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

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

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.

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?

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)

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)

“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.

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.

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.

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.’”

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

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.

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)

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.

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

Here we go again — Joystiq recently noticed that GameStop’s website had a listing for Guitar Hero: Van Halen up for a small period for time. After being discovered, the listing was quickly pulled with no reasoning explained.

See now this is all find and dandy except for one thing, Activision hasn’t said anything at all about Guitar Hero: Van Halen. However, we all know that Activision loves milking the Guitar Hero franchise for all it’s worth so it would make sense that they would come out with another band themed game, right? I mean, there’s a Guitar Hero: Metallica and Guitar Hero: Aerosmith so why not Guitar Hero: Van Halen?

Before it was pulled, the listing had the game set for an August 4th release on the Xbox 360, PS3, PS2, and Wii. Now let’s just wait for Activision’s official announcement.

The listing was put up and taken down over the weekend. Fortunately, 1UP was smart enough to take a screenshot of it.

Early rumors pegged the game for release on PS2, PS3, Xbox 360 and Wii this August. Activision is yet to breathe a single word of the game.

The tracks are:

• Blue Oyster Cult – "Godzilla"
• Pantera – "Cowboys From Hell (Live)"
• Franz Ferdinand – "Take Me Out"
• Queens Of The Stone Age – "No One Knows"
• Boston – "More Than A Feeling"
• White Zombie – "Thunder Kiss ‘65"
• Helmet – "Unsung (Live)"
• Incubus – "Stellar"
• Deep Purple – "Smoke On The Water"
• The Donnas – "Take It Off"
• The Exies – "Hey You"

They join classics such as “Bark at the Moon” by Ozzy Osbourne, “I Love Rock n’ Roll” by Joan Jett and “Killer Queen” by Queen.

The game will feature classic tunes from throughout the series and update them for full band gameplay. It is due out June 16 on PS2, PS3, Xbox 360 and Wii.

It was recently announced that Activision would be securing a spot in Sony’s Playstation Home virtual world for their Guitar Hero franchise.

The feature is entitled Backstage With Guitar Hero and will include an easily recognizable set, pictured above. Apparently it will include a mini game called Rock God which includes game play similar to that of Simon, or any other memorization game.

Backstage With Guitar Hero will hit the Playstation Home service tomorrow.

Read (Kotaku)

If you are familiar with Rock Band and Guitar Hero, chances are you will love this new game from Pretzel Time. Pretzelmaker / Pretzel Time announced today that the company has launched a new online video game and sweepstakes in support of “Combo*Nation”, the brand’s current combo-meal promotion.

The “Pretzelmaker Rocks” video game offers all individuals who register a chance to win instantly and also enters registrants for the grand prize drawing. The game and sweepstakes can be found at www.pretzelmaker.com and will run through April 28, 2009. Pretzelmaker / Pretzel Time is managed by NexCen Franchise Management, Inc., a subsidiary of NexCen Brands, Inc.

Pretzelmaker Rocks is a game of musical rhythm and timing that challenges gamers to navigate through two levels of play. At the start, players are given the option to customize their rock star by selecting a male or female character and a rock star hairdo. Gamers then use the arrow-keys on their computer keyboards to sync to a patterned delivery of digital pretzels from an oven in the game’s background–points are earned each time the player hits the correct pretzel.

All registered players will have an opportunity to scratch-and-win a $10 gift certificate booklet redeemable at any Pretzelmaker or Pretzel Time store. Registrants will also be automatically entered to win a 42″ flat screen television, a Nintendo Wii(R) and Rock Band(R) 2 video game. Gamers can play up to five times a day through April 28, 2009. After the sweepstakes, the game will be open to ongoing play.

(Source) Press