GamesRadar - Guitar Hero II

Rock Band to Get Rob Zombie, Wolfmother, Morningwood, And More (News)

23 Oct 2009

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."

Band Hero Demo on Xbox Live (News)

15 Oct 2009

WorthPlaying writes "With Band Hero, you can come together with family and friends to ascend the virtual stage and rise to fame, bringing you a new genre of music focused on today's hottest top-40 hits and classic anthems that everyone will know. A playable demo is available on Xbox Live featuring three tracks (Finger Eleven's Paralyzer, Katrina & The Waves' Walking on Sunshine and Taylor Swift's Picture to Burn) and two modes (Party Play / Sing-Along)."

Xbox 360 Top 10 Games List (News)

20 Sep 2009

As Xbox 360's 4th reunion nears, I have decided to take a look back into this great franchises success. There have been many years of graphical improvement, multiplayer updates, and revised campaign techniques that we have all experienced together. Many companies have thrived because of the success of the Xbox 360 and many ground-breaking games have revolutionized the games industry. Below will be a Top Ten List of The Best Xbox 360 Games of all time, based upon single player and multiplayer.

Logitech Announces Wireless Drum Set Control for Xbox 360 (News)

11 Sep 2009

GamingShogun.com writes: "Logitech has revealed their new wireless drum controller for the Guitar Hero series on the Xbox 360, displaying what appears to be a very sleek and sexy design that I can't imagine anyone not wanting in their living room. The controller will retail for $229.99 and be available in the U.S. this..."

Music charts to add games (News)

9 Jul 2009

MCV: Singstar and Guitar Hero downloads wanted by Official Charts Company

GameStop starts huge Guitar Hero, Rock Band sale (News)

7 Jul 2009

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."

Jack White and Jimmy Page diss 'Guitar Hero' video game (News)

23 Jun 2009

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."

Neversoft defends Guitar Hero song pack pricing (News)

17 Jun 2009

NowGamer: Guitar Hero's song pack pricing has faced some criticism in the past, but producer Brian Bright explained to NowGamer the amount of work that goes into producing each track and defended their price.

"It's a lot of work," said Bright. "First of all we need nine streams for all the audio. Then everything gets note-tracked. And just for one guitar-track, it can take a guy a week..."

Gamestop.com Music Blowout Sale (News)

9 Jun 2009

Gamestop.com is running a huge blowout sale for many different bundles of Rock Band, Rock Band 2 SE, and Guitar Hero.

Prince Talks About Guitar Hero, Turned Down an Offer to be in the Game (News)

1 May 2009

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."

New Community Login System is on its way for Guitar Hero (News)

20 Mar 2009

Activision sent out this email announcing the new community login system coming for Guitar Hero.

Gibson Loses Guitar Hero Lawsuit (News)

2 Mar 2009

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.

School of Rock: Guitar Hero & Rock Band Summer Camps Announced (News)

7 Feb 2009

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.

Blondie Man Studies Music Games (News)

6 Feb 2009

IncGamers report:
"Blondie drummer Clem Burke is teaming up with researchers from the Universities of Chichester and Gloucester to study the potential physical and psychological benefits of playing drum-based music games."

Guitar Hero Ace Rips his way into the Guinness World records Book (News)

4 Feb 2009

To celebrate the launch of the second annual Guinness World Records 2009 Gamer's Edition, the nation's best Guitar Hero® III: Legends of Rock player visited New York City for a mesmerizing record-breaking shred session.

"Rock 'n' roll is about fg, games are about wg" (News)

4 Dec 2008

MCV: The Guardian sticks up for gaming following attack from music mag NME

Nickelback slam Guitar Hero (News)

20 Nov 2008

MCV: 'Rock Star' combo blame rhythm action titles for lack of new US bands

Logitech Answers Guitar Questions of Cross-Game Compatibility and Other Platforms (News)

25 Oct 2008

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.

Activision pooh-poohs Rock Band's Success (News)

19 Sep 2008

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.

'Guitar Hero' movie isn't happening...yet (News)

17 Sep 2008

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."

Gamasutra In-Depth: Inside The Guitar Hero Census (News)

21 Aug 2008

A new survey of Guitar Hero and Rock Band players by Brown University ethnomusicologist Kiri Miller has revealed some fascinating trends, including the fact that 76 percent of the players bought music they heard in the game, and 69 percent often play in multiplayer modes.

The initial results from Miller, who has previously written on the subject for Gamasutra sister site GameSetWatch, were first revealed on her 'Guitar Hero Research' weblog.

She explained: "As of this writing I have received 414 responses. Survey respondents were self-selecting; most heard about the survey through recruitment messages posted on several high-traffic online messageboards devoted specifically to these game"

Destructoid Exclusive: Rock Axe, the guitar controller to end 'em all (News)

14 Jul 2008

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."

Even Hendrix plays Guitar Hero (News)

10 Jun 2008

Music Radar writes: "Sadly, we'll never know if Jimi Hendrix would have been any good at Guitar Hero, but thanks to Activision, the game's developers, we now have a reasonable idea of what he'd have looked like wielding its dedicated controller.

To celebrate the fact that there will be two Guitar Hero performances on the main stage at this year's Isle of Wight Festival, Activision has re-branded the bronze statue of Hendrix that sits in the grounds of the island's Dimbola Lodge, turning Jimi's guitar into the aforementioned video game peripheral."

MTV Multiplayer: Miley Cyrus Caught Smashing 'Guitar Hero' Instruments (News)

4 Jun 2008

MTV Multiplayer writes: "Hollywood director Brett Ratner continues to plug the "Guitar Hero" series. Ratner has been spotted directing the latest music video for kid pop sensation Miley Cyrus.

In the video, she'll apparently be smashing instruments to express her anger. That includes the same guitar bundled with "Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock.". A Miley Cyrus fansite has an extensive series of pictures from the video shoot, including the "Guitar Hero" smash."

Rock Acts Ringing Up Sales Via Video Games (News)

26 May 2008

Games like "Rock Band" and "Guitar Hero III" have proved their ability to breathe new life into classic rock sales. But can they do the same for new music?

Last month, Motley Crue decided to find out. The band placed its new single, the title track from "Saints of Los Angeles," for sale as a downloadable track on "Rock Band" well in advance of the album's release date, which has been pushed back to June 24. The only other place to obtain the track was iTunes.

According to data provided by the band's management, Tenth Street Entertainment, the track was downloaded more than 47,000 times via the Xbox 360 version of the game alone in the first week after it became available.

By comparison, the same track received slightly more than 10,000 downloads via digital services like iTunes and Amazon, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Gibson and Activision Issue Statements in Relation to Wal-Mart and Others Guitar Hero Lawsuits (News)

22 Mar 2008

Gibson Guitar are suing both Wal-Mart and other major consumer retailers in relation to them selling Activision's Guitar Hero series of games. It should getting very interesting, but in the meantime the parties have each issued press releases.

Activision: Gibson Patent Claims 'Disingenuous' (News)

20 Mar 2008

Activision has released a statement in response to Gibson Guitar's claims that the publisher's popular Guitar Hero series of games infringe upon one of its patents.

Activision said in a statement released on Thursday, "Gibson's lawsuit is a transparent end run around an impartial court that Activision asked on March 11 to rule on patent assertions that Gibson knows have no merit."

"Our Guitar Hero retailing partners have done nothing wrong. We will confront this and any other efforts by Gibson to wrongfully interfere with Activision's relationship with its customers and its consumers."

The Dallas Mavericks Launch 'Guitar Hero Challenge' (News)

17 Mar 2008

On Thursday, March 20th, the Dallas Mavericks will launch the Guitar Hero Challenge where aficionados will have the chance to show off their skills on the AT&T Plaza outside the South Entrance of American Airlines Center. The grand prize, the chance to play Guitar Hero during a quarter break at a First Round Playoff game, two-tickets to the game, an autographed Mavs Authentic jersey.

Gaming's greatest Fatties (Feature)

22 Feb 2008

Just in time for Black History Month, GamesRadar is proud to present a completely unrelated article about fat people. Chubbies are everywhere these days. Your next door neighbor could be a fatty. More than likely, your mom is one, too. Oh, Snap! ...

Porn star Regan Reese sucks -- at Guitar Hero (News)

8 Feb 2008

Dredging the depths where tenuous links are concerned, the folks over at AVN.com have produced a new Guitar Hero video feature starring none other than porn star Regan Reese.

The strictly cerebral feature, known as "Lingerie Guitar Hero," includes a heavily tattooed Reese attempting to put the porn moves on Guitar Hero II's "Sweet Child O Mine" by legendary rock warblers Guns N' Roses.

The Healing Power of Guitar Hero (News)

23 Jan 2008

While the Nintendo Wii continues to garner headlines for its many alternative uses, occupational therapists at the Select Specialty Hospital in Fort Wayne, Indiana are investigating the potential of Guitar Hero in physical rehabilitation.

Certified occupational therapy assistant Kelly Colwell first noted the healing potential of Guitar Hero while working with a patient who had injured his elbow and lost range of motion in his arm.

Guitar Hero Goes $1 Billion (News)

21 Jan 2008

Mon Jan 21 2008, by Mark Wilson

Around 26 months ago, Guitar Hero was an instant cult classic. Today, it's officially a $1 billion franchise. Apparently this milestone comes in video game record time. In addition, since the launch of Guitar Hero III, users have downloaded five million songs. If so, that total is double the figure that Rock Band has released.

Kotaku posted Activision's official announcement.

Guitar Hero - Guitar Hero Air Guitar Rocker 01-09-08 (Video)

9 Jan 2008

The sequel to Guitar Hero promises 55 new songs and the option to jam with friends on bass, rhythm or lead guitar tracks.

Introducing The MTV Rhythm Game Track Finder (News)

9 Jan 2008

In 2008, the team at MTV Games are proud to present to you the MTV Rhythm Game Track Finder, your beacon in the confusing swirl of rhythm games.

The regularly updated database will allow you to search any artist and any song to find out which rhythm games it is in and to compare song lists for any major music-based video game.

The database currently indexes song lists for more than two dozen rhythm games, including a range of SingStars, Guitar Heroes, Dance Dance Revolutions, Rock Band, and lesser-known favorites such as FreQuency, Elite Beat Agents and the Donkey Konga series.

Guitar Hero II solus for 360 (News)

8 Jan 2008

Guitar Hero II is about to be released Solus so all Guitar Hero 3 first timers dont miss out!

Read source for full article!

Xbox LIVE Server Problems Cause Achievements To Disappear (News)

8 Jan 2008

Via Ripten:

"As if the recent Xbox Live issues hadn't caused enough problems, it now appears that you can actually lose an unlocked achievement as well. I've had a recent run-in with this disturbing occurrence, and as always, 1-800-4my-xbox's Max was there to help me out - and of course by help me out, I mean annoy me while I try to connect to a real person."

Major Nelson: Top Xbox Live Games of 2007 (News)

5 Jan 2008

Here are the top games for 2007, based on Xbox Live connectivity. The following rankings are based on data collected from 1/1/07 Â¿ 12/31/07. Unique Users is the number of Gamertags that have played a game. In the case of Arcade titles, the list is ranked by purchased games. The top 3 for each charts are listed below, see the source for the complete top 10 lists.

2007 Top Xbox 360 Titles (Unique Users)
1. Halo 3
2. Gears of War
3. Call of Duty 4

2007 Top Xbox LIVE Arcade Titles (Sales)
1. TMNT 1989 Arcade
2. Worms
3. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night

2007 Top Original Xbox Titles (Unique Users)
1. Halo 2
2. Star Wars: Battlefront 2
3. Counter-Strike

Live Activity for week of 12/17 (News)

26 Dec 2007

These lists are based on global unique users connected to Xbox Live or in the case of Arcade, full versions purchased this week. Here are the top 3 for each charts, see the source for the complete top 10 list.

Xbox 360 Top Live Titles
1. Halo 3
2. Call of Duty 4
3. Gears of War

Top Arcade Titles (Full Versions)
1. Sensible World of Soccer
2. Arkadian Warriors
3. Tempest

Original Xbox Top Live Games
1. Halo 2
2. Battlefield 2: Modern Combat
3. Star Wars: Battlefront 2

Live Activity for week of 12/10 (News)

18 Dec 2007

These lists are based on global unique users connected to Xbox Live or in the case of Arcade, full versions purchased this week. Here are the top 3 for each charts, see the source for the complete top 10 list.

Xbox 360 Top Live Titles
1. Halo 3
2. Call of Duty 4
3. Gears of War

Top Arcade Titles (Full Versions)
1. Arkadian Warriors
2. Sonic The Hedgehog 2
3. GripShift

Original Xbox Top Live Games
1. Halo 2
2. Fable
3. Battlefield 2: Modern Combat

Live Activity for week of 12/3 (News)

11 Dec 2007

These lists are based on global unique users connected to Xbox Live or in the case of Arcade, full versions purchased this week. Here are the top 3 for each charts, see the source for the complete top 10 list.

Xbox 360 Top Live Titles
1. Halo 3
2. Call of Duty 4
3. Gears of War

Top Arcade Titles (Full Versions)
1. Marble Blast Ultra
2. Sonic The Hedgehog 2
3. Asteroids & Deluxe

Original Xbox Top Live Games
1. Halo 2
2. Fable
3. Battlefield 2: Modern Combat

Live Activity for week of 11/26 (News)

5 Dec 2007

These lists are based on global unique users connected to Xbox Live or in the case of Arcade, full versions purchased this week. Here are the top 3 for each charts, see the source for the complete top 10 list.

Xbox 360 Top Live Titles
1. Halo 3
2. Call of Duty 4
3. Assassin's Creed

Top Arcade Titles (Full Versions)
1. Asteroids & Deluxe
2. Sonic The Hedgehog 2
3. UNO

Original Xbox Top Live Games
1. Halo 2
2. Battlefield 2: Modern Combat
3. Star Wars: Battlefront 2

Guitar Hero II gets DLC: Indie Label Pack II (News)

2 Dec 2007

No, that's not a typo -- there really is new downloadable content for Guitar Hero II. The "Indie Label Pack II", which retails for 500 MS Points, includes such non-chart-toppers as "You Should Be Ashamed of Myself" by The Bled, "Memories of the Grove" by Maylene and The Sons of Disaster and "The State of Massachusetts" by Dropkick Murphys.

You may be wondering why new tracks are coming out for Guitar Hero II, and not it's younger, fresher brother. Well, it's easy to forget that while Guitar Hero II and Guitar Hero III are technically part of the same series, they belong to two very different developers. We imagine Harmonix is trying to sweeten the deal for those who haven't decided which iteration of the game to pick up for the holiday shopping season.

Guitar Hero, Rock Band, & DDR Knock-Offs Target Unsuspecting Consumers (News)

25 Nov 2007

Via Ripten:

"Gift givers looking for Guitar Hero, Rock Band, or Dance Dance Revolution merchandise this holiday season beware, knock-offs are out there, and while you may not know the difference, the individual receiving the gift likely will."

Best of Xbox 360 Black Friday deals (News)

20 Nov 2007

Xbox360Fanboy took the time to go through all the Black Friday ads and list all the Xbox 360 deals.

Live Activity for week of 11/12 (News)

17 Nov 2007

These lists are based on global unique users connected to Xbox Live or in the case of Arcade, full versions purchased this week. The arcade list is based on full versions purchased. Here are the top 3 for each charts, see the source for the complete top 10 list.

Xbox 360 Top Live Titles
1. Halo 3
2. Call of Duty 4
3. Gears of War

Top Arcade Titles (Full Versions)
1. Switchball
2. Word Puzzle
3. Sonic The Hedgehog 2

Original Xbox Top Live Games
1. Halo 2
2. Battlefield 2: Modern Combat
3. Star Wars: Battlefront 2

NPD: 2007 Sales So Far - Plus Top Sellers of the Year (News)

16 Nov 2007

The best selling games in units sold, across all platforms, for the year are as follows, with more year-to-date sales data available at the source.

Â¿ Halo 3 - 3,700,000
Â¿ Madden NFL 08 - 3,200,000
Â¿ Guitar Hero II - 2,800,00
Â¿ Wii Play with Remote - 2,500,000
Â¿ Pokemon Diamond - 2,100,000
Â¿ Pokemon Pearl - 1,500,000
Â¿ Spider-Man 3 - 1,400,000
Â¿ Guitar Hero III: Legends Of Rock - 1,400,000

Live Activity for week of 10/29 (News)

3 Nov 2007

These lists are based on global unique users connected to Xbox Live or in the case of Arcade, full versions purchased this week. The arcade list is based on full versions purchased. Here are the top 3 for each charts, see the source for the complete top 10 list.

Xbox 360 Top Live Titles
1. Halo 3
2. Gears of War
3. Guitar Hero III Demo

Top Arcade Titles (Full Versions)
1. Battlestar Galactica
2. Puzzle Quest
3. Bomberman Live

Original Xbox Top Live Games
1. Halo 2
2. Battlefield 2: MC
3. Star Wars: Battlefront 2

Gears Wins Big at Golden Joysticks (News)

26 Oct 2007

Tens of thousands of gamers voted for the true people's awards, held Friday in London, which highlighted the elite titles from the past year across a diverse range of categories.

Undoubtedly the big winner at this year's awards was Microsoft and Epic's stellar third-person shooter Gears of War, which took four top honors. Gears triumphed in the Ultimate Game of the Year, Xbox Game of the Year, The Nuts All-Nighter and the Editor's Choice categories. It also placed third in the 1Xtra Soundtrack of the Year and The GameTribe Online Game of the Year categories.

Codemasters received the UK Developer of the Year award for 2007 sponsored by Next-Gen.biz, while Game took the prizes for Retailer of the Year. Nintendo took the Publisher of the Year award ahead of Microsoft Game Studios and Codemasters, while the Wii was labeled Innovation of the Year.

Live activity for week of 10/15 (News)

20 Oct 2007

These lists are based on global unique users connected to Xbox Live. Major Nelson had no access to the Arcade title data this week, so no Arcade list for now. Here are the top 5 for both charts, see the source for the complete top 10 list.

Xbox 360 Top Live Titles
1. Halo 3
2. Gears of War
3. Madden NFL 08
4. Virtua Fighter 5 Demo
5. Guitar Hero II

Original Xbox Top Live Games
1. Halo 2
2. Battlefield 2: MC
3. Counter-Strike
4. Star Wars: Battlefront 2
5. Madden NFL 08

Live activity for week of 10/8 (News)

14 Oct 2007

These lists are based on global unique users connected to Xbox Live or in the case of Arcade, full versions purchased this week. Here are the top 3 for each charts, see the source for the complete top 10 list.

Xbox 360 Top Live Titles
1. Halo 3
2. Gears of War
3. The Simpsons Game Demo

Top Arcade Titles (Full Versions)
1. Tetris Splash
2. Puzzle Quest
3. Sonic The Hedgehog 2

Original Xbox Top Live Games
1. Halo 2
2. Battlefield 2: MC
3. Star Wars: Battlfrnt 2

Top 10 Live games for last week (News)

28 Sep 2007

Here is the list of Top Xbox 360 games (based on unique users) for September 15th through the 21st. Remember this is before Halo 3 launched!

1. Gears of War
2. Call of Duty 4 (Beta)
3. Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas
4. Madden NFL 08
5. BioShock
6. Guitar Hero II
7. Call Of Duty 3
8. Forza Motorsport 2
9. skate.
10. GRAW 2

New finger melting DLC announced for Guitar Hero II (News)

19 Sep 2007

A new pack of Guitar Hero II songs downloadable through Xbox Live will be available on Thursday September 20. The pack will cost the standard 500 points and will get you, Trivium's "Detonation", Atreyu "Right Side of the Bed" and Protest the Hero's "Bury the Hatchet."

Guitar Hero II DLC Hits Multi-Platinum Status (News)

11 Sep 2007

Activision announced today that the song packs for Guitar Hero II have been downloaded over 650,000 times. That means over 2 million songs have been downloaded to add additional content to play on the hit music game.

Guitar Hero a hit at WSVG (News)

29 Aug 2007

Introducing a new title into a national videogame league is never easy. The game has to be easy enough to pick up, but at the same time offer a competitive level of expertise that only a few in the world can obtain.
The World Series of Video Games is hoping that Guitar Hero will be the next game to propel competitions to epic proportions.

Guitar Hero is one of those games which does fit into the national competition level. Anyone can pick it up, but only a select few can master it. With that in mind it looks like Guitar Hero is setting itself up to be the next big competition ticket next to heavy weights like Quake IV and World of Warcraft.

Guitar Hero III Bundles Priced for Australia (News)

29 Aug 2007

In only a few months, gamers will be able to get their guitar on as Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock comes rocking onto the Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii, Playstation 2, and Playstation 3.

The Xbox 360 and PS3 versions of the game will ship for A$169.95 (roughly $137 US), while the Wii version will put you back A$159.95. The PS2 bundle is set at A$149.95. Each of these bundles will include the game and a wireless guitar controller. Extra wireless guitars will cost A$79.95 for the PS3, Xbox 360, and Wii. Activision is also planning on selling the game as a separate item for the PS2 and the 360, which will cost A$69.95 and A$89.95 respectively.

Guitar Hero II for the PS2 and Xbox 360 cost A$149.95 and A$159.95 at launch, respectively, both packaged with wired guitars.

American Sales: 360 outsells PS3, Madden 08 sells 1.6 Million units led by 360 version (News)

23 Aug 2007

The Wii, Xbox, GC and PSP versions of Madden 08 Â¿ combined - accounted for fewer than 10% of the 1.6 million units sold while 360 version sold them most and 4 times the PS3 version.

-- 8/18 ---- 8/11 ------ Net Change
NDS 131,930 / 126,277 / +3%
Wii 89,280 / 86,469 / +4%
360 59,118 / 52,484 / +13%
PSP 53,206 / 55,160 / -4%
PS3 47,928 / 41,499 / +15%

Boogie bombs: American Software Sales (News)

15 Aug 2007

American chart for week ending 11th August 2007 is released and as you can see, EA's high profile Wii game Boogie didn't have a strong debut (the reason behind PS2 version rumors?) and couldn't get to top 10 which is dominated by Nintendo.

New Guitar Hero II Download Hits the Marketplace (News)

14 Aug 2007

My Chemical Romance pack can now be downloaded on the marketplace for 500 points, containing 3 songs: "Teenagers," "Famous Last Words" and "This is How I Disappear" as performed by My Chemical Romance.

GameRevolver.com to host Guitar Hero Tournament (News)

10 Aug 2007

www.GameRevolver.com is hosting a Guitar Hero Tournament to be held over Xbox Live in September. The prizes are pretty sweet and it is easy to enter! Check it out

US Chart for Week Ending 28th July 2007 (News)

2 Aug 2007

Software and hardware sales in the US from VGchartz. Guitar Hero II takes the number one spot for software sales while the Nintendo DS was the best-seller for hardwares.

Hardware: Console Weekly Total
DS - 140,151 (-4%) 13,730,938
Wii - 95,171 (-3%) 3,974,505
PSP - 59,483 (-9%) 8,864,934
PS2 - 54,701 (-10%) 44,524,847
PS3 - 43,498 (-4%) 1,738,147
X360 - 34,174 (+5%) 6,607,403
GBA - 23,725 (-0%) 40,768,173
GC - 1,656 (-2%) 12,697,057
Xbox - 11 (-58%) 15,933,106
Total 452,570

Man builds robot to play Guitar Hero II (News)

24 Jul 2007

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.

PS3 & Resistance at Top of Current US Best Sellers (News)

17 Jul 2007

Following last Monday's price drop the PS3 is top of this week's Amazon.com best sellers list while Resistance: Fall of Man tops the software chart. The top ten selling titles comprise of five Nintendo platform games, one PC game and two apiece for Xbox 360 and PS3. Click through for a rundown of top sellers by platform.

"Guitar Hero is still relevant," says Activision (News)

16 Jul 2007

Next Generation sat down with Activision Senior Vice President of Marketing Bill Kassoy on Friday to discuss Guitar Hero, EA's competing Rock Band, and casual games for Wii. "There was a lot of unmet demand due to controller shortage with the release of the first Guitar Hero," Kassoy said when asked about the franchise's massive success. "As a result, we invested heavily in ramping up production of Guitar Hero II to meet demand." Activision, the number two independent game publisher, says the ...

Activision to stick to "Guitar Hero" song price (News)

13 Jul 2007

Activision Inc. said on Thursday it had sold more than 300,000 downloadable song packs for its hit "Guitar Hero II" music game, giving it confidence it will not have to lower prices despite outrage at the cost among some game fans.

"It's been a tremendous success for us," said Dusty Welch, head of publishing for Red Octane, a "Guitar Hero" developer that was bought by Activision last year. "Demand seems to be insatiable."

New Track Pack now available for Guitar Hero II (News)

11 Jul 2007

A new track pack featuring 3 songs is now available on Live Marketplace. The bands featured are The Ramones, Judas Priest and Deep Purple.

Unfortunately, the track pack will set you back 500 MS Point. Identical to the previous 3 track packs that resulted in such an uproar.

Guitar Hero II Downloadable Content coming Soon (News)

20 Jun 2007

Angry forum members of the official Guitar Hero forums have been asking the question on when downloadable content will be making its way to Xbox 360 for the smash hit Guitar Hero II. Well a forum administrator today let slip some info that it's not that far away actually

Guitar Heroes Bring Down the Lightning (News)

7 Jun 2007

Storm shocks videogame rockers :

During a thunderstorm Thursday, a lightning strike knocked two Thistle Lane residents to the floor while they were playing the videogame "Guitar Hero II" for PlayStation 2.

Ben and Chris Bergin, ages 19 and 14, respectively, were jamming to "Message in a Bottle" by the Police on their guitar controllers when a bolt of lighting touched down near the house, and the charge found its way into the house's wiring.

"I actually looked over at my brother because I thought he hit me in the chest with something," Chris Bergin said.

The boys were not injured in the incident, though both controllers are completely fried.

Rock Band a Guitar Hero "imitator" says Activision (News)

1 Jun 2007

During a conference call today Gamasutra reports that Activision execs took a swipe at EA and Harmonix' Rock Band, saying that it "wasn't surprising that [Guitar Hero] has attracted imitators." Sorry, what? In case you didn't know, Harmonix is also the original developer behind the Guitar Hero franchise, which has since been pawned off to Tony Hawk's dev Neversoft. Now, we're not big suited money men - in fact the closest we get to a secretary is sending the intern to fetch the Burger King ...

Win! A chance to play Download Festival (News)

30 May 2007

Wednesday 30 May 2007 Love Guitar Hero II? Wish someone other than the cat/your little sister would watch while you play it? How about playing to the same crowd as Iron Maiden, My Chemical Romance and Linkin Park? Thought you might like that. Well, we've teamed up with RedOctane to offer a pair of tickets to Download Festival, with the chance to do exactly that. Download is being held at Donington Park, Castle Donington, on 8-10 June and Guitar Hero performances will take place on the Third ...

Additional Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks The 80's Songs (News)

22 May 2007

Activision has announced additional songs for Guitar Hero Encore: Rock the 80s.

Some of the songs included...well, read the news post and see for yourself.

XFPS Mini Guitar and HDMI-cable for Original 360 (News)

11 May 2007

Team Xtender announced 2 products that will be available in the near future (next 2 months):

1.XFPS Mini Guitar --- This is half the size of the original one, easy to carry and best choice for gamers, using the real guitar wood for authentic gameplay. This unit must be must used with the XFPS 360 when you wish to use it on the Xbox 360. It is also compatible with the PS2.

2.HDMI cable for original xbox 360 (White 360 console) , this will be the world first HDMI cable for xbox 360 (white console) and up to 1080i .

Win! Xbox 360 with Guitar Hero II (News)

8 May 2007

Tuesday 8 May 2007 Because we love Guitar Hero - who can resist the charms of those snazzy guitar peripherals? - and because we love you, we've teamed up with publisher Activision to award one lucky reader an Xbox 360, 12 month's free subscription to an Xbox Live Gold account, with a copy of Guitar Hero II and two guitars to go with it. Two runners-up will also bag themselves a copy of the game and a guitar. Want to win? Of course you do - so answer the following question correctly, complete ...

Guitar Hero II Video Contest and National Tournament (News)

3 May 2007

Play N Trade announced today the launch of its first National Guitar Hero II video contest and live-in store national tournament reports TeamXbox.

From now until June 16, consumers are invited to submit their Guitar Hero rock videos to YouTube at www.youtube.com/pntgame for a chance to win an Xbox 360 Guitar Hero bundle or a $50 Play N Trade in-store gift card, and have their video posted to the Play N Trade Web site.

Local rounds of the Guitar Hero II tournament will be held on June 16 at participating Play N Trade stores across the U.S. and Puerto Rico. On June 23, local winners will compete for the title of Play N Trade National Guitar Hero II Champion by playing "Free Bird" at the "expert" level on an Xbox 360. Local winners will be determined by single elimination in the best two out of three matches, and the national champion will be determined by points.

Issue 6 of free Xbox 360 magazine (News)

3 May 2007

The new issue of 360Zine includes previews of Half Life 2, Shadowrun, Mass Effect and The Club. There's also an exclusive interview with SI, which hints at a 360 version of Football Manager Live. Then there's a second exclusive interview with Robin Burrowes from Microsoft about the Spring Update and a newly updated Community section with fansites, tournaments, and clan coverage. Also included are reviews of Command and Conquer 3, Guitar Hero, Meet the Robinsons, Tetris and more.

Guitar Hero II, Wii Supply Still Scant (News)

24 Apr 2007

Availability of the Xbox 360 version of Guitar Hero II and Nintendo Wii hardware is virtually nonexistent, according to a new survey by A.G. Edwards.

Only one copy of Guitar Hero II for Xbox 360 was available out of the 100 stores surveyed on Monday, April 23.

Wii supply is still extremely low, according to the analyst, as in none of the 100 stores surveyed had the console available. Kreher stated that most stores "indicated that they felt availability would be limited through holiday '07."

ELSPA Weekly Chart - Xbox 360 (News)

24 Apr 2007

Is Guitar Hero II still top of the Xbox 360 charts or has Crackdown battled back...

360's Guitar Hero II Axe Working in OS X (News)

23 Apr 2007

The developer of the open source Xbox 360 controller driver for Mac OS X was able to implement support for the X-plorer controller in the latest revision, version 0.05 released over the weekend.

Rumor: New Guitar Hero II Downloads Coming (News)

23 Apr 2007

Rumor has it that there's 3 new song packs coming for Guitar Hero II for the Xbox 360. The good news: they look really cool. The bad news: they'll still be 500 MS Points each.

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

ELSPA Weekly Chart - Xbox 360 (News)

17 Apr 2007

Is Guitar Hero II still rocking at the top of the charts or is there a new Number One?

Guitar Hero fix bricking 360s? (News)

16 Apr 2007

Activision and Red Octane rolled out an update for the Xbox 360 version of Guitar Hero II this weekend, and already a mass of unfortunate downloaders are reporting 'bricked' Xbox 360s caused by the update. The patch was released to address a whammy bar response issue, but if the mass of internet postings are to be believed many people are experiencing game freezes or even the infamous 'red circle of death' leaving them with a botched 360. Of course nobody has provided anything in the way of ...

RedOctane admits to Guitar Hero II patch problem (News)

16 Apr 2007

Guitar Hero II publisher RedOctane has admitted that some users are experiencing problems with a patch released for the Xbox 360 version over the weekend.

Guitar Hero II Patch... of DEATH? (News)

15 Apr 2007

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 haven rejoice sang all gamers across the universe.

Until of course people installed the patchÂ¿

Hit the jump to continue reading...

Guitar Hero II Patched (News)

15 Apr 2007

It was reported last week of numerous problems with the Whammy Bar with a significant number of the X-plorer controllers for Guitar Hero II. This was initially thought to be by consumers to be a faulty controller, but according to Activision it was a software glitch.

Guitar Hero 2 X-plorer not broken; patch coming (News)

13 Apr 2007

"On learning of potential issues with the whammy bar on the Xbox360 guitar, we immediately began extensive testing of both the guitar and the software to isolate any issues with whammy bar functionality and the corresponding causes. Our testing identified a specific software element that may, in certain situations, cause the whammy bar to lose responsiveness. Given that this is a software-driven, an patch is being developed to fix the issue and will arrive as soon as possible via download on Xbox Live. We will confirm soon a target date for this download."

Xboxic tells that the Activision representatives added to Xboxic that the culprit is in code added late in the development cycle, which was designed to counter cheating. While no exact date for the patch is supplied yet, it should be available within 'several weeks' as an auto-update on Xbox Live.

Coverage: Gene Simmons and Microsoft Guitar Hero II Event (News)

11 Apr 2007

The event started off strong with the 5 contestants each playing their choice of song on expert difficulty to see who could rack up the most points. Congrats goes to JW from Texas who put up an impressive 330k points playing Possum Kingdom by Toadies. A close second was Dave from Texas who scored 320k points playing Iron Maiden.

First batch of Guitar Hero II tunes to download (News)

11 Apr 2007

Through the power of rock (and Xbox Live) there are now nine songs from Guitar Hero I available to download for Guitar Hero II on 360. These songs will be the first of a series of monthly song pack updates that will last until rock and roll is dead. The songs will be available in packs of three for 500 Microsoft points each. To go with the new songs, Live users will be able to download exclusive theme packs and gamer pics for 150 and 100 Microsoft points respectively. The theme packs may not ...

GH II: Song Packs (3 of 'em) Official (News)

11 Apr 2007

Name: Guitar Hero Track Pack 1
Price: 500 Points
Availability: Not available in Asia
Dash Details: Bark at the Moon as made famous by Ozzy Osbourne, Hey You as made famous by The Exies, Ace of Spades as made famous by Motorhead, For all song credits please visit www.redoctane.com.

Name: Guitar Hero Track Pack 2
Price: 500 Points
Availability: Not available in Asia
Dash Details: Killer Queen as made famous by Queen, Take it Off as made famous by The Donnas, Frankenstein as made famous by The Edgar Winter Group, For all song credits please visit www.redoctane.com.

Name: Guitar Hero Track Pack 3
Price: 500 Points
Availability: Not available in Asia
Dash Details: Higher Ground as made famous by Red Hot Chili Peppers, Infected as made famous by Bad Religon, Stellar as made famous by Incubus, For all song credits please visit www.redoctane.com.

Guitar Hero 2 X360 Downloadable Songs... (News)

11 Apr 2007

The first batch of downloadable songs for the Xbox 360 version of Guitar Hero 2, will feature 8 songs from the first game. Those songs? :

Motorhead - Ace Of Spades
Ozzy Osbourne - Bark at The Moon
The Exies - Hey You
Edgar Winter Group - Frankenstein
Queen - Killer Queen
The Donnas - Take It Off
Red Hot Chilli Peppers - Higher Ground
Bad Religion - Infected
Incubus - Stellar

Whether or not all 8 make it up at the same time is still being set up, the packs will retail for ~150 points a piece, but rumors of tiered packs are out there.

'Piano Hero' gets Cease and Desist (News)

6 Apr 2007

The creator of Piano Hero, Nicholas Piegdon, has been sent a Cease and Desist letter from Activision, the publisher of the Guitar Hero games.

Activision asked that Nicholas stop using the name in regards to his game. Piano Hero is an open source game and due to Nicholas's lack of legal expertise in the area and "time, money, or energy", he has decided to comply with the request.

The entire letter from Activison and Nicholas's reply can be found at the link.

Guitar Hero II on tour with GAME (News)

5 Apr 2007

To celebrate the launch of Guitar Hero II, Activision are teaming up with European game retailer GAME to go on tour to a few of their stores on the 7th and 9th of April...

RedOctane Respond To Whammy Bar Issue (News)

4 Apr 2007

Suggests "fans try to replug in their guitars without holding down any buttons or the whammy bar" to resolve the issue.

"In regards to the controller, we 're currently in the process of having our internal QA and production teams look into this possible issue, and are working to quickly isolate this if there is one."

Guitar Hero 360 Issue Surfaces (News)

4 Apr 2007

There are two different Guitar Hero II controllers for the 360. One of them, reportedly, has a serious whammy bar problem.

Rumor: Guitar issues with Xbox 360 Guitar Hero II (News)

4 Apr 2007

Today Joystiq received two separate tips from readers telling them that Target stores wouldn't sell them Guitar Hero II on the Xbox 360 because there was a "recall." Joystiq couldn't get in touch with Target corporate, but numerous local Target stores Joystiq contacted said they hadn't received anything from corporate about a recall. However, they did say that it may take a day and to check back tomorrow. Best Buy and Gamestop also have nothing in their system about a recall. Red Octane wouldn't return Joystiq's phone call and a Xbox spokesperson says Microsoft "doesn't really handle third-party relationships."

Guitar Hero X-plorer Controller to Work with Rock Band (News)

3 Apr 2007

Harmonix developer Jason Booth has confirmed that the Guitar Hero X-plorer Controller will work with MTV's Rock Band.

For some reason, IGN posted that Rock Band will not be compatable with Guitar Hero guitars. I thought I'd drop in and let you know that this is not correct.

The Guitar Hero X-plorer Controller feels just like a real guitar, making it the ultimate way to jam on your Xbox 360.

Harmonix readies Rock Band (News)

2 Apr 2007

Cambridge (Massachusetts)-based developer Harmonix has teamed up with EA and MTV to develop Rock Band, a new music game that "takes the core premise of Guitar Hero and expands it tenfold." If you thought Guitar Hero's two-player mode was cool, Rock Band hopes to blow you away with a new four-player option that lets you jam with other players over the internet, reports USA Today. Alex Rigopulos, co-founder of Harmonix, revealed that the new game "lets you create a complete collaborative band," ...

Guitar Hero II (Review)

2 Apr 2007

You can't play guitar. Sorry, dude, but we've heard you, and you can't. You see Eddie Van Halen on stage, rocking his way into guitar heaven and drinking his way into oblivion, and you want to be him (or at least, you wanted to be him back in 1984). But you ain't him, and you ain't never gonna be him. Best you can do is fork over $90 and pretend to be him in Guitar Hero II. And you know what? You won't be able to tell the difference. (Especially if you do the drinking ...

New Game Releases for the Week of Apr. 2, 2007 (News)

2 Apr 2007

Some notable game releases include Guitar Hero II for Xbox 360, Enchanted Arms for the PlayStation 3, Prince of Persia 2: Rival Swords for the Nintendo Wii, and yet another Sims expansion pack on the PC - Sims 2: Celebration.

Check out the latest list of new video game releases (USA) for the week of 4/2/2007 on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 (PS3), Nintendo Wii, Sony PS2, PSP, Nintendo DS, and PC (USA)!

Guitar Hero II Rocks Amazon Bestsellers List (News)

2 Apr 2007

Xbox 360 owners are snatching up Guitar Hero II like a Police Reunion concert ticket! The Guitar Hero II bundle is currrently the top seller over at Amazon. This is a beefed up PlayStation 2 version with new/additional songs and enhanced graphics.

Guitar Hero II (Screenshots)

2 Apr 2007

Guitar Hero II tourney in Florida April 7th (News)

20 Mar 2007

With Guitar Hero II mere weeks away from release, competitions were bound to start to get planned. GameHQ is holding a tournament on April 7th, sponsored by Red Octane. The catch, of course, is that it takes place in Deland, Florida at the Sunshine Bowling Center. Festivities start at 7:00 pm and there are unspecified prizes to be given to true rockers.

GamesRadar - Guitar Hero II

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Band Hero Demo on Xbox Live (News)

Xbox 360 Top 10 Games List (News)

Logitech Announces Wireless Drum Set Control for Xbox 360 (News)

Music charts to add games (News)

GameStop starts huge Guitar Hero, Rock Band sale (News)

Jack White and Jimmy Page diss 'Guitar Hero' video game (News)

Neversoft defends Guitar Hero song pack pricing (News)

Gamestop.com Music Blowout Sale (News)

Prince Talks About Guitar Hero, Turned Down an Offer to be in the Game (News)

New Community Login System is on its way for Guitar Hero (News)

Gibson Loses Guitar Hero Lawsuit (News)

School of Rock: Guitar Hero & Rock Band Summer Camps Announced (News)

Blondie Man Studies Music Games (News)

Guitar Hero Ace Rips his way into the Guinness World records Book (News)

"Rock 'n' roll is about f*****g, games are about w*****g" (News)

Nickelback slam Guitar Hero (News)

Logitech Answers Guitar Questions of Cross-Game Compatibility and Other Platforms (News)

Activision pooh-poohs Rock Band's Success (News)

'Guitar Hero' movie isn't happening...yet (News)

Gamasutra In-Depth: Inside The Guitar Hero Census (News)

Destructoid Exclusive: Rock Axe, the guitar controller to end 'em all (News)

Even Hendrix plays Guitar Hero (News)

MTV Multiplayer: Miley Cyrus Caught Smashing 'Guitar Hero' Instruments (News)

Rock Acts Ringing Up Sales Via Video Games (News)

Gibson and Activision Issue Statements in Relation to Wal-Mart and Others Guitar Hero Lawsuits (News)

Activision: Gibson Patent Claims 'Disingenuous' (News)

The Dallas Mavericks Launch 'Guitar Hero Challenge' (News)

Gaming's greatest Fatties (Feature)

Porn star Regan Reese sucks -- at Guitar Hero (News)

The Healing Power of Guitar Hero (News)

Guitar Hero Goes $1 Billion (News)

Guitar Hero - Guitar Hero Air Guitar Rocker 01-09-08 (Video)

Introducing The MTV Rhythm Game Track Finder (News)

Guitar Hero II solus for 360 (News)

Xbox LIVE Server Problems Cause Achievements To Disappear (News)

Major Nelson: Top Xbox Live Games of 2007 (News)

Live Activity for week of 12/17 (News)

Live Activity for week of 12/10 (News)

Live Activity for week of 12/3 (News)

Live Activity for week of 11/26 (News)

Guitar Hero II gets DLC: Indie Label Pack II (News)

Guitar Hero, Rock Band, & DDR Knock-Offs Target Unsuspecting Consumers (News)

Best of Xbox 360 Black Friday deals (News)

Live Activity for week of 11/12 (News)

NPD: 2007 Sales So Far - Plus Top Sellers of the Year (News)

Live Activity for week of 10/29 (News)

Gears Wins Big at Golden Joysticks (News)

Live activity for week of 10/15 (News)

Live activity for week of 10/8 (News)

Top 10 Live games for last week (News)

New finger melting DLC announced for Guitar Hero II (News)

Guitar Hero II DLC Hits Multi-Platinum Status (News)

Guitar Hero a hit at WSVG (News)

Guitar Hero III Bundles Priced for Australia (News)

American Sales: 360 outsells PS3, Madden 08 sells 1.6 Million units led by 360 version (News)

Boogie bombs: American Software Sales (News)

New Guitar Hero II Download Hits the Marketplace (News)

GameRevolver.com to host Guitar Hero Tournament (News)

US Chart for Week Ending 28th July 2007 (News)

Man builds robot to play Guitar Hero II (News)

PS3 & Resistance at Top of Current US Best Sellers (News)

"Guitar Hero is still relevant," says Activision (News)

Activision to stick to "Guitar Hero" song price (News)

New Track Pack now available for Guitar Hero II (News)

Guitar Hero II Downloadable Content coming Soon (News)

Guitar Heroes Bring Down the Lightning (News)

Rock Band a Guitar Hero "imitator" says Activision (News)

Win! A chance to play Download Festival (News)

Additional Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks The 80's Songs (News)

XFPS Mini Guitar and HDMI-cable for Original 360 (News)

Win! Xbox 360 with Guitar Hero II (News)

Guitar Hero II Video Contest and National Tournament (News)

Issue 6 of free Xbox 360 magazine (News)

Guitar Hero II, Wii Supply Still Scant (News)

ELSPA Weekly Chart - Xbox 360 (News)

360's Guitar Hero II Axe Working in OS X (News)

Rumor: New Guitar Hero II Downloads Coming (News)

ELSPA Weekly Chart - Xbox 360 (News)

"Rock 'n' roll is about fg, games are about wg" (News)