You may recall Activision announcing a couple months back that no further DLC would be released for the Guitar Hero franchise.  Desperate fans cried out across the interweb, and the powers that be relented, releasing more new songs to download once again.  Alas, even the reprieve turned out to be quite brief, and no more DLC is scheduled to be released.  

Thanks to massive fan support, (or an overwhelming desire to cash in) DLC for the Guitar Hero franchise is not quite dead yet.  We previously reported that Activision had dissolved their Guitar Hero division in response to the poor performance of music games in general.   New DLC was no longer going to be available after February.  It seems that pumping out a new game every couple of months has repercussions when considering the rule of supply and demand.  (When's that new Call of Duty game coming out again?)

Today is the day the music died.  Activision has dissolved the Guitar Hero business unit within its company, laying off almost 500 employees and effectively ending the franchise...for now.  This decision affects both the Guitar Hero and DJ Hero games as well as all future DLC.  New songs will stopped being added to both games after this month.

Lets face it - your living room is beginning to look like a McDonald's Play Place and there isn't a McRib in sight. Your room is littered with plastic guitars, fake drum sets, microphones, and other peripherals used for Rock Band, Guitar Hero, and other co-op music games.  And the worst part?  The only time you break this stuff out is for parties.  There is hope though - LevelUp has a solution that both looks stylish and is functional.  Enter the officially license Rock Band Storage Ottoman.

If you've been following the yearly to bi-yearly releases of music games, you know the genre is becoming increasingly competitive.  But could the over saturation of music titles be signaling a change in consumers wants?  Cowen and Company analyst Doug Creutz has put Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock sales numbers at 89,000 units for the first 5 days following launch.  It may not sound that bad, but lets look at some perspective.

In many ways, Guitar Hero Warriors of Rock resembles another iteration of the franchise, Guitar Hero 3. Both have questionable subtitles, increased difficulty, and added traditional gaming elements to the established music game formula. Does the latest Guitar Hero stand on its own as a solid game?

It's a good time to be a frugal music game fan with an Xbox 360.  Not one, but two demos are now available on Xbox Live for upcoming rhythm game releases: DJ Hero 2 (hitting retail on October 19) and Guitar Hero Warriors of Rock (coming to stores September 28).  Each demo has four tracks for you to check out, ranging from The Pussycat Dolls and Kanye West to Black Sabbath and the Foo Fighters.  Check them out now, and decide if either game is deserving of your gaming dollar this crowded gaming season.

The big innovation in this fall's Guitar Hero entry, subtitled Warriors of Rock, might just be Quest Mode.  This story-based progression through the catalog of tunes looks to spice up the experience a bit by incorporating more video game standards like character abilities and boss fights.  (Let's hope they are better done than the terrible boss battles of Guitar Hero III.)  We've got a video explaining what makes Quest Mode unique, as well as a fresh gallery full of screenshots.  There's no keytar to be found anywhere, but it does look like it could be a whole lotta fun.

The next Guitar Hero game, Guitar Hero Warriors of Rock will have a strong focus in rock, classic rock and metal music when it launches this fall.  Along with a co-op quest mode you'll have all your usual options of play for your band of face melting characters.  The latest trailer for the game showcases some of the songs you'll be playing and gives you a good look at the game in motion.

Last year, the Guitar Hero brand was a bit too prolific.  That seems to have changed in 2010, with but one Guitar Hero game on the horizon.  All sorts of information has been revealed about the next Guitar Hero, subtitled Warriors of Rock.  Releasing this fall, Warriors of Rock will have a new "story-based" Quest Mode, narrated by none other than Gene Simmons.  Co-op would seem to be a point of emphasis in Quest Mode, as players "join together" on an epic journey to save rock and roll.

The Guinness Book of World Records launched a Gamer's Edition a few years back, since then they've slowly grown the book into a definitive collection of records and interesting stats for fans of video games.  The latest edition includes the "Top Videogame Series of All time" and is topped by the relatively young Halo franchise, a co-op favorite around these parts.

Abbot and Costello, Peanut Butter and Jelly, Pork and Beans: apart from each other, they are acceptable, but combined, they turn into something far better.  So what would happen if you took an actual, functioning electric guitar, and combined it with the fake plastic doodads used to control music games like Rock Band and Guitar Hero?  You'd get something like the Power Gig guitar, shown above. 

We've got a most intriguing issue of On the Download lined up for you, including our very special centerfold guest of the week. They're hot, they're bothered, and they've got guns. Also on the plate: Borderlands "Zombie Island" DLC, and Resident Evil 5's "Desperate Escape" DLC pack. Don't miss it!

2009 - it was the year of way too many music video games.  The prime culprit was Activision, releasing a whopping 25 different SKUs last year.  Even for die-hard fans, that's too much of a good thing, and it's no surprise sales were lower than expected.  According to a conference call to investors, Activision plans for only two Hero games this year, both coming in the second half.  A sequel to DJ Hero and an unnamed Guitar Hero game are coming.  No PS2 versions, nor instrument bundles will ship for either.  Could there be trouble with the oversaturated franchise?

Today, we conclude our look at the shape of band-centric games to come. In part one, we identified the qualities that the current band-centric games all share. Now, we'll take these traits and see how some of the biggest acts of all time stack up. Which bands will have their own video game?