Wake Up Zune: A Marketing Suggestion

The Zune conjures up images of an ugly albatross that keeps flapping around the neckline of Microsoft. Its not that it is a bad player, but it just seems to sit in the shadow of the iPod, trying to find a way to a ray of sunlight.

So why does it sell so poorly? I mean it has a lot of neat features, and it looks pretty cool, but it just does not seem to have that IT quality that makes the iPod so wanted. It also seems to have one of the most uncharismatic marketing teams behind it. I mean look at that picture of J. Allard and tell me he looks happy, or even makes you want a Zune. At least Bill is trying to look happy, but Allard just looks like he thinks he is going to catch a disease from the Zune that he is holding.

So I was kicking around the thought of getting a portable player and I have been considering a Zune, because I just do not feel like buying an iPod, because they will just release another version I will want every five to six months. I am also a big Microsoft homer, so I have a desire to keep brand loyalty to them. My problem is that I cannot find a great enough reason to select a Zune, but I thought of a pretty cool idea that could move the device…maybe.

As I was buying my latest crack addiction, Rock Band DLC, I thought about how much I like the music that has been in this game, and in the Guitar Hero series for the most part. So it dawned on me that I would pay extra on the marketplace to have a way to get these songs in a portable format. Microsoft, having deep pockets, could use this as a way to get people sold on the Zune. All you would have to do is plug the Zune in, and get your music tracks right from the game. It just seems like a no brainer. Thank you Microsoft, make sure to put some zeros on the end of that number when you send the royalty check. And J. Allard, cheer up, it can’t be all that bad.

An Inner Look at Harmonix

Not a huge news story, but perusing the latest issue of Newsweek, I saw an interesting article that piqued my attention.  A small feature on Harmonix and their path to success.

It does not give any hints on their upcoming plans except the hint of a keyboard in the next version of Rock Band (seems natural, considering Rigopulos keytar band, Freezepop).  Anyway, take a stroll over to Newsweek.com to read the article and some fun insights on their view of Guitar Hero and Rock Band.

Guitar Hero IV to Include Drums and Vocals?

According to Activision CEO Bobby Kotick, instruments other than guitars, as well as vocals, will be coming to future installments of Guitar Hero. There are also plans to include music from “local bands” depending on the region in which the game is released. He had this to say on the matter:

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Guitar Hero Mobile gets weird product placement in Marvel comic.

In this month’s issue of “Fantastic Four,” readers are greeted by an amazingly bad example of product placement: a dude in a Guitar Hero III Mobile t-shirt.

This sort of thing isn’t entirely new in the world of funnybooks, but as a fan of both comics and gaming, I can tell you that this particular example is lousy. As a gamer, I’m pretty well convinced that Guitar Hero Mobile is a terrible idea. However, Guitar Hero itself is not (or at least, it wasn’t)… so seeing a specifically Mobile logo as opposed to a regular GH logo is off-putting and reeks of paid endorsement.

My speculation: It is probably entirely likely that the current Fantastic Four creative team wanted to include a Guitar Hero shout-out because they’re fans and the game is a hip property. But when they contacted Activision’s Marketing Brigade - licensors of such amazing high-quality products as the Guitar Hero Air Guitar Belt Buckle and Guitar Hero LCD edition - they were told they have to use the Mobile logo because that’s what the Brigade wants to push right now. And using the GH: Aerosmith logo would require some advanced copyright finagling with Steven Tyler’s signature on a hundred documents. But that’s just me making stuff up. Maybe Activision contacted Marvel Comics and this was what they came up with.

If only they didn’t use the Mobile logo. They could have saved their street cred.

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Blackberry’s Killer App: Guitar Hero?

Today Red Octane announce that they will be releasing Guitar Hero on the Blackberry phone. Red Octane’s VP said today:

“As shown by its success, Hands-On Mobile has done a great job carrying Guitar Hero over to the mobile platform. With the addition of BlackBerry customers, even more fans can now feed their Guitar Hero addictions.”

Guitar Hero for the PS3, PS2, Xbox 360, and Wii is logical. PC and Mac is a good step in the right direction. Guitar Hero for the DS is odd but i can see it work. Guitar Hero for mobile is just stupid. Guitar Hero for the Blackberry is probably one the most irrational things that the human race has ever contrived. I’ve notice that when companies stop focusing on making a better product, and start cheaping the franchise that the quality drops dramatically. Shouldn’t Activision be worried about the uprising of Rock Band? Rock Band may not have more sells than Guitar Hero but I can see it out selling it in the near future once the word to month becomes mainstream. Come on Activision, really?

Source: GameDaily

Guitar Hero: Aerosmith Trailer Released

Activision released the first trailer for their upcoming title, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith. The graphics look pretty decent, although not much of a step up from Guitar Hero III, but it was not expected to be. The character animations look really cool and it is nice to see the band move around the stage in a more realistic manner.

The trailer also confirms the use of other bands in the game. It has been mentioned that you will have some of the original Guitar Hero characters play a warm up set of two songs from bands that were influential to Aerosmith. Then you will play a two or three song set, if encores are included, with the main band.

All I can say is that I want to see Run DMC up on stage with Aerosmith, doing their joint version of Walk This Way.

A happy ending to the GHIII mono audio fiasco.

Here it is, via FedEx Home Delivery, a free Guitar Hero III Les Paul Guitar Controller faceplace courtesy Activision and RedOctane (Gold Eagle design, retail value, $14.99). It’s a fashionable little gift that serves as an apology for all the trouble we Wii owners had to go through to have our game replaced after the launch version of the game was completely botched. You know what? I feel much better about the whole thing, and I feel like Activision has done right by me. More than that, I feel like capitalism has done right by me. Let’s hear it for competition.

See also:
Gimped Wii version of Rock Band not even going to be worth it.

Gimped Wii version of Rock Band not even going to be worth it.

Maybe it’s the lack of a reasonable storage solution (can you play Rock Bank on the 360 Core?), maybe it’s the lack of a server-based online infrastructure. Blame it on Nintendo if you want, it doesn’t matter. The fact is that without even some small portion of the online functionality that the Wii version of Guitar Hero III offers, and without the downloadable content to extend the lifespan of the game, Rock Band on Wii really doesn’t make any sense, and is going to be lost in a wave of Guitar Hero sequels. Further, the five songs the Wii version of Rock Band will have over the 360 and PS3 versions seem more like an afterthought than some kind of consolation prize.

In case you don’t know what I’m talking about, the long-discussed Wii version of Rock Band (which came out last year for everyone else) has a date and and extremely spinny press release at the Rock Band website, in which online play is conspicuously absent. Follow-up questioning by others has confirmed that there will be nothing in Rock Band for Wii to make it worth buying.

Finally, the game appears to have the one issue that makes it an automatic no-sale for me: the guitar will not use a Wii Remote, which implies to me that I can’t use my Guitar Hero guitar to play the game. I’ve heard enough about how lousy that Rock Band guitar is, so no thanks. Too bad, guys. Late to the party and not even wearing pants. Maybe this game will launch without sound, so they can fall short of Guitar Hero III in one more area.

I’m upset. Oh, it’s coming in June, by the way.

Source: RockBand.com via Game|Life.

See also:
Rock Band Confirmed for the Wii
EA still not confirming, denying Rock Band for Wii.

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Guitar Hero DS Attachment

With Guitar Hero on Tour coming to the DS this summer, one had to be happy and dismayed at the same time. On the good side, you would have Guitar Hero on the go, but you would lose out on having the guitar to play the game on. Well, a new peripheral is coming to the DS to play Guitar Hero, and the attachment is called Guitar Grip.

I have no clue what company is making this hulking plastic monstrosity, but if you want to let people know that you are rocking up a storm on Guitar Hero DS, this will surely do the trick. The device has four fret buttons and comes with a pick, that you strum on the guitar screen on the DS. It is a nice way to try and give players the Guitar Hero experience but this thing just seems very bulky. Look for it to hit shelves about the same time as Guitar Hero On Tour arrives fro the DS.

Check out more pictures and a promo video at videogameszone.de

A Glimpse Into the Future of Rock Band

When Rock Band was first announced, I, like many others, was shocked and skeptical. The game concept made perfect sense as an evolution of past games created by the fine folks at Harmonix. However, the game was so ambitious that I was uncertain how it would turn out.

Thankfully, Rock Band blew everyone out of the water upon release. Now we have to ask ourselves what we can expect from the next installment in the series. What follows are some postulations based on hopes, dreams, and insight from Harmonix project leader Greg LoPiccolo in an interview with gamesindustry.biz.

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