It’s not like the previous Guitar Hero boxes set the world on fire, but the recently revealed box art for Guitar Hero 5 is … well it’s definitely different. At least the previous boxes had, you know, guitars on them. As one Joystiq blogger put it, the Guitar Hero 5 art looks more suited to an expansion or a DLC voucher than it does to a full release. Still, we suppose we can appreciate the backstage insider appeal it exudes. Besides, it’s not like there are many people left that are unfamiliar with the title at this point.
See the full monty after the break.
Update: It looks like there is a guitar on the box. See if you can find it!
Anecdotally speaking, the guitar teaching business has never been better for Bo Moore, a West Pennsylvania guitar teacher. Speaking with The Tribune-Democrat, he says, “We’re so busy right now, and I think these games have been a big factor behind it,” referring to the likes of Guitar Hero and Rock Bandinspiring young musicians to pick up the real thing after playing the plastic equivalent. Quick, somebody tell Prince to chill out!
Moore says he’s seen a 35 percent uptick in guitar lessons over the past two years, an increase he attributes to the mainstream ubiquity of Activision and EA’s rhythm-based music games. In fact, around 80 percent of the over 100 students currently enrolled with him have taken to the guitar.Unfortunately for those teaching other instruments, business hasn’t been so hot. Moore claims, from conversations he’s had with other teachers, that business is down if you’re not teaching the guitar. “We need more kids learning to play woodwind instruments … we need more piano players,” he says.The piece’s author opines that titles like “Xylophone Xanadu” might help to push kids into other instruments, though we all know Sitar Hero is going to be the one to do it.
And the Guitar Hero games keep on coming! The latest, Guitar Hero: Smash Hits, culls the cream that has risen to the top of each Guitar Hero game and injects them into one über Guitar Hero. Instead of throwing all of the tracks out there for one and all to see, Activision held open voting to see which of the previous games’ included tracks would be revealed first (gee, thanks!). The winner was the original Guitar Hero.
Head past the break for the first list of tracks, along with some links to YouTube videos for your sampling pleasure.
We thought we’d pass along a courteous reminder from Activision informing the gaming community that Guitar Hero: Metallica began rocking store shelves today. If you haven’t found current full-band simulators to be punishing enough, Metallica promises to deliver with an “Expert +” mode, double kick pedals, and guitar solos capable of turning even the sturdiest fingers into tiny puddles of red goo. If you’ve got $59.99 lying around (or $49.99 for the Wii version, $39.99 for the PS2), you can simulate “riding the lightning”* with unparalleled accuracy.
*Warning: Riding lightning can lead to unintended health consequences in the groin region, including serious unsightly burns and impotence. Consult your doctor before deciding to mount any arcs of electricity.
According to the latest issue of EGM, the next Tony Hawk title might not be utilizing the Balance Board after all. Instead, Activision has supposedly been thinking about putting out their own peripheral to interact with the game, bundling it with the upcoming title.
Something that boggles our mind is the mentioning that Neversoft would not be developing the next Tony Hawk game. Considering that Neversoft produced a long-standing series from scratch and sustained it for many iterations, we’d be hard-pressed to think that Activision would take them off of the franchise. But, hey, that’s just us.
Many games are using Nintendo’s Balance Board, including rival skateboarding franchise Skate It from EA. Do you want to know more about Nintendo’s peripheral? Watch this instructional video and be sure to check out our own Mike Sylvester’s fun with it in his Revolutionary feature series.
To be honest, we've always thought of Guitar Hero as a casual series, even though Hard Mode and above are too hard for us. This perception is mostly due to the fact that it's so popular. But Josh3D's performance of Dragonforce's "Through the Fire and Flames"destroys that perception and any other thoughts we may have been having. After completing the song, he takes off the guitar controller, revealing the Wiimote held inside, therefore confirming that this video depicts the Wii version of Guitar Hero III.
Some of you may contend that this person could have spent more time learning skills that are applicable in real life instead of practicing Guitar Hero so much, but Josh3D has clearly exited our reality and entered one in which it's possible to do this. Who knows what kinds of skills are useful there?
Guitar Hero 5 box art revealed (find the guitar!) [update] originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 22 Jun 2009 17:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
