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Activision trademarks 'Sing Hero'

Megapublisher's USPTO filing might be first sign of new competitor for Konami's Karaoke Revolution and Sony's SingStar series.

128 Comments

First it was Guitar Hero. Then came DJ Hero. Recently, Band Hero was rumored. And now, Activision has trademarked what appears to be yet another offshoot of its billion-dollar-plus rhythm franchise. In a filing with the US Patent and Trademark Office, the Santa Monica-based half of megapublisher Activision Blizzard has trademarked the title "Sing Hero."

No word yet on whether or not Bill Murray will reprise his Lost in Translation karaoke act in the game.
No word yet on whether or not Bill Murray will reprise his Lost in Translation karaoke act in the game.

Upon approval, the March 5 filing would give Activision the Sing Hero trademark for "computer game software and related instruction manual sold together as a unit; interactive video game programs; computer game cartridges; computer game discs; downloadable computer game software; video game controllers; interactive video game comprised of a cartridge or DVD sold as a unit with a video game controller."

Though no further details about Sing Hero were in the filing, its title implies a karaoke-centric game along the lines of Konami's Karaoke Revolution and Sony's SingStar series. Sales of the former, which was once the rhythm-game genre leader, have dropped in the wake of the mic-equipped Rock Band and Guitar Hero World Tour launches. Though not especially popular in the US, SingStar is a full-on phenomenon in the UK and would give any potential rivals stiff competition.

However, just because Activision trademarks a title doesn't mean an eponymous game has been confirmed. The publisher has also registered the names "Drum Hero," "Keyboard Hero," "Guitar Villain," and "Dum Villain," none of which has become a game in its own right. In 2007, RedOctane cofounder Charles Huang said work on Drum Hero was proceeding apace, though the game has not been heard about since the announcement of Guitar Hero World Tour, which includes drum kit support.

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Dan21278

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ha ha ha this is too pathetic

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Kenny789

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There will be a Piano Hero! Mark my words!

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Alex_09

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Any RockBand fans who are calling these guys cheap are fools. Both game makers are milking fans dry, I find both the producers and consumers pathetic...

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mariokart64fan

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those 2 track packs are the song you dl from xbla duh it for people with no xbl or who want to buy all the songs

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Rev8691

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i think guitar hero: world tour was a test. Guitar hero 5 is gonna go back to guitar only. Band hero is gonna keep the whole band thing going. Sing hero will focus heavily on vocal based songs. Drum hero wont exist. Dj hero is actually real.. for some reason. Keyboard hero... that should be interesting? only 5 keys, in beautiful colors? and im curious about these "villain" games. huh? HONESTLY RED OCTANE SHOULD SAY PEACE TO ACTIVISON, HARMONIX SHOULD SAY PEACE TO MTV... AND THE TWO COMPANIES SHOULD GET BACK TOGETHER AND MAKE THE ULTIMATE GAME. NO ONE CAN DENY THAT THE ORIGINAL GUITAR HERO IS BETTER THAN ANY OF THE NEW GUITAR HEROS OR ROCK BAND.

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toastedironman

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If Activision comes out with Sing hero there reputation will be destroyed. But on the plus side I can't wait until they come out with Dum Hero!

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Avatar image for IzE-DraGoN
IzE-DraGoN

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what's next? Accordion Hero !!

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doctorwang12

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isnt that y u made gh:world tour?..

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BloodMist

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Isn't that just another term for karaoke?

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Hitch_Blade_VII

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"Dum Villain"?

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Hitch_Blade_VII

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that guy looks kinda like tom hanks

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missonrs

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People tend to forget that they didn't confirm a "sing hero" game they just got the name in case another company wanted to take that name. I'm getting guitar hero metallica and thats it im done with this crap I just use rock band to sing since GHWT's vocals engine is horrible.

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BattleSword1

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I can't wait to play Dum Villain. Haha.

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brendanhunt1

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sing star already controling this market

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GodLike500

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RE: ninja_where What acheivements can you get in SING IN THE SHOWER?

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GodLike500

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Sing Hero? That's a terrible name! I would've went with Vocal Hero (don't bother Activision, I've already copywritted it hahaha)

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wetwilli64

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"Dum Villain"? XD

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Phmall_Phill

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Activision is marking up territory. Dogs always do it. Just go to a nearby park. That's all they're doing. They aren't gonna put any of these names to actual use.

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Jedilink109

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Why exactly do they keep getting the rights to these stupid names when they haven't used ANY of them except for Guitar Hero!?!?!?

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ninja_where

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lol "Dum Villain" Anyways, Activision is just getting way too overboard with this. A game with a guitar, mic, and drums is ENOUGH. If we want to sing, we'll play Lips, Singstar, or KARAOKE, or maybe even SING IN THE SHOWER. And they're being too overprotective with everything. So they find competition, at least that competition COULD do better than what they can. Activision, please, just please, go back to thinking more about your games, not how you want to keep your territory. You can keep yours if you make it worthy to be kept.

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GameGoddess33

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This is overkill a million times over. I just hope it doesn't kill the Guitar Hero Franchise.

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VolcanoMan001

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Wouldn't it be more appropriate to name it "Vocal Hero"? Maybe that was already trade marked lol.

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Richmaester6907

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agreed they are becoming money grabbers GH was fine as it was until they copied Rock Band oh well lets wait until it fails like tony hawks did when there was one every 9months

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sharp926

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Im about tired of this genre. It got to popular to fast and now their milking it for all its worth (which isnt much anymore). And Azwethink is right, its not just Activision anymore. If Activision and Harmonix would just slow down, they would make more money in the long run because people wouldnt be so dang tired of these games. 'Sing Hero' sounds dumb anyway.

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garey017

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So can I make a game called 'Song Hero'? Because even if it sucks, at least it makes sense. "Sing Hero" is wrong and it sounds like Engrish. 'Singing Hero' would make sense. "Voice Hero" or "Vocal Hero" sound lame, but at least make sense. I would recommend calling it "Lead Singer" or "Frontman". Actually, I would recommend not making it at all. Any more rhythm games are beating a dead horse.

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sconicle

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omg this is just getting stupid soon we will be playing violin hero

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Mush_Mouth

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It's alright guys, I think they're running out of musical stuff to put "hero" at the end of now...hopefully the end will come at some point.

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mada362005

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sing hero? srsly that would be karaoke right? lame get original and think of new game ideas plz! plus singing is already in rock band and guitar hero so its not even that unique of a realm for this unoriginal stupid gaming genre.

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klugenbeel

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This is Activision milking the crap out of the Guitar Hero name, but honestly in a way...who cares. As long as the important game, Guitar Hero, still rocks and is fun...thats what matters. You won't see me running out to pick up DJ Hero or Sing Hero....which...Sing Hero...wtf in a way...GHWT has vocals! Then again, this could be them just buying the name so n one else can use the name as a Trademark.

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NBA_Jammer

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One step closer to Heroin Hero!

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73X

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Quit with the musical hero games already! Geez! Originality, anyone?

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IWillKickU

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I really doubt that a game called "Sing Hero" is really in developement. They probably just got the copyright to the title so someone else doesn't snap it up and release a game by that title. See the other "Hero" and "Villian" copyrights.

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Bwags

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Electrician Hero, Plumber Hero (oops Nintendo already did that), REPOman Hero, DMV employee hero, Department of Water and Power Hero…just spitballin’ here, Activision

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gatzmyer

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Yeah, but I beat em to the trademark of "Cooking Hero" and "Laundry Hero". Seriously though what else could they trademark, at this point they're just trademarking anything that other companies might use to take advantage of the "Hero" name.

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otanikun

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Please don't, this is getting way out of hand, sure it's nice to trademark all of these titles but that doesn't mean you need to put out a craptacular game to try and make it's title make sense in anyway. It was going overboard for me with the DS Guitar Hero titles, but to actually be releasing a DJ hero game as well as those other absolutely rediculous titles that are probably in the works, is just something that is probably going to kill your fanbase. You're flooding your own niche group of gamers that are going to be turned off because there is too much content to offer or there are just game that they aren't going to play because they have nothing to offer in terms of deviating from the original titles. Besides, World Tour has singing in it with the mic, isn't that enough, that you don't have to trademark " Sing Hero " and try to make a profit off of something probably only a few thousand will buy? If that's the way it's going to be, I see stocks taking a tumble for Activision, if and when DJ hero or these other idiotic sounding titles are released, I won't be buying anything else from Activision, period.

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Fanboy4Hire

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Back in my day, they just called it "karaoke". :(

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garey017

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Sing Hero? Sorry, but that title blows.

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atromitos88

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will be a failure

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leke

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I don't like to be one of those "hate on the big company" people, but I'm really starting to feel that Activision games will continue heading downhill like EA games were doing at a time. Although with the amount of casual gamers that buy their stuff they will still make a lot of money.

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masterclone

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Please....Just stop while you are ahead Activision.. This is getting so stupid with tons and tons of "hero" games. Already releasing like 8 different games in 2009 based on guitar hero and such..*puke*

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jshaas

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I think they have some dude in a room who comes up with these names. Then it's his job to convince the decision makers that these "titles" are worth spending the money on to have a trademark. Seems a bit silly to me.

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pranshu_mohawk

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dum villain? you're joking rite?

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-eddy-

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"Oh God.." was my initial reaction.

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xXFr34k_0uTXx

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Fail.

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armorbreaker

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so this will be kinda like SingStar?

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dmfreak

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lol sing hero. the title sounds funny.

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ASG_

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Sing Hero...that sounds...just stupid.

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deactivated-601691ca0c520

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I do believe that all that Activision is doing here is just protecting itself from cheap knock-offs, it probably will never even release these games. Although even so, I don't understand why they are so paranoid about people releasing games such as the revently trademarked "Sing Hero", but that is their problem to deal with. But otherwise, unless activision is going to release "Guitar Villian: Hell Tour" I doubt that most of these instruments and titles will ever be used, so no worries.

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Azwethinkweiz89

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Can't believe so many kids didn't read the story, yes they trademark the game, but may not make a game, this is just to prevent a rip-off from another company to use names like Guitar Villain, or Drum Hero. Plus RB fanboys don't be so high and mighty. Last time I check RB has 2 disc of DLC songs, 2 band spin-offs, a rumor PSP game, a TV show, and a live tour. As I see RB is as worse as GH in term of "Milkage"

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TheDecoy2124

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Activison, you freaking suck. I'm never going to buy another game from your company no matter what it is. You've ruined yourself, you've ruined a series, and I just feel pissed whenever I see your games anywhere. STOP WITH THE HERO CRAP NOW! Seriously, your games and company just suck. I wish you were more like Harmonix and just released one game a year with DLC, but I guess your trying to put out as many games as you can for a quick buck.

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