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Canadian video game sales dip for first time since 2002

by Jason Dobson { May 5th 2009 at 1:00AM }

According to number crunchers at NPD, game industry sales have given Canadian retail outlets the cold shoulder so far in 2009. Much like the region's warmer cousin to the south, sales have slowed through the first quarter, with NPD reporting an 8.5 percent decline in overall sales compared to the same period last year. Interestingly, it isn't games that shoulder the biggest burden of this hit, but hardware, with sales of portables plummeting a dramatic 21 percent during the period. Console sales fared little better, dropping 14.5 percent in sales year-over-year.

The dip represents a first for the market since NPD began tracking Canadian sales in 2002. The group points to an overall lack of "blockbuster titles" so far compared to 2008 as a driving reason for the ongoing slump, with the same period in 2007 buffeted on sales of games like Guitar Hero III and Super Smash Bros. Brawl. As games like Resident Evil 5 and Halo Wars are not enough to get more Canadians checking out new platforms, clearly the time is right for a new hockey or moose hunting game to ski in and save the day.

February's Wii software usage: Smash Bros. still on top, Animal Crossing sees boost

by Griffin McElroy { Mar 2nd 2009 at 4:00PM }

MTV Multiplayer's Stephen Totilo recently posted a breakdown of the amount of playtime users logged during the month of February for various Wii titles using statistics that are readily available on the Nintendo Channel. Most of the results are unsurprising -- the top three spots are currently occupied by Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Guitar Hero III and Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, respectively. Those three titles have remained in said spots since September of last year.

However, a number of games saw massive usage boosts over the past month -- most notably, the average user's monthly playtime with Animal Crossing: City Folk increased nearly seven hours, bringing the game to a fifth-place finish for February. Similarly, Call of Duty: World at War's average playtime increased over five hours, bringing it up to 13th place. Sadly, Ninjabread Man didn't place at all -- but that won't stop us from holding out hope for a strong March showing.

14-year-old breaks GHIII 'Fire and Flames' record, guitars

by Griffin McElroy { Feb 7th 2009 at 8:00PM }

At the tender age of fourteen, our oafish hamfists could barely handle the simplest daily tasks: Shoe tying, pencil handling, typing and so on. Danny Johnson, a 14-year-old with such outrageous manual dexterity that we're of the firm belief he's at least two-thirds robot, recently performed a task we thought unthinkable -- he broke 17-year-old Chris Chike's official record on Guitar Hero III's most difficult song, "Through the Fire and Flames", and he broke it by nearly 100,000 points. Robot.

Johnson, who's broken nearly 80 guitar peripherals over the past nine months in pursuit of the record, set a wide margin with strategic Star Power usage, elevating his score to 973,954 (topping Chike's 899,703) during a performance at a Best Buy event with Guinness officiaries in attendance. However, we've seen Chike garner even higher scores without being witnessed by the aforementioned officiaries -- we think it's time for these two Jimmy Woods-esque virtuosos to settle this in a no-holds-barred, winner-take-all guitar duel.

[Via Game|Life]

Activision: Guitar Hero III is first title to generate sales of $1 billion

by Alexander Sliwinski { Jan 12th 2009 at 12:40PM }

Activision recently announced that Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock has become the first game ever to reach $1 billion in sales. This comes a little under a year from when the publisher announced that the Guitar Hero franchise had surpassed the billion dollar mark. Not bad for a series the company picked up for a pittance at $100 million in 2006.

The success of the franchise isn't just good news for the game industry, as Activision Publishing CEO Mike Griffith has cited Nielson SoundScan data, which claims that artists featured in the Guitar Hero series have seen download sales increase between 15-843%. As for the publisher's financial standing, if GameStop's top selling holiday titles are any indication, Activision should enjoy a lucrative quarter headlined by Guitar Hero World Tour, Call of Duty: World at War and that Lich King guy from the World of Warcraft.

Guitar Hero III first game to make $1 billion

by David Hinkle { Jan 12th 2009 at 11:47AM }

You may recall a similar headline from the past, where the Guitar Hero franchise earned over $1 billion. Well, another milestone for Activision comes thanks to the previous title to release in the franchise, Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock. That game alone has generated over $1 billion in sales, making it the first game in history to do so. The news was presented by Activision Publishing CEO Mike Griffith during a keynote speech at CES.

We're not sure how much an impact the Wii version itself has had, but consider it to be significant. The Wii version of the game has been very popular for quite some time now. Well, up until World Tour released, anyway.

Rock Band 2 welcomes Guitar Hero instruments [update]

by JC Fletcher { Dec 10th 2008 at 10:00AM }

[Update: IGN has pulled the post, at the request of one of the companies involved with the game. Yikes.]

IGN added further confirmation of a December release date for the Wii version of Rock Band 2, which is no doubt a comfort to many holiday gift-givers who may otherwise have a big hole in their shopping lists. However, IGN's preview states that it's coming out December 22, while GameStop said December 18. At least we're zeroing in on a specific day!

The most awesome news, however, is that IGN tried out the Wii Guitar Hero: World Tour instruments -- and they worked, as did Guitar Hero 3 guitars. They didn't have any Rock Band 2 instruments to test with Guitar Hero, unfortunately, but we're thrilled to hear about any interoperability at all.

Oh, and if the new video at the top of the post didn't clue you in, there are some new videos.

[Thanks, face!]

A cheap way to get into multiplayer Guitar Heroics

by JC Fletcher { Nov 20th 2008 at 10:57AM }

Amazon is continuing their apparent campaign to get rid of overstocked Nyko Frontman guitars with a new sale in their "Countdown to Black Friday." The savings are ridiculous. If you don't have a Wii Guitar Hero game and don't mind forgoing the World Tour full band experience (or putting it off while building up a collection of guitars), you could do a lot worse.

If you purchase a copy of Guitar Hero III or Guitar Hero: Aerosmith ($35 each) and add two Frontman guitars ($20 each) to your cart, $20 will be knocked off your order. So you end up with a game and two guitars for just a little more than the normal cost of a retail game.

Deals: Guitar Hero III Bundle $40, DualShock 3 $41

by Alan Tsang { Nov 11th 2008 at 4:30PM }

Red Octane is having a sale on the Guitar Hero III Wireless Les Paul Bundle for only $39.99. Shipping will vary but it shouldn't be more than $10. The sale is today only and will end at 6PM PT / 9 PM ET. As Gamestooge noted, even if you just want an extra guitar, you can always just sell the game. You can find this limited-time offer here.

In other bargain hunting related news, Amazon has put up their stock of official DualShock 3 controllers on sale. Originally retailing for $54.99, these are now on sale for $40.96 with free shipping. Take advantage of the deal here.

Source -- Red Octane via Gamestooge
Source -- Amazon

[Thanks, Jonah F. and burandon!]

Price rollback on Frontman guitars

by JC Fletcher { Oct 28th 2008 at 5:21PM }

If, for some reason, you suddenly find yourself both in need of an extra Wii Guitar Hero controller and a little light on cash -- no idea what could put so many people in such a state at this particular time -- you may be interested in today's Amazon Deal of the Day.

For $25.98 (just enough to qualify for free shipping!), the retailer is offering the Nyko Frontman guitar controller in either white or yellow. Both include interchangeable pickguards for a bit of customization. Of course, this guitar was originally designed for Guitar Hero III, and consequently does not feature the freaky touch pad business that the newer World Tour guitars do. But as a second guitar (or a bass) it should be fine.

Mega $350 Xbox 360 holiday bundle at Sam's Club

by Alexander Sliwinski { Oct 24th 2008 at 12:16PM }

If you're looking to get an Xbox 360 this holiday and aren't concerned about having the latest M-rated games, Sam's Club (Wal-Mart's warehouse retail chain) has a big ol' bundle available soon. Members will be able to purchase a 60GB Xbox 360, Lego Indiana Jones, Kung Fu Panda and Guitar Hero III (with wireless guitar) for $350. We contacted the company to double check that it wasn't a typo and, sure enough, we were told it was accurate. The bundle should start arriving in November-- there's no specific date for it being in stores, so call ahead.

While we're talking Sam's Club, we've also been told all Guitar Hero III bundle prices have been reduced (we've placed details after the break). We were also informed that the store, along with Wal-Mart, will have a limited edition "dragon" controller (no picture currently available), bundled with a black headset, for $60. We'll keep an eye out for other deals as we approach the holidays.

Update: Adjusted text for Lego Indy and Kung Fu Panda being offered with the standard system.

Continued →

Wii's Rock Band 2 has RB 1 DLC, works with GH III controller

by Justin McElroy { Oct 16th 2008 at 12:00PM }

IGN managed to score some new details about the Wii version of Rock Band 2, and it's nothing but good news for fans of the little white box. First off, cheapskates will be relieved to hear that they won't have to toss the Wii Guitar Hero III controllers they decorated with their favorite As I Lay Dying and Tokio Hotel stickers; they'll be compatible with RB 2. Accordingly, the ICM has been updated.

Also, all of the 360/PS3 Rock Band 1 DLC will be available for Wii when Rock Band 2 drops on the system in December, great news for those who jealously eyed their 360 and PS3-owning friends as they thrashed through Jimmy Buffet's "Volcano."

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in.]

Harmonix: Your Guitar Hero III guitar will work with Rock Band 2

by David Hinkle { Oct 16th 2008 at 11:50AM }

With the release of Rock Band 2 for the Wii approaching, a flood of information about the game is finally making its way to the eyes and ears of would-be rockers. Yesterday, we heard about all of the awesome DLC we'll have access to and now we've got something for those of you who picked up Guitar Hero III for the Wii.

Posting on the Harmonix boards, one of the developers confirmed that the guitar used in Guitar Hero III for the Wii will be fully compatible with Rock Band 2. So, for those of you who prefer rocking out with a wireless plastic axe, as opposed to the one that comes with the full Rock Band bundle, you're in luck.

No word has been said about Guitar Hero World Tour's guitar and Rock Band 2, but seeing as how Harmonix wants to "encourage the interoperability of instruments between platforms," we're thinking it just might be.

[Thanks, Chris!]

NPD reveals Top 5 console games of '08 ... so far

by Alexander Sliwinski { Sep 23rd 2008 at 1:00PM }

As we head into the last stretch of the year, which is synonymous with a glut of titles flooding the market, it's worth seeing what the top titles in 2008 were up to this point. Gamasutra, using data from NPD, has posted the Top 5 titles for consoles up until August. Don't expect any surprises: Grand Theft Auto IV is in the top spot for PS3 and Xbox 360, while Super Smash Bros. Brawl is champion on the Wii.

The Wii certainly is the most interesting of the lists, with four out of the five SKUs belonging to games with included with some sort of peripheral (Mario Kart, Wii Fit, Wii Play and Guitar Hero III). Gamasutra also estimates that the software sales of the top five Wii titles combined is about 12 million units, nearly double that of the top five on the other consoles (separately). Of course, the year isn't over yet.

Engineer: Metallica mix better in Guitar Hero than on CD

by Justin McElroy { Sep 17th 2008 at 10:15AM }

According to one audio engineer, the best listening experience for Metallica's new Death Magnetic album may be the one you create for yourself ... in Guitar Hero III. Engineer Ian Shepherd compared the two on his blog, and said that the version from the game has a lot less clipping and more dynamic range.

What's the culprit? Shepherd blames the "Loudness Wars," which have engineers sacrificing audio quality in favor of a louder-sounding final product. We blame our mad Guitar Hero skills have somehow, through years of digital instrument manipulation, made us better than Metallica. It's a proud day.

[Via Music Radar]