Activision Details Upcoming Guitar Hero Editions
Guitar Hero has been a goldmine for Activision Blizzard. The popular music game franchise has generated more than $2b in sales and pushed out 34 million song downloads. Looking to build on the brand’s strength while expanding the franchise’s demographic reach, the company has confirmed a number of details about future installments.
First, three titles will debut this fall. Guitar Hero 5 will expand on the prior offerings with a classic rock base and music choices aimed at the game’s core audience.
Complimenting GH5 but aiming for an anticipated new legion of fans will be the previously announced DJ Hero. With a custom turntable controller (see pic) and a slate of R&B and hip hop titles to play with, the game will target fans of club music not in to grooving with the franchise’s rock roots.
For family audiences, the company will offer Band Hero. The E10+ rated title will feature Top 40 and pop tracks playable on the full complement of instruments introduced with Guitar Hero World Tour (guitar, bass, drum kit and microphone).
Also now confirmed, but without an announced release schedule is a new single band edition, Guitar Hero: Van Halen. The Van Halen game, following Guitar Hero Aerosmith and Metallica editions, will feature Van Halen’s top hits alongside tracks that were either influential to the band, or inspired by them. No set list or release date is available yet.
Beating the new titles to market will be an interim greatest hits edition featuring 48 tracks from prior games. Guitar Hero Smash Hits will go on sale on June 26, 2009. Today, the set list was announced:
From Guitar Hero
• Blue Öyster Cult – “Godzilla”
• Boston – “More Than A Feeling”
• Deep Purple – “Smoke On The Water”
• Franz Ferdinand – “Take Me Out”
• Helmet – “Unsung (Live)”
• Incubus – “Stellar”
• Joan Jett & The Blackhearts – “I Love Rock N’ Roll”
• Ozzy Osbourne – “Bark At The Moon”
• Pantera – “Cowboys From Hell (Live)”
• Queen – “Killer Queen”
• Queens Of The Stone Age – “No One Knows”
• The Donnas – “Take It Off”
• The Exies – “Hey You”
• White Zombie – “Thunder Kiss ‘65”
From Guitar Hero II
• Alice In Chains – “Them Bones”
• Avenged Sevenfold – “Beast And The Harlot”
• Danzig – “Mother”
• Foo Fighters – “Monkey Wrench”
• Iron Maiden – “The Trooper”
• Jane’s Addiction – “Stop!”
• Kansas – “Carry On Wayward Son”
• Lamb Of God – “Laid To Rest”
• Lynyrd Skynyrd – “Free Bird”
• Mötley Crüe- “Shout At The Devil”
• Nirvana – “Heart-Shaped Box”
• Rage Against The Machine – “Killing In The Name”
• Reverend Horton Heat – “Psychobilly Freakout”
• Rush – “YYZ”
• Stone Temple Pilots – “Trippin’ On A Hole In A Paper Heart”
• The Police – “Message In A Bottle”
• The Sword – “Freya”
• Warrant – “Cherry Pie”
• Wolfmother – “Woman”
From Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s
• Anthrax – “Caught In A Mosh”
• Extreme – “Play With Me”
• Judas Priest – “Electric Eye”
• Poison – “Nothin’ But A Good Time”
• Ratt – “Round and Round”
• Twisted Sister – “I Wanna Rock”
From Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock
• AFI – “Miss Murder”
• DragonForce – “Through The Fire And Flames”
• Heart – “Barracuda”
• Kiss – “Rock And Roll All Nite”
• Living Colour – “Cult Of Personality”
• Pat Benatar – “Hit Me With Your Best Shot”
• Priestess – “Lay Down”
• Slayer – “Raining Blood”
From Guitar Hero®: Aerosmith®
• Aerosmith – “Back In The Saddle”
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