DigitalBattle.com

Logitech debuts their own Wii Guitar Hero controllers

If you are fed up with your stock Wii Guitar Hero controllers Logitech has an offering for you — What you see above is Logitech’s Wireless Guitar Controller for Wii that will hit retailers in October for $199. This controller reportedly has a maple neck, metal frets and a rosewood fingerboard, making for a true to the art experience.

Additionally, there is also the Logitech Wireless Drum Controller for Wii that will also ship in October for $229. This controller apparently uses hardware similar to that found in professional digital drum sets so the quality is just as high as the above mentioned guitar controller.

Either way, you’re still getting the same gameplay value from these controllers as you are from the controllers that ship with the game. But, if you have to have the best, these are up there.

via destructoid

Target has gaming underwear, do you?

It seems that our buds over at Joystiq recently found themselves shopping at Target only to find a rack featuring nothing other than video game underwear. As you can see there’s Rock Band, Guitar Hero, Halo and more.

Although, the worst part about this is that there are no video game underwear made specifically for women. What gives?

DJ Hero box art revealed

It seems that the guys over at Destructoid got their hands on the official box art for Activision’s upcoming DJ Hero.

The above art will evidentally find its way onto the cover of the DJ Hero + turntable controller bundle. Other than that, there’s not much we don’t know; 94 originial mixes including Jay-Z, Daft Punk, 50 Cent, etc.

However, if you notice in the bottom right hand corner the Guitar Hero logo is prominentaly displayed, but why? Well, most likely because Activision wants buyers to know that the game is from the same makers of the much more popular Guitar Hero franchise.

PaRappa creator speaks of Natal’s musical potential

There’s a seemingly endless list of possibilites that Microsoft’s Project Natal could be used for but it seems that the developer behind PaRappa the Rapper, Masaya Matsuura, sees immense potential in one such possibility: music.

Mr. Matsurra was recently quoted to have said, “We are thinking about ideas, I think any kind of interaction will be good for music games, but the important thing will be how can we find the new breed of gameplay.”

Don’t go thinking this will be just another Guitar Hero/Rock Band rip off as Matsurra feels that genre of gameplay is covered quite well, “There is other attractive music, so pleas try to find another style, another interation, another gameplay with another type of music.”

What could Matsuura and NanoOn-Sha be cookin’ up? Only time will tell. Then again, it looks like PaRappa and Chop Chop Master Onion are playing a motion-controlled game in the above screen shot. Could there be a connectoin?

Guitar Hero: World Tour gets slew of punk DLC

If you’ve been shaking your fists at Activision for not providing you with enough punk songs in Guitar Hero: World Tour, you’re in luck. It was recently announced that a pack called the Epitaph Punk-O-Rama Track Pack has been added to both Xbox Live and the Playstation Network.

Below is what you will get for 440 Microsoft Points or $5.49:

• “21st Century Digital Boy” by Bad Religion ($1.99 PSN / 200 Wii Points)
• “Linoleum” by NOFX ($1.99 PSN / 200 Wii Points)
• “Ruby Soho” by Rancid ($1.99 PSN / 200 Wii Points)

Xbox 360 wireless microphone dropping in fall for $49.99

We first heard about the Wireless Xbox 360 Microphone back in the beginning of April when Microsoft unveiled some new Lips DLC.

Well, it seems that Microsoft has again set their sights on the wireless mic as they have said the peripheral, which is compatible with Guitar Hero, Rock Band, Lips, and even Disney Sign It: High School Musical 3: Senior Year, will ship to retail this fall.

The Wireless Microphone is expected to cost $49.99. Hey, you didn’t think a Microsoft developed product would be cheap, did you?

Read (Ripten)

Musicians Bash On Music Games

While their prospective owners must love them for raking in endless streams of revenue, many musicians have expressed their distaste for music games like Rock Band and Guitar Hero. Joining those ranks are Jack White of the White Stripes, Raconteurs and Dead Weather and Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin. Speaking at a press conference for the upcoming documentary ‘It Might Get Loud’ both artists voiced disdain at the popularity of these games.

“It’s depressing to have a label come and tell you that [Guitar Hero] is how kids are learning about music and experiencing music,” said Jack White, continuing that while he doesn’t care what format people listen to their music in it’s “a little sad” if video games are the only way to get your music into their hands/ears. Page agreed, stating that people don’t learn anything from playing them.

Are these games really where kids are learning about their music? If so, they’re probably getting more exposure to older songs than anything else. From everything I’ve seen playing these games the playlists have mostly three kinds of songs: classic rock songs that didn’t cost much to get the rights to; popular, canned generic rock music and finally songs by somewhat popular yet relatively unknown bands who’ll sign off their songs for a pittance in the hope of getting a greater fanbase. These days most musicians can propagagate themselves enough through viral marketing and free publicity via websites like Youtube and Myspace. As far as learning anything? Playing Guitar Hero teaches you exactly the same thing that listening to music on its own does: that music is fun.

Gamestop prices Rock Band, Guitar Hero ridiculously low

Now before you continuing reading, if you are actually planning on purchasing Rock Band or Guitar Hero head here because they are selling out fast.

Anyways, Gamestop has recently announced a Music Blowout sale which will slash prices across the board on everything from Guitar Hero: Aerosmith to Rock Band 2. Unfortunately, as I stated above, the bundles are selling out extremely quick but you can still pick up, for instance, Guitar Hero: World Tour bundled with a guitar controller for just $49.99, a huge savings from the original $99.99.

There’s no official word as to why Gamestop is doing this but a hunch says it’s in anticipation of games like The Beatles: Rock Band and Guitar Hero 5.

SingStar sells 16 million copies by 5th anniversary

Sony is proud to announce that their karaoke themed series, SingStar, has just turned 5. Better yet the series has sold over 16 million copies since it’s creation.

Kotaku says that this number can be attributed to the fact that there are 70 different individual titles of the game as pretty much every region recieved their own indiviudal version.

Me personally? I’d take Rock Band or Guitar Hero: World Tour over SingStar anyday.

Guitar Hero 5 lets you make a band your way

Your typical rock and roll band usually has a guitarist or two, a singer, and a drummer. But what happens if you decided you wanted to have 4 drummers or 3 singers and 1 guitarist? If you were playing Guitar Hero: World Tour you’d be out of luck.

Luckily, Activision has announced that Guitar Hero 5 will give you the ability to mold a band any way you like allowing for the band set ups described above.

Some other welcome features include the ability to play the entire song list right out of the box (read: no unlocking) and the addition of RockFest which Joystiq describes as “five competitive head to head modes that are playable ‘online or in your living room.’”

Logitech Wireless Guitar Controller for PS3 Released

With all the hype about Guitar Hero and Rock Band, it was just a matter of time before another controller in the form of a musical instrument (in this case another guitar) would come out. And Logitech will not allow itself to be outdone as it unveiled its Logitech Wireless Guitar Controller for PLAYSTATION 3 and PlayStation 2 computer entertainment systems.

Following the introduction of the Logitech Wireless Guitar Controller, Premiere Edition (previously available only in select markets), the new black guitar controller is expected to be available worldwide later this month. The Logitech Wireless Guitar Controller is licensed by Activision Publishing, Inc. for the award-winning Guitar Hero franchise.

“Logitech’s new guitar controller delivers the same unparalleled Guitar Hero experience offered by our previous premiere edition to an even broader group of gamers and at a great value,” said Ruben Mookerjee, Logitech’s director of product marketing for gaming. “Everything about the Logitech Wireless Guitar Controller is premium – from the authentic wood material and flawless black finish, to the noise-dampening design of the strum bar and buttons, to the authentic accents provided by the metal frets.”

The Logitech Wireless Guitar Controller for PLAYSTATION 3 and PlayStation 2 computer entertainment systems is expected to be available this month in the U.S. for a retail price of $199.99 (U.S.) and will be available in Europe in June.

(Source) Press

Guitar Hero: On Tour bundle for under $15

If you’re prepping to go on a road trip or just looking to pick up a Nintendo DS version of Guitar Hero, GoGamer.com is holding a special event that will have you interested.

Priced at just $14.90, this deal with net you the Guitar Hero: On Tour bundle (complete with controller) for 63% off the normal $39.99 offered by retailers.

I mean common, it’s less than $15, what do you have to lose? You better act fast though as at the time this article was wrote there are only 31 hours of this deal remaining.

Guitar Hero: Van Halen officially confirmed

Fingers have been pointing towards the release of Guitar Hero: Van Halen since early March and of course, Activision has kept their lips sealed.

Well, the Santa Monica-based developer has finally decided to officially announced Guitar Hero: Van Halen for a second half 2009 release.

That’s all we have to go by as of now but expect to see some Van Halen signature guitars and normal Guitar Hero pricing when this game drops.

Read (ThatVideoGameBlog)

Vivendi exec takes role of Activision Blizzard Chairman

It was recently announced that CEO of Vivendi, Jean-Bernard Levy, will replace Rene Penisson as Chairman of Activision Blizzard.

According to Joystiq, Vivendi is the majority owner of Activision Blizzard, just to give you a whiff of the company’s scale.

Let’s see, Activision Blizzard has Warcraft, Starcraft, Guitar Hero, Diablo, and Call of Duty; all colossal franchises. Vivendi, hower, has Activision Blizzard and Universal Studios. Yeah, big companies.

Best Buy Holds Video Game Clearance Sale

Best Buy is holding a large video game sale for most consoles like the Xbox 360, Playstation and Wii today. Prices have all been marked down to $9.99, a far cry from their original prices which started at $60.

Over 100 games are on sale, but if you don’t want to wade through the whole list, here’s a few recommendations. Xbox 360 owners could do a lot worse than C&C: Red Alert 3, Condemned 2, and Devil May Cry 4. On PS3, Pure, Guitar Hero 3, and Soul Calibur 4 are good choices. On the Wii, the selection’s not quite so good, but Samba de Amigo’s a great choice if you like off-beat rhythm games.

Just like the famed sales made by Circuit City some months back, you better get to Best Buy quick if you want to get hold of those games for a steal!

(Source) Yahoo