What was previously a rumor has now been officially confirmed: Activision is redesigning its guitar controller and adding drums, bass guitar, and microphone to its insanely popular "Guitar Hero" series, in a bid to lure away fans of Harmonix's rival title Rock Band.
The new game will be called Guitar Hero World Tour, and will feature master recordings from bands such as Van Halen, The Eagles, Linkin Park and Sublime. However, what Activision really hopes will set Guitar Hero apart from its rival is the all-new Music Studio feature, which offers an assortment of tools that will enable gamers to create their own digital music "from scratch" and play it in the game. Users will then be able to share their recordings with others online via GHTunes.
Guitar Hero World Tour will be released on the Wii, PS2, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3 this autumn, although only the latter two will benefit from all the online goodness. No pricing details have been made available as of yet.