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Band Hero Drums Still MIA in the U.S.

Band Hero DrumsReader Bdon posted a question yesterday in the comment thread of a previous post about the redesigned Band Hero drums, so I thought it was worth answering here. The question: When will we see the new Band Hero kit on PS3 and 360 in the States?

The answer: No one seems to know. Posting on Twitter last week, GuitarHeroDevs (Neversoft’s official GH-related Twitter account) said the following:

For those that have asked about the new instruments hitting the states, I have been told they are still investigating retailers, etc. So I don’t have a date for when the new Band Hero drums will be in the US. When I have more solid deets, I will share them.

Activision told me awhile back that the drums would be exclusive to the Wii bundle in the U.S., and will only hit PS3 and 360 “at a later date.” Well, it’s certainly later.

Activision Files Counter-Suit Against No Doubt

The lawyers say don't speak.It just never ends, does it? In response to No Doubt’s lawsuit over becoming a “virtual karaoke” act in Band Hero (which in turn followed similar noises from Courtney Love regarding Kurt Cobain’s image in Guitar Hero 5), The Hollywood Reporter is, uh, reporting that Activision has whipped up a counterclaim against the ska-pop band.

In the filing, Activision responds to many of No Doubt’s allegations by noting that “it has been publicly known that certain users of ‘Guitar Hero’ videogames are able to ‘unlock’ in-game characters and can then choose to play songs performed by other artists using ‘unlocked’ characters.”

But it goes further than defense; later in the filing Activision goes on the attack, asking for monetary damages thanks to the following:

No Doubt also agreed to provide services, including marketing services, to promote the ‘Band Hero’ videogame. Even though Activision fully paid No Doubt under the parties’ contract, No Doubt failed and refused to perform the services No Doubt had agreed to provide … No Doubt has been unjustly enriched and should be required to disgorge all benefits it wrongfully received.

Feel free to look over the entire filing in this PDF obtained by the Hollywood Reporter. It’s a riveting — OK, interesting — read, especially the attached contract, which lays out the band’s responsibilities in marketing the game, like this one:

Artist shall provide two (2) recorded video ’shout-outs’ (e.g., ‘Hi, this is No Doubt and we’re in the new Band Hero game’), subject to Artist’s scheduling demands and subject to Artist’s review and approval of the
contents of such ’shout outs’.

It’s a rare and interesting look into the carefully-crafted marketing plans of big-name games like this one.

[Read, via @RockBandAide]

Win Band Hero on Wii and DS from Taylor Guitars

Good parents don't buy their kids fake guitars.Taylor Guitars, makers of gorgeous-sounding acoustics, has hooked up with Activision for a quick Band Hero giveaway. By heading over to the contest page and entering your contact info, you’re entered to win a pretty nifty (though definitely Nintendo-centric) Band Hero package:

1 Band Hero Band Kit for the Wii
1 Band Hero DS Bundle (includes game, guitar grip and drum skin)
1 Band Hero T-Shirt (most likely in purple and/or pink)
and the big prize: 1 Taylor Swift Baby Taylor guitar

The contest ends December 4, so get moving if you’re interested.

[Read]

Taylor Swift Still Wants to Meet You

Imma let you finish...Especially if you bought Band Hero. If you did, you can head over to bandhero.com/MeetTaylorSwift and enter the code from the back of your instruction manual to be entered into a drawing for a trip for two to a Taylor Swift concert, complete with a meet-and-greet with the young megastar.

Other prizes include tickets to a Swift show and a meet-and-greet (no travel included), a Band Hero guitar faceplate autographed by Swift…and, uh, a T-shirt. But hey, those other three prizes are pretty sweet if you’re into the pop country, right?

Oh, and if you don’t own Band Hero, don’t worry: It’s illegal to run a contest like this without including a way to enter with “no purchase necessary.” Instead, you can enter via the standard 3-by-5 postcard route. Take a look at the official rules to get all those fine-print details.

Guitar Hero 5 -> Band Hero Import Now Live on Wii

Subtlety.Those of you jonesing to get Guitar Hero 5 tracks into Band Hero will be pleased to learn that the import feature is now available for Wii — and it should be available on PS3 this Thursday, November 12, Neversoft says.

The import will cost $5.99 on PS3, 600 Wii Points, or 500 Microsoft Points. Check out last week’s post for a rundown of the songs that won’t be available to import.

[Read]

One More Band Hero Review

Not pictured: Taylor SwiftI’ve already added this to the roundup of reviews for Band Hero, but in case you’re not feverishly hitting Refresh on that post (and because my editors like it when I send them traffic), I wanted to point out that my review of the game is up at GameSpy.

Here is a quote that describes a scenario I still am not particularly proud of:

Even Taylor Swift’s “Picture to Burn” — and I can’t believe I’m saying this — even that marvel of pop-country is seriously fun on guitar thanks to a couple banjo breakdowns that add a welcome and surprising challenge for those used to playing mostly rock.

So come on over to GameSpy and mock my clear lack of sense, taste, and/or masculinity.

[Read]

Band Hero <=> Guitar Hero 5 Import/Export Details

Subtlety.With the launch of Band Hero on Tuesday, the DLC machines at Activision are taking a breather, so there are no new downloadable tunes available today. But Activision would like to remind you that now that Band Hero’s out, you can import and export tracks between Band Hero and Guitar Hero 5.

Importing Band Hero tracks into Guitar Hero 5 costs $4.99, 400 Microsoft Points, or 500 Wii Points, and it includes almost all of the game’s 65 tracks. Here are the only four that aren’t available for transfer to GH5:

Aly and AJ Like Whoa Aly & A.J. - Insomniatic - Like Whoa
Hilary Duff So Yesterday Hilary Duff - Metamorphosis - So Yesterday
Jesse McCartney Beautiful Soul Jesse McCartney - Beautiful Soul - Beautiful Soul
Styx Mr. Roboto Styx - Kilroy Was Here - Mr. Roboto

I doubt many Guitar Hero 5 players will miss any of these, except perhaps “Mr. Roboto.” But let me tell you, that’s one of the few Band Hero tunes I was really disappointed by — only in that I was hoping it would be a lot more entertaining to play and sing than it ended up being.

Anyway, if you’ve got your Band Hero on, you can also transfer a good chunk of Guitar Hero 5’s tracks into the kinder, gentler interface of Band Hero. (Well, you can if you have a 360; apparently it’s going to take a bit to get this functional on PS3 and Wii.) Continue reading →