New Guitar Hero Gives Sweet Emotion to Aerosmith Fans

SAN FRANCISCO, Feb 15 (Reuters) – Activision Inc on Friday unveiled a new "Guitar Hero" video game focusing onthe American rock band Aerosmith, taking the billion-dollarfranchise in a new direction.

Called "Guitar Hero: Aerosmith," the new game will arrivein stores this summer, a surprise to many analysts and fans whohad expected the next title to come out closer to the year-endholiday shopping season.

Aerosmith, known for hits such as "Dream On" and "SweetEmotion," is the top-selling American rock band of all time,with sales of 66.5 million albums in the United States alone.

The game will feature about 30 Aerosmith songs as well asothers from various acts that have opened for the band. Theprice has not yet been set.

"The premise is that it’s going to cover the 30-plus yearsof the band, from high school all the way through the rocksuperstardom of today," Kai Huang, head of Activision’sRedOctane unit, which guides development of the franchise, toldReuters in an interview.

In the "Guitar Hero" games, players try to press coloredbuttons on a guitar-shaped controller in time with notescascading down the screen. If the notes are hit, the song playsproperly, and the player earns points.

Since the original "Guitar Hero" was released in late 2005,the series has gone on to sell more than $1 billion. Dependingon the version, a bundle including the game and a controllercosts from $80-$100, while the stand-alone game costs $40-$60.

When Activision reported quarterly earnings last week,analysts grilled the company on its plans for the franchise,expressing concern that sales would slow this year because manyplayers who bought earlier versions with guitars would opt tobuy the lower-price stand-alone game disks.

Huang said Activision had not yet decided whether it wouldoffer a special controller with the Aerosmith game.

NEW DIRECTION

The focus on a single band marks a new twist for thefranchise, whose three main titles featured dozens of artistsspanning classic rock, grunge, metal, punk and other rocksubgenres. Last year, Activision also released "Guitar HeroEncore: Rocks the 80s" with songs from that decade.

"It’s just a completely new way to interact with this musicand with Aerosmith, and we think there’s more opportunity to dothat in the future," Huang said.

By spotlighting a single band, the company has also come upwith a way to counter rival music game "Rock Band" from ViacomInc unit MTV and Electronic Arts Inc,Activision’s top competitor.

"Rock Band", which includes drums and a microphone as wellas a guitar, each week has offered new songs that can bedownloaded to consoles like Microsoft Corp’s Xbox 360and Sony Corp’s PlayStation 3.

The music industry is eyeing "Guitar Hero" and "Rock Band"as a way to revive flagging sales. "Rock Band" and "Guitar Hero3," both launched last fall, have together sold millions ofsongs at about $2 each via download.

Speaking of Aerosmith’s willingness to work on the project,Huang said: "They recognize that it can deliver their music inan innovative and new way. It’s a new distribution platform forthem."

To recreate the sense of attending an Aerosmith concert,developers held motion-capture sessions with band members,including energetic frontman Steven Tyler and lead guitaristJoe Perry.

"As you play," Huang said, "you’re going to be seeing Joeand Steven doing their moves onstage."

(Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)

CopyrightReuters 2008. All rights reserved. Users may download and print extracts ofcontent from this website for their own personal and non-commercial use only.Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing orsimilar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent ofReuters. Reuters and the Reuters sphere logo are registered trademarks ortrademarks of the Reuters group of companies around the world.