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Guitar Hero games have been going on sale a lot recently. It makes sense to mark down something so high-profile to attract holiday shoppers -- and we really don't mind getting a break on something as ridiculously expensive as the plastic-instrument games.

The latest deal comes from Amazon, who has kicked off their "15 Days, 15 Deals" promotion with temporary price drops on Guitar Hero: World Tour guitar bundles. For $70, you get the game and one of those bizarre new guitars with the touch pad. It's a nice deal for people not interested in the complete band kit -- or for people trying to cobble the band kit together over time.

Looking for more songs to complement that Guitar Hero: World Tour purchase you just made? Probably not for several months, but maybe you can do some shopping in anticipation of that -- especially (only) if you really like Aerosmith. Amazon's Deal of the Day knocks half the price off of Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, to a perfectly reasonable twenty bucks. The Xbox 360 version is also on sale, if you would prefer (though obviously we can't endorse such a decision!)

This is the game only, and doesn't come with any guitars or anything, but provided the song list meets with your approval, 41 new Guitar Hero tracks for $20 isn't bad at all.

Some Guitar Hero: World Tour players are reporting sensitivity issues with the drums -- basically, that they have to pound the hell out of them to register a hit. If you're tired of having to go all Keith Moon all the time, Activision and Neversoft have a solution for you, and it's kind of an unexpected one: drum sensitivity tuning software.

Activision has released Windows-based tuning software which will allow players to connect their drum kits to their PCs and manually alter the sensitivity of each input. If that doesn't help, provided your overworked (but totally buff) arms can deal with the searing pain of motion long enough to lift the phone, you can report your sensitivity issues to Activision online or by phone at (310)255-2050.


[Via Joystiq]

Another classic rock icon will appear as a weird, exaggerated 3D model in Guitar Hero: World Tour, though the transition should be easier for this one since he's a weird, exaggerated person in real life. Ted Nugent, menace to deer, right-wing radio host and, oh, also world-class musician, will appear as a guitar duel participant in World Tour.

Players will be able to face off in duels, or play as the Nuge. In addition, the classic "Stranglehold" has been added to the roster of playable songs. Is Guitar Hero going to go further down the "classic rock" track to compete with Rock Band? Except ... Rock Band also has a bunch of classic rock.

G4 apparently has the "hot word," which we're assuming means "unfounded rumor", that Activision is looking to toss another peripheral into the Guitar Hero World Tour mix. They're reporting that Neversoft's Brian Bright spilled the beans, stating that he "wouldn't go into detail about what it will be," but that it's "specifically for the game's Studio mode." Hm, interesting ...

Our cruel overlords at Joystiq have contacted Activision for clarification on the whole issue. Popular opinion seems to be that it's a keyboard of some type, but we'd like to think the game will feature something a bit more old school, like the guy in the image above. We're just weird like that.


[Via Joystiq]

According to the latest issue of EGM, the next Tony Hawk title might not be utilizing the Balance Board after all. Instead, Activision has supposedly been thinking about putting out their own peripheral to interact with the game, bundling it with the upcoming title.

Something that boggles our mind is the mentioning that Neversoft would not be developing the next Tony Hawk game. Considering that Neversoft produced a long-standing series from scratch and sustained it for many iterations, we'd be hard-pressed to think that Activision would take them off of the franchise. But, hey, that's just us.

While a lot of people here may have spent hours rawking out and pulling buffoonish poses to Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock, it's safe to say that country rock musician Charlie Daniels wasn't quite as enthusiastic. Firstly, the guy is 71, and if performing high kicks and the splits is beyond us flexible twenty-somethings, it's probably going to be unrealistic for anyone who qualifies for a free bus pass. Secondly (and a lot more relevantly), he's not too chuffed about how one of his songs, "The Devil Went Down to Georgia," has been presented by Legends of Rock.

According to an entry by the musician on his blog, the song in question is "a lighthearted novelty about a fiddling contest between a country boy and the devil and the devil always loses," but try telling that to Guitar Hero III. Instead, the game has players competing on the song with old Beelzebub himself, in a face-off which the devil can win. Insert outraged gasps here!

Anyway, this is the main sticking point for Daniels, who accuses developer Neversoft of "perverting my song," and huffs that he's "disgusted with the result." He also describes the game as having "a dark side, complete with grotesque monsters on stage with the band, strange, eerie lighting effects and all manner of weird things popping up on the stage," and reckons it's "not the healthiest thing in the world for young, impressionable minds to be exposed to."

As it happens, Daniels' complaints look set to fall on deaf ears, because he sold off the publishing rights to the track. Nevertheless, his diatribe is worth a read, if only for a chuckle.

[Via Kotaku]

For all of you that were hoping a game called Guitar Hero: Aerosmith would contain as littleAerosmith as possible , know that today pushes the title further into your good graces. A slew of new bands were confirmed to be in the game and not a single one of them is called Aerosmith.

New tracks confirmed for Guitar Hero: Aerosmith (via Game Informer) include Mott the Hoople's "All the Young Dudes", The Kinks with "All Day and All Night," Joan Jett with "Hate Myself for Loving You" and Cheap Trick with "Dream Police." While not entirely clued in to the kids and their crazy music, our interest in this game is growing through each new non-Aerosmith song. What about you all?

[Via Joystiq]

People who bought the Wii version of Guitar Hero III have been (justifiably) annoyed by the lack of stereo and surround sound in Activision's popular music game. However, Wii owners can at least take some comfort in knowing that the problem will soon be fixed.

Activision's customer support has replied to many irate users with an email stating that re-mastered discs should be available by early 2008. This means that customers who buy the game after the re-mastered version is available should get the fixed copies, while those who already own the game can get replacement discs at no charge.

The last time we announced a disc swap for a glitched Wii game, many of you expressed your desires to have a simple downloadable patch instead. While we agree that a patch would be more convenient, we're still glad that there will be a fix available in the near future.

[Thanks, Langst!]

To be honest, we've always thought of Guitar Hero as a casual series, even though Hard Mode and above are too hard for us. This perception is mostly due to the fact that it's so popular. But Josh3D's performance of Dragonforce's "Through the Fire and Flames" destroys that perception and any other thoughts we may have been having. After completing the song, he takes off the guitar controller, revealing the Wiimote held inside, therefore confirming that this video depicts the Wii version of Guitar Hero III.

Some of you may contend that this person could have spent more time learning skills that are applicable in real life instead of practicing Guitar Hero so much, but Josh3D has clearly exited our reality and entered one in which it's possible to do this. Who knows what kinds of skills are useful there?

[Via NeoGAF]

Some new info hit today regarding the third installment in the Guitar Hero franchise, confirming some songs that will be included in the game and the support of wireless guitars (online gameplay was previously confirmed). They've licensed the Gibson Les Paul, but no word on whether the wireless axes will be bundled with the game or an optional peripheral. No word, also, on what they will look like, be they the SG type or if licensing the Gibson Les Paul will mean that all bundles come with that version included.

A new list of tracks is also available for you:

• "Paint It Black" (by The Rolling Stones)
• "Cherub Rock" (by Smashing Pumpkins)
• "Sabotage" (by Beastie Boys)
• "The Metal" (by Tenacious D)
• "My Name is Jonas" (by Weezer)
• "Knights of Cydonia" (by Muse)
• "Rock And Roll All Nite" (as made famous by Kiss)
• "School's Out" (as made famous by Alice Cooper)
• "Slow Ride" (as made famous by Foghat)
• "Cult of Personality" (by Living Colour)
• "Barracuda" (as made famous by Heart)

[Via Joystiq]