Recession special: Buy Guitar Hero 5, get Guitar Hero: Van Halen for free

Buy one, get one free.

In a move sure to resonate with recession-minded gamers, Activision's just-released Guitar Hero 5 game includes an offer to get the highly anticipated Van Halen version of the music game franchise for free.

As a value-based pushback against the Beatles: Rock Band juggernaut, it's an excellent idea. Guitar Hero 5 includes 85 tracks (versus just 45 in the Beatles game), plus 44 more in the Van Halen spin-off.

Guitar Hero 5 includes acts from Johnny Cash to Stevie Wonder to Tom Petty, while Guitar Hero: Van Halen has 25 classic VH songs, plus 19 more from "guest acts" such as The Clash and Deep Purple. If you're a VH superfan, note that the game reportedly excludes former members Sammy Hagar and Michael Anthony, but does include current bassist Wolfgang Van Halen.

The free Van Halen game offer can be redeemed, according to the sticker affixed to the cover of our copy of Guitar Hero 5, by going to guitarhero.com/vanhalengameoffer and filling out an online form, including a unique serial number from the back of the Guitar Hero 5 instruction booklet.

The offer is good until October 1, and says to "allow up to six weeks for delivery," which should still put the Van Halen game in your hands before its official December 22 release date.

Update: After hearing from a few readers, we tried filling out the online form and got the following error message: "We're sorry, but due to overwhelming response we are having difficulties validating your code at this time. Please try again." A few hours later, we were able to complete the process, which ends with a printable form that has to be snail-mailed into a P.O. Box.

[HMetal68]

Activision has stated that they will sell more copies of GH5 than EA will of Rock Band Beatles and to me this seems like their strategy to make that happen. Although I prefer Rock Band over the Guitar Hero games, this is a pretty good deal. <br /> <br />By the way, once you fill out the online form you have to print a form and mail it in along with a copy of your receipt and the sticker from the front of the game box. I almost threw away the sticker when I opened the game.

[dachancellor]

I thought it was kind of odd needing the sticker, since it doesn't have anything 'special' on it. <br />However, you'll notice when you do the online registration, the e-mail that sends the form to you also has a link to print the sticker, so you would have been okay still.

[HMetal68]

In my opinion it is stupid even having to mail in anything. The web form you have to complete requires you to enter all of your information (mailing address...) as well as a code from the back of the manual which is inside the package so why have to mail anything? The only reason I can think of is that they figure some people won't mail in the form, etc. and that way they won't have to give away as many copies. <br /> <br />On the other hand, a game for the cost of a stamp is worth it. Although I wish the Van Halen game included the Sammy Hagar years.

[dachancellor]

I'm sure there may be a few people who don't mail it in, but those are more than likely people who would be fine just buying the game on it's own. <br />I personally would have waited, had it not been for the free VH offer. <br /> <br />As far as saving on copies, it would probably just be easier to 'limit' the number of copies they give away, instead of paying someone to process the mail. <br />Requiring receipt and everything to be mailed in does deter 'guessing' those validation codes. <br /> <br />I remember a while back, when registering Nintendo games to get the free Zelda collector's edition, you simply had to +1 on the end of the registration code, so some people got screwed. (They've sinced changed their code generation algorithm I believe.)

[joevai52]

HMetal68:<br /><br />Expecting a certain number of people to not take advantage of the offer is always one of the intended outcomes of offers like this. It is also the reason behind mail-in rebates. Companies can make it seem like they are giving customers a great deal while knowing that they won't have to give a game or rebate to everyone who buys their product because there will be a significant number of people who never mail in the required forms; this saves the company a great deal of money while still offering a discounted price. However, if people do fill out (correctly) and mail in the forms, this and many mail-in offers can be great deals.

[openchain14]

i really want to get this game and was wondering if it is hard to find them with stickers at gamestop?? plz reply here or email me at [e-mail]

[dachancellor]

openchain14, as I stated in my post above: <br /> <br />However, you'll notice when you do the online registration, the e-mail that sends the form to you also has a link to print the sticker, so you would have been okay still. <br /> <br />As long as you have the receipt and the code from the manual, you could print the sticker. <br />I bought from Gamestop, and everything I needed was there, and the clerk pointed out and let me know to keep the sticker, though it certainly isn't necessary.

[jrod716]

In my opinion I would say this is way too much trouble to go through to get a free game. Plus you have to take into consideration that on its release date I am assuming it will be dirt cheap. Not to mention the ebay sellers. <br /><br />So I will just play Guitar Hero 5 and let the others struggle to get Guitar Hero Van Halen free, let them beat it and get bored of it. Go on the internet and buy it for a steal.

[rereyes23]

Opinion respected. However, I think spending a couple of minutes filling out an online form and then mailing it out still beats paying $25 or so for the game from resellers. Especially with the recession, us consumers have to take advantage of offers such as these...in my opinion.

[metallica1234561234]

i agree that its a lot of trouble but when games are 60 a pop you should just suck it up and fill it out

[Brett9630]

Just got this in my email today<br /><br /><br /> <br /><br />  "Dear Guitar Hero® Fan, <br /><br />We know you're ready to start rocking to Guitar Hero® Van Halen®. We are sending you this email because you took advantage of the Guitar Hero® 5 offer to receive Guitar Hero Van Halen on the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system platform. <br /><br />Unfortunately, we made a printing error on the package of Guitar Hero Van Halen. Fortunately, we caught and remedied the error prior to sending your disc. Our effort to ensure a completely positive customer experience has resulted in a slight delay in shipping your copy of the game. <br /><br />We will begin mailing copies of Guitar Hero Van Halen this week and you should have yours very shortly. Again, we apologize for the delay. We are committed to bringing you the best quality gaming experience possible. We know you are ready to rock and appreciate your patience. <br /><br />Thanks again for being a loyal fan of Guitar Hero. <br /><br />Rock on!<br />The Guitar Hero Team "<br /><br />wii and xbox apprently fine