Guitar Hero

"As Activision seems to be discovering with Guitar Hero, there's danger when a title is over exposed," the LA Times claims.

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"He could play Guitar Hero with his back to the screen and not miss a beat," Blades said. "He was proud to follow in the footsteps of a cousin and his uncles. He was looking forward to coming back to attending the U. to become an architect."

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Arthur Gies of Gamespy noted that by simplification of the interface, "Neversoft stripped Guitar Hero down to what works and built up from there".

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"No Doubt agreed to place avatars containing their name and likeness performing three No Doubt songs in the upcoming Band Hero game of the Guitar Hero series from Activision," the group said in a provided statement. "Without the band's knowledge or approval Activision turned the group into virtual karaoke players by having them perform over 60 additional songs by other musical groups."

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David wrote again last fall, "Hot new releases in the top-selling Guitar Hero franchise will strike a chord with shoppers this holiday season, while new titles, additional revenue opportunities, merger boons, and Blizzard's superior margins will set the newly combined company on the path to a fast-swelling bottom line."

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Harmonix CEO Alex Rigopulos said in the announcement that Rock Band "takes the core premise of Guitar Hero and expands it tenfold. It lets you create a complete collaborative band."

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"Band Hero takes the critically acclaimed Guitar Hero 5 game features to new heights and delivers the most popular artists into your living room," said Dan Rosensweig, president and chief executive officer of Guitar Hero. "As our first E10+ rated console game, Band Hero will become the new soundtrack to family game night."

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While some reviewers considered the game as an "absolute Guitar Hero experience", others noted that the social aspect of the series was not present, and that the game felt "more like an experiment than a full-fledged game, as if Activision just wanted to see if it could be pulled off."

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"Saved By The Bell" - handily beats Ortiz, and everyone else in the gifting lounge, on Guitar Hero 5. "People say games like Guitar Hero and Rock Band are killing music, but I disagree with that," he says.

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"So annual franchises probably have a user base of two or three times annual sales, with most people buying the game every other year." "When a recession hits, it's easy to pass up a game that the consumer knows is coming out again the next year. "This was the undoing of Tony Hawk, probably contributed to declining Guitar Hero sales, and most certainly explains the lack of growth for many EA sports franchises," adds Mr Pachter.

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