Guitar Hero 5 launches at North American retailers today

Guitar Hero 5 has launched today in North American retailers. The new Guitar Hero title is being called the “best Guitar Hero game yet”, featuring 85 songs on the disc, over 150 songs available to purchase on Xbox LIVE or PlayStation Network, the ability to import music from previous games and more.

“Guitar Hero 5 is the best Guitar Hero game yet and an incredible value for consumers by providing hours of entertainment as they play along to the music they love and discover new artists and tracks,” said Dan Rosensweig, president and chief executive office of Guitar Hero. “The game offers consumers access to an extensive library of music, including 85 songs on-disc, more than 150 songs available via DLC and the ability to import music from previous Guitar Hero.”

Bundled with all these goodies comes the new, refined GH Music Studio, allowing players to create their own songs in the game. Already, in previous Guitar Hero games, more than 300,000 songs have been uploaded.

Purchasing the copy for a limited time will get you a free copy of the currently unreleased Guitar Hero: Van Halen when mailing in your proof of purchase. Sounds like a deal to me.

Read on for the presser.

GUITAR HERO® 5 NOW AVAILBLE FOR CONSUMERS TO ”ROCK ANY WAY THEY WANT”

Latest Version of Best-Selling Music Franchise Offers Today’s Hottest Rock Hits and Classic Anthems

For a Limited Time Consumers Score a Copy of the Unreleased Guitar Hero® Van Halen® with Purchase of Guitar Hero 5

Santa Monica, CA – September 1, 2009 – Continuing to transform the way people experience music, the highly-anticipated Guitar Hero® 5 video game hits store shelves today with unprecedented music variety featuring an expansive, pulse-pounding 85-song on-disc set list, more than 150 songs available via downloadable content, and the capability to import select songs from other Guitar Hero® games. Featuring some of music’s leading bands and artists across a multitude of genres, the ability for players to rock any way they want with any combination of multiple guitarists, bassists, drummers and singers in any game mode, Guitar Hero 5 allows players to step into the spotlight as iconic rockers of the past, present and future with an all-star line-up of in-game playable characters, including Kurt Cobain, Johnny Cash, Carlos Santana, Garbage’s Shirley Manson and Matt Bellamy of Muse. For a limited time, consumers who purchase Guitar Hero 5 will receive the unreleased Guitar Hero® Van Halen® when they mail in their proof of purchase.

Early reviews and previews of the game have been outstanding. Official Xbox Magazine gives Guitar Hero 5 a final score of 95 out of 100 saying, “Party Play mode instantly reinvigorates the social fun of music games… It is the new standard for social rocking.” The magazine goes on to say, “This is musical fun done right… This is the Guitar Hero to own.”

“Guitar Hero 5 is the best Guitar Hero game yet and an incredible value for consumers by providing hours of entertainment as they play along to the music they love and discover new artists and tracks,” said Dan Rosensweig, president and chief executive office of Guitar Hero. “The game offers consumers access to an extensive library of music, including 85 songs on-disc, more than 150 songs available via DLC and the ability to import music from previous Guitar Hero.”

Guitar Hero 5’s refined GH™Music Studio combines remarkably comprehensive features including improved editing tools, new guitar samples and more than 400 easy-to-use music patterns with complete accessibility for players of all creative abilities. To date, more than 300,000 songs have been uploaded to GHTunes and have been downloaded for free more than 17 million times by users.

Features exclusive to the Wii™ version of Guitar Hero 5 deliver a unique and unforgettable gameplay experience with unprecedented integration, where up to two Nintendo DS™ players engage in an intense competition with two Wii guitarists in the new Roadie Battle mode. Mii™ Freestyle returns for a unique gameplay experience that allows Wii players to jam along to different genres, including Rock, Metal and Blues. The new Mii Freestyle Stage Manager allows Nintendo DS players to call the shots with control of on-stage lightshows, camera angles and pyrotechnics.

The entire set list is at players’ finger tips from the start, featuring genre-defining hits from some of the biggest rock artists and bands of all time, including The Rolling Stones, The White Stripes, Kings of Leon, Tom Petty, Bob Dylan and Vampire Weekend. Players take complete control as Guitar Hero 5 allows gamers to personalize and customize how they experience music by being able to play with any in-game instrument combination — multiple vocalists, guitarists, bassists and drummers, in any game mode. With the game’s all-new Party Play Mode, getting the band back together has never been easier. Players can now jump in or drop out of gameplay seamlessly, without interrupting their jam session. Elevating the Guitar Hero® series to new heights with unmatched social gameplay, an enhanced style, new in-game artists and more rock legends, Guitar Hero 5 features new surprises and challenges that will fire-up long-time fret board fanatics and create a new generation of addicts.

Published by Activision Publishing, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI), Guitar Hero 5 is developed by Neversoft Entertainment for Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system, and by Vicarious Visions for the Wii system from Nintendo. Budcat is developing Guitar Hero 5 for the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system. The game is rated “T” for “Teen” (mild lyrics, mild suggestive themes) by the ESRB. For more information about Guitar Hero 5, please visit GH5.GuitarHero.com.

Guitar Hero Van Halen is developed by Underground Development for the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, the PLAYSTATION3 and PlayStation2 computer entertainment systems and the Wii home video game system from Nintendo. The game is rated “T” (Teen – Mild Lyrics, Mild Suggestive Themes) by the ESRB. For more information about Guitar Hero Van Halen, please visit www.vanhalen.guitarhero.com.