Guitar Hero World Tour - the one & only thread.
09-17-08, 03:13 PM
#2
DVD Talk Hero
According to ShackNews, Activision is considering a subscription option for DLC.
This is interesting. Depending on the price of the subscription, the frequency of DLC releases, and post-subscription rights, this is something I might consider.
However, if I have to maintain a subscription to maintain access to songs that were released during my original subscription, I'd have to seriously reconsider that.
Activision is considering a subscription service to deliver new songs monthly for its music-rhythm series Guitar Hero, according to Activision Publishing CEO Mike Griffith during Activision Blizzard's Analyst Day event yesterday. As Griffith explained:
No further details, such as a price or a start date for such a program, were made available. The plan would, however, be just part of Activision's plan to "monetize" the Guitar Hero series.
"We've learned that the consumer still has an insatiable appetite for more," said Griffith. "Consumers have downloaded over 20 million individual songs for the franchise, and they still tell us they want more," he added.
"In fact, the Guitar Hero: Aerosmith game delivered 10x the revenue compared to Aerosmith's most recently released CD in 2004, when comparing equivalent launch periods," Griffith continued. Most of the revenue from the game, of course, went in Activision's direction instead of Aerosmith's.
Looking even further out, we're exploring new models, like an annual pass subscription where players can subscribe and get a certain number of songs downloadable each month.
"We've learned that the consumer still has an insatiable appetite for more," said Griffith. "Consumers have downloaded over 20 million individual songs for the franchise, and they still tell us they want more," he added.
"In fact, the Guitar Hero: Aerosmith game delivered 10x the revenue compared to Aerosmith's most recently released CD in 2004, when comparing equivalent launch periods," Griffith continued. Most of the revenue from the game, of course, went in Activision's direction instead of Aerosmith's.
However, if I have to maintain a subscription to maintain access to songs that were released during my original subscription, I'd have to seriously reconsider that.
09-17-08, 03:16 PM
#3
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Absolutely. IF that is the model they choose, I will not participate. I won't be stuck paying montly in perpetuity to play songs I've already paid for.
09-17-08, 03:32 PM
#4
Banned by request
I wouldn't want to pay monthly, anyway, because there's no guarantee that you'll like enough of the songs released in a given month to make it worth the price of the subscription.
09-17-08, 03:34 PM
#5
DVD Talk Limited Edition
I would never sign up unless it had been out for a couple of months to show what a typical month would be like. Heck, I would probably have to wait for around 6 because you know they'll try to be all hot and heavy in the beginning. I wonder if they'll offer subscription-based as well as a la carte.
09-17-08, 03:35 PM
#7
DVD Talk Hero
Right. There's a lot of factors and unknowns that need to come into play on this - besides the fact that it may not be technically possible in the XBL/PSN/Wii DRM architecture.
It'd be a gamble, and one I'm sure they'd work out in their favor, to pay up front for unknown quantity and content. You might come out ahead, you might not. Again, it all depends on the details.
It'd be a gamble, and one I'm sure they'd work out in their favor, to pay up front for unknown quantity and content. You might come out ahead, you might not. Again, it all depends on the details.
09-17-08, 03:40 PM
#8
After the amount of bitching I've seen (and participated in) regarding Rock Band DLC, I can only imagine how much it would be magnified in a subscription format. "I'm paying for this crap?!?!?"
09-17-08, 03:42 PM
#9
DVD Talk Limited Edition
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The problem is that they severely under-delivered DLC for GHIII, so it would be hard for me to agree to a subscription unless there was some protection for months when they released nothing.
09-17-08, 03:45 PM
#10
DVD Talk Hero
I've only been paying for DLC in RB for 8 months (67% of a year). I've got 49 non-free tracks. At a gross underestimate, that's 3,920 points or "$49".
Assuming I buy another 15-20 by EOY, I'm already spending (the equivalent of) $65 or $70. Of course, many-most of my tracks are > 80 points anyway.
So, I think one has to seriously step back and consider it from all angles. But this all goes out the window if you don't get to keep what you originally subscribed to.
Assuming I buy another 15-20 by EOY, I'm already spending (the equivalent of) $65 or $70. Of course, many-most of my tracks are > 80 points anyway.
So, I think one has to seriously step back and consider it from all angles. But this all goes out the window if you don't get to keep what you originally subscribed to.
09-17-08, 03:46 PM
#11
DVD Talk Limited Edition
I think now that they are placing themselves in direct competition with Rock Band, they are forcing the issue. They will HAVE to try to compete DLC-wise or start to lose share.
09-17-08, 06:32 PM
#12
DVD Talk Godfather
It is easier to have a better track record when you release fewer tracks though. You also have to consider that GHIII has delivered all master tracks from day one when the competition was fumbling about with covers which they are now re-releasing(which blows BTW).
09-17-08, 06:52 PM
#13
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09-18-08, 07:01 AM
#15
Senior Member
I heard a number of song titles for this game on the Covino and Rich show yesterday on Maxim Radio. This game is a must have.
Quick question.....I have GHIII and I know that the guitar is compatible.
When this game is released, will it be possible to just get the game, drum kit, and microphone so that I don't have to shell out $190 for the whole package?
Quick question.....I have GHIII and I know that the guitar is compatible.
When this game is released, will it be possible to just get the game, drum kit, and microphone so that I don't have to shell out $190 for the whole package?
09-18-08, 07:57 AM
#17
DVD Talk Hero
Under delivered how? Quantity or quality? Other than Def Leppard hasn't every other pack been well received?
It is easier to have a better track record when you release fewer tracks though. You also have to consider that GHIII has delivered all master tracks from day one when the competition was fumbling about with covers which they are now re-releasing(which blows BTW).
It is easier to have a better track record when you release fewer tracks though. You also have to consider that GHIII has delivered all master tracks from day one when the competition was fumbling about with covers which they are now re-releasing(which blows BTW).
There is only one cover track that is being replaced by a master and that's the (allegedly) coming Working Man by Rush. I'm not counting Tom Sawyer as it is sort of a different beast entirely and not DLC.
09-18-08, 08:09 AM
#18
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IGN Review for Wii
Here is what IGN found out so far:
http://wii.ign.com/articles/910/910398p1.html
http://wii.ign.com/articles/910/910398p1.html
For starters, we'll just state straight away that World Tour on Wii -- despite being a pain in the butt to pull off on the development side of things -- pulls off everything the 360/PS3 versions do, and more. You'll be able to purchase songs within the game, rather than heading to the Wii Shop Channel. You'll connect online instantly when booting up the game (should you set your options that way), so that you can always see which friends are online and playing even if you're just rocking out in local play, and yes, you can download tracks on the SD card and play them without any in-game transferring or internal memory drama that you'd normally deal with on Wii. Just download the songs to either the console or SD card, pick your tracks in career, quick play, or online, and go. The game takes care of the rest all in the background, and very fast.
The aspect we really wanted to focus on this time around though, is the new Mii Freestyle mode. It's exclusive to the Wii, and no, just because it uses Miis doesn't mean you're too cool to enjoy it. In fact, we're amazed that this mode wasn't added to the other builds of the game after seeing it in action on the Wii version, since it simply rocks.
It's a strange concept to describe on paper, but it really does work quite well. In fact, outside of the general "play as you go" notes and modes, you can also morph the experience as you jam, keeping specific riffs or tones you've hit in a constant repeat. Want to lay down a simple hold note progression in the background? Lay it down, and then hit the repeat trigger to keep it looping. Want to build on top of that backbeat? Just riff over it, and then cancel the beat whenever you want to move into a new phrase of music. In fact, there's even an option to progress the song itself as you play, allowing you to move from intro to chorus, bridge and reprise as you play. This won't do much outside of changing the pre-canned backbeat as you play, but it does give the experience more of a start and finish that you otherwise wouldn't get, and it's yet another way to mix things up when rocking the freestyle mode.
And if Freestyle didn't sound big enough, Vicarious decided to build on the mode once again by adding the drum kit into the mix. By either hooking up your full drum kit or using a variant on the Wii Music drum design (Wii-mote and nunchuk, with different buttons making different sounds when you motion; not our preferred way of playing, to be honest) you can freestyle with any backbeat, or accompany a friend on drums while he riffs on guitar. This opens up the drums in Guitar Hero to take the same form as Rock Band's "virtual drum kit" add-ons, letting you just sit down with your set, crank out your own beats or solos, and use the kit as a real electronic drum set. And yeah, just like the rest of the package, this added option also kicks a whole lot of ass.
And if Freestyle didn't sound big enough, Vicarious decided to build on the mode once again by adding the drum kit into the mix. By either hooking up your full drum kit or using a variant on the Wii Music drum design (Wii-mote and nunchuk, with different buttons making different sounds when you motion; not our preferred way of playing, to be honest) you can freestyle with any backbeat, or accompany a friend on drums while he riffs on guitar. This opens up the drums in Guitar Hero to take the same form as Rock Band's "virtual drum kit" add-ons, letting you just sit down with your set, crank out your own beats or solos, and use the kit as a real electronic drum set. And yeah, just like the rest of the package, this added option also kicks a whole lot of ass.
09-18-08, 08:18 AM
#19
DVD Talk Godfather
They have 21 covers out of 218 currently available tracks, not including all the announced masters. We can safely assume everything will be masters from here out and 500 by the holidays will certainly dwarf that percentage. The last cover they released was Blur's Beetlebum on 5/20/2008 and was DLC #112.
There is only one cover track that is being replaced by a master and that's the (allegedly) coming Working Man by Rush. I'm not counting Tom Sawyer as it is sort of a different beast entirely and not DLC.
There is only one cover track that is being replaced by a master and that's the (allegedly) coming Working Man by Rush. I'm not counting Tom Sawyer as it is sort of a different beast entirely and not DLC.
09-18-08, 08:20 AM
#21
DVD Talk Hero
09-18-08, 08:36 AM
#22
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From Nintendo:
Identifying Compatible SD Cards
Not all SD Cards are compatible with the Wii console. Please read the following:
The Wii console is only compatible with SD Cards that are 2 GB (Gigabyte) or less. Cards with a capacity higher than 2 GB will likely not work with the Wii console.
Not all SD Cards are compatible with the Wii console. Please read the following:
The Wii console is only compatible with SD Cards that are 2 GB (Gigabyte) or less. Cards with a capacity higher than 2 GB will likely not work with the Wii console.
I see GH:WT "special edition" SD cards in our future...
09-18-08, 08:39 AM
#23
DVD Talk Godfather
I've only bought a few covers (Rush being the big two, CCR & Black Crowes as well). Not sure if I'll replace them all, but I'll definitely double dip on Rush.
I'm not trying to rag on Harmonix as they've done a great job, I'm just giving Neversoft a fair shake since no one else will. I was just pointing out the fact that they have at least stuck with masters from day one and never wavered, thus no double-dipping. Sure, we aren't likely to see covers from HMX again, but they've already dipped their toes in that pool.
Also has Neversoft sunk to offering us a Locksley or All that Remains pack? They've mostly stuck to fairly big bands and have only dipped into the marketing pool with Def Leppard and Coldplay. I guess Dropkick Murphy's would apply but, yeah, that was free.
09-18-08, 08:41 AM
#24
DVD Talk Hero
That, to me, makes the news bittersweet. The Metallica pack with 11 songs that came out last week was over 1GB by itself. If you subscribe to the theory that it was over-bloated due to the cross-compatibility, you have to assume that the WT compatibility was at least 50% of that total (due to the greater separation in audio tracks and game data). So, 11 songs for 500MB, or 25% of the greatest capacity of the Wii's SD support... Granted those Metallica songs may be longer than the average song, but I think I'd want to make sure I could store more than 50 DLC songs...
09-18-08, 08:47 AM
#25
DVD Talk Hero
Yet.
I've only bought a few covers (Rush being the big two, CCR & Black Crowes as well). Not sure if I'll replace them all, but I'll definitely double dip on Rush.
I'm not trying to rag on Harmonix as they've done a great job, I'm just giving Neversoft a fair shake since no one else will. I was just pointing out the fact that they have at least stuck with masters from day one and never wavered, thus no double-dipping. Sure, we aren't likely to see covers from HMX again, but they've already dipped their toes in that pool.
Also has Neversoft sunk to offering us a Locksley or All that Remains pack? They've mostly stuck to fairly big bands and have only dipped into the marketing pool with Def Leppard and Coldplay. I guess Dropkick Murphy's would apply but, yeah, that was free.
I've only bought a few covers (Rush being the big two, CCR & Black Crowes as well). Not sure if I'll replace them all, but I'll definitely double dip on Rush.
I'm not trying to rag on Harmonix as they've done a great job, I'm just giving Neversoft a fair shake since no one else will. I was just pointing out the fact that they have at least stuck with masters from day one and never wavered, thus no double-dipping. Sure, we aren't likely to see covers from HMX again, but they've already dipped their toes in that pool.
Also has Neversoft sunk to offering us a Locksley or All that Remains pack? They've mostly stuck to fairly big bands and have only dipped into the marketing pool with Def Leppard and Coldplay. I guess Dropkick Murphy's would apply but, yeah, that was free.
I believe that those initial DLC covers were songs that didn't make the on-disc cut. They're all very popular and great party songs. They're just covers and HMX chose to up the on-disc masters when it came to decide between My Sharona and, say, Should I Stay or Should I Go? But that's just supposition.
I do agree that the DLC choices of late have been
, but we've all pretty much agreed previously that they were in the pre-RB2 launch phase. This last week was better, overall. Definitely more varied and "popular".I guess I'd rather bitch about cheap, frequent, mostly shitty releases that I can piecemeal than what GH has given in the past. FWIW, Dropkick Murphy's are the only band that has been released over there that I care about and it was free to boot!