Activision Blizzard Announces Guitar Hero 5, New Call of Duty [Slashdot]

[DP ServBot]

MTV's Multiplayer Blog reports on recent announcements from Activision Blizzard which confirm that sequels to several popular franchises are on the way. The games include a new Guitar Hero, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, and a new Tony Hawk, which will use some kind of non-standard controller. "At the meeting, Activision Blizzard showcased new games that would make sense for in-game ads, including the vaguely titled "Guitar Hero 5," which included a screen shot of gameplay with a Burger King ad to the right of the note highway."
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[joshnickerson]

That's great, cause I was playing Guitar Hero last night and I was thinking to myself, "This is fun and all, but what would really make it great is a few annoying and intrusive ads cluttering the screen of the game I already paid $50+ bucks for."

[Overbite]

and this is why we play rock band instead

[roushimsx]

I'm pretty jazzed about a followup to Modern Warfare. Hopefully there's actually some storyline connection and it's not just some senseless namebranding (like pretty much the entire rest of the Call of Duty franchise).

Also, lol @ people calling it "Call of Duty 6".

[skaar]

"Showcased new games that made sense for in-game advertising"

For crying out loud.

I've noticed the tolerance for advertising seems to be much higher in the US... we have laws AGAINST billboard advertising and the like here, so the only time you see billboards is driving through the native reserves

I mention this because I think advertising is a little more subliminal to the american gamers since they're used to seeing it everywhere anyway. I saw Subway ads on my 360 Dashboard and freaked out - a buddy in the US hadn't even noticed

For shame.

[swlovinist]

call of duty modern warfare 2 = good

in game intrusive ads = bad

Guitar Hero bizillion here we come. People thought madden was bad for sequels, this ones been churning one out every 6 months

[TurboGenesis]

call of duty modern warfare 2 = good

in game intrusive ads = bad

Guitar Hero bizillion here we come. People thought madden was bad for sequels, this ones been churning one out every 6 months

Indeed, Guitar Hero is getting far worse than the annual sports game. Soon instead of having a semi-annual Guitar Hero title, Activision will just release a Guitar Hero (insert band name) every week… for the cost of $49.99.

Rock Band is at least still only an annual affair now… and thats published by EA

I wish they would support DLC more… I enjoy looking on XBL to see what new music is available for my Rock Band (2) and if the wife and I see something that sounds good and fun to play and listen to, we go on and DL it…

And these ads is continue to get out of control… Its one thing to do ad placement in a game, but to have a ad banner right in the game screen!? That is gone too far

[norkusa]

Guitar Hero bizillion here we come. People thought madden was bad for sequels, this ones been churning one out every 6 months

Yeah, I never thought I'd say this but the GH series is getting stale. I'm a huge fan of 1-3 and I just borrowed my brothers copy of World Tour last week. I don't know if it's the lack of worthwhile DLC, the song list (Coldplay in GH?! Come on!) or the dumbed-down difficulty, but playing it was completely unenjoyable and felt like work.

Unless Activision/Blizzard does some serious tweaking to the series, I can't imagine wanting to buy another GH game.

[Nirvana]

Oh God do I love Rock Band.

The Guitar Hero series is doomed.

[Rob2600]

Guitar Hero bizillion here we come. People thought madden was bad for sequels, this ones been churning one out every 6 months

At least in Guitar Hero, there are different songs to play in each new version. In Madden, it's just the same game of football year after year.

[TurboGenesis]

At least in Guitar Hero, there are different songs to play in each new version. In Madden, it's just the same game of football year after year.

At least in Maddon there are new, exciting, players every year. Guitar Hero is just pressing the same old buttons and strum bar to different songs… and it is every couple month instead of every year

[Cryomancer]

Guitar Hero is already full of in-game advertisement, although mostly for...guitar stuff. which makes sense, and is appropriate to reality as well.

I am pretty sure I saw a time sensitive ad in GHIII the other day though.

[Cobra Commander]

and this is why we play rock band instead

Quoted for truth.
I couldn't have said it better myself. I don't mind all the Ernie Ball, Zildjian, and Fender stuff because it makes more sense to have those there, but Burger King, Subway or any other fast food or anything not related to music....where is the sense in that?

[Scawt]

By this point, Guitar Hero is getting by on name recognition and that is probably what will keep them going. Harmonix had the foresight to plan for DLC across Rock Band sequels, and actually keep to a release schedule.

[SegaAges]

I, for one, will not support this type of advertising. BK got me with the BK games, but that will be about it.

If we support this, then it is only a matter of time before it gets as bad as tv. Hell, you can't even listen to music online or watch a trailer for a new game without sitting through an advertisement.

If we support this, then it is only a matter of time before we get interrupted from our gameplay every 15 minutes so that they can play a commercial.

Doesn't Activision Blizzard have enough money from Everquest 3. Err, I mean WoW.

[kaedesdisciple]

Once again, we are the extreme minority that actually care. The masses will continue to buy them and not care. The game companies will continue churning out release after release with more and more advertising at the same price point (further increasing their margins selling adverts all over them) because they know they can get away with it. Lather, rinse, repeat.

Hate to say it, but EA has the music game model down right, for now. Let's see how long it is before we start seeing "Rock Band: (Insert random band name here)" or Nike will suddenly want to sponsor our pretend band. It's only a matter of time before someone gets offered enough money.

[Scawt]

Hate to say it, but EA has the music game model down right, for now. Let's see how long it is before we start seeing "Rock Band: (Insert random band name here)" or Nike will suddenly want to sponsor our pretend band. It's only a matter of time before someone gets offered enough money.

It's already happened. AC/DC has a Rock Band release exclusive to Walmart (or Target or something, I forget). The Beatles are getting a Rock Band-esque game by Harmonix too.

However, where this works out is that you can load all the AC/DC songs to your harddrive then trash the disc if you want; they all get "installed" to Rock Band or Rock Band 2. It's just like buying a song pack on disc instead of on the marketplace. This differs from Guitar Hero because, for example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith is its own game. You have to put that disc in and load up that game every time you want to play those songs. You can't play them through World Tour, which is a crock of shit if you ask me.

[SegaAges]

Once again, we are the extreme minority that actually care. The masses will continue to buy them and not care. The game companies will continue churning out release after release with more and more advertising at the same price point (further increasing their margins selling adverts all over them) because they know they can get away with it. Lather, rinse, repeat.

Hate to say it, but EA has the music game model down right, for now. Let's see how long it is before we start seeing "Rock Band: (Insert random band name here)" or Nike will suddenly want to sponsor our pretend band. It's only a matter of time before someone gets offered enough money.

Agreed.

Activision gets a few mil to put a bk advertisements in their games, and they will bite. It makes games easier to make with money freely flowing.

Unfortunately, if you need extra money to keep the game flowing when you are working on a sequel, then maybe that tells you something about the sequel.

Here is a good example of a sequel not using that stuff: Grand Theft Auto 4. I am sure that there are other big budget games that do not do it, but the way gta4 does, is that the only thing that is not from rockstar, is the music they put in there. I mean, that is cool. I don't mind hearing the latest hiphop for this time.

If I am buying kool-aid man on the 2600 or cool spot or the bk games for xbox or mc kids or something, I know I am buying one huge advertisement, but I don't want to play sonic and be in pizza hut world and fight the f'ing hamburgler, not cool.

As long as we are dumb enough to support these companies, we support all actions they take. If you say, "Screw that bk ad in my game" and then order a pizza from pizza hut, you are just as guilty for supporting them as activision.

Me, personally, I work for a major corporation, so it is very hard for me to sit here and try to explain how I can have this standpoint. Basically, I am at my job to pay off my student loans, and then I am gone, just like that.

I bought rock band 2 not for playing new songs, but for the improved instruments. If I want new songs, I can just download them. Why will I not buy GHWT? Their instruments blow goats. Crappy quality. If yours still works, you are lucky and fortunate.

And yes, I roast out WoW because I tried it. I tried the 14 day trial. I will not go too much off topic, so if you are curious why I think WoW sucks ass or want to start up a discussion about why I say it blows, just shoot me a pm or start a new thread and we can discuss it that way.

You do know that Wraith of the Lich King is a Pre-Cursor to Taste of the Burger King, right? Wait, Blizzard would never do that! That's right, how much money did they make again from selling out to Activision. No, they are not about money even though they have millions of subscriptions but refuse to lower the price of subscriptions. No, of course it is not about money.

Hahahaha