Guitar Hero

July 20, 2009 – Rock and Roll Hall of Famer and 11-time Grammy Award winner, Carlos Santana, is set to appear as an exclusive in-game artist in the upcoming Guitar Hero 5. Santana's accomplishments span four decades and more than 40 albums including the self-titled album, Santana, that launched one of the most recognizable Latin-infused classic rock anthems, "No One to Depend On." The live version of the song will be featured in Guitar Hero 5 with Carlos Santana jamming on stage as a playable character.

In addition to music from Santana, Guitar Hero 5 features a wide variety of today's hottest rock 'n' roll bands mixed with classic tracks. Brand new game features let fans tailor their experience to meet the evolving ways consumers are interacting with their favorite music and allows them to challenge themselves as a solo act or band member, or kick back with friends and enjoy their personalized set list.Read more

May 18, 2009 – Guitar Hero continues to re-define the music and gaming experience this Fall with the release of Guitar Hero 5. Featuring the best variety and biggest rock stars of today combined with classic rock anthems, Guitar Hero 5 is the latest installment of the world’s most popular music game. For the first time ever, players can customize the make-up of their band by rocking with any combination of instruments in-game: whether it be two guitars and two drums, or three guitars and a microphone, any combination is possible, allowing players to experience music their own way. Brand new, innovative, easy-to-use gameplay modes like Party Play and RockFest put fun, competition and control at center stage as fans tailor the Guitar Hero experience to match their personal style and interests. For extended hours of entertainment, downloadable content from Guitar Hero® World Tour will be compatible with the game and will automatically be updated to include all of the upgrades and enhancements of Guitar Hero 5.*

Guitar Hero 5 features the strongest, most varied set list to-date comprised of master tracks from 85 of the hottest bands of today and the biggest classic acts including; Kings of Leon, The Rolling Stones, The White Stripes, Santana, Vampire Weekend, Tom Petty, Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan, plus more than 25 artists from a variety of music genres that will be making their music video game debut. Read more

April 14, 2009 – Hailed as "Activision's best Guitar Hero yet" by AOL/GameDaily and "a must-play for fans" by IGN.com, Activision Publishing, Inc.'s Guitar Hero Metallica is now available at retail outlets across North America for the PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system. PlayStation 2 system rock stars can now experience the intensity of musical icons Metallica and over 20 additional bands. Shred on the guitar controller, rip on the drum kit controller and wail on the mic to a killer set list of over 45 explosive hits from both Metallica's illustrious career and a wide variety of legendary artists personally selected by the band, such as Alice In Chains, Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band, Foo Fighters, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Queen.

"Guitar Hero Metallica has garnered critical acclaim across the industry proving the widespread appeal and accessibility of both Guitar Hero and Metallica," said Will Kassoy, Head of Publishing for the Guitar Hero franchise. "With a very successful launch on Wii, Xbox 360 and PLAYSTATION 3 computer entertainment system, we are excited to bring the game to the huge PlayStation 2 system gaming community and expect it to quickly become a fan favorite for that platform."Read more

March 31, 2009 – Having pioneered and expanded the heavy metal genre while gaining critical and popular success over the past 25 years, Metallica invites gamers to "Ride the Lightning" with them and over 20 other rocking artists in Activision Publishing, Inc.'s latest release – Guitar Hero Metallica. Enter the world of Lars Ulrich, James Hetfield, Kirk Hammett and Robert Trujillo and experience the intensity and skill of one of the greatest bands of all time. Shred on the guitar controller, rip on the drum kit controller and wail on the mic to over 45 explosive hits from both Metallica's illustrious career and a variety of other legendary artists selected by the band, such as Alice In Chains, Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band, Foo Fighters, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Queen.

"When Guitar Hero came to us with the idea to do a game based on Metallica, we call this a no brainer and said yes very quickly," said Lars Ulrich, drummer for Metallica. "It seemed like the next step - a whole other platform for musicians to reach an audience. If we talk about this in five years, I think it will turn into an expected way to release music."

"Guitar Hero is a great way for people to experience the music of a band. Not just Metallica, but many bands. It's almost educational in that sense, where people can learn about groups that range from Santana to Lynyrd Skynyrd to Journey," said bassist Robert Trujillo. Read more

February 12, 2009 – Guitar Hero gamers looking to upgrade to the best Guitar Hero guitar controllers yet or expand their band to include the drum kit controller need not wait much longer, as Activision Publishing, Inc. announced today individual guitar controllers and drum kit controllers will be available on North American store shelves beginning February 15th.

Playable now with Guitar Hero World Tour, and later this spring in Guitar Hero Metallica, the wireless drum kit controller features three drum pads, two raised cymbal pads and a bass kick pedal, and velocity-sensitive drum heads with soft rubber construction to deliver that certain bounce when struck with a drum stick that drummers are used to and is easy to set up, move, break down and store. The drum kit controller can be expanded with a second bass kick pedal allowing expert gamers to rock to double bass pedal charts in Guitar Hero Metallica. The Guitar Hero World Tour guitar controller, which features a touch-sensitive slide on the neck, is compatible with all previous versions of Guitar Hero and will be compatible with Guitar Hero Metallica. Read more

January 29, 2009 – Metallica’s influential music takes center stage this spring when Activision Publishing Inc.’s Guitar Hero Metallica takes music fans through the band’s fabled library of songs, plus the music and musicians who influence them. When the house lights go down this spring, virtual rock stars across the globe will shred, drum and wail to an explosive set list featuring over 45 tracks from Metallica’s illustrious career and a wide variety of other legendary artists personally selected by the band, such as Queen, Foo Fighters, Bob Seger, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Slayer and Judas Priest. Featuring tracks from every Metallica studio album, the complete Guitar Hero Metallica on-disc set list will include their following hits: Read more

January 27, 2009 – Having already delivered fans over 70 rockin’ downloadable tracks for Activision Publishing, Inc.’s Guitar Hero World Tour since the game’s October 2008 launch, three new Track Packs spanning a variety of musical genres and multiple artists will be available throughout February 2009 to Guitar Hero fans across the globe.

On February 12th, rockers Incubus, The Shins and Ryan Adams turn off the amps and electric guitars in the Acoustic Track Pack. Coming to Guitar Hero World Tour are Incubus’ “Drive,” The Shins’ “New Slang” and Ryan Adams’ GRAMMY Award nominated version of “Wonderwall.”

Following their debut appearance on disc in Guitar Hero World Tour with “Band on the Run,” Paul McCartney’s Wings return to the Guitar Hero stage with the Wings Track Pack. “Junior’s Farm,” “Hi Hi Hi” and “Jet,” three top-ten hits from the band’s diverse catalog of music, will be available for download on February 19th. Read more

January 13, 2009 – Bruce Springsteen will make his videogame debut on January 27, 2009, with two downloadable songs available exclusively in Activision Publishing, Inc.’s Guitar Hero World Tour.

Coinciding with the release of his new album, Working on a Dream (Columbia Records), the two-song Track Pack will be available for download simultaneously with the album’s release on January 27, 2009. The Track Pack, which features the iconic Springsteen song “Born to Run” and “My Lucky Day,” a brand-new track off his new album, Working on a Dream, will be free to download during the first week of the album’s release.

“Bruce Springsteen has been a defining force in Rock ‘n Roll and we are incredibly excited to have him make his video game debut with Guitar Hero World Tour,” said Robert Kotick, CEO of Activision Blizzard. Read more