Activision TMs 'Guitar Hero Modern Hits'

By the end of November, Activision Blizzard will have this year delivered Guitar Hero Aerosmith and Guitar Hero World Tour for consoles, as well as Guitar Hero: On Tour and Guitar Hero: On Tour Decades for the Nintendo DS. For those counting, that's four all-new rhythm games in its popular Guitar Hero franchise. However, according to Activision Publishing president Mike Griffth, "the consumer still has an insatiable appetite for more."

To that end, Griffth said during a presentation to analysts in September that the publisher is hoping to double the number of Guitar Hero SKUs in 2009, tripling it by 2010. To do so, Activision has begun laying the infrastructure for spin-off installments in the franchise. Not long after Griffth's presentation, Activision filed an application to trademark Dance Hero, an as-yet-unannounced property that joins the publisher's burgeoning list of squatted-upon titles, which also includes DJ Hero, Guitar Villain, and Drum Villain.

This week, Activision has filed yet one more application to trademark with the US Patent and Trademark Office, this time for Guitar Hero Modern Hits. Descriptors for the filing include "computer game software and related instruction manual sold together as a unit," "interactive video game programs," "downloadable computer game software," "video game controllers," and "interactive video game comprised of a cartridge or DVD sold as a unit with a video game controller."

Guitar Hero World Tour is expected to arrive at retail for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2, and Wii on October 26. Activision reps confirmed that Guitar Hero: On Tour Decades will jam in stores November 16.