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Denver, 7:10 PM
Tue Dec 1
65 posts in the last 24 hours

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  • posts about #tehfuture more →

    Could Band Hero/Guitar Hero 5 Brouhaha Cause Future Problems For Activision

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    Dsmvwl  Admin  Promote to frontpage Approve user Ban user ×
    Image of LanciePants LanciePants
    11/06/09

    In reply to Could Band Hero/Guitar Hero 5 Brouhaha Cause Future Problems For Activision
    I think they (Activision) have less to fear from sensitive artists, then from people not buying their rythm games.

    If posed with one of two possible outcomes:

    1. Piss of No Doubt, they refuse to do business with you ever again.
    2. Retain 2008's sales numbers.

    Guess which Sir Kotick would pick.. #guitarhero5
     Reply
    LanciePants was starred LanciePants was unstarred
    Image of Invisible-Echidna Invisible-Echidna
    11/06/09

    @LanciePants: But, as they said, musicians have friends... it could cause a chain of shit hitting the fan. music game, minus artists, equals face plant. I think keeping artists happy goes hand-in-hand with keeping sales up.
    Even if you take the band's network out of the question, bands have devoted fans. Like when some people from the Nirvana community had an uproar about Cobain's likeness being a puppet in GH5. So, I think Activision has to worry about keeping artists happy for more than one reason. #guitarhero5
     Reply
    Invisible-Echidna was starred Invisible-Echidna was unstarred
    Image of kitsuneconundrum kitsuneconundrum
    11/06/09

    In reply to Could Band Hero/Guitar Hero 5 Brouhaha Cause Future Problems For Activision
    Sometimes you just have to afford the goodwill to do business but Activision seems to lacking that alot lately. #guitarhero5
     Reply
    kitsuneconundrum was starred kitsuneconundrum was unstarred
    Image of SacGamer SacGamer
    11/06/09

    In reply to Could Band Hero/Guitar Hero 5 Brouhaha Cause Future Problems For Activision
    Not really. In a year only the real fans of these games will be left anyway. #guitarhero5
     Reply
    Paul_Is_Drunk promoted this comment SacGamer was starred SacGamer was unstarred
    Image of Paul_Is_Drunk Paul_Is_Drunk
    11/06/09

    @SacGamer: How does that have anything to do with getting artists to sign over their likenesses for use in the game, even after other artists start suing them for inappropriate usage? #guitarhero5
     Reply
    Paul_Is_Drunk was starred Paul_Is_Drunk was unstarred
    Image of SacGamer SacGamer
    11/06/09

    @Paul_Is_Drunk: Real fans of these games don't really care about having the likenesses of the artists in the game, that's how. #guitarhero5
     Reply
    SacGamer was starred SacGamer was unstarred
    Image of Paul_Is_Drunk Paul_Is_Drunk
    11/06/09

    @SacGamer: I take it you've never heard of the "no true Scotsman" fallacy. #guitarhero5
     Reply
    Paul_Is_Drunk was starred Paul_Is_Drunk was unstarred
    Image of AoE AoE
    11/06/09

    In reply to Could Band Hero/Guitar Hero 5 Brouhaha Cause Future Problems For Activision
    I think the bigger news here is that Courtney Love is a "well respected artist"?!?! Since when has this been the case? #guitarhero5
     Reply
    spiderweb1986 promoted this comment AoE was starred AoE was unstarred
    Image of spiderweb1986 spiderweb1986
    11/06/09

    @AoE: *cough*NIRVANA*cough* #guitarhero5
     Reply
    spiderweb1986 was starred spiderweb1986 was unstarred
    Image of ordchaos ordchaos
    11/06/09

    In reply to Could Band Hero/Guitar Hero 5 Brouhaha Cause Future Problems For Activision
    Has anyone determined yet when they talk about music game sales being down, if they just mean in terms of revenue? Shouldn't the peak year, then, have been the first release of full band games on respective platforms, when everyone had to buy new plastic instruments?

    If most people are buying $50 or $60 games, instead of $150-$200 full instrument packs, isn't that good for a 40% decline in revenue? #guitarhero5
     Reply
    Karlott promoted this comment ordchaos was starred ordchaos was unstarred
    Image of Karlott Karlott
    11/06/09

    @ordchaos: I think so. Last year I bought a GHWT kit as well as RB2 game with my new 360, this year I bought GH5 and RB Beatles but no kits. Although if it is true I guess the really expensive Beatles kits didn't sell as well as they probably hoped. #guitarhero5
     Reply
    Karlott was starred Karlott was unstarred
    Image of Handsome Al Handsome Al
    11/06/09

    In reply to Could Band Hero/Guitar Hero 5 Brouhaha Cause Future Problems For Activision
    This is why I like RBs model for licensing artist. "We'll pay you $$ so we can use your songs and your songs only." #guitarhero5
     Reply
    Super Violent St. Cannon- GOTY Edition ([k]) promoted this comment Handsome Al was starred Handsome Al was unstarred
    Image of retronaut retronaut
    11/06/09

    In reply to Could Band Hero/Guitar Hero 5 Brouhaha Cause Future Problems For Activision
    No Doubt is a big name??!?

    What are Beatles and Rolling Stones then? #guitarhero5
     Reply
    BoTheDestroyer promoted this comment retronaut was starred retronaut was unstarred
    Image of G1bblets G1bblets
    11/06/09

    @retronaut: Yah No Doubt is a big name, a grammy winning name. As big as the Beatles and Rolling Stones no but still big none the less. #guitarhero5
     Reply
    spiderweb1986 promoted this comment G1bblets was starred G1bblets was unstarred
    Image of Inkmonkey Inkmonkey
    11/06/09

    @retronaut: You recognized the name "No Doubt" and had some kind of opinion on them, right? That makes them a big name. Even if someone doesn't like or respect the band, the fact that they know who they are at all carries a lot of weight. #guitarhero5
     Reply
    spiderweb1986 promoted this comment Inkmonkey was starred Inkmonkey was unstarred
    Image of John_Norad John_Norad
    11/06/09

    @retronaut: Bigger names. #guitarhero5
     Reply
    John_Norad was starred John_Norad was unstarred
    Image of TC TC
    11/06/09

    In reply to Could Band Hero/Guitar Hero 5 Brouhaha Cause Future Problems For Activision
    This seems standard in many of their latest music games. Even DJ Hero does this in a way using unlockable DJ's to spin other DJ's work. #guitarhero5
     Reply
    TC was starred TC was unstarred
    Image of Friedhamster Friedhamster
    11/06/09

    @TC: Daft Punk wouldn't touch about 90% of the trash on DJ Hero #guitarhero5
     Reply
    Friedhamster was starred Friedhamster was unstarred
    Image of KofreZ KofreZ
    11/06/09

    @Friedhamster: Having just played it, they would not even touch 3/4 of their own songs in that game... #guitarhero5
     Reply
    KofreZ was starred KofreZ was unstarred
    Image of Friedhamster Friedhamster
    11/06/09

    @KofreZ: Yeah, that's exactly what I'm saying.
    Most of the songs were mixed by some FSG. Whatever that is. Oh, FSG = FreeStyleGames, duuur-hur #guitarhero5
     Reply
    Friedhamster was starred Friedhamster was unstarred
    Image of Mentuss Mentuss
    11/06/09

    @Friedhamster: @KofreZ: All the mixes I've heard in DJ Hero sound far too "clinical" to me, made on a computer instead of a couple of turntables and a mixer.

    The mundane scratching sounds, the irritating s-s-s-samples, it's really an insult to turntablism in my eyes.

    But, hey, I guess 99% of people playing it are not "into" that type of stuff to know the difference. #guitarhero5
     Reply
    Mentuss was starred Mentuss was unstarred
    Image of Friedhamster Friedhamster
    11/06/09

    @Mentuss: I'm just happy Flava Flav isn't a MUST. Blows it defaults to his dumb voice though. #guitarhero5
     Reply
    TC promoted this comment Friedhamster was starred Friedhamster was unstarred
    Image of TC TC
    11/08/09

    @Friedhamster: I think you can sample yourself using a mic in the game. If not, it should. #guitarhero5
     Reply
    TC was starred TC was unstarred
    Image of Brian Claude Robbins Brian Claude Robbins
    11/06/09

    In reply to Could Band Hero/Guitar Hero 5 Brouhaha Cause Future Problems For Activision
    I wouldn't say Courtney Love is a "well-respected" artist. #guitarhero5
     Reply
    BoTheDestroyer approved this comment Brian Claude Robbins was starred Brian Claude Robbins was unstarred
    Image of doubtful doubtful
    11/06/09

    @Brian Claude Robbins: But Dave Grohl certainly is, and he supported her position. #guitarhero5
     Reply
    doubtful was starred doubtful was unstarred
    Image of Th12eat Th12eat
    11/06/09

    In reply to Could Band Hero/Guitar Hero 5 Brouhaha Cause Future Problems For Activision
    They need to listen to Danny Leaver with LittleBitPlanet ... They've fragmented the market so ridiculously much it's completely un-repairable.

    In the words of Jon Stewart: "Stop ... your--your hurting America." #guitarhero5
     Reply
    thespyderboy promoted this comment Th12eat was starred Th12eat was unstarred
    Image of meteora3255 meteora3255
    11/06/09

    In reply to Could Band Hero/Guitar Hero 5 Brouhaha Cause Future Problems For Activision
    Two separate points to make on this one.

    First off, I really don't think this is going to be an issue. I can't believe Activision would have breached a contract between either No Doubt or Courtney Love, they just didn't explicitly state in those contracts what songs their avatars can play. As long as Activision continues to mail the checks out on time I don't see any major label musician turning them down. Besides, and this is probably most important, Activision could care less about the artists, the record label is who Activision has to negotiate with for song rights, unless its a rare case of an independent artist or an artist so big they can afford to own their music they aren't really important. Even if you can't play as them in future games I have never thought "it would be awesome if my character looked like the artist" while playing Rock Band, its about what songs I have to play.

    As for the lackluster sales I think that is also Activision's fault (for the most part). Activision has saturated the market and provides almost no DLC for their music games (compared to Rock Band). If you want new tracks you buy another $60 game. Harmonix, while not completely innocent on the market saturation (Lego Rock Band I am looking at you) at least provides a pretty substantial alternative. If you don't want to drop $60 for a new game just get on the music store there is bound to be something you like on it. In fact not releasing RB3 this year was the best thing I think they could have done. I could get used to an every other year RB schedule with band centric games thrown in between. #guitarhero5
     Reply
    thespyderboy promoted this comment meteora3255 was starred meteora3255 was unstarred
    Image of Jonny_eh Jonny_eh
    11/06/09

    @meteora3255: The record labels can't sell the likenesses of the artists. Activision has to sign separate contracts with the artists for that. The record labels only have rights to the music. (I assume)
     Reply
    Edited by Jonny_eh at 11/06/09 1:32 PM Jonny_eh was starred Jonny_eh was unstarred
    Image of LanciePants LanciePants
    11/06/09

    @Jonny_eh:

    I'm pretty sure that's a wrong assumption on your part.

    ASSUMPTION VS. ASSUMPTION

    Ironic huh? #guitarhero5
     Reply
    LanciePants was starred LanciePants was unstarred
    Image of meteora3255 meteora3255
    11/06/09

    @Jonny_eh: I wasn't referring to the likenesses at that point, just the music. I was stating that at the end of the day the consumer wants the song more than they want digital versions of the band so Activision doesn't really have to care about the band's feelings as long as the record companies still license the songs.
     Reply
    Edited by meteora3255 at 11/06/09 3:23 PM meteora3255 was starred meteora3255 was unstarred
    Image of Jonny_eh Jonny_eh
    11/06/09

    @meteora3255: I see, good point! #guitarhero5
     Reply
    Jonny_eh was starred Jonny_eh was unstarred
    Image of Phydeaux Phydeaux
    11/06/09

    In reply to Could Band Hero/Guitar Hero 5 Brouhaha Cause Future Problems For Activision
    Yup, it doesn't matter of Courtney Love and No Doubt are right or not.

    Even Dave Grohl has expressed some frustrated sentiment at Activision/Neversoft.

    Activision is running around crying like a baby saying "we have a contract! we have a contract!" and really, what they portray to these artists and then what they actually do are two totally different things. They're thinking they're going to get the Hendrix treatment, and they're not getting it. That's Activision/Neversoft's bad. They're misrepresenting the lingo in their contract.

    And at the end of the day, even if Activision wins in court, they'll lose in the field. No other artist is going to be willing to sell their image if they know it's going to get taken advantage of.

    Well, except for Nickelback. Hope you guys are braced for that. #guitarhero5
     Reply
    spiderweb1986 promoted this comment Phydeaux was starred Phydeaux was unstarred
    Image of spiderweb1986 spiderweb1986
    11/06/09

    @Phydeaux: No other artist is going to be willing to sell their image if they know it's going to get taken advantage of.

    ...which means we might get real-world musicians in Rock Band 3, if Harmonix is interested. I haven't heard anyone complain about the Beatles game or Lego Rock Band yet. #guitarhero5
     Reply
    spiderweb1986 was starred spiderweb1986 was unstarred
    Image of James Henderson James Henderson
    11/06/09

    @Phydeaux: Dave Grohl's all buddy-like with Harmonix though so he'd throw a wobbler at Activision anyway.

    And anyone who knows legal stuff knows right well that contracts and agreements are so filled with jargon that the vast majority don't even know what they're signing on for, so it's a bit of a black-hole really. #guitarhero5
     Reply
    Phydeaux promoted this comment James Henderson was starred James Henderson was unstarred
    Image of Phydeaux Phydeaux
    11/06/09

    @James Henderson: Fair enough, but I still hold firm that Activision set a precedent in GH:WT with dead celebs when they put Hendrix on a stage, sing his songs, and then leave. I feel highly that they showed these various artists Hendrix as an example, only singing his own songs, and had them sign off on what they were portraying. The gimmicky "oooh! let's use them for everything!" was more than likely never discussed at final signing, or was very likely misrepresented. #guitarhero5
     Reply
    Phydeaux was starred Phydeaux was unstarred
    Image of -MasterDex- -MasterDex-
    11/06/09

    In reply to Could Band Hero/Guitar Hero 5 Brouhaha Cause Future Problems For Activision
    This year, music game sales are behind 2008's retail pace by 40 percent.

    Which is further proof that the "milk!milk!milk!" strategy doesn't work for very long. You can only milk a cow for so long before allowing them to rest, games are no different. #guitarhero5
     Reply
    -MasterDex- was starred -MasterDex- was unstarred
    Image of D-K, Anarchist D-K, Anarchist
    11/06/09


    @-MasterDex-: It depends on the cow, as well as the way in which it's milked.. #guitarhero5
     Reply
    D-K, Anarchist was starred D-K, Anarchist was unstarred
    Image of -MasterDex- -MasterDex-
    11/06/09

    @D-K, a burning sensation: lol, true. #guitarhero5
     Reply
    -MasterDex- was starred -MasterDex- was unstarred
    Image of WFROSE WFROSE
    11/06/09

    @D-K, a burning sensation: If a cow has mastitis, you can get a good deal more milk from it... #guitarhero5
     Reply
    D-K, a burning sensation promoted this comment WFROSE was starred WFROSE was unstarred
    Image of D-K, Anarchist D-K, Anarchist
    11/06/09

    @WFROSE: You had me googling something I knew I didn't want to know..

    I'm not gonna thank you for this knowledge, i'm going to remember you, and next time we meet, i'll have prepared a mental image for you so horrifying, so utterly nausceating, you'll think twice before letting our paths cross again.

    Fairly warned, be thee, says I.. #guitarhero5
     Reply
    D-K, Anarchist was starred D-K, Anarchist was unstarred
    Image of WFROSE WFROSE
    11/06/09

    @D-K, a burning sensation: There's a reason I aquired a taste for soy milk... #guitarhero5
     Reply
    WFROSE was starred WFROSE was unstarred
    Image of WFROSE WFROSE
    11/06/09

    @WFROSE: Both from a cow's udders...
     Reply
    D-K, a burning sensation promoted this comment WFROSE was starred WFROSE was unstarred
    Image of D-K, Anarchist D-K, Anarchist
    11/06/09

    @WFROSE: x_x

    it's just applejuice
    it's just applejuice
    it's just applejuice
    it's just applejuice
    it's just applejuice
    it's just applejuice

    *shivers*
     Reply
    Edited by D-K, Anarchist at 11/06/09 3:12 PM D-K, Anarchist was starred D-K, Anarchist was unstarred
    Image of Communist Pope Communist Pope
    11/06/09

    In reply to Could Band Hero/Guitar Hero 5 Brouhaha Cause Future Problems For Activision
    And on the other hand, you have Rock Band getting accolades from video game players, music fans and musicians alike for the loving, respectful way they treated the Beatles. Does anyone know if Harmonix is being smart enough to limit the Lego versions of Iggy Pop, Freddie Mercury, etc. to their own songs? #guitarhero5
     Reply
    Communist Pope was starred Communist Pope was unstarred
    Image of Phydeaux Phydeaux
    11/06/09

    @Communist Pope: In Lego Rock Band? Yes. But their faces and stuff can be mixed with other minifigs iirc. #guitarhero5
     Reply
    Communist Pope promoted this comment Phydeaux was starred Phydeaux was unstarred
    Image of Archaotic Archaotic
    11/06/09

    @Communist Pope: I would assume that even if the characters aren't limited to their own songs, Harmonix cared enough about what the people they've contracted think about the project to ASK them first.

    This is why RB: Beatles songs weren't compatible with RB2, after all. #guitarhero5
     Reply
    Archaotic was starred Archaotic was unstarred
    Image of AndrewH13 AndrewH13
    11/06/09

    @Communist Pope: To me, Beatles Rock Band got it all right. It was fun, true to the source and (most importantly) respectful. There's simply no respect for the artists in Activision's franchises.

    I would rather play as Kurt, Dave and Krist for 3 Nirvana songs, in an actual recreated Seattle venue, than for 100 songs with a bunch of made up idiots in a bunch of made up places. #guitarhero5
     Reply
    Communist Pope promoted this comment AndrewH13 was starred AndrewH13 was unstarred
    Image of Disa Disa
    11/06/09

    @Communist Pope: Yeah, the musican Lego minifigs only work with their own songs and when you play those songs you can only play as those musicians. You can't use your own created characters or anyone else to play those songs. #guitarhero5
     Reply
    Communist Pope promoted this comment Disa was starred Disa was unstarred
    Image of Communist Pope Communist Pope
    11/06/09

    @Disa:
    @AndrewH13:
    @Phydeaux:

    Thanks! Doesn't surprise me at all. From day one, Harmonix has shown time and time again that they're not just in the music game business to make money, but because they have a profound love of the music they're representing. Which obviously isn't the case with Activision. #guitarhero5
     Reply
    Communist Pope was starred Communist Pope was unstarred
    Image of GE128 GE128
    11/06/09

    @Communist Pope: Seems they love Legos a lot too. #guitarhero5
     Reply
    Communist Pope promoted this comment GE128 was starred GE128 was unstarred
    Image of Mentuss Mentuss
    11/06/09

    @Communist Pope: There's a post by NiceMissMayonnaise, who I assume is a member of the TT Games team that developed Lego Rock Band for Harmonix in a previous comments section:

    [kotaku.com]

    "Just as well this all came up before we finished LEGO Rock Band - I don't think it's clear whether we thought we could use likenesses throughout the game, or just for the songs they sing, but beforehand all the likeness characters had their parts available in the customisation builder. Now? Queen sing Queen songs, Blur Blur etc, each band to their own songs and that's it."
     Reply
    Communist Pope promoted this comment Edited by Mentuss at 11/06/09 1:39 PM Mentuss was starred Mentuss was unstarred
    Image of Foxstar is in love with Kotaku's two Brians. Foxstar is in love with Kotaku's two Brians.
    11/06/09

    In reply to Could Band Hero/Guitar Hero 5 Brouhaha Cause Future Problems For Activision
    Courtney Love is well respected? Even her fellow cokeheads await with baited breath the day she OD's and the photos end up spread across the internet.

    And if they piss off the prima donnas, there's countless lesser known artists waiting to step up, who sound a hell of a lot better and are way cheaper. #guitarhero5
     Reply
    Foxstar is in love with Kotaku's two Brians. was starred Foxstar is in love with Kotaku's two Brians. was unstarred
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