As part of its "13 Days of Holly Rock" promotion, RedOctane has announced that it's offering a free holiday track for Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock players to download.
The publisher has already posted Steve Ouimette's version of We Three Kings that's without cost and will also be part of its posted tournaments. We don't have idea how long the tune will be offered as a freebie, so you should get your hands on it as soon as you can to avoid missing out.
Sony stays out of IP dispute
Activision has issued a statement responding to Harmonix' claim that the company was deliberately blocking the release of a controller compatibility patch for Rock Band.
As reported earlier, Harmonix alleged that Activision was blocking a patch that would allow the PS3 Guitar Hero III controller to be used with the game 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," Activision replied in a statement.
"Unfortunately for Rock Band users, in this case Harmonix and MTV Games/Viacom are unwilling to discuss an agreement with Activision."
The terms of the company's response suggest that Activision is possibly seeking a licensing agreement from Harmonix, although no mention has been made regarding the amount of money the company is asking for.
For its part, SCEA is staying out of the row, referring to it as an intellectual property matter that must be resolved between Harmonix/MTV and Activision.
Activision, meanwhile, is facing a class action lawsuit from gamers unhappy that the Wii version of Guitar Hero III outputs only mono sound despite having stereo sound and Dolby Pro Logic II surround sound advertised on the game's packaging and manual.
The NPD Group reports that the US videogame industry was up 52 percent in November to $2.63 billion; Call of Duty 4 (360), Super Mario Galaxy lead with million-plus sales.
Year-to-date industry sales were up 50 percent $13.12 billion overall.
"If the year had ended on December 1st, 2007 would be up 5 percent versus last year. With the biggest month of the year yet to go, total industry sales are on track to achieve between $18 billion and $19 billion in the US,” said NPD analyst Anita Frazier in a statement.
Nintendo again led the hardware race, with the DS selling 1.53 million units during the month and the Wii with 981,000. Xbox 360 sold 770,000 units, while PS3 sold 466,000.
The PS2 outsold its younger, more powerful sibling, selling 496,000 units. PSP had strong sales, moving 567,000.
Last month was the Wii’s best month yet, surpassing last December by 60 percent, with sales only limited by supply constraints from high demand.
NPD analyst Anita Frazier said that the Xbox 360 and DS both had their second-best sales months, after December 2006.
She added, "The combination of the price cut and seasonal lift gave the PS3 the biggest October to November sales increase of any hardware platform."
Overall, videogame hardware was up 41 percent compared to last November, generating $1.1 billion in sales.
Software was was up 62 percent to $1.3 billion, with sales led by the Xbox 360 version of Call of Duty 4, which sold 1.57 million units. On a per-platform basis, Super Mario Galaxy was the only other million-seller during the month, selling 1.12 million. In a separate statement, Microsoft said that Xbox 360 software generated $367 million compared to $203 for Wii and PS3 at $129 million. Xbox 360's software attach rate was 6.9, according to the platform holder.
The rest of the list is below, courtesy of NPD Group:
360 Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Activision—1.57 million*
Wii Super Mario Galaxy, Nintendo—1.12 million
360 Assassin’s Creed, Ubisoft—980,000*
PS2 Guitar Hero III, Activision—967,000*
Wii Play w/ Remote, Nintendo—564,000
360 Mass Effect, Microsoft—473,000*
PS3 Call of Duty 4 Modern Warfare, Activision—444,000
Wii Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock, Activision—426,000
360 Halo 3, Microsoft—387,000*
PS3 Assassin’s Creed—377,000*
(*Incl. CE or LTD ed.; bundles and non-bundles)
"Assassin's Creed has earned a spot in the history books as the best-selling new IP at launch, besting the previous record held by Gears of War,” Frazier said.
Across all platforms, Guitar Hero III sold 1.9 million units. “On a year-to-date basis the title has sold 3.3 million units in the U.S., and Guitar Hero II is right behind it at 3.1 million units,” she added.
“Rock Band sold 382,000 units across the 360 and PS3 platforms. While some may view this as disappointing, keep in mind that initial shipments were limited, and this is the kind of title that can easily build momentum in December and beyond as word of mouth spreads."
Accessory sales were $243 million for the month, a 52 percent year-on-year increase. Frazier said, “Life-to-date sales of [Xbox 360’s HD-DVD add-on] are 269K units in the U.S., representing a 3.4 percent attach rate to the 360 install base."
Four out of five of the best selling accessories were Wii controllers. The Wii Zapper sold 232,000 units, and the second-best-selling accessory for November was the PS3 wireless controller, selling 282,000.
Rock Band publisher MTV Games and developer Harmonix are accusing Guitar Hero III house Activision of blocking a patch that would make the PS3’s GHIII controller work with Rock Band.
“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,” said an MTV rep in a statement sent to Next-Gen. “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.”
Activision reps had not responded to requests for comment as of press time.
Harmonix plans on releasing individual Rock Band instrument peripherals sometime next year, but for the time being, the only way to get another PS3 Rock Band guitar controller is to buy the full $169 Rock Band bundle.
Currently, Xbox 360’s Guitar Hero III controller works with Rock Band.
"As we have said in the past, Harmonix and MTV Games believe in an open standard philosophy of hardware and game compatibility,” MTV Games’ statement added. “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.”
Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock Wireless Guitar Controllers Hitting Retail Shelves in Early 2008
SANTA MONICA, Calif., Nov 26, 2007 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Activision, Inc. (Nasdaq:ATVI) today announced that standalone wireless guitar controllers for Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock will be available at retail stores nationwide by early 2008.
Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock lets fans thrash and burn with new wireless guitar controllers available for each platform, including exclusive Gibson Guitar's Les Paul model for the Xbox 360(TM) video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, Wii(TM) home video game system from Nintendo, and PLAYSTATION(R)3 computer entertainment system. PlayStation(R)2 gamers will also get to shred on an 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(R) III: Legends of Rock and Call of Duty(R) 4: Modern Warfare Top Video Game Searches on the Web
SANTA MONICA, Calif., (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Activision, Inc.'s (Nasdaq:ATVI) Guitar Hero(R) III: Legends of Rock and Call of Duty(R) 4: Modern Warfare have been the most searched for video games on the Web, leading all U.S. Internet searches since Oct. 28, 2007 according to Hitwise, a leading online intelligence service. During the same period, Guitar Hero(R) III: Legends of Rock was the only video game listed among the top 500 search terms across all categories of web sites.
"Consumer interest in Guitar Hero(R) III: Legends of Rock and Call of Duty(R) 4: Modern Warfare has been incredible and places Activision in a strong position heading into the holiday season," said Robin Kaminsky, executive vice president of Activision Publishing. "Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock sold through more than $115 million within the first seven days of its launch and we fully expect Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare will be one of the top-selling games of the year."
Developed by Neversoft, Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock is on store shelves now for the Xbox 360 and PS3 (SRP $99.99) and the Wii and PS2 (SRP $89.99) and is rated T for Teen by the ESRB.
Developed by Infinity Ward, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare is rated "M" (Mature) by the ESRB for Intense Violence, Strong Language, Blood and Gore and is available now on Xbox 360(TM) and PLAYSTATION(R)3 computer entertainment system for a suggested retail price of $59.99; the Windows(R) PC version for $49.99. Also available for Nintendo DS(TM), developed by n-Space, the title is rated "T" (Teen) for Blood and Violence and carries a suggested retail price of $29.99.