The legal team over at Gibson Guitars must not be making much on retainer. After filing a lawsuit last week against ActiVision and virtually every retailer that sells Guitar Hero video games, the sue-happy Gibsonites are dealing a follow-up punch to the video game industry with a second lawsuit, this time against Electronic Arts’ Rock Band video game.

The suit claims that Harmonix, MTV Networks and Electronic Arts are violating a virtual-reality patent the guitar maker holds by developing, distributing and promoting the game. Gibson said the games, in which players strum a guitar-shaped plastic controller in time with notes on a television screen, violate a 1999 patent on the technology to simulate a musical performance. A copy of Gibson’s patent included in the court filing showed a method for simulating a live performance using a musical instrument, a 3D headset with stereo speakers, and a pre-recorded concert. Harmonix issued a statement, saying that the suit is completely without merit and that they intend to fight it vigorously.

Interestingly, before Gibson filed either lawsuit, ActiVision sued the guitar makers pre-emptively, seeking a federal court declaration that it isn’t violating Gibson’s patent. They argue that Gibson’s decision to wait three years before filing suit indicated compliance, thus making the current suit invalid.

Activision’s Guitar Hero game has sold over 14 million units in the United States alone, and has brought in over $1 billion since its 2005 debut. Rock Band, the game’s newest and only real competitor, has shown significant promise, selling 1.5 million units to date. Wait, who am I kidding? Rock Band may be popular, but it doesn’t hold a candle to Guitar Hero.

by  Johnny Firecloud

There are many advantages to simply renting your video games off of the internet, instead of going out and purchasing them, getting them home and maybe not even enjoying them. One of the great things about having the ability to rent video games from the internet is convenience. You do not even have to leave your house in order to have access to some of the most popular video games out there available to all of us, for a high price. Another great thing about being able to rent video games off of the internet is the fact that you can sample the video game of your choice first, before choosing to rent it. Many people spend a great deal of money on video games, get them home and end up not even liking the video game that they chose at all. Then you are either stuck with it, or you could give it away as a gift, or have to fight with the crowds at the store, in order to return it. It can really turn into a headache, along with costing you a large amount of money, hard earned money that is sometimes hard to come by.

Many people are getting on the internet and browsing through the many different websites that offer you video game rentals, so that they can enjoy the many conveniences of renting them for a small monthly fee. This has really become something popular now days, because of the high prices of many of the video games that are now available to us. Once you locate the website that you are considering renting your video games from, you find the video game that you would like to rent, sample it and for a small monthly fee you can typically rent as many as you would like. This ends up saving you a large amount of money in the long run because going out and buying them, we all know, can get really expensive right. Being able to test the video game out first, before you choose to rent it or purchase it, is a really great benefit to doing it this way. Most people would prefer to rent their video games first, rather than just going out and buying them, only to end up possibly not enjoying them.

Remember, you can rent as many video games as you would like, for a small monthly fee, usually around $10-$15 bucks a month and keep them as long as you wish, you do not even have to worry about paying for the postage on the video games that you decided rent. It can not get much more easier and convenient than this! If you have never rented video games from the internet, you should check out some of the many different websites on the internet that offer this to you, it will be worth the time of checking into it.

As most of you already know, video games have been with us for so long now and even though they have changed quite a bit throughout the years, we love them just the same. There are so many times in our lives when we sit around, twiddling our thumbs, not knowing what to do for entertainment and we can pop in our favorite video games and before you know it, you are yelling and squirming with excitement, from all of the fun, exciting adventures you can get yourself into by playing these video games. It is an awesome, fun way to pass time, if ever you do find yourself twiddling your thumbs out of pure boredom. It is also a good way to entertain yourselves when you are hanging out with your friends, most of them will probably enjoy your video games just as much as you do and it will be a hoot challenging one another in all of your most favorite video games.

Some people thought that video games were strictly for the likings of children but once they became very popular people realized quickly that they are not just for children, so many adults are enjoying the video games as well, and some of them even become professional video gamers, making tons of income for themselves and their family. It is shocking as to how many people are enjoying the video games now day, I knew they were popular years ago but thanks to all of the many great advancements in technology, they have found new and exciting ways to entertain us and blow our minds, with the fabulous wonders of most video games. It is thrilling to know what might be coming out next, even if you are not an avid player, you can appreciate how tremendous the effort must be in putting together and creating these many different types of video games. Can you imagine just how much time and dedication it takes for someone to come up with something like this? In order to be a video designer, you must be very dedicated and determined, along with having a really strong work ethic, you just have to respect these people!

One of the reasons for such fascination with the many different types of video games is that everybody wants to imagine that they could be something that they may know would not be feasible. With these video games, you can put yourself into that dreamland of being a professional racer, solving serious crimes, etc. Who wouldn’t want to be a hero of some sort, saving lives, capturing villians, it is just so thrilling! It is endless as to what all you can do when playing these types of video games and being able to kind of pretend that you are actually doing this, is just so exciting for many of us and it is a fun, safe way to have a great time!