Activision trademarks 'DJ Hero'

Activision Blizzard certainly has big plans for its Guitar Hero franchise, with a fourth game in the series apparently slated for this year and a new Aerosmith-focused addition due out in June 2008. And the newly created megapublisher looks to be planning to increase its footprint in the rhythm game genre, with news appearing over the weekend that the company has trademarked the name DJ Hero for "video game software" and "video game controllers."

As reported by trademark-focused Web site Trademork, Activision Publishing first filed the trademark request on February 8, 2008. According to the United States Patent and Trademark Office's Trademark Application and Registration Retrieval System, the DJ Hero trademark applies to "computer game software and related instruction manual sold together as a unit; interactive video game programs; computer game discs; downloadable software for use in connection with computer games; video game controllers; Interactive video game comprised of a CD or DVD sold as a unit with a video game controller."

The trademark filing is the first official move by Activision into the turntable-based music sphere, a move many game watchers had predicted after Guitar Hero's massive success. Last month, the publisher announced that the rhythm game franchise, which it bought in 2006 for nearly $100 million, has generated over $1 billion in sales worldwide.