Since Activision announced its decided to stop making the Guitar Hero video game back in February and laid off hundreds of workers, did you think the fake-guitar video-game industry is dying?

After all, according to Wired, sales of Guitar Hero declined from 1.5 million just for the first month of Guitar Hero III back in 2007, to 86,000 for Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock for the entire year of 2010. Plus, licensing popular tunes costs a major chunk of change as well.

Those kinds of numbers led to Rock Band creator Harmonix being sold earlier this year by the now defunct MTV Games of Viacom to return to its roots as an independent studio.

But now, rocking on, Rock Band III will be reissued for folks who didn’t get it the first time around and need a Rock Band fix for the holidays, but the bigger news is that a new version will come out in 2012 and it will be “fundamentally reinterpreted,” according to an interview company execs gave to GiantBomb.com.Continue reading...

Air France replaces CEO, Mercedes-Benz USA CEO is ousted in Daimler exec shuffle, and Olympus shares plunge as its CEO is fired.

Apple sells 4 million iPhone 4S units in first weekend, as Samsung sues to block the device in Japan and Australia and HTC loses Apple patent case in US. Steve Jobs' Silicon Valley memorial service reportedly filled with humor and music, as company prepares to honor late co-founder and report earnings on Tuesday. Starbucks and Apple are also partnering in the UK on free music downloads.

Mattel eyes UK's HIT Entertainment, home to Thomas the Tank Engine and other kids' properties.

Bank of America posts $6.2 billion quarterly profit, while Goldman Sachs reports $428 million loss.

BlackBerry customers receive free apps and tech support to make amends for outages.Continue reading...

Having relaunched Comedy Central in the US on January 1st, MTV Networks is rolling out the new logo and visual identity to Germany on Oct. 1st.Continue reading...

Bounce TV just launched in the US with the slogan "TV Our Way." Its first on-air program? Michael Jackson and Diana Ross in The Wiz.

Its schedule is packed with movies with “proven playability among black audiences,” such as A Raisin in the Sun, Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing, Shackles, Glory, and a week of Richard Pryor comedies. The rest of its on-air lineup features acquired TV shows such as Soul Train, a mix of original programming: sports (primarily, black college football games), documentaries and faith-based programs.

Bounce TV isn't the first or only network targeting African Americans, of course.Continue reading...

Best Buy faces investor skepticism of its big-box strategy amid stiffening online competition.

BP may avoid gross negligence conviction in Gulf Oil spill.

CBS drops What's Trending web TV series after Steve Jobs flub.

Cisco sets more conservative growth target.

ConocoPhillips tries to fuel more natural-gas use.

Dell sets $5-billion share buyback.

Dreamworks masters YouTube and Zynga marketing.

Facebook chases Google+ with "smart lists" feature.Continue reading...

The U.K. considers social media clampdown as Prime Minister David Cameron admits police misread rioters and promises "swift justice" in House of Commons speech.

American Airlines revives plans for American Eagle spinoff.

AOL authorizes $250 million stock buyback program.

British Airways embarks on employee engagement program and digital recruitment.

Cisco sees results from John Chambers' strategic turnaround.

Coca-Cola launches "Future Flames" integrated London 2012 Olympics campaign in U.K.

Gawker's Gizmodo site won't face charges in iPhone 4 case.Continue reading...

When it launched in 1983, it was known as The Nashville Network or The National Network or, simply, as TNN. It’s come a long way.

Since the summer of 2003, Spike TV (which subsequently dropped the "TV" part of its monkier) has been solely focused on landing the 18-34 year-old male demographic through the broadcasting of action sports and adventure programming such as the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and its latest hit show, Deadliest Warrior.

Now the word is that the Viacom/MTV Networks-owned Spike is planning to rebrand again and go after both men and women in the 18-42 year-old set.Continue reading...

It’s nothing new in the old boy’s network, the recycling of executives at the very top, and now it’s a growing fact for women at the apex of their careers, as evidenced by Christina Norman’s new role as Executive Editor of HuffPost BlackVoices, the former AOL portal that has migrated to its own channel this week on the Huffington Post with Norman's arrival.

She's a big hire for Arianna Huffington, who's been aggressively ramping up since joining forces with AOL, and perhaps an indication of a missed opportunity in OWN's business plan — to think multiplatform and digital, not just TV — for Winfrey.Continue reading...