A star-studded crowd in Los Angeles was treated to performances by Jay-Z, Eminem, Travis Barker and DJ AM Monday night (June 2) in celebration of ActiVision’s new game, DJ Hero.
The game is the latest installment of the $2 billion Guitar Hero franchise, set to be released in the Fall for PlayStation 3, PS2, and Xbox 360.
In its standard version, the game is played with a turntable-shaped controller instead of the guitar or drumkit provided with other versions.
Equipped with a spinning record plate, sampling buttons, a cross fader and an sound effects nob, the controller allows players to score points by matching song tracks, creating special effects and adding their own personal touches to the music.
The game includes music from various genres, including Hip-Hop, R&B, electronica, and rock, with music by 50 Cent, Beastie Boys, KRS-One, N.E.R.D., Gorillaz, Blondie and David Bowie.
On Friday (May 29), Guitar Hero announced that Jay-Z and Eminem would be bringing their music and experience to the new game, thus their inclusion in Monday night’s celebration.
In addition to serving as consultants to Activision and FreeStyleGames, who developed DJ Hero, both Jay and Em are working on new greatest-hits CDs, to be included in a special edition of the game.
Jay-Z has revealed that his contributions will include “Izzo (H.O.V.A.),” “Dirt Off Your Shoulder” and tracks from the forthcoming Blueprint 3.
“I have a ton of content, I just need the pipeline,” he told USA Today. “I love the freedom of [DJ Hero]. I could wake up tomorrow morning with the idea for a song and call the guys at Activision and start working on getting it out.”
Eminem wasn’t as forthcoming with what he’d bring to the table, saying that DJ Hero will include his music and additional downloadable content to be released by the end of the year.
Despite his shyness in interview, the Detroit rapper gave his all during a 30-minute set at The Wiltern Theater, he bounced through a set made up mostly of tracks from his latest album Relapse, before closing out with “Lose Yourself.”
Prior to launching into the set, Eminem invited Jay-Z back on stage to perform “Renegade,” their critically acclaimed collaboration from Jay-Z’s Black Album.
Prior to making way for the Eminem Show, Jay-Z, accompanied by a live band, performed a series of hit singles including “Izzo,” “99 Problems,” “Dirt Off Your Shoulder,” and “Encore.”
The highlight of his performance, however, was his rendition of the “My President is Black” remix.
Despite the absence of Nas and Jeezy, Jay shared the stage with President Obama and Martin Luther King, Jr., as a montage of photos of both men and Election Day headlines ran in the background.
The A-List crowd in attendance included Hollywood celebs from Leonardo DiCaprio and Ryan Phillipe to Entourage stars Adrian Grenier, Jeremy Piven and Kevin Connolly to celebutante Kim Kardashian.
Also present were plenty of stars from the music world, including Nipsey Hussle, Christina Aguilera, Pete and Ashley Simpson-Wentz, and Warren G, who treated the crowd to an impromptu performance of “Regulators.
And though Jay-Z did not hit the stage until right before Midnight, the crowd was more than adequately entertained.
Following an audio/visual performance by TRV$DJ-AM, DJ AM took the stage alone for a 30-45 minute set, demonstrating exactly why he was one of the DJs chosen to help create and mix DJ Hero.
Skills aside, AM shared a more personal reason for being involved: his hope that it gives fans a new appreciation for the art of turntablism.
“There are so many lame [people] popping up with an iPod and a playlist calling themselves DJs when they’re just a jukebox,” the celebrity DJ said Monday. “This game is incredibly realistic and you realize what it takes to mix two songs together. You actually have to do the work.”
At press time, ActiVision has not yet revealed a price point or rating for the new DJ Hero.
Introducing Project Natal, a revolutionary new way to play: no controller required. See a ball? Kick it, hit it, trap it or catch it. If you know how to move your hands, shake your hips or speak you and your friends can jump into the fun — the only experience needed is life experience. Join the conversation about Xbox E3 or Project Natal on Twitter at #XboxE3
At yesterday’s E3 video game conference Microsoft announced a new partnership between Xbox and Netflix granting all Xbox 360 users the ability to access a new Netflix powered on-demand network via their consoles.
No additional software or upgrades necessary; you’ll be able to access the streaming movie service right on any TV connected to an Xbox 360.
10,000 titles will be offered up for starters. Click here for details about some other goodies Xbox unveiled during their time at E3.
These are the pictures of the new guitars they will be releasing for Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock. The game is coming out for PS2, PS3, Nintendo Wii, and XBOX 360. The guitars I feel have a newer and better style.
“Of the eight listed songs, an impressive six are drawn from the master tapes of each band’s original recording: The Who’s “Won’t Get Fooled Again,” David Bowie’s “Suffragette City,” Weezer’s “Say it Ain’t So,” Nirvana’s “In Bloom,” The Hives’ “Main Offender,” and, for that extra bit of cowbell, Blue Oyster Cult’s “Don’t Fear the Reaper”
The remaining two tracks, Black Sabbath’s “Paranoid” and Mountain’s “Mississippi Queen,” will be performed as covers, in line with most of the music used in Harmonix’s previous Guitar Hero games.”
This is the first video I have come across on the new game Rock Band. The concept is exactly like guitar hero almost, but you can actually put together a band, in various parts of the world. Using the guitar, drums, bass, ect. Video isn’t great, but that part comes at the end, the first part is about another concept they are creating on a virtual world. The guitar they will be using is shown below, with link to video.
Gaming giant EA Sports recently unveiled soundtrack details for the upcoming Madden NFL 08. The game, an institution among gamers, has helped to propel a number of artist careers over the years. The soundtrack for the 2008 edition features MIMS, Queens of the Stone Age, Daddy Yankee, The Used, Yellowcard, Sum 41, Timbaland, Justin Timberlake, Swizz Beatz, Pharoahe Monch, and Ozzy Osbourne, according to information disclosed Thursday. That is a star-heavy list, though EA is also featuring songs from lesser-known acts like Atreyu, Datarock, Operator and Enter Shikari.
On a side note, we’d love to know when the readers think Vince Young is going to get injured? The curse has to continue…
