PlayStation LifeStyle » Band Hero

Activision Turning Down the Volume This Year

Paulmichael Contreras — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 20:52:59 +0000

Spared!

Last year, there were a lot of games in the “Hero” series by Activision. So many, in fact, that people may have been turned off by the sheer number of variants. Things are going to be different in 2010, however.

Not Spared!

In a recent conference call, Publishing CEO Mike Griffith stated that Activision expects sales of bundles to dwindle due to the market being saturated with so many plastic instruments. As a result, Activision plans to release “less than 10″ SKUs in the “Hero” line of games. They plan to cut PS2 versions of the games as well as Band Hero bundles. The focus will instead be on Guitar Hero and DJ Hero titles in the “back half of the year.” Prepare for a lot less Hero-related news this year.

Amazon Celebrates Countdown to Black Friday

Kyle P. — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 23:27:36 +0000

Amazon is celebrating the countdown to Black Friday with some great deals! These latest deals may excite the inner musician in all of you!

From now until November 27th, 2009 11:59 PM Pacific time, if you buy either Band Hero Super Bundle, DJ Hero Bundle with Turntable, or Guitar Hero 5 Guitar Bundle, you’ll receive a $40 Amazon credit! This credit applies to anything; there are no restrictions. These bundles are available on the PS3 and PS2.

Stick with PlayStation LifeStyle as we’ll be sure to bring you all the latest and greatest video game deals!

[Source]

Activision ‘Drumming’ Up New Hero Game

Anthony Severino — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 05:43:54 +0000

Activision claims Guitar Hero to be the third highest selling franchise of all time, right behind Mario, and Madden, both of which have become house hold names. The massive sales and immediate popularity after it’s original release back in 2005 have sparked numerous music-based “Hero” games with the hopes of having similar success. DJ Hero and Band Hero both released this fall, but it looks like Activision is planning yet another “Hero” title already.

According to a trademark recently filed by Activision, one of the world’s largest video game developers and publishers, reveals yet another foray into the “Hero” line of music games.

This time, it’s not turntables scratching, or guitar riffs. Instead you’ll be beating your drums in Drum Hero. The trademark which was filed just today covers pretty much everything relating to video games, and any relevant toys of handheld versions of the game.

PlayStation Release Horizon 11/02/09

Kishen Patel — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 15:19:37 +0000

Only one more week until we experience the wrath of the heavy-hitter of next week but this week should be sufficient enough to hold us back until we break open our Prestige Editions (we can dream, right?). This week, we will finally get our hands on Bioware’s Dragon Age: Origins, Star Wars Battlefront: Elite Squadron, and of course Jak & Daxter: The Lost Frontier. Anyways, here are this weeks PlayStation releases.

PS3 –

Band Hero (11/03)
Dragon Age: Origins (Collector’s Edition) (11/03)
Jurassic: The Hunted (11/03)
Lego Rock Band (11/03)
Pro Evolution Soccer 2010 (11/03)
Star Wars: The Force Unleased—Ultimate Sith Edition (11/04)

PSP –

Jak & Daxter: The Lost Frontier (11/04)
Star Wars Battlefront: Elite Squadron (11/04)

PS2 –

What’s on your list this week? Post your thoughts in the comments below.

The Boycott on Activision Begins

Dan Massi — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 19:29:26 +0000

When you piss off the gaming community, you have quite a large enemy. This time, the enemy is Activision and it’s CEO Robert Kotick. And when gamers get angry, you’ll be most likely be hit by a powerful storm of fury.

Posted yesterdayon N4G, this Youtube video cries out for a boycott against Activision.

“Help spread the word by letting other news outlets know about this video.
Also make sure Activision know exactly how you feel about Robert Kotick and he continual attempts to kill the gaming industry with his corporate fat cat decisions that hurt the consumer and original IP’s. You Mr Kotick are a douchebag!”

Click here to view the embedded video.

Then, a new N4G article rose in the comments, again asking to boycott the company. This one however, came with a petition, which quickly garnered over 1000 signatures. This article has seemed to disappear though, unfortunately.

The boycott may seem unjustified to some, but to many others, it seems perfectly fine. Activision raised the price of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 in European regions, making it cost almost $100 USD. The company also jacked up the price of the PC Version to $59.99, instead of the usual $49.99.

Most of the blame on this boycott is by Activison’s CEO Bobby Kotick, who has made shortsighted statements as of late. The CEO first threatened to removed support from the PlayStation platform if Sony didn’t drop the price of the PlayStation 3, which seemed a tad hypocritical considering the high prices of their titles and collectors editions.

Another thing that irked gamers was Activision’s decision to file a lawsuit against Double Fine and EA for releasing Brutal Legend. The first time around, Activision claimed that they still owned the rights to Brutal Legend. However, this was obviously false as the title was dropped by Activision during their merger with Blizzard. The publisher also accused Double Fine of owing them development funds used for the project before it was kicked to the curb.

It’s no different than asking employees for cash right after firing them, but apparently this didn’t bother them. But thankfully, Activision withdrew their legal tirade in the end and said an agreement was made.

Will you be boycotting Activision? Post your comments below!

Activision Wants to Raise Game Prices Even More

Dan Massi — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 04:35:47 +0000

Every PlayStation gamer knows who Bobby Kotick is. The CEO of Activision once threatened to drop support for PlayStation, and his company also raised the price of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 to £55.

At Activision Blizzard’s investor relations conference call, the main men of the company were asked by analyst Tony Gikas about the ‘comfort levels’ with some of their expensive games. Activision Blizzard’s president and CEO of publishing, Michael Griffith, answered with “…very strong retailer acceptance and support for all parts of our plan, including … our price points”.

However, Kotick’s response was a bit more worrying, with him responding:

“And Tony, you know if it was left to me, I would raise the prices even further.”

With Activision titles ranging from $99.99 to $199.99, it doesn’t seem like the company wants to stop with upping the prices. How do you feel about this? Comment below!

[Source]

Guitar Hero 5′s Tracklist Promises to Excite

Dan Massi — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 06:48:44 +0000

Activision has now released the full tracklist for the latest in their HERO series, Guitar Hero 5. The tracklist features a whopping 85 songs, and it looks as though rock fans are going to have a great time with these classic tracks.

3 Doors Down – “Kryptonite”
Arctic Monkeys – “Brianstorm”
Blink-182 – “The Rock Show”
Dire Straits – “Sultans Of Swing”
Jimmy Eat World – “Bleed American”
Johnny Cash – “Ring Of Fire”
Megadeth – “Sweating Bullets”
Mötley Crüe – “Looks That Kill”
Muse – “Plug In Baby”
Nirvana – “Smells Like Teen Spirit”
Queen & David Bowie – “Under Pressure”
Stevie Wonder – “Superstition”
The Killers – “All The Pretty Faces”
The Raconteurs – “Steady As She Goes”
TV On The Radio – “Wolf Like Me”
A Perfect Circle – “Judith”
AFI – “Medicate”
Attack! Attack! UK – “You And Me”
Band Of Horses – “Cigarettes, Wedding Bands”
Beastie Boys – “Gratitude”
Beck – “Gamma Ray”
Billy Idol – “Dancing With Myself”
Billy Squier – “Lonely Is The Night”
Blur – “Song 2″
Bob Dylan – “All Along The Watchtower”
Bon Jovi – “You Give Love A Bad Name”
Brand New – “Sowing Season (Yeah)”
The Bronx – “Six Days A Week”
Bush – “Comedown”
Children Of Bodom – “Done With Everything, Die For Nothing”
Coldplay – “In My Place”
Darker My Love – “Blue Day”
Darkest Hour – “Demon(s)”
David Bowie – “Fame”
Deep Purple – “Woman From Tokyo (’99 Remix)”
The Derek Trucks Band – “Younk Funk”
The Duke Spirit – “Send A Little Love Token”
Duran Duran – “Hungry Like The Wolf”
Eagles Of Death Metal – “Wannabe In L.A.”
Elliott Smith – “L.A.”
Elton John – “Saturday Night’s Alright (For Fighting)”
Face To Face – “Disconnected”
Garbage – “Only Happy When It Rains”
Gorillaz – “Feel Good Inc.”
Gov’t Mule – “Streamline Woman”
Grand Funk Railroad – “We’re An American Band”
Iggy Pop – “Lust For Life (Live)”
Iron Maiden – “2 Minutes To Midnight”
Jeff Beck – “Scatterbrain (Live)”
John Mellencamp – “Hurts So Good”
Kaiser Chiefs – “Never Miss A Beat”
King Crimson – “21st Century Schizoid Man”
Kings Of Leon – “Sex On Fire”
Kiss – “Shout It Out Loud”
Love and Rockets – “Mirror People”
My Morning Jacket – “One Big Holiday”
Nirvana – “Lithium (Live)”
No Doubt – “Ex-Girlfriend”
Peter Frampton – “Do You Feel Like We Do? (Live)”
The Police – “So Lonely”
Public Enemy Featuring Zakk Wylde – “Bring the Noise 20XX”
Queens Of The Stone Age – “Make It Wit Chu”
Rammstein – “Du Hast”
The Rolling Stones – “Sympathy For The Devil”
Rose Hill Drive – “Sneak Out”
Rush – “The Spirit Of Radio (Live)”
Santana – “No One To Depend On (Live)”
Scars On Broadway – “They Say”
Screaming Trees – “Nearly Lost You”
Smashing Pumpkins – “Bullet With Butterfly Wings”
Sonic Youth – “Incinerate”
Spacehog – “In The Meantime”
Sublime – “What I Got”
Sunny Day Real Estate – “Seven”
T. Rex – “20th Century Boy”
The Sword – “Maiden, Mother & Crone”
Thin Lizzy – “Jailbreak”
Thrice – “Deadbolt”
Tom Petty – “Runnin’ Down A Dream”
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers – “American Girl”
Vampire Weekend – “A-Punk”
Weezer – “Why Bother?”
The White Stripes – “Blue Orchid”
Wild Cherry – “Play That Funky Music”
Wolfmother – “Back Round”

Will you be purchasing Guitar Hero 5 when it releases September 1, 2009? Let us know in the comment section below!

[Source]

DJ Hero Scratches Up a Renegade Edition Price

Dan Massi — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 23:33:46 +0000

Thanks to GameStop, it’s seemed the price of the DJ Hero Renegade Edition has been found. Many gamers worried about the price when the information was revealed two days ago of the new edition, and rightfully so.

According to the pre-order page for DJ Hero Renegade Edition, gamers will have to hand over $200 for this new edition. If you weren’t aware, the edition comes with 2 CDs featuring unreleased material from Eminem and Jay-Z, a turntable with metal sliders and a slick black finish, as well as a turntable carrying case which folds into a stand.

Are you willing to fork over $200 for this special edition of DJ Hero? Let us know in the comment section below!

[Source/Via]

DJ Hero Coming for Your Wallet

Dan Massi — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 23:15:45 +0000

A wallet was found dead today in a gym locker room, with signs of monetary brutality and utter shock. Officers who arrived on the scene had said they found one piece of evidence, a receipt for [shal]DJ Hero[/shal]: Renegade Edition.

Already priced at $120 for the standard edition, the Renegade Edition is slated to include a JAY-Z and EMINEM CD two pack, which will feature unreleased tracks from both artists. This new edition also comes with a carrying case that converts into a DJ table stand. The turntable will have premium metal controls and a slick, black finish.

It is currently unknown how much the DJ Hero Renegade Edition costs, but we’ll report its allegedly jaw-dopping price as soon as the information comes up.

[Source]

Rock Out with Five New Guitar Hero Games

Dan Massi — Fri, 08 May 2009 00:11:24 +0000

Remember when the CEO of Activision said that they only wanted franchises that they can exploit on a yearly basis or more? Well, he certainly wasn’t lying.

Today, Activision announced four new titles, Guitar Hero 5, Band Hero, DJ Hero, and, as previously reported, Guitar Hero: Van Halen. Along with Guitar Hero: Smash Hits, that brings a total of five HERO games coming this year. If you’re a fan of the HERO games, then this will definitely be a buffet for you. And also, be prepared to spend a truck load of money. Possibly even boat loads.

So how do you guys feel about this announcement? Is Activision giving its audience what they want, or simply milking the franchise?

[Source]