In recent history, Activision--publisher of the Guitar Hero series--and Warner Music--a massive record label with songs included in the music-rhythm games--have publicly played out a drama resembling an abusive relationship.

Famed gaming analyst Michael Pachter at Wedbush Morgan has now chimed in on the troubled couple, bluntly telling Gamasutra that "Activision doesn't 'need' Warner Music at all."

Warner started the fire by publicly complaining that video game studios, whether selling Guitar Hero or Harmonix's rival series Rock Band, don't pay record labels enough money for the rights to use those songs in the games. Activision countered by saying that Warner lacked respect for Guitar Hero.

Pachter's reasoning is straightforward: "There are over one million songs out there--probably two million--and Activision is going to turn fewer than a thousand of them into Guitar Hero songs every year." ... Read more

The possibility of a keyboard in Guitar Hero World Tour has apparently been shot down, a Joystiq interview has revealed.

As previously reported, Guitar Hero World Tour will be adding a new instrument to complement the already-included guitar, drums, and microphone, but the new peripheral would only be used in the game's new music creation mode.

When asked about a keyboard controller, Bright said, "A keyboard controller deserves to be introduced with its own game. This is something we're thinking about."

Guitar Hero World Tour will appear on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, and PlayStation 2, with Neversoft developing the PS3 and 360 versions, Vicarious Visions handling the Wii edition and Budcat on the PS2 release.

In addition to guitar, drums and a microphone, it seems that Neversoft's Guitar Hero World Tour will be adding yet another instrument to the mix when it hits this fall.

Neversoft director Brain Bright reportedly told G4 that another peripheral is on the way, one that will only be used in the game's music creation mode.

No other details are currently available, with the outlet speculating that the new device is a keyboard. Neversoft previously revealed that players can use the guitar controller to map out keyboard notes and drum machine programming in the editor, which also allows players to share their tunes online.

Guitar Hero World Tour is in development for PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Wii, with Neversoft on the PS3 and 360 versions, Vicarious Visions handling the Wii edition and Budcat on the PS2 release.

Sure, there's also Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa and Kung Fu Panda, but here are screenshots from games you might actually want to play (apologies to our eight year old visitors).

Call of Duty: World at War (PC, PS3, X360) Guitar Hero: On Tour Decades (DS) Guitar Hero World Tour (PS3, X360) ... Read more

Microsoft has announced that the Xbox 360 editions of Harmonix's Rock Band 2, Neversoft's Guitar Hero World Tour and Zoe Mode's Rock Revolution will feature instrument interoperability, as revealed on Microsoft's Gamerscore Blog.

Citing a similar announcement made yesterday in which Sony revealed that the PS3 editions of the upcoming rhythm titles would see instrument cross-compatibility, Microsoft representative Chris Paladino stated, "For the record, we also do that."

"Consider this an official announcement," Paladino added. "All the instruments from Rock Band 2, Guitar Hero: World Tour, and Rock Revolution will be cross-compatible. In other words, welcome to the party."

While neither Microsoft nor Sony specified whether the three titles' guitars, microphones and drums would also see cross-platform compatibility between the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, the announcements bring the long struggle between rhythm game developers over peripheral compatibility to an end.

Sony has brokered an arrangement between the developers of Rock Band 2, Guitar Hero World Tour and Rock Revolution to ensure instrument interoperability on the PlayStation 3, Sony Computer Entertainment PR director Michael Shorrock revealed.

"We have been working closely with Neversoft and Activision, Harmonix and Konami to ensure that PlayStation 3 guitars and drum sets will all feature a basic level of gameplay compatibility," Shorrock wrote on the PlayStation.Blog.

The director explained that both the drum kit and guitar from Neversoft's Guitar Hero World Tour will function with Harmonix's Rock Band 2, and vice versa. Drums and guitars from both titles will be compatible with Zoe Mode's Rock Revolution, while Rock Revolution's drum kit will work with both Rock Band 2 and Guitar Hero World Tour.

The director further noted that microphones from SCE London Studio's SingStar will also be compatible with Rock Band 2 and Guitar Hero World Tour.

"We're still working hard to ensure compatibility between the Guitar Hero and Rock Band titles currently on the market," Sherrock added. "We hope to have an announcement on that shortly."

Responding to complaints from Warner Music that music-oriented games such as Guitar Hero and Rock Band don't pay enough for licensed songs, Guitar Hero publisher Activision has labeled the comments as "one-sided" and disrespectful.

Warner simply isn't "respectful of how much we've done to bring new audiences into the market," Activision CEO Bobby Kotick told the Financial Times.

"We're introducing a whole new group of artists to new audiences that is resulting in their iTunes downloads being exponentially higher than they would otherwise be, [as well as] new album sales and new merchandising opportunities," he explained.

Warner label Roadrunner, for example, noted a bump in DragonForce album sales after the band was exposed to a wider audience in Guitar Hero III.

"This is an entirely different business [than iTunes] that is very technically... Read more

Coinciding with the recent revelation that Guitar Hero World Tour (PS2, PS3, 360, Wii) contains songs from Ozzy Osbourne and several other Ozzfest performers, publisher Activision has released a new trailer for the music game due this fall.

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It seems a day can't go by without more Guitar Hero World Tour (PS2, PS3, 360, Wii) tracks being announced, and today IGN has the honor of unveiling a few more:

• Airbourne - "Too Much Too Young..."
• Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - "Weapon of Choice"
• Bob Seger - "Hollywood Nights"
• Dinosaur Jr. - "Feel The Pain"
• Silversun Pickups - "Lazy Eye"
• Survivor - "Eye of the Tiger"
• Black Label Society - "Stillborn"
• Metallica - "Trapped Under Ice"
• System of a Down - "B.Y.O.B.

Curiously, the site lists several other "previously announced" tracks that were not, to this reporter's knowledge, confirmed before... Read more

Said to be the world's third-largest music company, Warner Music Group has expressed frustration in its view that that music-centered games like Rock Band and Guitar Hero don't pay enough for licensed songs.

"The amount being paid to the music industry, even though their games are entirely dependent on the content we own and control, is far too small," Warner Music chief executive Edgar Bronfman told Reuters, though he did not list specific amounts.

Several Warner artists have appeared in Rock Band and Guitar Hero, such as Avenged Sevenfold and DragonForce, with Warner label Roadrunner noting a sales bump in DragonForce albums after the band was exposed to a wider audience in Guitar Hero III.

Other artists that fall under the Warner Music Group umbrella include Led Zeppelin, The B-52's, Green Day, Depeche Mode, Paris Hilton, Red Hot Chili Peppers... Read more

Much like Jimi Hendrix, virtual recreations of Ozzy Osbourne and guitarist Zakk Wylde will appear in the multi-instrument music title Guitar Hero World Tour, according to USA Today.

More importantly, the game is said to sport the following tracks from the bat-biting rock star:

• "Crazy Train"
• "Mr. Crowley"

Osbourne's virtual avatar, seen above, was animated using motion-capture technology. "I had to put on this black suit with all these little ping-pong ball-like things all over me," he remarked. "I don't really know how it works."

He joins the following list of confirmed artists for the music game, which brings drums and vocals to the traditionally guitar-only franchise and hits PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Wii this fall:

• Van Halen - "Hot for Teacher"
• Jimi Hendrix - "Purple Haze (Live, 1969)"
• Jimi Hendrix - "The Wind Cries Mary"
• At the Drive-In - "One Armed Scissor
• Sublime - "Santeria"
• Billy Idol - "Rebel Yell"
• Foo Fighters - "Everlong" ... Read more

Several new tracks set to appear in Neversoft's upcoming rhythm sequel Guitar Hero World Tour have been listed in a preview of the game in Stuff Magazine, as revealed by scans of the publication posted on the Guitar Hero community forums.

The newly confirmed tracks include:

• Steve Miller Band - "The Joker"
• Interpol - "Obstacle 1"
• The Doors - "Light My Fire"
• Michael Jackson - "Beat It"
• Linkin Park - "In The End"
• Smashing Pumpkins - "Bullet with Butterfly Wings"

The preview also lists several new bands confirmed to appear in the game, including Nirvana, the Beastie Boys, and Muse in addition to other groups already... Read more

A new listing on the Entertainment Software Ratings Board's website appears to indicate that Neversoft's multi-instrument rhythm title Guitar Hero World Tour (PS2, PS3, Wii, 360) may be coming to PCs.

Though the port has not yet been officially confirmed by publisher Activision, it would follow the PC and Mac edition of Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock, which was developed for those platforms by Aspyr Media and released after the console version.

While Activision did not issue an outright denial of Guitar Hero World Tour on PC, the publisher told GameCyte that "that title has not been announced yet."

Curiously, the listings make no mention of the PlayStation 2 and Wii versions of Guitar Hero World Tour, which were announced alongside its PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 incarnations. It remains to be seen whether those platforms will be shown in a second entry, a la the ESRB's listings for Guitar Hero: Aerosmith.

In related news, Activision and hardware manufacturer Logitech today announced a partnership to develop and market "premium" instrument controllers for the console editions of Guitar Hero World Tour. The peripherals are set to roll out after the title's release later this year.

The forthcoming release of Guitar Hero World Tour will pack two Jimi Hendrix master tracks--"Purple Haze (Live, 1969)," "The Wind Cries Mary"--with more unspecified songs slated to arrive post-release as downloadable content.

It marks the first time that Hendrix's estate has provided the original recordings for use in a game. A cover of Hendrix's "Spanish Castle Magic" appeared in the original Guitar Hero, back in 2005.

In the announcement today, publisher Activision noted that Hendrix will be a playable character in the game as well. Bringing vocal and drum support to the traditionally guitar-only series, World Tour arrives on PS2, PS3, Xbox 360 and Wii this fall.

Developer Neversoft has confirmed that Xbox 360 version of Guitar Hero World Tour will be fully compatible with Rock Band's Xbox 360 guitars, drums and microphone.

The announcement came during the Activision press conference, where Guitar Hero World Tour was demonstrated live. There is no news on whether the PS3, PS2 or Wii Rock Band instruments will function.

When asked about the issue earlier today, Rock Band developer Harmonix was unaware of the news and could offer no further details.

For more on the game, check out our further coverage of the event.

Following the new details on the song creation functionality of Neversoft's Guitar Hero World Tour, publisher Activision has revealed a YouTube-like service in which players can share created songs with the community at large.

Dubbed GH Tunes, the service also allows users to create album art for their completed works. Songs shared via GH Tunes will be ranked based on popularity, much like real music pop charts.

Additionally, a function in the game will allow users to create unique rock stars, akin to the custom character creation engine seen in Harmonix's Rock Band.

Publisher Activision today announced that Neversoft's upcoming rhythm game follow-up Guitar Hero World Tour will provide a number of new features including the ability to use dual bass pedals with the game's drum kit.

Also revealed was a feature which will allow users to use electronic drum kits and beat boxes within the title's previously announced music creation engine. Beat tracks can be composed on percussion synthesizers and plugged directly into the game to compose songs.

The music creation engine's drum machine offers the ability to program loops with samples ranging everywhere from 8-bit to Indian sounds. Drum machine programming and keyboard playing can be performed via the game's guitar, where notes are controlled by fret buttons and the tilt of the controller changes the octave.

Fine editing of created tracks can be performed via GHMix, an in-game sequencer that allows users to edit together songs using created tracks.

Microsoft today announced that an R.E.M. track pack featuring three songs from the band's new album will be available for download when Guitar Hero World Tour ships.

Van Halen and The Eagles were also named as exclusive bands for the game.

Additionally, the new Metallica album will be available on Guitar Hero 3 when it is released this fall. The album will then be available on Guitar Hero World Tour when that game makes its way to stores.

This fall's release of Guitar Hero World Tour (PS2, PS3, 360, Wii) will be accompanied by the rumored touch-sensitive guitar, publisher Activision has confirmed.

Though the title will support all previous Guitar Hero guitars, the new wireless instrument adds a touch pad below the five standard fret buttons. IGN claims the pad lets players "mimic a slap bass" and tweak sustained notes.

In all, the game is said to sport over 85 master tracks, but will not be compatible the existing downloadable content for Guitar Hero 3. Rival Harmonix has stated its desire to make future entries in the competing Rock Band series compatible with all RB DLC.

Thus far, bands and tracks confirmed to appear in Guitar Hero World Tour are:

• Sublime - "Santeria"
• Billy Idol - "Rebel Yell"
• Foo Fighters - "Everlong"
• Linkin Park
• Van Halen
• The Eagles

The touch-sensitive guitar was first unveiled in a leak of marketing materials earlier this week. While those materials further detailed a $180 price point and a number of bands, the only other Activision-confirmed tidbit was that the Foo Fighters will be involved.

Meanwhile, the following artists and tracks are believed to be included... Read more

Continuing the assault of leaked information from research firm Intellisponse and NeoGAF's rehosting of its internal documents is word that Guitar Hero World Tour, more commonly known as Guitar Hero 4, will sell in a three-instrument bundle for $180.

In addition to the previously-revealed drum kit, the PS2, PS3, 360 and Wii-bound bundle is said to contain a new guitar, featuring "a touch-sensitive guitar Neck Slide [that] opens up the entire guitar neck for unbound solos," and a microphone.

A number of bands were listed in the documents as well, including Jimi Hendrix, The Doors, Foo Fighters, Smashing Pumpkins, KoRn, System of a Down, Ozzy Osbourne, Interpol, Muse, along with a tease of "dozens more".

Competing title Rock Band, which emerged from Guitar Hero creator Harmonix last fall, is sold in a $170 three-instrument bundle on 360 and PS3.

Please keep in mind that this information is unconfirmed, and as Intellisponse is a marketing research firm, could very represent market surveys instead of actual facts.