This would probably qualify as "old news", but with the recent release of Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, I figured I'd refresh this leak of sorts regarding the next band to get Activition's exclusive treatment.  Plus, being a big Metallica fan myself, I kinda felt obligated…

 An Activision filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission contains confirmation that the company is planning to release a Metallica version of the massively popular Guitar Hero game in early 2009, ending months of speculation about which band would be featured next.

Gaming sites are already abuzz with the news, but it was actually uncovered by a somewhat unlikely character: Edward Woo, a securities analyst for Wedbush Morgan Securities. The sentence he unearthed reads, "In fiscal 2009, we plan to publish Guitar Hero: On Tour for the NDS; Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, Guitar Hero: Metallica, and Guitar Hero IV across multiple platforms."

The Aerosmith version of the game had already been announced, but this is marks the first time Activision has confirmed — however unintentionally — that Metallica will be the next band to receive the full-on Guitar Hero treatment.

Metallica's blazing riffs make them a natural fit for the game, and the group has shown a newfound willingness to leverage the internet. Hetfield, Ulrich and co. launched a Mission: Metallica site to reach out to fans and draw them in with free pre-release audio clips and in-studio video footage.

However, Mission: Metallica faced a major backlash from fans who called its effort "too little too late" and said they would buy the next Metallica album just in order to share it online.

Some fans of the band came to its defense; they may have to do so again if Guitar Hero: Metallica elicits a similar reaction when it's released (before the end of March 2009, according to the filing).

If I were Lars Ulrich, I'd tell Activision to add a tongue-in-cheek mission to Guitar Hero: Metallica in which the band slowly progresses from fighting the internet to realizing that it represents a way forward. Maybe at the end of the mission, the band could release a videogame similar to this one.

One way or the other, Metallica (and, by extension, Activision), need to address the continuing PR problem that began when Ulrich rode the elevator to Napster's headquarters with those printouts of Metallica-sharing Napster users.

A friend of mine was in that elevator at the time, and he said the mood was pretty tense; maybe it's time for Metallica to exorcise the Napster demon by acknowledging the problem, poking a bit of fun at itself and dissolving that tension once and for all.

Via [ WIRED ]