Guitar Hero Essentials Now Available on iTunes

[fitbabits]

Making the most of the license, Activision sends word that GUITAR HERO® ESSENTIALS is now available via iTunes...

Press release to follow...

[fitbabits]

Sunnyvale, CA – October 23, 2007 - Activision, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI) announced that starting today a series of compilations featuring music from the hit franchise Guitar Hero® will be available for purchase and download on the iTunes Store (www.itunes.com)*. The tracks will be featured in iTunes Essentials for Guitar Hero, Guitar Hero II, Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s and Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock.

From “Surrender” to “Welcome to the Jungle,” to “Carry On Wayward Son,” nearly every song to appear in the Guitar Hero franchise has been gathered*. A newly recorded version of "Anarchy in the U.K." which the Sex Pistols recently recorded for Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock, is also available as a separate track. The series also includes Artist and Genre Essentials custom-created especially for guitar fans. Titles include Shredders, Live Guitar Heroics, Killer Guitar Solos and Guitar Anthems of the ‘80s with tracks from Aerosmith, Guns ‘N’ Roses, Rage Against the Machine, Metallica, the Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix and Pearl Jam. Additionally, iTunes will be offering guitar-themed playlists from guitar legends Steve Jones of The Sex Pistols and Slash of Guns ‘N’ Roses and Velvet Revolver so fans can download the legends’ favorite anthems.

Fans can access the Guitar Hero landing page by visiting www.itunes.com/guitarhero.

“Guitar Hero fans have been clamoring for increased accessibility to their favorite songs from the set lists,” said Dusty Welch, head of publishing for Activision/RedOctane®. “Where there’s music, there’s Guitar Hero, and with iTunes, we are able to provide fans with a central location for downloading their favorite rock anthems.”

Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock will include explosive new content and features including a multiplayer action-inspired battle mode, grueling boss battles, a host of exclusive unlockable content and visually stunning rock venues. Expanded online multiplayer game modes will also allow axe-shredders worldwide to compete head-to-head for true legendary rock status. While continuing to retain all the key features from their prior legendary performances, fresh downloadable content will be offered on multiple platforms, and players can now shred to a killer set list from many of the most popular rock songs ever recorded.

For the first time ever, Guitar Hero fans will also be able to thrash and burn with new wireless guitar controllers available for each platform, including exclusive Gibson Guitar's Les Paul model for the Xbox 360™ video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, Wii™ home video game system from Nintendo, and PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system. PlayStation®2 gamers will also get to shred on a new 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 III: Legends of Rock, published by RedOctane® and developed by Neversoft, is rated “T” for Teen by the ESRB and will be available October 28, 2007. For more information about the Guitar Hero franchise, please visit the dedicated community site: www.guitarhero.com.

*Songs available for download on the iTunes Store feature original artist master recordings; some songs in the Guitar Hero games feature newly re-recorded master recordings.

About Gibson Guitar:

Gibson is known worldwide for producing classic models in every major style of fretted instrument, including acoustic and electric guitars, mandolins, and banjos. Gibson’s HD.6X-PRO Digital Guitar represents the biggest advance in electric guitar design in over 70 years. Founded in 1894 in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and headquartered in Nashville since 1984, Gibson Guitar Corp.’s family of brands now includes Epiphone, Dobro, Maestro, Kramer, Steinberger, Tobias, Echoplex, Electar, Flatiron, Gibson Baldwin Music Education, Slingerland, Valley Arts, Maestro, Oberheim, Sunshine Piano, Take Anywhere Technology, Baldwin, J&C Fischer, Chickering, Hamilton, and Wurlitzer. Visit Gibson’s website at www.gibson.com or www.gibson.com/press

About Activision, Inc.:

Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, Activision, Inc. is a leading worldwide developer, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment and leisure products. Founded in 1979, Activision posted net revenues of $1.5 billion for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2007.

Activision maintains operations in the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Scandinavia, Spain, the Netherlands, Australia, Japan and South Korea. More information about Activision and its products can be found on the company's World Wide Web site, which is located at www.activision.com.
So, Guitar Hero fans - have you been "clamoring" for increased availability to the Guitar Hero set lists?

[Nonentity]

Ugh, they don't have it as an actual album I can buy? What a crock. I'm not dropping $60.39 just to get all the tracks from Guitar Hero 3.

If they had consolidated it into an actual album, I'd gladly pay 20, maybe even 30 bucks for the collection, but 60 is just ridiculous.

[holmcross]

The songs are already available to people who want them. I don't see why this move is needed.

[OrangePulp]

I'm not really understanding this either. Being as all of the stuff on Guitar Hero is popular in one way or another, isn't it safe to say it would be on iTunes already? How hard is it to search for each song that you actually want to get? Especially considering they're not offering them discounted in some album package.

[Spigot]

The songs are already available to people who want them. I don't see why this move is needed.This makes it either legitimate (if you've been tracking down torrents cobbled together by fans) or something that doesn't require you to own 30 different CDs.

That said, it sucks that it's not done as an album. It's handy to have everything consolidated in one spot, but I sure won't be shelling out the big bucks.

[DjinniMan]

Buying a music related game should give you the rights to have the songs in digital form, IMO. Without extra fees.

[OrangePulp]

This makes it either legitimate (if you've been tracking down torrents cobbled together by fans) or something that doesn't require you to own 30 different CDs.

That said, it sucks that it's not done as an album. It's handy to have everything consolidated in one spot, but I sure won't be shelling out the big bucks.

Couldn't you just buy them individually off iTunes anyways? I've never actually used iTunes, but from my understanding, you can download individual songs. The only ones that would be iffy are things like Trogdor the Burninator.

[Lint of Death]

Whatever! Juanes's new album is out now!

[Deadend]

They need a version of this on the Zune store... like Nao.

[Shifter]

This is good for the franchise and for video games as a whole. The more mainstream media they can tie video games to, the more money comes into the industry, the better off we'll all be. Personally, I think it's a good idea for people who don't know music that well -- it's like the collections on iTunes that suggest good mixes for people. This is just another collection of good guitar songs.

[Sammael]

what crap. even the fringe songs are .99? If you own the game, you should be able to download the game recorded versions for free. All this managed to do was anger me this morning.

Come to think of it, I've been getting angry alot lately...