Joel Jewett, founder of Neversoft, has told Great Falls Tribunal that his company will be dropping the Tony Hawk series in favour of focusing on Guitar Hero. The source mentions that “the company has let the Tony Hawk series go to another developer.” As EDGE notes, it’s likely to be Robomodo, as they announced last year that they were working on an extreme sports title for Activision.

“It’s probably best for the franchise … it’s time for someone else to add fresh ideas to it,” Jewett said. Yes, Mr. Jewett. You’re right. Since The end of the “Pro Skater” brand, the games have gotten worse and worse, and the “fresh ideas” from Neversoft turned out to be fresh dung. That said, every time a new game was announced, I held out for them to go back to the simplicity of the superb Tony Hawk’s 4. Robomodo, do not fail me, or I will post a rant on the internet! Fear me!

Harmonix, Neversoft, Konami, and Activision have all signed an agreement with Microsoft and Sony that guaranteed that all of the new peripherals coming out for the newest batch of music games would all be compatible with each other.

What this means is that any fake guitar, drum set, and microphone that you may purchase along with Rock Band 2, Guitar Hero: World Tour, or Rock Revolution would work in any of those games. You only need to buy one set of instruments to enjoy any and all of these pretend rock experiences.

Sony is supposedly working to get SingStar microphones to also be compatible, as well as getting the current Guitar Hero 3 and Rock Band guitars to play nice together.

Source: Gamasutra via Gamerscore Blog

Hot off the heels of the leaked setlist that escaped onto the internet a week ago, a Guitar Hero community member leaked a picture of the latest issue of OXM, which confirms thirty of the songs that are indeed in the final version of Guitar Hero World Tour.

Not only does it list a wide variety of bands from Bob Seger to At The Drive-In, but it matches up almost perfectly with the leaked list from August 8th. If you look closely on the side, you can also see some of the venues that are in the game, including The House of Blues, Amoeba Records, an Aircraft Carrier, and an English Castle. Be on a look out for the next issue of OXM, where you should be able to see the full article, which goes into detail about some of the game’s features and venues.

Hit the jump for the confirmed setlist, as well as the leaked one from last week.

[songs in bold are confirmed]
30 Seconds to Mars – “The Kill”
311 – “Beautiful Disaster”
Airbourne – “Too Much, Too Young, Too Fast”
Allman Brothers – “Ramblin’ Man”
Anouk – “Good God”
The Answer -”Never Too Late”
At the Drive-In – “One Armed Scissor”
Beastie Boys Feat. Kerry King – “No Sleep ‘Till Brooklyn”
Billy Idol – “Rebel Yell”
Black Label Society – “Stillborn”
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club – “Weapon of Choice”
Blink-182 – “Dammit”
Blondie – “One Way or Another”
Bob Seger – “Hollywood Nights”
Bon Jovi – “Livin’ on a Prayer”
Bullet For My Valentine – “Scream Aim Fire”
Creedence Clearwater Revival – “Up Around the Bend”
Coldplay – “Shiver”
Dinosaur Jr. – “Feel the Pain”
The Doors – “Love Me Two Times”
Dream Theater – “Pull Me Under”
The Eagles – “Hotel California”
The Enemy – “Aggro”
Filter – “Hey Man Nice Shot”
Fleetwood Mac – “Go Your Own Way”
Foo Fighters – “Everlong”
The Guess Who – “American Woman”
Interpol – “Obstacle 1″
Jane’s Addiction – “Mountain Song”
Jimi Hendrix – Disc: “The Wind Cries Mary”, “Purple Haze (Live)”/ Possible DLC: “Little Wing” “Foxey Lady”
Joe Satriani – “Satch Boogie”
Jimmy Eat World – “The Middle”
Korn – “Freak on a Leash”
Lacuna Coil – “Our Truth”
Linkin Park – “What I’ve Done”
The Living End – “Prisoner of Society”
Los Lobos – “La Bamba”
Lynard Skynard – “Sweet Home Alabama”
The Mars Volta – “L’Via L’Viaquez”
Metallica – “Trapped Under Ice” DLC: “Death Magnetic Album”
Michael Jackson Feat. Eddie Van Halen -”Beat It”
Modest Mouse – “Float On”
Motörhead – “Overkill”
Muse -”Assassin”
Nirvana – “About A Girl”
No Doubt – “Spiderwebs”
NOFX – “Soul Doubt”
Oasis – “Some Might Say”
Ozzy Osbourne – “Crazy Train”, “Mr. Crowley”
Paramore – “Misery Business”
Pat Benetar – “Heartbreaker”
Radio Futura – “Escuela de Calor”
REM – “The One I Love”
Rise Against – “Re-education Through Labor”
Sex Pistols – “Pretty Vacant”
Steve Miller Band – “The Joker”
Smashing Pumpkins – “Today”
Sublime – “Santeria”
Silversun Pickups – “Lazy Eye”
Steely Dan – “Do It Again”
The Police – “Demolition Man”
The Stone Roses – “Love Spreads”
Survivor – “Eye of the Tiger”
System of a Down – “BYOB”
Ted Nugent – “Stranglehold”
Tokio Hotel – “Monsoon”
Tool – “Parabola”, “Schism”, “Vicarious”
Trust – “Antisocial”
Van Halen – “Hot for Teacher”
Willie Nelson – “On the Road Again”
Wings – “Band On the Run”

Songs not on the leaked list, but confirmed:
The Doors – “Light My Fire”
Flo Rida ft. T-Pain – “Low (Travis Barker Remix)”
Lostprohpets – “Rooftops”
Linkin Park – “In The End”
Negramaro – “Nuvole”

Source: Guitar Hero Forums and Destructoid

After being leaked by guitarist Joe Perry quite some time ago, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith has now been officially announced.

Think of it like this: Guitar Hero: Rocks the 80s is to Guitar Hero II as Guitar Hero: Aerosmith is to Guitar Hero III. Neversoft will continue development and Activision is, of course, publishing.

The set list as a whole hasn’t been confirmed, and we don’t know how many songs there’ll be. What we do know is that ‘Don’t Wanna Miss a Thing’, ‘Dream On’, and ‘Love in an Elevator’ are all shoe-ins. And for those of you that despise Aerosmith, you should be semi-comforted by the addition of “celebrated artists that the band has either performed with or has been inspired by in some way.”

Apparently as a peace offering, on February 16-18 Aerosmith’s ‘Dream On’ will be available for free download for use with Guitar Hero III. It’ll be obtainable on both Xbox Live and PlayStation Network (Sorry Nintendo!) for those few days only.

Activision’s release of “Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80’s” has spurred a lawsuit from American rock group, The Romantics. Lawsuits are common place these days, however the grounds for the suit against the publisher of the successful video game franchise seems like a stretch.

The Romantics claim that the band commissioned to perform their hit song “What I Like About You” sounded too much like them, resulting in a rendition that is “virtually indistinguishable from the authentic version”.

The lawsuit was filed on November 20th in federal District Court in Detroit. Look out Frank Caliendo, John Madden may be after you next.

Frank Caliendo impersonating John Madden on The Late Show

Via: billboard.com

In a press release sent out today, Activision announced the release of two new track packs that hit the Xbox Live Market Place this morning. While the release stated that the Playstation Store would be receiving them later this month, we have confirmed that they are in fact available on the Playstation Network right now as well.

Prospective plastic-shredding rockers can elect to download the Velvet Revolver Pack, which includes master recordings of “Messages,” “She Builds Quick Machines”, and the Grammy Award winning “Slither”. Alternatively, players can also choose from the Foo Fighter Pack, which includes “The Pretender”, “This Is a Call” and “All My Life”.

With the release of so many amazing titles this month, most people haven’t had the chance to process everything GH3 has to offer yet. That makes this move even more interesting. Is Activision amping up its track list in preparation for EA’s Rock Band? Or is it trying to start a new business model for the rhythm game genre? Regardless, this can only be seen as good for fans of the series. We don’t need anymore sequels, and we already have the instruments, so just give us the music!

Activision has bundled Guitar Hero and Guitar Hero II in time for the holidays. The bundle is a PS2 exclusive, so you will need the Playstation 2 or a Playstation 3 with backwards compatibility to take advantage of this deal. Press release after the jump.

ACTIVSION ANNOUNCES DUAL PACK OF GUITAR HERO® AND GUITAR HERO® II NOW AVAILABLE ON STORE SHELVES

SUNNYVALE, CA – November 7, 2007 – For those looking to rock out even harder this holiday season, Activision will deliver a special dual pack that includes the hit titles, Guitar Hero and Guitar Hero II. The two-disc software-only set is now available exclusively on the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system in retail stores nationwide, and aspiring rock gods can add these legendary games to their expanding Guitar Hero collection.

Guitar Hero, the original title of the wildly popular franchise, allows fans to choose from multiple rock characters and jam at concert venues that grow in size as their rock career progresses. Players can choose from various guitar options, exclusive character outfits, and unlockable songs while they perform to secure endorsements and reach ultimate rockstar status. Over 40 incredible rock anthems fill every stage of the game as axe-shredders rip through tracks such as “Iron Man” (as made famous by Black Sabbath), “More Than a Feeling” (as made famous by Boston), “Bark at The Moon” (as made famous by Ozzy Osbourne), “I Wanna Be Sedated” (as made famous by The Ramones), and many more.

Guitar Hero II, the sequel to the smash hit Guitar Hero, melts the knobs off players’ amps with an expanded track list of over 60 new songs, characters, guitars, exciting gameplay modes, and visually-stunning rock venues that range from high school gyms to sold-out arenas and Stonehenge. Fans also have the opportunity to compete with their friends head to head in all new multiplayer modes, or form their own guitar duo and riff cooperatively by rocking the rhythm, lead, and bass. In addition, an all-new practice mode is included that will allow players to select specific sections of a song, slow it up, and master the difficult solos. Tracks from the set list include “Sweet Child O Mine” (as made famous by Guns N’ Roses), “Free Bird” (as made famous by Lynard Skynard), “Woman” (as made famous by Wolfmother), and “You Really Got Me” (as made famous by Van Halen) among many others hit songs.

The dual pack of Guitar Hero and Guitar Hero II, published by RedOctane and developed by Harmonix, is rated T for Teen by the ESRB and now available in retail stores for the suggested price of $59.99. For more information about the Guitar Hero franchise, please visit the dedicated community site: www.guitarhero.com.

It’s not Warped Tour or Coachella, but this yearly concert tour is still one of the best shows in town. It’s got roaring crowds, outrageous stages, and even some special guest appearances. Best of all, they want you to play lead guitar.

The thrill of gaining admission into the world of Guitar Hero hasn’t diminished, even though this is the third time we’ve been to the show. For those unfamiliar with the series, Guitar Hero is a rhythm and music game played using a colorful plastic guitar. Any strange looks you get from the uninitiated are quickly dispelled when they pick up this odd peripheral and “feel” like they’re making the music themselves, even if they’re only hitting a combination of five fret keys.

The soundtrack of the Guitar Hero games is what sets this series apart. Except for perhaps the Tony Hawk series, there hasn’t been as big a videogame music breakthrough as Guitar Hero. The set list of GH3 is just as strong as the first two, with modern hits like “When You Were Young” by The Killers and “Miss Murder” by AFI alongside classics like “Paint it Black” by the Rolling Stones and “Anarchy in the UK” by the Sex Pistols.

Each track scales very nicely, allowing younger or inexperienced players to follow along on easy or medium while hardcore thrashers can turn it up to 11 with hard or expert mode. The challenge of Guitar Hero is what keeps people playing it year after year, and there’s a ton of replay value to be enjoyed in beating over 40 popular songs and two dozen indie bonus songs.

This year’s set list may be a bit divisive, as each new Guitar Hero tends to be. With pricey downloadable songs on the way, you’ll want to make these built in tracks last as long as possible. Fortunately there’s a good variety of old and new, but also some really clever riffs that are great fun to master. “Lay Down” by Priestess, for example, will urge you to master the hammer-on and pull-off techniques.

Though the difficulty might have been toned down slightly, it doesn’t detract from the fun. It can even result in higher scores and combos, as there’s a little more leeway now when you hit a note.

Guitar Hero has sold millions of copies by creating a specific formula for rock sauce, but what happens when you throw in a few new ingredients? The battle mode (which holds up well in multiplayer) and celebrity guest appearances (Slash just happened to be in the neighborhood?) might not be for everyone, but in terms of making this game feel like a star-studded MTV special they are pretty fun. It’s not a revolutionary step forward for the series, but Guitar Hero only needs to gradually refine its formula.

In terms of refinement, the greater number of master tracks gives Guitar Hero 3 a more genuine feel than its predecessors. While it’s still disconcerting to hear KISS songs by a crappy cover band, the authentic voices in other songs go a long way towards improving the series.

There are a few, slight missteps. The lip-synching, while improved in Guitar Hero 3, leaves the male singer looking like a creepy wide-mouthed monster. The animated cutscenes between venues look great, but they’re extremely short and don’t really qualify as a reward for beating a set of five songs. Otherwise, the background graphics and general presentation are colorful and extremely attractive.

The new publisher of Guitar Hero 3 has also apparently taken the approach of sexing up the characters unnecessarily. Judy Nails is so tarted-up in this game that she’s practically unrecognizable. Midori, a perky Japanese schoolgirl, looks very punk but also seems to be there solely for fanboy service. One level even features midriff-baring pole dancers, which may give pause to parents who would otherwise buy Guitar Hero for their kids without hesitation.

Despite these few missed notes (blame it, perhaps, on a bad sound engineer or unplugged amp) Guitar Hero is still the best show in town. Competitor Rock Band has a lot to prove, as Guitar Hero has made the stage dive to next-gen almost perfectly.

Guitar Hero is finally facing some tough competition this year due to Rock Band, and the behind-the-scenes maneuvering between companies is probably pretty confusing to most music game fans.

The creators of Guitar Hero may have moved on to develop Rock Band, but the GH license is still going strong with big-name contributors and more addicting guitar gameplay. We talked with Activision’s Alex Ortiz, who is Guitar Hero 3’s production coordinator, about how the legal and licensing changes have affected this popular series.

Q: What was the transition like from Harmonix to Neversoft?
A: I joined the team later in development. As far as working with Neversoft on this title, it seems like Neversoft knew what exactly what they were getting in to. They’re a really great developer who pulled off a really good game in GH3. They pretty much proved they can take over Harmonix crown and still preserve what Guitar Hero is.

Q: Did you use the same engine and interface as the previous two Guitar Heroes?
A: They have their own engine. We couldn’t use what Harmonix developed, but overall users who are familiar with GH1 and 2 will pretty much feel right at home with GH3 and see that not much was changed. Obviously the menu and everything is completely different. It’s more of the Neversoft style of things, but it’s a really good change, to be honest.

Q: What were Red Octane and Activision’s response to EA buying out Harmonix?
A: It was one of those buyouts that takes everyone by surprise. It wasn’t really expected, but we weren’t really surprised that a great developer like Harmonix was eventually bought by another company.

Q: What sets Neversoft apart from Harmonix?
A: I think what really sets it apart is our own unique style. When you look at the two games, Rock Band and Guitar Hero, there’s not a whole lot you can do as far as changing up the prep board too much. They’re almost going to look the same, it’s just what each developer going to bring to the table art and style-wise that’s going to differentiate the two.

Q: What’s in store for online play?
A: Online play is available right out the gate on PS3, Xbox 360 and the Wii. PS2 does not have online.

Q: What can you do online?
A: Basically it’s what you can do offline. Co-op mode is available online and competitive online play is there. You can pretty much go head-to-head against anyone in the world and prove who the best GH player is.

Q: Rockband has MTV, what about GH?
A: GH has the fact that it’s a monster franchise and brand name that is so well known. Throngs of people know GH. People still don’t yet know that Rock Band name. It’s yet to prove itself to the wide consumer market. You know when most people hear GH they know what it is. Rock Band, they’re not sure what it is. Because GH is such monster of a franchise it’s actually easier now for us to get artists involved. Artists are more proactive about coming to us first and trying to get involved.

Sex Pistols came back and rerecorded “Anarchy in the U.K.” for us. That was a major, awesome accomplishment. We got the band Living Colour to also rerecord “Cult of Personality”, and they actually extended and added things to the solo in the song. It’s amazing.

We also have Slash and Tom Morello who came in and recorded new, exclusive music just for us.

Q: EA claims that their guitar and the GH guitar are interchangeable, are they?
A: That’s been the long-standing thing that Harmonix has said– that the Guitar Hero guitar will work with their game. I’m sure their controller will probably work with ours, but I’m pretty sure there’s going to be some compatibility issues. Each piece of hardware is different. How the pieces of software are going to react to a controller that wasn’t necessarily designed for it, that’s kind of up in the air.

The much anticipated Guitar Hero III sequel from Activision and RedOctane is set to hit shelves October 28th (this Sunday), with an estimated 3,000 plus retailers organizing midnight release parties.

Hit up your local Wal-Mart beforehand, and buy that cranky neighbor of yours a few extra pillows to block out the sounds, cuz’ practice makes perfect, and you my friend are on a quest for perfection that starts at midnight, and stops when you damn well say so! Press release after the jump.

ACTIVISION TEARS IT UP ON STORE SHELVES WITH LAUNCH OF GUITAR HERO® III: LEGENDS OF ROCK

SUNNYVALE, CA – October 26, 2007 – Activision, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI) today announced that Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock will officially rip it up on retail store shelves nationwide this Sunday, October 28. To help celebrate the legendary launch, over 3,000 stores across the country are expected to organize their own midnight launch events this weekend, allowing all aspiring axe-shredders to unleash their inner-rock star.

Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock will include explosive new content and features including a multiplayer action-inspired battle mode, grueling boss battles, a host of exclusive unlockable content and visually stunning rock venues. Expanded online multiplayer game modes will also allow fans worldwide to compete head-to-head for true legendary rock status. Fresh downloadable content will also be offered on multiple platforms, and players can now shred to a killer set list from many of the most popular rock songs ever recorded.

“Where there is music this holiday season, there is Guitar Hero, and we’re excited to deliver Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock as the ultimate guitar-bending experience for our fans,” said Dusty Welch, head of publishing for Activision/RedOctane. “With an amazing set list, added gameplay features, online functionality, and new wireless guitars, aspiring rock stars are going to shred harder than ever before.”

For the first time ever, Guitar Hero® fans will also be able to thrash and burn with new wireless guitar controllers available for each platform, including exclusive Gibson Guitar’s Les Paul model for the Xbox 360™ video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, Wii™ home video game system from Nintendo, and PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system. PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system gamers will also get to shred on a new exclusive shape, Gibson’s Kramer guitar, popularized by hard rockers and known for its body design, pickups, electronics and construction for furious finger fretting.

Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock, published by RedOctane® and developed by Neversoft, is rated ‘T’ for Teen by the ESRB and will be available October 28, 2007. For more information about the Guitar Hero franchise, please visit the dedicated community site: www.guitarhero.com.

Seemingly following the Hollywood trend of sequels with different names, Neversoft gives gamers a first look at “Tony Hawk’s Proving Ground”. The 9th iteration of the blockbuster skating series will kick flip its way onto the Xbox 360 and PS3 with pure unadulterated high definition graphics. Wii, PS2, and DS owners are in on the act as well, although the publisher would like to remind everyone that “gameplay and content may vary” from console to console. Thanks for the heads up guys.

Want to video tape yourself? (skating) Then you are going to love the addition of a tricked out video editor (PS3 and Xbox 360 versions only) that allows you to not only capture video clips of yourself tearing up the streets, but edit and string them together to form your very own highlight reel. You can even post them online for the world to see.

In terms of gameplay, you will have two trick nailing options to chose from. “Nail The Grab” which offers up an automatic set of controls that use the analogs to control your hand movement and “Nail The Manual” which as the name implies gives gamers more control over the moves through a manual set of control options. While both modes have their advantages and disadvantages, if the ability to freakishly manipulate your board while skating turns you on then Grab mode is the way to go.

Want to personalize your character for the long run? No problem, this years title allows you to pick from three classes of skaters: Career (Dad said get a job, and now I skate professionally), Hardcore (Dad said get a job, and I said rules are for sissy’s), and finally Rigger (your board is the only family you have ever known). Learn more about this feature in the video below.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Finally, every skater knows that after a long day of grinding, flipping, and bashing in grandmas head as she walks home with her groceries (sorry that is just so wrong) that there is nothing better than coming home and crashing in your custom crib. With the addition of “Skate Lounge” you will be able to do just that. Paint the walls and deck the floors, you name and “you can do it!” Pimp your place with everything from plasma screens to Italian sculpted water fountains (because a statue that pees water will totally get you laid). From B-town to P-town and through the streets of DC, this world is big, its enormous, its Tony Hawks Proving Ground and its available this Fall.