When Neversoft's Guitar Hero IV (PS2, PS3, X360, Wii) arrives this fall, it may compete with Harmonix's Rock Band (PS2, PS3, X360, Wii) for more than just retail dominance--the battle of the bands may very well extend into your living space.

As revealed earlier this week, Neversoft's Guitar Hero IV (PS2, PS3, X360, Wii) will bring drum, vocal, and music creation support to the franchise. Now it appears GH4 may not be compatible with the Rock Band drum kits that are already in the homes of many gamers.

A picture of the wireless Guitar Hero IV drum kit, located within the pages Game Informer magazine's June issue, reveals it to have three drum pads, two cymbal pads and a foot pedal. That gives the kit a higher number of inputs and a different physical arrangement than the Rock Band drum set, which has four drum pads and a foot pedal.

Given these differences, it does not appear likely that Guitar Hero IV will be compatible with Rock Band's drum kits, especially taking the companies' past feuding into account. Shacknews has contacted both Harmonix and Neversoft owner Activision for comment.