ACTIVISION, PONTIAC AND HOT TOPIC PARTNER ON A NATIONAL PROMOTION GIVING GUITAR HERO FANS THE CHANCE TO WIN A PONTIAC G5

Details of Guitar Hero® III: Legends of Rock Tournament
Powered By The Pontiac Garage Revealed

SUNNYVALE, CA - November 6, 2007 - To support the launch of Guitar Hero® III: Legends of Rock, Activision, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI), Pontiac and Hot Topic are teaming up on a national promotion giving Guitar Hero fans, ages 16 and older, the chance to show off their fret burning skills and win a 2008 Pontiac G5. During the one month tour, consumers around the country can play the game that everyone is talking about at Hot Topic stores in the following cities:
Date City Mall
11/8 Orland Park, IL (Chicago) Orland Square
11/12 Paramus, NJ (New York/Newark) Garden State Plaza
11/15 Buford, GA (Atlanta) Mall of Georgia
11/19 Austin, TX Barton Creek
11/26 Phoenix, AZ Metro Center Mall
11/29 Las Vegas, NV Meadows Mall
12/3 Northridge, CA (Los Angeles) Northridge Fashion Center
12/5 San Francisco, CA San Francisco Center

Qualifying will take place from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. at each stop on the tour. The top eight scores from the Qualifying Round will proceed to the Semi-Final Rounds which will immediately follow.

Winners at each of the eight stops will receive a $100 gift card from Hot Topic. Additionally, winners will submit their high score on an undisclosed song to determine the two national finalists to advance to the Grand-Finals Round. The two Grand-Finals Round participants will win a trip for two to Los Angeles where they will compete in front of the game creators at Activision for the right to drive away in a 2008 Pontiac G5.

Individuals interested in participating can pre-register for the tournament by visiting the designated Hot Topic store starting at 10:30 a.m. five days prior to the tournament date. Pre-registration will close at 5:00 p.m. the evening before the tournament date. Pre-registering is highly recommended as space is limited.

For complete rules visit participating Hot Topic stores or www.guitarhero.com.

But we would have preferred if the artist had referenced Nelly's 'Hot in Here,' because apparently that melody will be resurrected every summer from now to eternity, keeping you in constant, trend-setting fashion whenever it gets hot outside. Available now for about $17.

PS. We love you Nelly, promise.

This is Why I'm Hot [via gaygamer]

They had me at Bob Dylan.

There I was sitting on the cusp of Ubisoft's annual pressfest, just feet away from a chocolate fountain, strumming my heart out to Like a Rolling Stone on a DS hooked up to a Marshall amp. Granted, the song isn't part of the guitar simulator for the DS, but it's pretty easy to program in your own songs.

The game does a pretty good job of simulating the sound made by playing chords on an electronic guitar. You use the touch screen and either the stylus or a guitar pick to strum a digital string and then hold the D-pad in one of eight directions to play a chord. It's very easy to pre-program your chords, but once you're into a song, you can't change the chords. You can also drop some effects into your jam session with the shoulder buttons.

The game will come with a setlist which will let you see the words for the song and the timing and notes to be played as you strum. Or you can program your own songs in and sort of wing it. The game also includes a built in metronome for those completely lacking in rhythm.

While jamming on a DS may sound unwieldy, it really wasn't. Granted, you have to sort of sit and prop the DS up on your knees or place it on a table, but at least it sounds cool. I think this could be the next big thing for the DS. Brian Crecente

Called the "Cool Fan 3," this add-on connects to the console's USB port and makes sure your PLAYSTATION 3 stays nice and, well, cool. The USB connection means no external power source is needed. Is PS3 overheating a problem? Haven't really experienced it myself. Then again, I don't keep my PS3 on longer for the time it takes to play a DVD. Brian Ashcraft

PS3 Cool Fan [IT Media]

Computer and Videogames reports that Edge reports that...um, oh right, that Nick Burton, who helped develope Kameo and Starfox Adventures, is working on a original game for Xbox Live Arcade.

Burton is working with ten others on the title, according to Edge, but nothing else is known about the game. I expect nothing short of a title staring cannibalistic elven women and anthropomorphic men. It will be, I'm sure, disturbingly hot. Brian Crecente

Rare working on original XBLA game [CVG]

And not. Mark Wilson

Hot? Def, but how much is gameplay and how much is trailer fluff? If this is really how MotorStorm is going to look when I'm playing it on the Playstation 3 I can't friggin wait. Brian Crecente

Zombies ain't the only thing photographer Frank West is good at slaying, apparently. Online forums have been buzzing, saying that Capcom's Dead Rising causes the Xbox 360 to lock up and freeze. According to the Arstechnica's boards:

The Dead Rising demo killed my launch 360, so it went back with the PRP. I guess Dead Rising actually uses more than one core at a time, and really tests your 360's cooling system. I predict more 360's will fry because of Dead Rising. Because, you know, nobody fucks with the undead.

This means one thing and one thing only—time for a Kotaku poll.

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More Here [Game Break]

The PSP's Pelican Power Brick battery charger is being recalled due to potential hazard overheating. The non-Sony accessory gets hot enough to cause the battery's plastic to melt and poses as a fire threat. The Power Brick is comprised of two lithium-ion batteries mounted on plastic housing and connected via circuit board.

These chargers were available at American retailers from April 2005 right up to last month for US $20 a pop. During that period, there has been over 140 reports of overheating, one report of fire and fortunately, no injuries. And you thought your 360 got hot?

Full Story Here [Consumer Affairs] Thanks, David!

So you can imagine our consternation when we discovered that Next Generation's article really ought to be titled "Homoeroticism's Top 100 Hot Developers." There's not a chick on the list! Worse yet, it's filled with pictures of pasty dorks like John Carmack and hirsute yetis like Raph Koster! Although I suppose we can all be thankful none of them deigned to pose in a bikini.

According to Next Gen, this was their judging criterion:

We selected the Hot 100, based primarily on their studio s market success in 2005. In addition, we kept in mind any potential huge successes for 2006, as well as people who are clearly industry luminaries regardless of their recent or upcoming projects.

Boo, Next Generation. Boo!

The 100 Hottest Game Developers [Next Generation]