Sydney, Australia – September 4, 2008 – Guitar Hero® fans will have a unique opportunity to unleash their inner rockstar as they come together and kick out some jams with exclusive re-records by MC5’s Wayne Kramer, Motörhead and The Sex Pistols in Activision Publishing, Inc.’s (Nasdaq: ATVI) Guitar Hero® World Tour.
Just shy of the 40th anniversary of the seminal performance in October 1968 when “Kick Out the Jams” was originally recorded, founder and lead guitarist Wayne Kramer went back into the recording studio with original producer Bruce Botnick to re-record the track exclusively for Guitar Hero World Tour. Featuring the vocals recorded by Rob Tyner in 1968, Wayne Kramer was joined by friends Jerry Cantrell of Alice and Chains and Gilby Clark formerly of Guns ‘N’ Roses – at The Woodshed Recorder, studio of composer and ex-Oingo Boingo keyboardist Richard Gibbs – to update and modernise the sound without taking away from the original visceral garage sound that made MC5 famous and helped start the Punk Rock revolution.
Last year when they re-recorded “Anarchy in the U.K.” as a Guitar Hero exclusive, fellow Punk Rock band The Sex Pistols – with original members John Lydon on vocals, guitarist Steve Jones, drummer Paul Cook and producer Chris Thomas – also re-recorded “Pretty Vacant” utilising the original analog sound board (circa 1969) that was built for George Martin at Air Studios, London, England in order to maintain the classic sound. Further extending the immense depth of the Guitar Hero World Tour set list is world renowned recording artist Motörhead who returned to the studio to re-record their smash hit “Overkill,” which had originally appeared on their 1979 album, Overkill.
“We set out to deliver a soundtrack for Guitar Hero that envelopes as many genres, styles and artists as possible without limiting scope,” said Tim Riley, Vice President of Music Affairs for Activision Blizzard. “When highly respected artists such as MC5’s Wayne Kramer, Motörhead and The Sex Pistols are willing to go back into the recording studio to re-record their music exclusively for the game, the fans win by getting a unique experience of old yet new legendary sounds.”
When the house lights go down this spring, a new generation of guitarists, drummers and fearless frontmen will come together and rock with Guitar Hero World Tour. The latest instalment in the #1 best-selling video game franchise of 2007, Guitar Hero World Tour transforms music gaming by expanding Guitar Hero’s signature guitar gameplay into a cooperative band experience that combines the most advanced wireless controllers with new revolutionary online* and offline gameplay modes including Band Career and 8-player “Battle of the Bands,” which allows two full bands to compete head-to-head online for the first time ever. The game features a slick newly redesigned guitar controller, drum kit controller and a microphone, as well as an innovative Music Studio music creator that lets players compose, record, edit and share their own rock ‘n’ roll anthems. Music creators will also be able to share their recordings with their friends online through GHTunesSM where other gamers can download and play an endless supply of unique creations.
Guitar Hero World Tour is being developed by Neversoft Entertainment for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system. The Wii™ version is being developed by Vicarious Visions. The PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system version is being developed by Budcat. The game is rated “PG” (Mild themes and Violence, Sexual references and mild coarse language) by the Classification Board. For more information on Guitar Hero World Tour, please visit www.guitarhero.com.
About Activision Publishing, Inc.
Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, Activision Publishing, Inc. is a leading worldwide developer, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment and leisure products.
Activision Publishing maintains operations in the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Sweden, Spain, the Netherlands, Australia, Japan and South Korea. More information about Activision Publishing and its products can be found on the company’s website, www.activision.com.
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