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DS

ESRB Gives Rating to Guitar Hero: Modern Hits

by Jared Rosenberg - December 29, 2008, 2:00 pm EST
Total comments: 37 Source: ESRB

The Entertainment Software Rating Board has leaked the existence, and E 10+ rating, of a new Guitar Hero title for the DS.

Guitar Hero Modern Hits for the Nintendo DS was recently rated E 10+ by the ESRB. Activision-Blizzard has not made an official announcement for a new Guitar Hero bearing the Modern Hits subtitle. However, Activision did file a trademark for the title in October.

The short synopsis of Modern Hits from the ESRB website does not make it seem like the game will revolutionize the Guitar Hero series: "players follow on-screen prompts to hit notes in-time with the music and are scored based on their accuracy." However, the ESRB does give some insight into the track list for Modern Hits by mentioning some of the objectionable lyrics that led to the game's E 10+ rating. Expect the game to include Franz Ferdinand's "The Fallen," Sum 41's "Still Waiting," and Finger Eleven's "Paralyzer."

The last two Guitar Hero games for the DS utilized a Guitar Grip accessory that slides into the GBA slots of the DS and DSLite. However, Nintendo's upcoming DSi version of their portable game player does not feature a GBA slot. Whether Activision has found a workaround to this obstacle is unknown, as is any release date for Modern Hits.

Talkback

AVDecember 29, 2008

so is this the last game for DS ? My guess is Feb or early March release date.

If I was Activation I would just put lots of great songs on it, and call it a day. Don't even bother with DSi version. Those 3 versions should sell well enough.

Anyway the whole play fake instruments to music fad should die soon enough

vuduDecember 29, 2008

Over 90 million DS systems have been sold.  Over 30 million have been sold in the USA alone.

Activision isn't going to simply stop making DS Guitar Hero games once the DSi comes out.  As long as people continue to buy them (and they will) Activision willl continue to make GH games for the DS and DS Lite.

Quote from: Mr.

Anyway the whole play fake instruments to music fad should die soon enough

You think the music genre is on its way out?

King of TwitchDecember 29, 2008

People have been have been banging drums for 10,000 years, you'd think they'd get tired of it any day now

NinGurl69 *hugglesDecember 29, 2008

It'll crash harder than the non-casual industry.

Well duh, Activision's going to kill it.
What was the statement from a while back? Doubling or tripling last year's output? 9 titles in 2009 or something?

We've already heard of GH: Metallica and now this. I'd assume another mainline GH game, and probably DJ Hero or some crap.

NWR_pap64Pedro Hernandez, Contributing WriterDecember 30, 2008

What I find annoying is that Activision has yet to learn about what happened to Tony Hawk. It too was a successful franchise that they ruined by releasing yearly versions non stop. The same will happen to GH if they don't do anything about it.

What do they do instead? Treat GH as a "platform" and depend on DLC?

LuigiHannDecember 30, 2008

Quote from: Kairon

What do they do instead? Treat GH as a "platform" and depend on DLC?

That wouldn't be good for anyone except gamers.

Its not necessarily about the yearly iterations, its about releasing too many in a year.
Tony Hawk was run into the ground with yearly editions, but I think Guitar Hero would be fine with one yearly console game and one yearly DS game.
Its the Guitar Hero: Metallica and the multiple other promised games that worry me.
They're treating Guitar Hero as an expansive franchise, but when every game seems to be more of the same with a few tweaks, that's going to get old fast.

Ian SaneDecember 30, 2008

Guitar Hero is going to kill itself very soon.  Rock Band might still be okay though since it hasn't gotten milked nearly as hard but GH might take RB down with it.

I don't think rhythm games are going to die.  We all know that when Guitar Hero was getting praise for being innovative that it was a hunk of crap because games like that have existed for years and Guitar Freaks was even doing guitar before GH was.  It's just that right now that genre has mainstream popularity when in the past games like DDR, Beatmania, Taiko Drum Master, Samba de Amigo were like super hardcore games that required expensive hardware to play.  I think those will still exist and GH and RB might still exist.  It's just the rhythm game mania going on right now will eventually die down.

Activision's business model though is so self-destructive.  The whole thing is based on riding a franchise until it burns out.  But then you need to make new franchises to replace them.  They'll eventually kill themselves doing that.  Hard to believe that back in the Atari days Activision was probably the most respected console developer in the world.

LuigiHannDecember 30, 2008

I hope this game features David Bowie's "Modern Love" as a bonus track

Nobody wants to see this game. If the "Modern" and "2000's" tracks in Decades was any indication, the last ten years have been nothing but SUCK compared to the three decades before them. I do not look forward to "Modern Hits."

As to the longevity of the brand, I do think Activision is branching too much. You've got the ultimately painful DS games, the main "canon" series, and the band-specific offshoots (Aerosmith and Metallica). I think DLC should rule the Guitar Hero world, and the current game (World Tour) should just stay alive forever. You can always upgrade the equipment later, if need be. The software is fine--there's no need to make a "sequel."

Quote from: Halbred

As to the longevity of the brand, I do think Activision is branching too much. You've got the ultimately painful DS games, the main "canon" series, and the band-specific offshoots (Aerosmith and Metallica). I think DLC should rule the Guitar Hero world, and the current game (World Tour) should just stay alive forever. You can always upgrade the equipment later, if need be. The software is fine--there's no need to make a "sequel."

But it's hard for Activision, or their developers, to break out of the holiday game every year cycle. Also, the suits must despise the thought of not having yearly releases and leaving money, however much, on the table.

Ian SaneDecember 30, 2008

Quote:

Nobody wants to see this game. If the "Modern" and "2000's" tracks in Decades was any indication, the last ten years have been nothing but SUCK compared to the three decades before them. I do not look forward to "Modern Hits."

Did you just discover this now?  We were like three months into 2000 and I was already declaring this decade to be musically worthless. ;)

Though somebody does want to see this game.  My opinion that rock music of this decade absolutely sucks and anyone who likes it is a stupid moron is, well, not popular with many people I meet that consider acts like Nickleback to be their favourite band.  You know when you encounter a gamer whose knowledge of gaming covers only about the last three years and literally nothing else?  That's common with music, too.  So many people I know live in the present and lack the interest or knowledge to care about anything else.  If it's even slightly old they either forgot about it or were not aware of it when it was current.  When I first really got into music my knowledge was limited to about a three year span since that's what would have been played on a current hits radio station.  With research I expanded my knowledge and thus expanded my tastes.  I did this when I was around 14.  No one else in my class did this.  They were arguing that the Smashing Pumpkins song Tonight, Tonight was cool and 1979 was old even though they were on the same f*cking album.  I'm on this site so I'm a bit of a geek.  Geeks will put the effort in to learn, most peole won't.

So if your knowledge of rock music is limited entirely to this decade, and if you're a teenager that's very likely the case, you're going to love the sh!t out of 2000's music because you're oblivious to most music from the other decades.  If it ain't in a commercial or a TV show or a movie or you heard it played at a sporting event, you don't know it.  Remove the knowledge of better music and Nickleback does start to sound like the greatest band in the world.  I was there.  I used to like The Offspring. ;)

Though I've read that iTunes sales have gone up for songs featured in Guitar Hero and Rock Band games.  For younger people with limited music knowledge these games have exposed them to a lot of music they otherwise wouldn't hear.

Good point. Gotta appreciate that.

Funny thing, too. I think Nickelback is one of the better bands of the last decade. Sure, they're not...you know...Pink Floyd, but between Nickelback and Jimmy Eat World? I think it's pretty obvious!

LuigiHannDecember 30, 2008

Quote from: Halbred

Good point. Gotta appreciate that.

Funny thing, too. I think Nickelback is one of the better bands of the last decade. Sure, they're not...you know...Pink Floyd, but between Nickelback and Jimmy Eat World? I think it's pretty obvious!

As a big fan of Jimmy Eat World's one song, I'm quite offended

EasyCureDecember 30, 2008

Quote from: LuigiHann

Quote from: Halbred

Good point. Gotta appreciate that.

Funny thing, too. I think Nickelback is one of the better bands of the last decade. Sure, they're not...you know...Pink Floyd, but between Nickelback and Jimmy Eat World? I think it's pretty obvious!

As a big fan of Jimmy Eat World's one song, I'm quite offended

Which song?

Quote from: Halbred

Good point. Gotta appreciate that.

Funny thing, too. I think Nickelback is one of the better bands of the last decade. Sure, they're not...you know...Pink Floyd, but between Nickelback and Jimmy Eat World? I think it's pretty obvious!

I hate Nickelback. Jimmy Eat World is ok. I have a pretty diverse taste in music but i know i can still be pretty close minded when certain things piss me off. Certain things like a band has a mainstream hit, then every single they release from that point on sounds EXACTLY like that last hit.

Now I'm not 16 anymore so JEW gets listened to far less then some of the better artists i grew into, but I'll give them more credit than Nickelback as a 'good band' simply because they didn't release the same tune over and over again to the mainstream. I know the singles aren't always representative of whole albums, but it irks me when a modern band puts out single after single of essentially the same song that made them famous among the mainstream audiences.

Examples:

Nickelback: How You Remind me, Someday, Photograph, Far Away.

I omitted a few singles, but i sure its not a bias, just look at the Chart Positions of each single and see where the ones i left off are on the list.

Jimmy Eat World*: The Middle, Sweetness, Pain, Work, Big Casino

*JEW hasn't made the charts as many times or charted as high but a quick look at the ones that did become successful, you'll hear something in each that differentiates itself from the last. Unlike Nickelback, chances of you hearing the music (sans vocals since they're always the most recognizable) and thinking "oh this has to be Jimmy Eat World" is slim.

/music rant.

Quote from: Ian

Quote:

Nobody wants to see this game. If the "Modern" and "2000's" tracks in Decades was any indication, the last ten years have been nothing but SUCK compared to the three decades before them. I do not look forward to "Modern Hits."

Did you just discover this now?  We were like three months into 2000 and I was already declaring this decade to be musically worthless. ;)

Though somebody does want to see this game.  My opinion that rock music of this decade absolutely sucks and anyone who likes it is a stupid moron is, well, not popular with many people I meet that consider acts like Nickleback to be their favourite band.

Listen
To
More**
Bloc
Party

**This video a MUST if you like old Godzilla-like monster movies!

Ian they may not be your style but at least give them a shot, this one band gives me hope in newer bands. Besides how can you not like a band that wears things like this to festivals:

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l28/ThreeImaginaryBoys/blocpartybowser.jpg

LuigiHannDecember 31, 2008

Quote:

   

Quote:

As a big fan of Jimmy Eat World's one song, I'm quite offended

Which song?

The Middle. I was kind of jokingly suggesting that it's their only song... I've never really checked out their other stuff, but maybe I will now.

EasyCureDecember 31, 2008

Guess I made it easy for ya then, huh?

Ian SaneDecember 31, 2008

Quote:

Sure, they're not...you know...Pink Floyd, but between Nickelback and Jimmy Eat World? I think it's pretty obvious!

To me this is like deciding between having a hot poker shoved up my ass or down my peehole.  I think I know which would be less unpleasant but does it really matter?

I once caught my friend listening to... I can't believe I'm writing this... MAROON 5 and HE used the "compared to other current bands they're quite good" argument.  The guy's in my band too so for him to be listening to that crap was quite alarming.  Thoughts started racing through my head.  Is Maroon 5 going to start influencing his songwriting?  Is it going to affect our sound?  If we somehow ever made the big time would he reveal this in an interview and completely squash our credibility?  No one else on the band likes anything this embarassing.  I mean you've got two Cure fans, a guy whose sole musical influence seems to be the music from DOOM, and a Maroon 5 fan?!  It doesn't add up.

For me "best of the worst" isn't a good enough excuse to like something.  I'd rather be single than date a fat girl and rather listen to nothing than listen to crappy music.

EasyCureDecember 31, 2008

And not a word on a good NEW band i tried to turn Ian on to. Guess i'm stuck as labeling you a fan of OLD MAN ROCK since you seem unwilling to try it out.

Oh well, i should of known better.

UncleBobRichard Cook, Guest ContributorDecember 31, 2008

Quote from: Ian

I'd rather be single than date a fat girl

This says a whole lot about you right there, Ian.

vuduDecember 31, 2008

Quote from: Ian

We were like three months into 2000 and I was already declaring this decade to be musically worthless. ;)

Do you like anything new?  It seems to me that you're not happy with the way your life turned out so you hate everything made after you turned 16.  You can't continue to relive your childhood by hating on everything that's come out since.

King of TwitchDecember 31, 2008

It reminds me of a bit from Seinfeld, how old people ride out the best era of their lives (clothes-wise) to the very end. It applies to music and videogames too. Don't believe me, just give it a few years

LuigiHannDecember 31, 2008

Modern music is largely mediocre, and people trying to claim that mediocre and uninspired bands like Maroon 5 or Nickleback are "terrible" or "offensive" are just being drama queens.

One of the radio stations up here plays "classic rock," which most people take to mean oldies, but we already have an oldies station. The classic rock station plays largely ROCK songs, like AC/DC, Metallica, etc. Well, one time they played "Enter Sandman" and followed it up with "Stacy's Mom."

"Stacy's Mom" is not a terrible song, but I laughed at the sheer ridiculousness of the pairing.

LuigiHannDecember 31, 2008

This conversation reminds me, I need to add "The 2000s" to my list of "decades that are considered by some to be devoid of musical merit." The list currently includes the 80s, the 70s, and the 90s.

Hey now, the 70's and 80's were awesome for different reasons. 70's is when rock really started to take off, and the 80's was the decade of experimentation, niche partitioning, and the second British Invasion.

Ian SaneDecember 31, 2008

Quote:

And not a word on a good NEW band i tried to turn Ian on to.

I'm at work right now so I can't listen to them right now.  I'll try to remember when I get home.

Quote:

Do you like anything new?  It seems to me that you're not happy with the way your life turned out so you hate everything made after you turned 16.  You can't continue to relive your childhood by hating on everything that's come out since.

Tons of great movies are released every year.  For a brief while there wasn't much on TV I was interested in as the reality shows really started taking over but then in the last few years new shows have come out that I follow every week.  I still buy videogames on a regular basis and enjoy them, just not as frequently as before.

Quote:

Modern music is largely mediocre, and people trying to claim that mediocre and uninspired bands like Maroon 5 or Nickleback are "terrible" or "offensive" are just being drama queens.

Why put up with mediocre?  I don't listen to mediocre acts from the other decades, so why would I make an exception for this one?

A 2000's band that's really good?  The Organ.  They broke up though after only one album and one EP.  Damn shame because Memorize the City is one of the best songs I've ever heard.  They certainly had tons of potential.

IceColdDecember 31, 2008

I've gotten used to the fact that Ian dramatically overemphasises his arguments into useless hyperboles whenever he wants to make a point.

EasyCureDecember 31, 2008

Quote from: UncleBob

Quote from: Ian

I'd rather be single than date a fat girl

This says a whole lot about you right there, Ian.

yeah.. beggers can't be choosers buddy.

Quote from: vudu

Quote from: Ian

We were like three months into 2000 and I was already declaring this decade to be musically worthless. ;)

Do you like anything new?  It seems to me that you're not happy with the way your life turned out so you hate everything made after you turned 16.  You can't continue to relive your childhood by hating on everything that's come out since.

Ian has 1985 Syndrome

Also he's a racist. I knew I shouldn't of posted that pic.

Just playing Ian we loveto hate you. Things would be lame without you around.

UltimatePartyBearJanuary 06, 2009

We're posting music videos from youtube and discussing 2000s rock in this thread?  And to think I thought it would be hard to work this into conversation when I got back from vacation.

The Darkness.  I Believe in a Thing Called Love.  2003.  Really.  And yes, that's a giant enemy crab.

EasyCureJanuary 06, 2009

Quote from: UltimatePartyBear

We're posting music videos from youtube and discussing 2000s rock in this thread?  And to think I thought it would be hard to work this into conversation when I got back from vacation.

The Darkness.  I Believe in a Thing Called Love.  2003.  Really.  And yes, that's a giant enemy crab.

No... just no

I had a burned copy of their cd, it was ok as long as i kept pretending they weren't a 'serious' band

Oh and update, via PM Ian admits liking a NEW band (bloc party, the ones i linked to) so hoorah! There is some light at the end of the tunnel afterall.

LuigiHannJanuary 06, 2009

Incidentally, that song is in Guitar Hero On Tour Decades. It's also one of the most fun songs to sing in the Karaoke Revolution series.

Great song. I was hoping that The Darkness would achieve some level of popularity, because--and I might get roasted for this--they might be the closest thing to Queen we've gotten since Freddy died.

Ian SaneJanuary 07, 2009

Yeah The Darkness was quite good.  Not good enough that I would go to a concert of their's or anything but I liked the hits off that first album.  It bothered me though that the rockiest band I had heard in years was kind of a joke band.

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