Guitar Hero(R) Catalog Expands With New Music From Rock 'n' Roll Icons Queen and Jimi Hendrix This Month

Guitar Hero(R) Catalog Expands With New Music From Rock 'n' Roll Icons Queen and Jimi Hendrix This Month

Six Additional Tracks from Countries throughout Europe and the James Bond Theme Song Further Add to Guitar Hero World Tour's Downloadable Content Set List

SANTA MONICA, Calif., March 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- This month, gamers will again be able to expand their virtual set lists with over a dozen new downloadable tracks for Activision Publishing, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:ATVI) Guitar Hero(R) World Tour. With over 37 million songs downloaded for the franchise to date, Guitar Hero(R) fans will soon be able to experience more awesome music - from the likes of English rock 'n' roll icons Queen, guitar legend Jimi Hendrix, a host of European superstars and more - which will join the more than 550 songs rocking the Guitar Hero catalog already.

On March 5th, Guitar Hero World Tour's global music library will continue to grow with three additional tracks from some of Europe's greatest bands. The third European Track Pack, which includes the hit song "Break It Out" by Italian pop punk band Vanilla Sky and "In the Shadows" by one of Finland's most successful bands, The Rasmus, will also contain "C'est Comme Ca" the top single from French pop rock duo Les Rita Mitsouko's 1986 album The No Comprendo.

As a follow-up to the third European Track Pack, rockers from the Netherlands, Germany and Spain will also be contributing to Guitar Hero World Tour's increasing catalog of downloadable content. On March 19th, the Dutch symphonic rock/metal band Within Temptation takes the virtual stage with "What Have You Done," the first single off their fourth studio album The Heart of Everything. Joining them are German punk band Die Toten Hosen, who made their debut appearance in Guitar Hero(R) III: Legends of Rock, playing an encore as part of the full band experience with their 1988 hit "Hier Kommt Alex" and Spanish rock band M-Clan with their classic song "Carolina."

Already appearing as an in game playable character; on March 19th, guitar savant and music legend Jimi Hendrix returns to Guitar Hero World Tour's stage once again with an extraordinary three song Track Pack that will set fans fingers ablaze as they strive to keep up with his intense guitar riffs and insane solos. The second Jimi Hendrix Track Pack features "Freedom" and "Angel," two hit singles off of his First Rays of the New Rising Sun album, and a one of a kind 1969 live from Woodstock recording of the timeless classic "Foxey Lady." Additionally, the songs from the first Jimi Hendrix Track Pack - "If 6 was 9," "Little Wing" and "Fire" - will also be available on March 19th as downloadable singles for Wii(TM).

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees Queen, one of the greatest and most influential bands of all-time, take center stage on March 26th with downloadable content for Guitar Hero World Tour. The three song Queen Track Pack contains some of the band's most iconic tracks including the power ballad, "We Are The Champions," which has become one of the most common anthems celebrating the ultimate victory, as well as "Fat Bottomed Girls" from the 1978 album Jazz and "C-lebrity," from their 2008 album with Paul Rodgers, The Cosmos Rocks.

On March 26th, Bond aficionados and Guitar Hero rockers alike will have another reason to celebrate as Guitar Hero World Tour releases a new recording of the classic James Bond theme song as downloadable content.

The two European Track Packs, Jimi Hendrix Track Pack and Queen Track Pack will be available on Xbox LIVE(R) Marketplace for the Xbox 360(R) video game and entertainment system from Microsoft for 440 Microsoft Points and on the PlayStation(R)Store for the PLAYSTATION(R)3 computer entertainment system for $5.49. The songs in the two European Track Packs, Queen Track Pack plus the James Bond Track will be released as downloadable singles for Xbox 360 for 160 Microsoft Points, PLAYSTATION 3 system for $1.99 and Wii(TM) for 200 Wii Points each. The Jimi Hendrix tracks will be available as downloadable singles for Wii for 200 Wii Points.

Guitar Hero World Tour transforms music gaming by expanding Guitar Hero's signature guitar gameplay into a cooperative band experience that combines the most advanced wireless controllers with new revolutionary online* and offline gameplay modes including Band Career and 8-player "Battle of the Bands," which allows two full bands to compete head-to-head online. The game features a slick newly redesigned guitar controller, drum kit controller and a wired microphone, as well as an innovative Music Studio music creator that lets players compose, record, edit and share their own rock 'n' roll anthems. Music creators are also able to share their recordings with their friends online through GHTunes(SM) where other gamers can download and play an endless supply of unique creations.

Guitar Hero World Tour is now available for Xbox 360, PLAYSTATION 3 computer entertainment system, the Wii home video game system from Nintendo and the PlayStation(R)2 computer entertainment system. The game is rated "T" for Teen by the ESRB. For more information on Guitar Hero World Tour, please visit worldtour.guitarhero.com.

About Activision Publishing, Inc.

Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, Activision Publishing, Inc. is a leading worldwide developer, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment and leisure products.

Activision maintains operations in the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Sweden, Spain, the Netherlands, Australia, Japan and South Korea. More information about Activision and its products can be found on the company's website, www.activision.com.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements: Information in this press release that involves Activision Publishing's expectations, plans, intentions or strategies regarding the future are forward-looking statements that are not facts and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Activision Publishing generally uses words such as "outlook," "will," "could," "would," "might," "remains," "to be," "plans," "believes," "may," "expects," "intends," "anticipates," "estimate," future," "plan," "positioned," "potential," "project," "remain," "scheduled," "set to," "subject to," "upcoming" and similar expressions to help identify forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause Activision Publishing's actual future results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements set forth in this release include, but are not limited to, sales levels of Activision Publishing's titles, shifts in consumer spending trends, the impact of the current macroeconomic environment, the seasonal and cyclical nature of the interactive game market, Activision Publishing's ability to predict consumer preferences among competing hardware platforms (including next-generation hardware), declines in software pricing, product returns and price protection, product delays, retail acceptance of Activision Publishing's products, adoption rate and availability of new hardware and related software, industry competition, rapid changes in technology and industry standards, protection of proprietary rights, litigation against Activision Publishing, maintenance of relationships with key personnel, customers, vendors and third-party developers, domestic and international economic, financial and political conditions and policies, foreign exchange rates, integration of recent acquisitions and the identification of suitable future acquisition opportunities, Activision Blizzard's success in integrating the operations of Activision Publishing and Vivendi Games in a timely manner, or at all, and the combined company's ability to realize the anticipated benefits and synergies of the transaction to the extent, or in the timeframe, anticipated, and the other factors identified in Activision Blizzard's most recent annual report on Form 10-K and any subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. The forward-looking statements in this release are based upon information available to Activision Publishing and Activision Blizzard as of the date of this release, and neither Activision Publishing nor Activision Blizzard assumes any obligation to update any such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements believed to be true when made may ultimately prove to be incorrect. These statements are not guarantees of the future performance of Activision Publishing or Activision Blizzard and are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, some of which are beyond its control and may cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations.

*Online gameplay is only available for the Xbox 360(R) video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PLAYSTATION(R)3 computer entertainment system and Wii(TM) and may require an additional subscription.

Guitar Hero World Tour (C) 2009 Activision Publishing, Inc. Guitar Hero, Activision and RedOctane are registered trademarks of Activision Publishing, Inc. All other trademarks and trade names are the properties of their respective owners. All rights reserved.

"PlayStation," "PLAYSTATION" and "PS" Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Used with Permission. Microsoft, Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox LIVE, and the Xbox logos are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies. Wii and the Wii logo are trademarks of Nintendo.

First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact: ksouthey@activision.com

Source: Activision Publishing, Inc.

CONTACT: Jordan Dodge, Jr. Publicist of Activision/RedOctane,
+1-650-930-1258, jdodge@redoctane.com

Web Site: http://www.activision.com/

Company News On-Call: http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/007396.html

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Profile: International Entertainment