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Battle of the brands

Two gaming giants are about to go head to head in a virtual rock stand off, may the best guitar solo win:

* MTV Networks’ is to release a new videogame entitled Rockband, which enables gamers to assume the identity of various musicians. MTV has established a music advisory board in order to select the artists involved. The game so far includes tracks from David Bowie, The Hives and The Strokes.

* Battle it out with former Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash. The Velvet Revolver guitarist is the first confirmed artist to appear in the latest Activison game under the Guitar Hero franchise. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock features Slash as a “boss” battle character and will see him contributing an original song to the game soundtrack.

Price Waterhouse Coopers has predicted that the gaming market will leap to a massive $48.9B in 2011. On the flip side Enders Analysis believes music sales across the globe will plummet to $23B by 2009. Game and music tie-ins are clearly the way to go then. However it’s no easy task, “Video-game consumers are the single most sophisticated shoppers in the entertainment industry” said the VP for corporate communications at Electronic Arts recently. Which makes them a picky bunch.

The popular Guitar Hero franchise could soon see its bubble burst by the MTV and Activision rival Rock Band. Slash may be a big draw, but the simple factor of Rock Band being a four-player game means it brings more to the party than a top hat and curls.

John Riccitiello, CE of EA, however also warns of a downturn in the games market , stating that games are “at risk of being a little less interesting than Facebook”.

www.guitarherogame.com

www.rockband.com