Activision's Quantum of Solace and Guitar Hero games due this fall

Activision announced tonight that its first game based on the James Bond license, a franchise that once belonged to rival game publisher Electronic Arts, will hit stores Nov. 7, the same date as the release of the new Bond movie "Quantum of Solace." The movie features the return of actor Daniel Craig, who played Bond in "Casino Royale."

The Santa Monica-based game publisher also showed off a new version of its Guitar Hero franchise. Scheduled for release in the fall, Guitar Hero World Tour adds a drum kit and microphone, as well as a new guitar that has an accelerometer and a touch-sensitive slider bar.

Activision's newest entry in the music game genre also adds a recording mode that lets players create songs from scratch, using a library of beats, sounds and samples. Players who record their own tunes can upload their tracks to a website and let other players download, play and rate the songs.

Some analysts question whether some of the added features will make the game too complex for the mainstream players who bought Guitar Hero because it was easy to learn.

"I was blown away by some of the features," said Billy Pidgeon, analyst with IDC. "But I'm concerned that the game is losing some of its accessibility. One of the reasons why Guitar Hero is so successful is because anybody could play it."

-- Alex Pham

Image courtesy of Activision

Comments

[Dave]

So... you don't buy it? If GH World Tour's that complex - let there be GH III, Aerosmith and boatloads of downloadable content! It'll never die. GH World Tour is the logical next step towards Rock Band and takes those who know, those who can play into another dimension. Doesn't shut out anyone, you know the pricetag alone's going to determine who buys and who doesn't.

I'm sorry IDG who? And Pidgeon? Really, who are these people? Gotta love analysts, they never really do what it is they're predicting, make up new technical buzzwords for things they've never touched and then help 'shape' the economy and the retail landscape. But whoa, po them off and your company or product's toast! Sheesh.