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Posts with tag activision

Next Guitar Hero title due out this holiday

Posted May 9th 2008 11:00PM by Nick Doerr
Filed under: News

Mike Griffith, the honcho over at Activision, has already released some statements regarding Guitar Hero IV (presumably). The statement? It's coming sometime this holiday season. Griffith is already starting to talk up the title, claiming they've "put a lot of additional development resources, a lot of additional music licenses resources, a lot of additional hardware supplier resources against the title to fuel growth over next year".

There are going to be some innovations for the next title -- expect something more along the lines of Rock Band, like more instruments or vocals. That's really all we know right now, but at least you know you'll be plunking down more cash for more chances at heroism this holiday season.

Guitar Hero IV will feature other instruments and vocals

Posted Apr 21st 2008 8:30PM by Jem Alexander
Filed under: News

If what Activision's Bobby Kotick has stated in the latest issue of Conde Nast Portfolio magazine is true, then "Guitar Hero" could soon become a misnomer for the series. Guitar Hero IV could be branching out to "include a lot of other instruments, [and] vocals". Not a bad idea, except it's been done before.

Judging from Guitar Hero III's low quality controller build and its lackluster downloadable content, we don't really expect Guitar Hero IV to be much of a Rock Band beater. Especially when you consider Harmonix' superior ability to create note charts. Who knows though, maybe Neversoft will feature an instrument not currently available in Rock Band - that's the only real way we can see the franchise becoming relevant again.

PS3 Call of Duty 4 Map Pack finally hammers down solid release dates

Posted Apr 17th 2008 9:45AM by Majed Athab
Filed under: News

Apparently, there was nothing to worry about. The Variety Map Pack will hit the North American PSN on April 24 as previously scheduled. European Call of Duty 4 fans can pick up the downloadable content from the Euro PSN on May 1.

Double XP weekend for North America will commence on Friday, April 25 at midnight Pacific Time. It will run through Saturday until Sunday, April 27 ending also at midnight Pacific Time. "Play with Infinity Ward" will be on Friday, April 25 at 5-8pm Pacific. As for Europe, Double XP weekend begins Friday, May 2 at midnight GMT and will end Sunday, May 4 at midnight GMT. Europe's "Play with Infinity Ward" is on Friday, May 2 at 7-10pm GMT.

Guitar Hero: Aerosmith bundle revealed, costs $99

Posted Apr 15th 2008 5:25PM by Andrew Yoon
Filed under: Peripherals


Click for high-resolution image.

The next Guitar Hero game may highlight Aerosmith, but it'll feature a number of songs from other bands, including The Clash, Cheap Trick, Joan Jett and The Blackhearts and more. Activision has just announced their pre-order bonuses for the upcoming music game. For $99, you'll get a special bundle which includes another guitar, the "exclusive" Aerosmith faceplate, an Aerosmith tour book and a copy of the game.

Check out images of the new guitar faceplate in our gallery. Aerosmith launches this June.

Gallery: Guitar Hero: Aerosmith

Call of Duty 4 DLC is coming in late April

Posted Mar 28th 2008 6:30AM by Majed Athab
Filed under: Downloads, News

We've got some good news and some bad news regarding the upcoming DLC for Call of Duty 4. The good news is that Infinity Ward's Robert "fourzerotwo" Bowling confirmed on his personal blog that the PS3 variety pack will indeed be coming to the PSN next month. The bad news? Owners of the PS3 version will be getting the DLC on April 24 -- three full weeks after the Xbox 360 version goes up.

Now those extra three weeks shouldn't be too hard to stomach, right? After all, shouldn't you be used to this kind of treatment by now? In any case, it won't be difficult to make enough money in time to purchase the variety pack; it'll only cost a measly US$10. For those who are not aware of what's inside this DLC update, let it now be known that it's comprised of four maps: Creek, Broadcast, Killhouse, and Chinatown.

[Thanks John! Via Joystiq]

In-game ads, not as useful as once thought?

Posted Jan 30th 2008 2:30PM by Nick Doerr
Filed under: News

Sony king and CEO, Sir Howard Stringer, along with Activision CEO Bobby Kotick, have voiced their concern over in-game advertising -- skeptical of its potential growth. Stringer spoke with the Financial Times recently, saying that t"The [supposed] solution to everything at the moment in the digital space is ad-supported. While advertisers are happy to talk that up, there is a limit to the amount of money available."

He and Kotick ran into agreement that "young people don't like advertising very much" and that it's a bit early to get too far into in-game ads. What do you guys think? Is it too early for video games to accept in-game advertising on a large scale? Are gamers going to feel the advertisements are intrusive and block them out, just like TV ads? It's up to us to see if this method will ultimately succeed or fail.

[via Gamasutra]

Nyko will make Rock Band, GH III compatible guitar

Posted Jan 9th 2008 9:00AM by Chris Powell
Filed under: Peripherals, News

Just weeks ago, it felt as if the stalemate between Activision and Harmonix would never end. Both companies blamed the other for the lack of compatibility between guitar peripherals for Rock Band and Guitar Hero III. Thankfully, Nyko has come to save the day as it recently announced that it would develop a guitar that's compatible with both games.

Coming in March, Nyko will make available the Front Man wireless guitar. The peripheral will feature a dongle with a switch that must be set for whichever game a budding guitarist is currently playing at the time. The guitar appears to have all the features that are present in the controllers offered by Activision and Harmonix but also promises up to 80 hours of continuous play time using three AA batteries.

We're pretty sure both companies will settle this silly argument at some point in the future, but it sure feels good to know a true solution is only weeks away.

Activision wants $$$ for PS3 guitar patch

Posted Dec 20th 2007 12:00PM by Andrew Yoon
Filed under: Peripherals


Well, that solves the riddle. Activision has simply come out and said what's holding up the PS3 guitar patch that will allow Guitar Hero and Rock Band guitars to work with each other. The Boston Globe quotes Activision spokeswoman: "We believe we should be compensated for the use of our technology." Well, that's blunt.

We still don't understand what Activision has to lose by making the guitars compatible with each other. With so many Rock Band players desperate for another guitar controller, we're pretty sure they'll give Activision the sweet cash they're looking for by buying the game. Isn't that free money for them?

[Via Joystiq]

Blame game: Activision says MTV responsible for guitar snafu

Posted Dec 14th 2007 11:33AM by Andrew Yoon
Filed under: Peripherals


Don't you love it when companies play the blame game? Harmonix claimed that Activision was actively blocking the release of a guitar compatability patch, which will allow Guitar Hero and Rock Band guitars to work in harmony. However, Activision isn't ready to take responsibility, saying that it is actually Harmonix and MTV Games that's currently responsible for the guitar "snafu." In an official statement made to GameDaily, the company states:

"The recent announcement by MTV Games/Viacom's Harmonix division that Activision is blocking Sony from releasing a patch and their plea to enable Rock Band software to work with Guitar Hero hardware paints a very misleading picture.

In fact, Harmonix and its parent company MTV Games/Viacom recently declined Activision's offer to reach an agreement that would allow the use of Guitar Hero guitar controllers with Rock Band. We have been and remain open to discussions with Harmonix and MTV Games/Viacom about the use of our technology in Rock Band. Unfortunately for Rock Band users, in this case Harmonix and MTV Games/Viacom are unwilling to discuss an agreement with Activision."

So who's telling the truth and who's lying? Stay tuned for more.

Activision blocking Rock Band patch, says Harmonix

Posted Dec 12th 2007 5:10PM by Andrew Yoon
Filed under: Game Patches


Imagine this scenario. You have a Guitar Hero III controller, and you have Rock Band. And yet, you can't use one guitar in the other game. Silly, right? Unfortunately, that's a reality for many. A patch was supposed to fix this irksome problem. In fact, a patch has actually been created. But where is it?

Harmonix is blaming Activision, saying the publisher is blocking any compatibility patch. In a statement to Joystiq, Harmonix reveals that "Harmonix and MTV Games believe in an open standard philosophy of hardware and game compatibility. We think that there should be interoperability between music instrument controllers across all music games. This is clearly in the best interest of consumers, game developers and console manufacturers and will only help to grow the music game genre as well as inspire innovation and creativity."

"Two weeks ago, Harmonix created a software patch for the Sony PLAYSTATION 3 version of Rock Band that allowed for guitar compatibility and support for third party peripherals, including enabling use of Activision's Guitar Hero III controller with Rock Band. The compatibility patch was submitted, approved and had been scheduled for release by Sony on Tuesday, December 4. Unfortunately, Activision objected to the release of the compatibility patch. The patch remains with Sony, but we have been told that it will unfortunately not be released due to Activision's continued objection."

Excuse me, Activision? Why object to cross-compatible guitars? Certainly, allowing us to use your controllers in EA's game won't cannibalize your own sales. You have nothing to lose Activision. Do the right thing, or face the wrath of angry PS fans.

[Image source: Joystiq]

PS3 Fanboy review: Soldier of Fortune Payback

Posted Dec 4th 2007 7:35PM by Colin Torretta
Filed under: Reviews


The Soldier of Fortune series of games has long been a guilty little pleasure for many gamers. Developed by Raven Software (the guys making a little title called Quake 4), the first game starred a real-life mercenary named John Mullins and was made popular due to its unusual (for the time) real-world topical settings and violent, visceral combat. A sequel was made two years later in 2002, also starring John Mullins, titled Soldier of Fortune: Double Helix and upped the ante considerably in terms of gore and violence due to their much publicized GHOUL 2.0 dismemberment system.

Though neither game was ever considered a top-tier quality title, both Soldier of Fortune games have managed to attract and keep a solid cult following with many gamers (including myself) playing one or both of the games even to this day. So when Activision suddenly announced earlier this year that they were bringing the violent series back, many people were quite excited -- if a little confused by the news that Raven Software was no longer the development company. Things didn't get much better when it was found out that a small company named Cauldron out of the Slovak Republic would be handling the development, but still people held out hope. I mean how can they mess up with such solid groundwork already laid in place by the previous games?

Unfortunately, it doesn't take long for cracks to start showing in Soldier of Fortune Payback's facade. Right off the bat, you find out that they've ditched the series protagonist John Mullin in favor for a generic faceless mercenary who sounds like he's trying to pass an unusually large kidney stone every time he opens his chew-filled mouth. The rest of the voice acting in the game varies from much worse to slightly better and completely fails at drawing you into the characters or the story itself.

Continue reading PS3 Fanboy review: Soldier of Fortune Payback

Vivendi and Activision merge to form largest games publisher in the world

Posted Dec 2nd 2007 2:30PM by Jem Alexander
Filed under: News

In a surprise move that has gamers stunned, Vivendi (divisions of which include Blizzard and Sierra) and Activision (publishers of Guitar Hero III, Call of Duty 4, Tony Hawk's Proving Ground and more) have merged in a deal worth $18.9 billion. The resulting company, Activision Blizzard, is now the world's largest video games publisher.

Exactly what this means for PS3 owners (or any other gamers, for that matter) is unclear as of yet. No doubt we'll hear more details regarding the merger and what this means with regards to Vivendi Blizzard's gaming frachises over the coming weeks. We'll be sure to keep you up to date as more information becomes available.

Activision CEO thinks PS3 needs to hit $199 sweet spot

Posted Nov 28th 2007 7:15PM by Nick Doerr
Filed under: News


Two years from now, Activision CEO Bobby Kotick believes, the PS3 and 360 need to hit the $199 console price sweet spot or die in obscurity. We're exaggerating, but the fact remains he believes that price is what will gain both consoles a mass market appeal. This is sort of like saying sugar is sweet. At that price, how would the mass market not get interested in the two most powerful consoles on the market?

He made this point by pointedly pointing at the Wii. "he Wii at its price point is now setting a standard and an expectation, and people say, well, the Wii is less complex technically. I don't think that really matters as much to the consumer ... you can imagine Nintendo will be down to the $129 price point over the next few years." This is the reasoning behind the $199 sweet spot for the PS3 and 360. Don't quote us or anything, but with all the price cuts both consoles have had recently (PS3 in particular), hitting $199 in two years isn't likely. Still, at that price, everybody would have all three consoles for the price of one, sort of.

Call of Duty 4 ready for action on November 5th

Posted Aug 22nd 2007 6:45PM by Colin Torretta
Filed under: News


According to Joystiq, Activision has announced a simultaneous worldwide release for Call of Duty 4 on all platforms (PS3, 360, PC). The highly anticipated shooter from Infinity Ward will be released into the wild on November 5th, just before the start of the insane holiday release rush.

The developers of CoD4 recently confirmed that the PlayStation 3 version runs just as nicely as the other versions, at 60FPS with full anti-aliasing -- something sure to appease fans who have been burnt by certain half-assed ports. Unfortunately, we don't get to participate in the multiplayer beta, but at least we know we're getting a solid version of the game.

Now if they would just teach EA a thing or two about programming on the PS3 ...

Activision confirms Tony Hawk demo around Thanksgiving

Posted Aug 7th 2007 9:30AM by Nick Doerr
Filed under: PlayStation Store, Demos

If you can't read French, let us do the dirty work for you. According to PlayFrance, Activision has announced that the newest Tony Hawk game, Tony Hawk's Proving Ground, will get a downloadable demo onto the PlayStation Store a little before Thanksgiving. If you've got a US account but aren't quite sure when those crazy Americans celebrate turkey day, this means to expect a demo around the third week of November.

This is all well and good, but we can't forget that it is another Tony Hawk game. A lot of people have been saying that his titles have grown more and more stale throughout the years, so putting a demo up is risky. On the other hand, perhaps there is a lot of promise in the title and placing a demo up proves it. We'll see if Proving Ground really lives up to its name, or proves that it sucks, in November.

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