Guitar Hero: On Tour Official Site Now Online
The official Guitar Hero: On Tour site is now up and running but it has nothing on it, not even a press release.
March 22, 2008
Totally Awesome Guitar Hero Dude!
I'm going to have to play Guitar Hero: On Tour, every hour of everyday to get even half as good as this guy.
Guitar Hero 3, Iron Maiden's classic Number of the Beast. The score 100%. Every note perfect. Unbelievable.
Handy Music
How else can you make music on the go whilst waiting for the release of Guitar Hero: On Tour? With an iPhone!
The existence of processors in our pockets is changing music. On the Nintendo DS there is a drum machine but on the iPhone, a whole range of instruments are being born like the iGuitar and iAno (a piano). Programable high tech gadgets with quality sound in our pockets, making music on the go suddenly has a huge new range of options.
For example, look at iBand, combining iPhones playing piano and guitar with a Nintendo DS. I can't tell what the Nintendo is running but I suspect some form of synth or sequencer.
This second video show iDrummer and parodies the iPhone adverts.
Another iBand video: Life is Greater than the Internet.
Nintendo DS + The Korg MS-10 = A Synth In Your Pocket
Whilst you are waiting for Guitar Hero: On Tour, stretch your musical skills with a classic drum Machine.
The classic Korg MS-10 synthesizer is the drum machine behind tons of music from the A Flock of Seagulls to Goldfrapp. Now a version of it is going to be released on the Nintendo DS.
Source: DS-10 to Make Whole World Sing
Guitar Hero Sued
A good day / bad day for Activision. It announced the release Guitar Hero: On Tour for the Nintendo DS to popular acclaim, and got sued by Gibson Guitar.
The heart of the dispute is an alleged patent infringement according to Gibson, the game use a guitar-shaped controller in time with notes on a television screen, violate a 1999 patent for technology to simulate a musical performance. Other companies have also been dragged into the dispute including MTV Networks.
Source: Guitar Hero Lawsuit
March 21, 2008
Guitar Hero: On Tour
Yes! Guitar Hero on the Nintendo DS
Developed by the same team that Tony Hawk and Spider-Man for the Nintendo DS and Guitar Hero III for the Wii, Guitar Hero: On Tour shows every sign of being a must-have title. The game play will be the same as the full console version where you play along with the song using a special peripheral.
No one wants to carry around a full sized guitar controler just to play Guitar Hero: On Tour so a new controller has been developed and it's called the Guitar Grip. This provides the four coloured buttons found on the neck of normal guitar controller. Strumming is done using the touch screen and stylus. The new Guitar Grip has a built in strap so that you hold on to your Nintendo DS securely whilst you rock out.
Karthik Bala, CEO of Vicarious Visions the games designers, said "We quite frankly didn't know whether it would be possible to bring the core essence of the franchise to handheld and have it actually work. It was 20-something gameplay prototypes that were built, all trying different mechanics and uses of the hardware. Some were pretty cool, others were total disasters! At some point, we hit upon the idea of creating a peripheral that would have the fret buttons plugging into the GBA slot of the DS," he recalled. "We ripped apart an old GBA cartridge and did some electronics work on it to rig up a prototype device. As awkward and crude as that prototype was, that's when we knew we were onto something." And they certainly were. Guitar Hero: On Tour looks great.
There are lots of details still that have not been revealed by Activision, such as its release date. All we know is that it will be this summer. The exact track list hasn't been announced but it will contain a line-up of more than 20 licensed songs from bands as Nirvana, OK Go, and No Doubt. The single player career mode wll exist in Guitar Hero: On Tour as will multi-player options, both co-op and competitive. It sounds like in battle mode, you will be able to use your power ups to make life harder for your opponent.
