Guitar Hero + Facebook = Awesome

Social networking is one of the hottest things on the internet right now.  Seemingly everyone has a Facebook page, or a Myspace page or a twitter account.  A number of people strive to have as many friends on those services as they can and that even extends to the world of video games.  A number of characters have Facebook pages or Twitter accounts where you can follow them and find out what's going on in their virtual worlds.  It's been a huge tool of advertising for a number of game companies, and Activision is included with that.

The Guitar Hero franchise has a Facebook page and Activision was pleased to announce today that the Guitar Hero Facebook page is the first game specific page to have one million fans. In a press release today they announced the historic feat as well as Guitar Hero having more than 38 million sales world wide. 

They tout the Facebook page as a place where fans can go to discuss their favorite artists and songs featured in the Guitar Hero franchise.  Fans can also get the latest information in the goings on with Guitar Hero, exclusive news and content not available anywhere else and share their favorite Guitar Hero experiences. 

Are you one of the more than a million fans of Guitar Hero on Facebook?  If so let us know if you use that service and what you've gotten from it.

Source: Press Release

Activision Taps Hugh Hefner and Playboy For GH5 Ad Campaign

Guitar Hero 5 launches next week and Activision is prepping the ad machine to get the word out about their latest game. They announced their new ad campaign for Guitar Hero 5 with a press release saying they've teamed up with Hugh Hefner and the Playboy franchise to do advertising for the game. The press release is quoted saying:

The commercial spot features Hugh Hefner, Playboy's Founder and Editor-in-Chief, with girlfriends Crystal Harris and twins Karissa and Kristina Shannon along with a bevy of beautiful Playmates, including Tiffany Fallon, 2005 Playmate of the Year and Kara Monaco, 2006 Playmate of the Year. During the ad, the Playmates are doing some serious finger fretting in their signature "Risky Business" attire while Hefner, in his iconic pajamas and smoking jacket, enjoys his personal jam session.

"The 'Risky Business' ads continue to work so well because fans can't get enough of seeing their favorite celebrities doing their own entertaining rendition of the famous 'Risky Business' scene. Playboy is recognized worldwide as a pop culture symbol of fun and entertainment; it's only natural for Hugh and the Playmates to be the next faces of the ad campaign."

I have been a big supporter of Guitar Hero 5 and the Guitar Hero franchise in general. I more or less chose them over Rock Band as my platform for music games because it was still more of a game. I really liked the ads they did for Guitar Hero: World Tour and Guitar Hero: On Tour spoofing Risky Business with different celebrities.

I take issue with their statement about Playboy being the pop culture symbol for fun and entertainment. Playboy is more known as the pop culture symbol for boobs and butts. If you're trying to appeal to families you don't go about it with half naked girls on TV who are better known for wearing nothing at all.

Guitar Hero 5 DLC Not Compatible With World Tour

If you're hoping that any DLC coming out after Guitar Hero 5 is released will work with Guitar Hero World Tour, we have bad news for you. Activision has confirmed that will not be the case.

"Guitar Hero 5 downlodable content will be compatible with future Guitar Hero and Band Hero games," a rep told us, "however the advancements and innovations made to the franchise do not allow for downloadable content to be backwards compatible with Guitar Hero World Tour."

While that's sad for people who won't be upgrading to the newer game we do know that many the songs from the disc and DLC for World Tour will be compatible with Guitar Hero 5. That means with a small fee and the new game most of your current library will work in the future, you'll just have to buy the new game when it's released.

Guitar Hero 5 has tons of new features and some interoperatbility with the DS. It's shaping up to be a very good game. Guitar Hero 5 will be released on September 1st.

More Details On Guitar Hero 5

As the details continue to come out about Guitar Hero 5 I'm becoming more and more impressed with the game. I actually enjoy the game aspect more than many people, but I also enjoy just being able to hook in and rock with friends. Here are some more details about the upcoming release that should make many fans happy.

- supports high capacity SD cards
- supports SD card streaming
- Guitar Hero Music Store has a news section to give updates on content just added
- Full albums, track packs, and single songs can be purchased all at once
- search albums by full collection or just one song
- preview songs, and then pick/choose the ones you want to purchase
- songs come with album art
- set more than one song to download at a time
- download songs at your on convenience, pausing downloads to finish later
- no need to have free Wii space due to streaming SD card functionality
- 32 gig HCSD card will give you room for 800+ songs
- fee for importing covers licensing fees
- free download updates World Tour song for play modes in Guitar Hero 5
- higher quality audio
- Rock Archive allows you to manage your SD card from in the game

I'll be keeping you up to date on this game in the future so keep your eyes peeled here.

Source: Go Nintendo