| Guitar Hero: no strings attached
Christmas season, selling 290,000 copies. Now Harmonix is scrambling to complete Guitar Hero II. There are already more advance orders for the sequel than the number of sold copies of the original game. The first Guitar Hero would have sold much better, except for a shortage that made the game hard to come by during the holidays. Blame it on the guitar. Every copy of the game comes with its own axe, a game controller shaped like a rock guitar. But all the guitars are built at a single factory in China. "They haven't been able to make the plastic guitars fast enough," said Harmonix chief executive Alex Rigopulos, a musician. And of course you can't be a rock god without the ability to hurl six-string thunderbolts. The pseudo-guitar is the secret of Guitar Hero's success.
Guitar Hero Gig Bag
One issue with being a Guitar Hero zealot is that it's a secret righteousness. Who besides my girlfriend and my friends nursing hangovers will know that I, when initiating star power, can actually twirl the Guitar Hero controller around my neck just like Johnny Napalm? But more importantly: Guitar Heroes simply don't get indy street cred confining their trashing to the isolation of their own living room. We can't swagger around downtown, a guitar controller slung over our shoulder, a lit Marlboro dangling from our lower lips. Girls would take one look at that plastic guitar with the Fisher Price buttons and make a collective decision through the Feminine Hive Mind to never sleep with us again, forever. Or at least, they would have until now. But I see over at Lik Sang that they are now selling a Guitar Hero guitar case with the words Guitar Hero actually printed upon it.
2006 Summer NAMM Photo Gallery: Day Two
The NAMM Summer Session fully hit its stride on Saturday as attendees filled the Austin Convention Center to see instrument manufacturers latest and greatest. Bleary eyes were evidence that many attendees were taking full advantage of Austins many attractions outside the Convention Center. Dining, partying and checking out Austins legendary urban bat colony the largest in the nation completed a full days activities for many. Seen throughout the show were many musical stars, aspiring stars, and former stars. Peter Tork, of Monkee fame, who now represents Harrower Guitars, was on hand, as was Leslie West, former Mountain guitar hero now affiliated with Dean guitars who signed autographs and met fans to promote his Dean, Leslie West Soltero Signature model. The NAMM Summer Session continues through Sunday, July 16, 2006.
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