Video-Game News: Metallica's Guitar Hero Album
Date : 17 Jul 2008 Category : Technology
NewsFactor NetworkRide the Lightning
Activision's Guitar Hero World Tour is one of this year's most eagerly anticipated games, but the company has big news for fans who can't wait for that: Metallica will be releasing its next album, Death Magnetic, as a Guitar Hero III download on the same day that the CD arrives in stores.
"It's exciting, 27 years into your career, to be doing something first," said Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich. "In five to 10 years it'll be a normal thing to release an album to Guitar Hero the same day as the record."
To make its big announcement, Activision eschewed a booth at the E3 Media & Business Summit in Los Angeles in favor of a reception at a former cathedral. A big chunk of the video games community -- namely, the companies that make them and the journalists who write about them -- is in Los Angeles this week for the annual gathering where most of us get our first look at games for the holiday season.
Ulrich said he's definitely noticed an upswing in Metallica's popularity since its songs started appearing in games, particularly with one part of the target audience.
"Dad's a little cooler than he was yesterday," Ulrich said. "I now have a 7-year-old whose favorite band is Mountain, and a 9-year-old who's into Black Sabbath and Danzig" -- all veterans of the GH series. "It's a great way for kids to be exposed to stuff that transcends generations."
Bond for Glory
Activision's impending merger with World of Warcraft publisher Blizzard means it's about to become even more of an industry powerhouse. Besides Guitar Hero, two of Activision's other big names, Call of Duty and Spider-Man, will be returning this fall, and the company is reviving a couple of franchises that have been dormant for a...