BeefJack writes: "You may be able to get $100 off Guitar Hero World Tour tomorrow at GameStops. In addition, there may be some 200 price drops at the retailer, clearing space for the fall.

If there were any games released this spring that you haven't purchased yet, you may just want to check out your local GameStop tomorrow to see what kind of deals they are running."
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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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Everyone's favorite plastic peripheral purveyor Red Octane is having a bit of a deal today. The normally $60 wireless guitar and $20 wired microphone for Guitar Hero World Tour (across all platforms) are being offered together in a $50 package -- today only..
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Examiner: "Amazon is discounting the price of Guitar Hero World Tour Band Bundle by as much as $100."
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Both Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin) and Jack White (The White Stripes) spoke last week at a press conference in Los Angeles detailing their forthcoming 'It Might Get Loud' documentary, according to NME.

When asked for their thoughts on the popular video game music genre, the band members didn't exactly have any kind words to say.

"It's depressing to have a label come and tell you that ['Guitar Hero'] is how kids are learning about music and experiencing music," Jack White said. Though he said he doesn't care "which format people should get their music in…if you have to be in a video game to get in front of them, that's a little sad."
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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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Buried in today's Elecrtonic Arts earnings call was this amazing revelation from COO John Pleasants: Revenue for music/rhythm games was down 36% during the first quarter of the year and 42% in March, per NPD. As a result, EA has cut the gross sales revenue it expects from its EA Partner division, which distributes "Rock Band" for Viacom.

That's a huge decline. And keep in mind that there weren't any major music game releases during the first quarter of last year, while 2009 saw "Guitar Hero: Metallica" (albeit at the very end of March). As we started to see in late 2008, sales of "Rock Band 2" and "Guitar Hero: World Tour" must be down massively from the original "Rock Band" and "Guitar Hero III."

And while EA CEO John Riccitiello said he feels "really bullish" about "Rock Band: Beatles Edition," the fact that the company is expecting $400 million less in sales indicates just how big an impact continued sales of "Rock Band" through last year mattered, and how far "Rock Band 2" is lagging.
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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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The critically acclaimed and longest-running musical at London's prestigious Dominion Theatre, We Will Rock You - based on the music of Queen - has partnered with Activision's Guitar Hero World Tour to offer patrons the ultimate night of rock. Before and after select performances of the hit musical, which embarks on its first UK tour this month, people will be able to rock with Guitar Hero World Tour to three of Queen's hit tracks, C-Lebrity, Fat Bottom Girls and We Are The Champions, as well as the entire 86-song on-disc set list, with prizes awarded to the best virtual performers. The game will also be featured at regional We Will Rock You preview and launch events, where members of the cast can mingle with press and VIPs.
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Nyko's new heavy-duty drum pedal for Rock Band and Guitar Hero is now available in stores for $19.99.

The Metal Pedal is compatible with Rock Band 1 and 2, Guitar Hero: World Tour and Guitar Hero: Metallica on all consoles. Simply plug the pedal directly into the drum set and you are good to go!
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KillerFocus of CheapAssGamer writes:

"Use coupon code BAND40 to get the Guitar Hero World Tour PS3/360 Band Kits for $130, and the PS2 version for $120. Free shipping."
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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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Taking place on Thursday April 23rd at The Brewery, Chiswell Street, London, this year's MCV Industry Excellence Awards will be the most hotly-contested ever, with 17 accolades up for grabs, across a diverse range of categories covering the entire industry.

Nintendo, EA, Ubisoft, Microsoft, Sega and Activision will battle it out for the Games Publisher Award, whilst individual titles Guitar Hero World Tour, GTA IV, FIFA 09, Fallout 3, Wii Fit and Call of Duty: World At War compete for Game Campaign.
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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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Yankees player Alex Rodriguez has admitted to steroid use and Olympic swimmer was recently spotted smoking pot but they won't be comically air-brushed out of the Guitar Hero: World Tour advertisements anytime soon. Activision is sticking by the embattled athletes.
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