Unlike Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo, Activision threw a concert last night with such performers as DJ’s David Guetta, Deadmaus and Z-Trip, as well s Usher, Will I Am, Jane’s Addiction, N.E.R.D., Rhea, Rhianna, Maynard James Keenan, and finishing it off with Eminem.
While some of the performances were electric, such as Usher’s “OMG” and Enimem, one could not help but notice that the actual videogame content was lacking. One of the highlights was Maynard James Kennan performing “Bohemian Rhapsody” – complete with an orchestra and chorus – in time with the actual Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock video. The DJ’s were amazing as DJ Hero 2 promoters, but other than that, the rest seemed like padding. Tony Hard: Shred (which seems to have gone retro with a cel-shaded look) and True Crime: Hong Kong were almost afterthoughts, despite Hawk himself in the house with other veteran skateboarders.
In fact, one suspects Activision realized their lineup wasn’t very strong. All of them, including the heavily anticipated Call of Duty: Black Ops, are sequels to longrunning IPs; most of them are bring revived from years of mediocrity or dormancy.
Click “Read more…” for Activision’s presser.
ACTIVISION KICKS OFF E3 WITH LIVE PERFORMANCES FROM USHER, WILL.I.AM, DAVID GUETTA, DEADMAU5, Z-TRIP, MAYNARD JAMES KEENAN, JANE’S ADDICTION, CHRIS CORNELL, N.E.R.D., RHEA, EMINEM, AND RIHANNA
Global Music Icon Eminem Debuts New Track
Santa Monica, CA — June 15, 2010 — A cast of some of the most influential and popular recording artists performed at Activision Publishing, Inc.’s (Nasdaq: ATVI) special E3 preview event at the STAPLES Center in Los Angeles on Monday night in celebration of the company’s highly anticipated games.
The heart pounding event began with world renowned mash-up master Z-Trip who started off the night and warmed up the crowd with his trademark sounds.
First up was an all-out celebration of DJ Hero® 2’s incredible line-up of world-class artists ensued, featuring live sets from all-star DJs and in-game playable characters, Grammy® winner and multi-platinum selling artist David Guetta, along with progressive house producer Deadmau5, part of dance music’s elite. Storming the stage with a high octane mini-set, global superstar Usher, complete with live band and dancers, brought down the house with a performance of his current #1 hit “OMG,” with a current audience reach of over 160 million, along with chart-topping singles “Caught Up” and “Yeah.”
The event brought skate acrobatics to life with a live Tony Hawk skate demo accompanied by Z-Trip who was once again at the head of the turntables. Hawk’s performance went BIG, with larger than life jumps, huge grabs and over-the-top tricks in the spirit of Tony Hawk™: SHRED, the next game in the venerable skating franchise.
A heart-pounding collaborative performance of Queen’s classic anthem, “Bohemian Rhapsody,” featured on Guitar Hero®: Warrior of Rock’s 93 track on-disc set list, was lead by artist Maynard James Keenan and over 200 of Los Angeles’s most awe-inspiring gospel singers accompanied by a 75-piece orchestra. To celebrate their incorporation into Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock, Jane’s Addiction played seminal hits “Mountain Song” and “Been Caught Stealing” and Soundgarden performed an orchestrated version of their classic hit “Black Hole Sun.”
The exciting line-up continued as Grammy Award winning recording artist, producer and musician Pharrell Williams and his band N.E.R.D. performed the upbeat dance jams “Hot-N-Fun” and “Lapdance” to celebrate Pharrell’s contribution to the soundtrack of True Crime®: Hong Kong. In addition, brand new recording artist and industry up-and-comer Rhea debuted “My Motorcycle,” which will be featured in the game with a sultry performance choreographed by JaQuel Knight.
Innovative and ground-breaking Grammy® Award winning performer EMINEM ignited the crowd as he closed the all-star event in celebration of the year’s most anticipated title Call of Duty®: Black Ops and was joined on stage by drumming legend Travis Barker. Eminem’s raw live performance of tracks included songs such as “Lose Yourself,” his newest hit single “Not Afraid” and the world premiere of “Won’t Back Down” from his upcoming album Recovery scheduled for release June 21st.
About Activision Broadcast Media Center
Members of the media can visit Activision’s Broadcast Media Center to download broadcast quality video, web-ready video and high-resolution images. Members of the media using Pathfire can take advantage of a Pathfire enabled video download.
Highlights from Activision’s E3 event are available for download.
Broadcast Media Center: http://www.activisionvideo.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, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, Australia, South Korea, China and the region of Taiwan. More information about Activision and its products can be found on the company’s website, www.activision.com.
Jonah Falcon is a blogger for TMRzoo and GameStooge.com and covers all gaming consoles and platforms including Sony Playstation 3, Microsoft XBOX 360, Nintendo Wii, Sony PSP and computer games designed for Mac OS, Microsoft Windows and Linux operating systems. Jonah provides his readers with reviews, previews and up to date gaming industry news and rumors.
