The Good, The Bad and The Ugly News Report 05.11.09: More Guitar Hero Stuff, Nintendo Makes Big Bucks and More

Posted by Armando Rodriguez on 05.11.2009

Now with 100% more Guitar Hero News. Plus, Nintendo selling millions of games, Goodbye 3D Realms and more!

Welcome to another edition of The Good, The Bad and The Ugly News Report. I am your very opinionated host Armando Rodriguez, ready to give you a tour of this week's top news items. So what am I up to? Well, I recently picked up a used copy of Assassin's Creed for the PS3. Yes, I missed the boat when the game first came out, but frankly I am glad I did not pay full price for the game. It is very entertaining and has some jaw-dropping moments, but it gets repetitive quick. I think that the sequel needs to give us more combat flexibility and different types of missions in order to be better. They also need to do something with "The Kingdom", you know, the parts in-between the cities, because it felt like a chore and a cheap way to extend gameplay since there is NOTHING to do out there. Oh, and they need to let us feel like a perfect assassin. No matter how well I planned my assassinations, there was no way to carry them out perfectly, there is always a big brawl breaking out. They need to take a good look at games like Metal Gear Solid and the way they make players feel like a one-man super weapon and carry that same feeling into Assassin's Creed 2. Oh well, but enough of my rant and on to the news!

Biggest News of the Week: Nintendo is VERY RICH!

Nintendo may be facing weakening demand in its home market, but its products continue to enjoy substantial demand in other regions across the globe. Yesterday, that demand came into focus when the publisher reported a 9.9 percent rise in its fiscal year earnings, to ¥1.83 trillion ($18.5 billion). A resounding clamor for software on both of Nintendo's best-selling platforms helped fuel that growth, with 197 million DS and 204 million Wii games sold during the period.

Today, Nintendo provided an update on sales figures for its first-party-published games, revealing that it now has 27 games that have broached the million-unit mark. First among those best-sellers remains Wii Sports, which is sold as a stand-alone in Japan but comes packed in with Nintendo's console in North America. The sports minigame compilation has now sold 45.7 million units since its November 2006 launch, easily outpacing Wii Remote pack-in Wii Play's 22.9 million units.

DS software sales offer a bit of a closer race in the best-selling game category. Nintendogs remains ahead of the pack, having now sold 22.2 million units through the publisher's fiscal year. However, New Super Mario Bros. and the original Brain Age aren't far off the animal-training simulator's heals, with the former having sold 18.4 million units and the latter at 17.4 million units. All three games have previously been the subject of hardware bundles.

A full list of Nintendo's million-unit sellers can be found below.


Nintendo Wii
Wii Sports - 45.7 million
Wii Play - 22.9 million
Wii Fit - 18.2 million
Mario Kart Wii - 15.4 million
Smash Bros. Brawl - 8.4 million
Super Mario Galaxy - 8 million
Mario Party 8 - 6.7 million
Link's Crossbow Training - 3.8 million
Animal Crossing: City Folk - 3.4 million
Wii Music - 2.6 million
Mario Super Sluggers - 1.3 million

Nintendo DS
Nintendogs - 22.2 million
New Super Mario Bros. - 18.4 million
Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day - 17.4 million
Pokemon Diamond/Pearl - 16.8 million
Mario Kart DS - 14.6 million
Brain Age 2: More Training in Minutes a Day - 13.7 million
Animal Crossing: Wild World - 10 million
Super Mario 64 DS - 7.5 million
Mario Party DS - 5.8 million
Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time/Darkness - 4.5 million
Pokemon Platinum - 3.7 million
Kirby Super Star Ultra - 2.3 million
Pokemon Ranger: Shadows of Almia - 2 million
Rhythm Heaven - 1.9 million
Personal Trainer: Cooking - 1.8 million
Professor Layton and the Curious Village - 1.6 million*

*Nintendo notes that this figure does not include Japanese sales, given that it published the game only outside of Japan.
Credit: Gamespot.com

GOOD: Just…wow. No matter what your opinion of Nintendo is, you have to take a good look at this numbers and let your jaw drop to the floor. In the current economic climate when video game companies are praying that their games break a million sales, Nintendo has done it two dozen times! Let me put it this way: As a gamer, I hate the casual craze the Wii has created. But as a future Business Management major, it's hard to disagree with the results. Nintendo is swimming in money right now and if I where them I would continue to milk that cow for all it's worth. Yes, some of the games on the list appeal to hardcore gamers (Mario Galaxy, Pokemon Platinum) but just take a good look at the ones racking up the double figure numbers: Wii Sports, Wii Play, Wii Fit, Nintendogs and Brain Age are all casual titles.

The Sims 3 Goes Gold

It's been nearly five years since The Sims 2 first hit shelves, but the game continues to swarm the PC sales charts, placing itself and its numerous expansions in the top 10 week after week. That dominance is about to be put to the test by the game's own successor, given that publisher Electronic Arts announced today that The Sims 3 has gone gold in time to meet its June 2 release date.

The open-ended life simulator originally had a February 20 launch date. However, EA pushed the game back to its new release date so it could invest additional time and effort to make the marketing campaign for the game more innovative.

The Sims 3 offers players the ability to customize individual sims by allotting them five unique character traits, from a choice of brave, artistic, kleptomaniac, clumsy, paranoid, and romantic. Other new features packed into Sims 3 include a Create a Sim mode and short- and long-term goals.

The Sims 3 will be available for $49.99 in stores or through digital distribution. Diehard fans can also purchase the $69.99 collector's edition from retailers, which includes The Sims 3, a Sims Plumbob USB Drive, an exclusive in-game Italian-style sports car, a cheats guide, and The Sims 3 Plumbob stickers pack.
Credit: Gamespot.com

GOOD/BAD How many marriages will be broken by this game? How many people will get fired from their jobs? Seriously, I know people that have stopped living their lives to live their IN-GAME lives. Talking about the casual game craze, here is one of the pioneers and he is back with a vengeance. My neighbor's mom became a gamer because of The Sims. She went from "what the $#%# is that crap" to owning every single expansion pack in weeks. She spent HOURS sitting there watching virtual people go around and poop and stuff. And guess what? She was not even an extreme case! People lost their jobs, marriages where broken and all sorts of things spawned from this game. It's like the World of Warcraft of casual titles. However, I am a fan of the series and I am very intrigued about this sequel. This is supposed to be a real evolution, not the "jump from 2D to 3D but everything is the same" jump from The Sims to The Sims 2. For what I have read in the internet we get to explore the psychological side of your created people and there is a lot more stuff to do than sit around and poop. Let's hope that people realize it's just a game.

Guitar Hero: Van Halen Arrives in 2009!

Activision has finally made official what has been widely rumored for over a year. The next band-based Guitar Hero game will focus on Van Halen, the legendary hard-rock quartet anchored by guitarist Eddie Van Halen and his drummer brother Alex. From the 1970s to the 1990s, the group topped the charts under two different lead singers, David Lee Roth and Sammy Hagar. (Sorry, Gary Cherone.)


"You've heard about this, maybe some rumors, but I am here to officially announce the title, which is coming out in the second half of this year," senior vice president of Guitar Hero publishing Will Kassoy told a press event in Los Angeles this week. No platforms were mentioned, but prior band-centric Guitar Hero games have been released for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, and Wii.

Though he did not name any specific songs, Kassoy promised that Guitar Hero: Van Halen would feature "many of the band's greatest hits." Such multiplatinum tracks as "Jump," "Panama," "Hot for Teacher," and "Why Can't This Be Love" helped the group sell more than 56 million albums in the US, according to the Recording Industry Association of America. The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2007.

Guitar Hero: Van Halen will feature a plethora of other acts that inspired the quartet, including 1970s-'80s British supergroup Queen. Kassoy said that it will also feature artists inspired by Van Halen--many of which have members who weren't even born when the band was formed in 1972. These include Weezer, Blink 182, The Offspring, and Queens of the Stone Age, "amongst many, many others," said Kassoy.

The executive went on to explain Activision's big-picture approach to band-focused Guitar Hero games. "Our previous two artist [focused] titles, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith and Guitar Hero: Metallica, have done really well in the marketplace," said Kassoy. "But it's our desire to go beyond just individual band games, and to complement that with artists the bands are really inspired by and that they themselves select to be in this game. The same is true of Van Halen."
Credit: Gamespot.com


GOOD: I am not the biggest Van Halen fan there is, but I certainly believe they have the history and the pedigree to make for a good Guitar Hero game. The big question in my mind right now is: Are both, David Lee Roth and Sammy Hagar going to be a part of this? I guess that if they could put their differences aside and tour together a few years ago, they could do it for this game. If they do it documentary style and narrate the ups and downs of the band, this could be awesome. Also, they should put Gary Cherone in there and explain why Van Halen III sucked so much. Sorry Gary, but you are the butt of Van Halen jokes. Also, what about the bassist? Are they allowing Michael Anthony to take a part in this, or will they erase him in favor of Wolfgang Van Halen? I guess we need to take the wait and see approach, but something tells me not every Van Halen fan will be satisfied.

More Hero games: Guitar Hero 5, Guitar Hero: Smash Hits, Band Hero, DJ Hero and Guitar Hero Van Halen coming in '09?

Activision today officially announced or confirmed information for a wide range of products with the Hero moniker, including Guitar Hero 5, Band Hero, DJ Hero, Guitar Hero: Van Halen, and Guitar Hero: Greatest Hits, which is known as Guitar Hero: Smash Hits in North America. The biggest news is that Guitar Hero 5 was also officially revealed, though no specific details except for the release window were mentioned.

Guitar Hero 5 is expected to follow the formula of Guitar Hero, World Tour which was released last year on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2, Wii, and PC to positive reviews. It will offer an "unprecedented level of control over the way they play the game with the ability to drop in and out of songs and change band members, instruments, and difficulty levels on the fly," according to the megapublisher.

The long-rumored Band Hero was also confirmed. Instead of featuring nonrock instruments, the game will instead be an all-ages, family-friendly entry in the series, and the first game in the franchise to bear an E10+ rating from the ESRB. No details were given other than that the game will feature "top-40 hits designed to expand the appeal to a broad family audience who can play together on the guitar, drums, bass, and microphone."

The previously confirmed DJ Hero also got a mention. Swapping pubs for clubs, the new instalment will feature songs spanning hip-hop, R&B, Motown, electronic, and "dance" genres. Rather than creating songs from scratch, DJ Hero will let players produce "original mixes of popular songs and music from the world's most exciting artists and DJs."

Several publicity images of the DJ Hero Turntable Controller were unveiled with the announcement. The deck features green, red, and blue buttons akin to those found on Guitar Hero instruments, with the middle button noticeably larger than the other two. DJ Hero is heading to the Xbox 360, Wii, and PlayStation 3 and/or PlayStation 2.

Although Prince may have knocked back the franchise's advances, Activision's Will Kassoy officially confirmed the existence of Guitar Hero: Van Halen earlier this week at a press event. Kassoy promised that the game will feature "many of the band's greatest hits," although it is still unclear which platforms it will appear on.

In a separate announcement, Activision also confirmed the complete 48-song setlist for Guitar Hero: Greatest Hits (subtitled Smash Hits in the US), combining songs from previous games in the series including Guitar Hero, Guitar Hero II, Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s, Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock, and Guitar Hero: Aerosmith. The full list is below.

Guitar Hero
Blue Oyster 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


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
Motley Crue- 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


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


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


Guitar Hero: Aerosmith
Aerosmith - Back in the Saddle
Credit: Gamespot.com


The Guitar Hero Invasion

GOOD, BAD & UGLY Wow! Way too many Guitar Hero stuff for my mind to process. So let's break it down. Guitar Hero 5 was expected, I mean, they needed a new numerical entry. But I expected it at some point in 2010 and not right now in the middle of too many Guitar Hero releases. They are going to over saturate the market with their product and it will get lost in the shuffle. I already talked about the Van Halen entry, so let's skip that. DJ Hero could be good. I really don't know how it will work, but I guess it will be different enough from the rest of the music games out there to carve its own niche. Plus, it has the HERO name attached to it, which should make it sell more than Scratch: Ultimate DJ. Band Hero looks like Activision's answer to Lego Rock Band, but I think Lego Rock Band will sell more simply because of the Lego connection. Either way, do kids really need their own music game? My cousins are happy with Guitar Hero III (and I have already started to brainwash them about Guns N' Roses and Slash's awesomeness) and I don't think a couple of Disney-grade songs will make a real difference. Finally, I am really disappointed with Smash Hits. Man, they left most of the cool stuff out, like Guns N' Roses (which I understand happened because of the Chinese Democracy exclusive to Rock Band connection), "Number of the Beast" by Iron Maiden (I guess they want a better ESRB rating?) and…no Black Sabbath? FOR SHAME!! When they first announced it, I was thinking of getting it, but after seeing the set list, I will pass, thank you very much.

RIP: 3D Realms


In the 12 years since Duke Nukem Forever was announced in 1997, the game's ever-shifting "when it's done" release date became a running joke in the game industry. Today, though, comes news that few will find funny. According to numerous reports, the elusive shooter's developer, 3D Realms, has informed its staff that it is ceasing operations.

Though it did not explicitly confirm the closure, the recently relaunched Apogee Software and its publishing partner Deep Silver issued a statement saying that they were "not affected by the situation at 3D Realms. Development on the [portable] Duke Nukem Trilogy [series] is continuing as planned." The Apogee label was relaunched by 3D Realms during last year's Electronic Entertainment Expo and was billed as a portable-dedicated branch of the company.

[UPDATE2] Unfortunately, it seems that the rank and file of 3D Realms proper were not so lucky. In response to a flurry of shutdown reports on the studio's official forums, longtime webmaster Joe Siegler issued a glum confirmation. "It's not a marketing thing," he said, addressing theories that the news could be some sort of guerrilla PR campaign. "It's true. I have nothing further to say at this time."
Credit: Gamespot.com

UGLY: 3D Realms made Duke Nukem 3D, one of my favorite games of all-time, if only for the effect it had on my parents. When you are a teenager, doing everything your parents don't want you to do is a requisite. So playing this game with all it's gory violence, Duke telling babes to shake it and those babes flashing their pixilated boobs at you, well, it drove my parents nuts. They despised the game (but thankfully, they never prohibited me from playing anything) and every time I was playing it they would tell me to lock the door and don't let any of my younger cousins see it. Of course, I would leave the door open on purpose and once got my 4-year old cousin to ask his mom what a stripper was. GLORIOUS! So I am really sad to see it go under, especially because I never lost hope on Duke Nukem Forever. Hell, I waited 15 years for Chinese Democracy; I could wait 15 years for The King.


RIP 3D Realms


And now….ladies and gentlemen…boys and girls…children of all ages! It's time!

Useless News of the Week: Guitar Hero Reality Show?

When Brett Ratner pronounced that he wanted to make a Guitar Hero movie last year, the floodgates of derision swung wide open. Now, though, Activision appears to be seriously considering a television show centered on the game. (Apparently the lingerie-model TV ads and rampant product placement in Californication weren't enough.)


Shortly before parent company Activision Blizzard reported that the Guitar Hero series has generated $2 billion in sales--a feat matched only by the Madden and Super Mario Bros. franchises--CEO Bobby Kotick spoke with the The Hollywood Reporter. Though he declined to comment on Legendary Pictures' in-limbo World of Warcraft movie, he did say that that the rhythm-game series "might make for a good TV show or a good concert tour."

Though a throwaway comment on its own, Kotick's statement was backed up by an unnamed source who told the Reporter that discussions to turn Guitar Hero into a reality show are underway. Adding to the Activision cross-media synergy stew, the trade reported that the same source said that another marquee Activision series, Call of Duty, is "being talked about for the big screen."

Kotick also wouldn't address the prospect of a Call of Duty movie, but was unapologetic about Activision Blizzard's attempt to generate revenue wherever it can. "We have growth and we're making money. That's better than others can say," he said, in an apparent dig at archrival Electronic Arts, which reported $1 billion in annual losses this week .
Credit: Gamespot.com


Does anybody want to watch people play these on TV?

USELESS: Who is going to watch a Guitar Hero show? Like most video games, Guitar Hero is something fun to play, boring to watch. I don't think a reality show would be a good idea, although I would watch if they bring real-life guitar gods like Slash, Zakk Wylde and Joe Satriani to play the game and loose embarrassingly. But I don't think that will happen anyway. As for the Call of Duty movie…well, we don't need more WWII movies! The best WWII movie was called Saving Private Ryan and nothing can be done with the Call of Duty franchise to top that.

The Reader's Voice:

Last week we asked: Which band or artist would you like to see getting an exclusive Guitar Hero/Rock Band game?

Reader Response of the Week: Setobakura said : I would love to see Guns and Roses have their own game. We all know the backstory, but to solve that, just have everyone not named "Axl" to record the music, then have Axl come in afterwards to record the vocals. Axl won't have to be in the same room as the rest of the band and everyone makes a boatload of cash. Money cures all problems between musicians.

Other Responses:

Gospel X said: As for the week's question, I'm not a huge fan of music games - but I know what songs I like to play. I would probably go out of my way to pick up a Nine Inch Nails exclusive Rock Band set that hosts a number of other industrial and metal acts. This would definitely sell well in a year or so when the band goes on hiatus. People will want their NIN fix, and the game will satiate so many.

Misq42 said: Oh, and who would I like to get a Guitar Hero/Rock Band game? Well I don't play them, but I guess I'd like, as an individual (Cult/Internet I've wanted to see for a while) would be Weird Al. After all, that would have a wide variety of genres on the one disc...

Travis said: ... This is easy.
Guitar Hero: Fred Penner

Who is more badass than Fred Penner?
NO ONE!
And if you disagree with me, I will punch out your guys like Superman did a Biomech...

This Week's Question: The Casual Games craze has been positive or negative for the business?

Once again, don't forget that the top answers will be part of next week's The Good, The Bad and The Ugly News Report!

Goodbye:

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