Despite outraged Guitar Hero fans going to their online blogs and protesting against the US$ 6.25 price tag of Guitar Hero II's song packs, Activision chose to hold their ground over the pricing. According to Activision, the launch of the song packs (three packs containing three songs each) were highly successful and did not warrant a price drop.

"It's been a tremendous success for us," said Dusty Welch of Red Octane, an outfit that Activision bought last year. Despite many complaints about the pricing, he claims, "demand seems to be insatiable." Welch asserts that more than 300,000 song packs have been sold, thus proving that the prices were well-received by consumers.

He did notice the negative feedback circulating the boards, however. Welch acknowledged the fans of the game, saying, "We do actively look at and monitor the message boards. We do listen, and for us, it's about offering even better music at current price points to get consumers excited about. "

Straight from the official press release from Activision, Hands-On Mobile announced that they have agreed with Activision to develop a mobile game version of the popular Guitar Hero franchise. The Guitar Hero series took the handheld and console market by storm, as music and gaming became a fusion of two entertainment delights.

 

"Guitar Hero is an epic game experience that has mushroomed into a cultural phenomenon. We are thrilled to bring this award-winning franchise to mobile and to continue our successful relationship with Activision," Erik Pavelka, VP of Business Development at Hands-On Mobile, said.

RedOctane is also happy about the agreement, saying, "The lifestyle of music is strongly immersed into our everyday culture, and having Guitar Hero on mobile platforms will now allow our dedicated fans the opportunity to passionately feel the music, anytime and anywhere." Well, at least Go Gaming now has something great to feature on their service.

Dusty Welch, head of publishing at RedOctane, concluded, "Hands-On Mobile has extensive experience and success in bringing established franchises to mobile devices, and we greatly look forward to extending the Guitar Hero brand to mobile users." So while Guitar Hero II will rock gamers on the Xbox 360 soon, gamers-on-the-go will now get a chance to mix their love for music and gaming into one exciting package. Although we just have to ask: will a mini, pocket-sized guitar come with it?

When we think titles like Guitar Hero II, the usual notion (for better or for worse) is a trend towards the varying genres of rock and heavy metal music. For guys looking for more diversity in their next jamming session, you may want to take heed in RedOctane boss">Dusty Welch's words, RedOctane's head of publishing. On focus here is his line on whether the title would diversify into other genres outside rock:

There are numerous genres of rock music, including pop, and we're certainly looking into exploring all of our options to continue bringing what our fans want, and their demand will ultimately determine what direction the franchise will take. It has always been a top priority for us to keep the content fresh and exciting, and our fans should expect nothing less from Guitar Hero every time they pick up the guitar to rock out.

Dusty wasn't spilling any beans on other projects Guitar Hero II will be receiving from Neversoft, though he does state that former game developer Harmonix will still be wrapping up projects they originally started for Guitar Hero II.

With that said, we do look forward to some of the fresh ideas that RedOctane will hopefully spurn for future updates to this title. How does a John Williams score sound? And since we're on the topic of long shots, it'd be cool to see some Black Mages tracks in the near future.

In a Gamespot interview, RedOctane's head of publishing, Dusty Welch explains why Neversoft got the development duties for Guitar Hero.

When asked why Neversoft got the deal in the first place, Welch cites Neversoft's track record of developing blockbuster franchises. He notes that the Tony Hawk franchise exceeded more than $1 billion worldwide, so they're pretty confident that Neversoft can take Guitar Hero to another level when it comes to overall gameplay experience.

It gets annoying a bit when Welch was asked why Harmonix isn't developing Guitar Hero anymore. He dodged the questions, and gave relatively safe answers like, "We believe it was a natural and neutral decision for us to look at other opportunities" and he kept on pitching and selling the idea that through Neversoft the game will continue to deliver "phenomenal gameplay."

Well, you can't blame him, it's his job to sell their company's games.

When asked if the franchise's success has made acquiring rights to popular songs easier or not, he says that it somewhat has. He says that there are now a lot of music labels and artists that want to work with them. He also adds that they are considering increasing the proportion of songs done by the original artists as opposed to sound-a-likes. He says:

As Guitar Hero becomes increasingly integrated into the mass market, definitely more original artists and bands will be receptive of having their music in the game. We are considering that option for future titles.

Oh, and if you're a fan of the songs from the original Guitar Hero, Welch asks you not to worry. He explains:

While the songs that will be available for download through the Xbox Live Marketplace have yet to be confirmed, we can assure our fans that they can likely expect to see these songs.

For the complete interview, feel free to use our "Read" link below.