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OPERATORS ARE STANDING BY!
OPERATORS ARE STANDING BY!
Man, the competition between Guitar Hero and Rock Band is getting pretty cutthroat. Activision announced today that if you pre-order Guitar Hero 5, or if you pick up a specially marked copy of Guitar Hero 5 during the month of September, not only will you get a copy of Guitar Hero: Van Halen for free, you'll get it "long before it takes the stage in stores." That's pretty vague, though with a current US release date of December 22, you could potentially be playing "Running With the Devil" and hurting yourself trying to do kick-splits in your living room a solid month or two before its street date, at the incredibly attractive price of free.

There's a certain As-Seen-On-TV, too-good-to-be-true vibe to this whole offer, like I'm being conned here, though that might just be my recent overexposure to QVC. Either way, I'm having a hard time getting a read on Activision's motivation here. Is this just a sign of the publisher's willingness to lose a potential sale to really reinforce loyalty to the Guitar Hero platform, or is the publisher uncertain about the sales potential for a Van Halen game? I know both the Aerosmith and Metallica games sold reasonably well, though the luster on the Van Halen legacy has, sadly, been tarnished by the past decade of weird in-fighting and constant personnel changes. With Sammy Hagar and Michael Anthony both excluded entirely from Guitar Hero: Van Halen, it's apparent that has bled into the game as well. But hey, that's their problem--all you need to know is FREE GAME! FREE GAME!

Here's the fine print of the full press release.
 

Guitar Hero® is offering fans across the US an unheard of limited time bonus offer.  With every purchase of specially marked copies of Guitar Hero® 5 during the month of September, living room legends will be able to rock out with an advance copy of the unreleased Guitar Hero® Van Halen® (up to a $60 MSRP value), long before it takes the stage in stores.
 
Rock out to over 130 on-disc tracks in two games on September 1 by pre-ordering Guitar Hero 5 now at your local retailer or at http://gh5.guitarhero.com/preorder.php and picking up your copy in September, or by buying specially marked copies of the game at any retailer anytime during the month of September, and take advantage of this limited time offer.
 
Please visit www.guitarhero.com/vanhalengameoffer for full offer and redemption details.

79 Comments
DragoonKain1687 on Aug. 11, 2009
Wow, still not going to buy GH 5 though
TheWolf619 online on Aug. 11, 2009
I'm on board, just ordered GH5. I like this deal a whole lot.
 
So I'll have this, Van Halen, and The Beatles: Rock Band. Lots of music gaming for me the rest of this year. Can't wait.
BlackIrish05 on Aug. 11, 2009
@DragoonKain1687 said:
" Wow, still not going to buy GH 5 though "
TooWalrus on Aug. 11, 2009
I may do this just for Van Halen... I know, surprising, eh?
Dj on Aug. 11, 2009
Too bad I'm basically done with rhythm games at this point. Sounds like a pretty good deal to me. 
Rinkalicous online on Aug. 11, 2009
What with the vast amount of DLC for both Rock Band and Guitar Hero, my guess is they just want you locked in (dammit, QVC lingo is bleeding into my everyday sentences) with GH DLC so people won't want to defect to Rock Band.
Church069 on Aug. 11, 2009

While the deal is tempting, I'm still going with the Beatles: Rock Band for my music game this year.
FunExplosions online on Aug. 11, 2009

I'm boycotting this complete shit and sell-out series of games. Bought Guitar Hero II, had some fun, won't play Guitar Hero again. Anyway, I hate the fucking bands they're choosing for the exclusive games. Aerosmith? Metallica? Van Halen? They sure love that money.
AgentofChaos online on Aug. 11, 2009
Damn you and your filthy puns!
Anilones on Aug. 11, 2009
Activision must be **** scared about TB:RB to make this promotion.
ConciseCabbage on Aug. 11, 2009
@DragoonKain1687 said:
" Wow, still not going to buy GH 5 though "
ahoodedfigure on Aug. 11, 2009
The puns!  I'm mellllting.
NMC2008 on Aug. 11, 2009
Beatles RB will tank, I pre-ordered this as soon as this deal popped up.
I find it funny that people think there are a huge amount of Beatles fans that also play video games, let alone a rhythm game, crazy.
RoyaleWifCheese on Aug. 11, 2009
No, thank you. I will stick with Beatles.
Kajaah117 on Aug. 11, 2009
@DragoonKain1687 said:
" Wow, still not going to buy GH 5 though "
_Horde on Aug. 11, 2009
Two bad games in one, wowie!
Afroman269 on Aug. 11, 2009
Pass
TheGreatGuero on Aug. 11, 2009
Good deal, but I think I'm over it. I do really love Van Halen though, and have considered getting that game, but eh... I don't know, dude. I do plan on buying The Beatles Rock Band... Hmm... yeah, I'm kind of stumped here.
Heartagram on Aug. 11, 2009
I already wanted GH5 from the set list and the promise of a more guitar focused game this sold me even more
Chewii101 on Aug. 11, 2009
Desperate times call for desperate measures I guess.
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