Pricing wasn't provided in the press release, which is after the jump, but if you happen to like Marilyn Manson, Flyleaf and AFI, you probably can't go wrong. There's also a very strong possibility that you're wearing eyeliner right now, regardless of your gender.

ACTIVISION SET TO RELEASE TRACK PACK FOR GUITAR HERO® III: LEGENDS OF ROCK FEATURING DISTINGUISHED ARTISTS FROM INTERSCOPE RECORDS

SANTA MONICA, CA – August 5, 2008 – The distinctive chords of three hit artists from Interscope Records will soon take the stage in Activision Publishing, Inc.’s (Nasdaq: ATVID) Guitar Hero® III: Legends of Rock. The three-song Intercope Track Pack will let gamers further expand and customize their Guitar Hero playlists and experience a variety of new tunes on August 7.

The pack will include the heavy lyrics of Flyleaf’s "Tina," the heartfelt track "Carcinogen Crush" from hardcore-punk turned goth band, AFI, as well as a remix of Marilyn Manson’s grinding, fast-paced "Putting Holes In Happiness" by Nick Zinner from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

The Interscope Track Pack, originally offered to purchasers of the Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock soundtrack CD, will be available on August 7 for download on Xbox LIVE® Marketplace for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and PLAYSTATION®Store for the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system.

Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock offers the ultimate rock experience with new wireless guitars, freshly added content and features including a multiplayer action-inspired battle mode, grueling boss battles, a host of exclusive unlockable content and visually stunning rock venues. Expanded online multiplayer modes allow axe-shredders worldwide to compete head-to-head for true rock status as they riff through a star-studded soundtrack including master tracks by legendary artists such as Aerosmith, Guns 'N' Roses, The Rolling Stones, Beastie Boys, Rage Against the Machine and Pearl Jam, as well as original songs by guitar icons Slash and Tom Morello. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock is now available and is rated "T" for Teen by the ESRB. For more information visit http://community.guitarhero.com.

About Activision Publishing, Inc.

Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, Activision, Publishing, Inc. is a leading worldwide developer, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment and leisure products.

The PS3, Wii and 360 bundles will set you back $189.99. The PS2 bundle is 10 bones less, $179.99. Presumably these all include the game, guitar, drums and a mike. Gamestop just put the info up on its website, and Gaming Bits caught the scoop, noting that the bundle is $20 more than the Rock Band Special Edition bundle.

If you want to buy just the guitar and the game, you can get those for $99.99 and $59.99/$49.99 respectively. The release date is Oct. 27, 2008.

Guitar Hero: World Tour Priced at Gamestop [Gaming Bits]

Whats this Brown box doing here? [WiiNintendo]

RedOctane Adds GHIII Backing To Music-Making Campaign [gamasutra]

To be exact, Johnny Rotten "fuckin' loved" Guitar Hero III, when he finally got his hands on it. It teaches you "how not to be a rock star and not to be a [unknown expletive] in your life... cause the whole fucking thing is a joke." He was present at the game's launch party in the UK, quickly turning his thoughts on the Activision and RedOctane published game into a fun little expletive filled tirade. Sure, he mentions re-recording "Anarchy In the UK" and "Pretty Vacant" for Guitar Hero III, due to Virgin Records "losing" the masters, but then proceeds to make with the verbal diarrhea. It's a combination of insulting (and throwing microphones at) journalists, random asides, and length. The insanity goes on for some time. The full, unedited clip is at OXM.

Johnny Rotten - ignores Guitar Hero III, attacks journalists [OXM]

The paper makes the argument that Wavegroup Sound and the studio musicians they contract for remakes are getting the short end of the stick. How short? Some musicians are only being compensated $100 to $150 an hour to lend their skills to recreate the music of others. The hell? I thought a musician's career was more stable and financially rewarding than this!

To add insult to injury, Metro writes that other contributors have been receiving "ceiling-high stacks of cash" while studio musicians, who have "supplied the major portion of what makes the game series so enjoyable" are left in the cold with sore throats and pockets turned out. (Editor's note: can someone at Harmonix, RedOctane or Activision please forward us pics of your cash stack?) I'm fairly certain the argument can be made that there were dozens of programmers, engineers, artists and production staffers supplying the major portion of what makes Guitar Hero so enjoyable, but it's certainly less fun in black and white terms.

Metro proposes a fairer profiting system, including residuals for contributing artists and musician unions. Potential union members may want to go in with one fact corrected, though, as the video game industry does not bring in more cash than the music and movie industries combined, as Metro concludes. That sort of misinformation might not help the sing-a-likes at the bargaining table.

Sweatshop Silicon Valley [MetroActive - thanks, Adriel!]

How does the Guitar Hero III X-plorer guitar controller fare when faced with the whirring blades of the BlendTec Total Blender? I won't spoil it, but know that it doesn't hold up too well to a Pete Townshending. For a blender that costs as much as a PlayStation 3 it had better fuck this thing up.

The Romantics are, of course, seeking compensatory and punitive damages but specific dollar amounts aren't listed. Billboard writes that the band may have a case, citing "right of publicity" but counters that only those who are "very well known" may benefit from suing imitators.

If the court were to rule in the favor of the band, it could spell further trouble for parties involved in the Guitar Hero and Rock Band series in the form of lawsuits from other bands hungry for cash. The potential silver lining? Steering away from cover versions, including only master tracks. That silver lining comes with a bit of tin, however, as there are cases where those master tracks are simply no longer available, potentially limiting future track listings.

Regardless of the outcome, it's all utterly unromantic.

The Romantics Sue Activision Over 'Guitar Hero' [Billboard - thanks, Damon!]

Thanks to Nick McGlynn for the video!

In addition to the new controllers, Activision also formally announced the sequel's new modes, including
"grueling boss battles" and "expanded online multiplayer game modes." The company also promised an unprecedented number of original master recordings.

Additional details on the game and shots of the new controllers are available over at Gaming-Age.

Activision and Gibson exclusively hook up for Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock [Gaming-Age]

Dave Navarro, former guitarist for Jane's Addiction and the Red Hot Chili Peppers and the only man alive who can out-pirate Crecente, will be on-hand to promote Guitar Hero II's retail debut at the West LA Best Buy November 7th at noon. I'm sure had he know about the game's earlier launch at a Wal-Mart in Arkansas he would have attended that too.

I predict that in 2-3 years for a ten spot I'll be able to get Navarro to come to my house to help promote me eating breakfast as long as there's a camera on him.

Also in Guitar Hero II news, RedOctane announced their product placement list, which details the many music equipment vendors whose stuff you might notice in the game if you weren't too busy rocking out to Trogdor the Burninator. Highlights include Gibson, MusicMan Basses, and legendary cymbal manufacturer Zildjian. Can Drum Hero be far behind? Michael Fahey

Navarro, Zildjian sign with Guitar Hero II [Gamespot]

Finally! Tripping over the wire when you're rocking out to Godzilla in Guitar Hero and shattering your front teeth across the upper edge of your television screen will be a thing of the past: RedOctane has announced that the Guitar Hero controllers are going wireless next month.

They will be compatible with either Guitar Hero 1 or 2 (the latter's due out next month in the US and Europe), and we're assured that they use the same mechanism, and have been created to the same high quality as the wired Guitar Hero SG controllers.

They're also going to be white, we're told... but it's not clear whether the actual shape has changed at all.

The big question is whether or not these will be bundled into Guitar Hero 2 or not. Keeping fingers and toes crossed. Florian Eckhardt

Wireless Guitar Hero controllers next month! [Eurogamer]

I have to give props to the Destructoid guys for finding this official thread on the Guitar Hero forums spilling perhaps the most awesome gaming extra of all time: Trogdor the Burninator is an unlockable bonus song in Guitar Hero II.

You know, I'm not really a Homestar Runner or Strong Bad fan, but even I will admit that the Trogdor song is absolutely brilliant: I even know the lyrics by heart and I have become quite adept at singing the chorus in an aurally-castrating shriek. This one edition to Guitar Hero 2 is actually better than the entire announced list of songs. Florian Eckhardt

The Bonus Songs!! spoilers!! [Guitar Hero]

Kotakuite Genki wrote us in with this swank image of a custom painted Guitar Hero controller he gave away at the EB he manages:

, I just wanted to let you know that I manage an EB Games and we held a Guitar Hero 2 tournament this past weekend. I know some of the Kotaku staff are big GH fans, so I wanted to submit a photo of the grand prize we gave to the winner of the competition - a custom-painted guitar controller done by a local tattoo artist (who also works at my store). The enclosed photo shows the guitar in the display case behind our counter and the back of the guitar, which the artist also painted. This was NOT an EB Games event per se....it was something I did on my own, with corporate's approval and Red Octane's assistance (they provided t-shirts and posters and a 10-song demo). The turnout was pretty huge and the store was packed for the Finals on Sunday....the final 2 competitors played Expert VS "Who Was In My Room Last Night", then solo "War Pigs," and then the tie-breaker was solo "Psychobilly Freakout" since that was the hardest song on the demo. I didn't expect either of them to finish the song since they hadn't played it before the tournament, but they both aced it on their first try, with the winning spread being only a dozen or so notes.

Very nice. I need to co-opt a a tattoo artist to spruce up mine. That toy guitar sitting in the corner doesn't have my nocturnally-visiting chicksters thinking "Rock Badd Ass." Florian Eckhardt

What is more interesting about this video of a man in a pizza suit playing Guitar Hero is less his costume but his double-necked, custom controller. Where the heck did he get that? And how is he playing two parts at once with it? There must be some sort of switch to play certain notes in unison, but damned if I can see him trigger it. Unless he's just cheating. Florian Eckhardt

If I were to get a Guitar Hero tattoo over the whole of my back, it would be a perfect reproduction of this Iron Maiden style throwback. It was created by applepointy over at the ConceptArt.org forums and has just single-handedly taken the prize for the best piece of fan art I've ever seen. I'd also like a cheesecake shot of Judy Nails across the length of my bicep. Eddy should be an unlockable character in Guitar Hero II. Florian Eckhardt

Guitar Hero Character [Conceptart.org, Thanks Olle!]

Tommy Gun over at Cracked Rabbit Gaming has released another Guitar Hero 2 video in which he aces You Got Another Thing Comin' on Hard while playing in some implausible positions, not including missionary or reverse cowgirl.

As an aside, why the heck does a site that updates like one time every two weeks have such a totally professional video logo? Florian Eckhardt

Tommy Gun of Cracked Rabbit Gaming — a strangely listless boychik — may have the weirdest Raggety Ann hairdo, but he's a mean hand at Guitar Hero 2. Watch him get 5 stars on Strutter on expert, effortlessly nailing those three button chords. Meanwhile, I soldier lamely on with three star streaks on Hard mode. Florian Eckhardt

See any wires, boys and girls? I sure as hell don't. All I see is a bleary-eyed drunkard holding the ugliest fake guitar I've ever seen, playing Guitar Hero 2 on the 360. Florian Eckhardt

Guitar Hero 2 for Xbox 360 [Major Nelson]

Ed's Note: It looks like there's a wire there afterall, see it, it's right there at the bottom being all obscure and such. While the big MN didn't actually point this out until after Florian's post, I'm not sure why Florian didn't notice it. Though on first blush I didn't either. Maybe Flor has been dipping into the same G&T that made Major N so bleary-eyed. Sorry for the confusiong and here's hoping for an official wireless controller down the line. Brian Crecente

Guitar Hero is coming to Xbox 360, and bringing a brand new controller and the possibility of exclusive downloadable content:

"With its large integrated hard drive, Xbox 360 provides an incredible platform for facilitating downloadable content," said Dusty Welch, Head of Publishing, RedOctane. "We believe there is no better title to feature micro-transactions than a music game like Guitar Hero II, where the content is the basis of your experience. The relationship with the Xbox Live Marketplace creates endless possibilities for exclusive content."

This from a press release we got today from Redoctane, who included a nice image of the new controller (looks to be a mockup and not an actual photo), which seems a wee bit bland, but easily customizable. Eliza Gauger

An anonymous tipster — quaking in trepidation lest he be discovered giving us an 'exclusive' — directed us to this absolutely awesome 25 minute Guitar Hero 2 video. It was a competition held at Beerland in Austin at with the IGDA. Amazingly, the guy who ended up winning the competition had only play Guitar Hero a dozen times... and managed to win without even looking.

I can not frickin' wait. Does anyone spy any unannounced songs in the vid? Florian Eckhardt

Robert Summa — erstwhile Joystiq journo, now bitter Destructoid blogger — contacted The Ant Commandos, the company who released that god-awful Shredder Guitar Hero controller and are currently being sued by RedOctane for it. Which is ridiculous, since RedOctane has a history themselves of producing non-licensed controllers for musical games such as Dance Dance Revolution.

To highlight the absurdity, The Ant Commandos gave Robert this timeline of how the Guitar Hero controller was ripped-off... sorry. Born.

• 1999: Topway Electrical Appliance (part owner of TAC) patents the Magical Guitar controller for Konami's Guitar Freaks. The design had five fret buttons very similar to what Guitar Hero has now.

• 2001 and 2004: CEO of RedOctane, as well as a sales manager, made several visits to a Topway factory in China and inquired about the Magical Guitar controller.

• From 2001-2004: RedOctane purchased "several hundred" Magical Guitar controllers.

• 2005: RedOctane releases Guitar Hero with a controller that looks "exactly like" the Magical Guitar.

TAC have countersued. Damn right. Although I take exception with this explanation from Olivia on why the TAC controllers lack the "essential tilt function." She claims you have to shake the Shredder because it's aimed at younger audiences who don't know how to tilt. Is that really more plausible than the stone cold fact that the controller fucking blows? Florian Eckhardt

Ant responds to RedOctane/Activision lawsuit [Destructoid]

Hey. Nice! Activision has just confirmed that Guitar Hero isn't going to be limited just to the Playstation 2 any longer.

According to Activision CEO Robert Kotick, Guitar Hero will be bled dry with an iteration "on every significant new format". He was discussing intentions for yearly updates until the franchise was wrung dry as a withered octogenarian's boob.

This seems to confirm rumors coming from Gamestation employees that Guitar Hero is headed to the 360 in the first part of 2007. Which would be excellent, especially if Live Marketplace content involved new, downloadable songs. Florian Eckhardt

Guitar Hero goes multiformat [Eurogamer]

RedOctane, the publisher of Guitar Hero, have initiated a lawsuit against "The Ant Commandos", a California-based company that sells the one Guitar Hero peripheral everyone wants: wireless guitar controllers.

Why? Red Octane's furious about the unrepentant unlicensed-ness of it all. "Defendants have copied the packaging of Plaintiffs' products and have used Plaintiffs' trademarks and copyrighted material in its packaging and advertising of its own products in an effort to cause confusion among consumers."

Plucky words from a company that made itself known selling unlicensed, third-party dance pads for Konami's Dance Dance Rebolution games.

"Pot? This is Kettle, you black son of a bitch..." Florian Eckhardt

RedOctane sues guitar manufacturer [Gamespot]

One issue with being a Guitar Hero zealot is that it's a secret righteousness. Who besides my girlfriend and my friends nursing hangovers will know that I, when initiating star power, can actually twirl the Guitar Hero controller around my neck just like Johnny Napalm? But more importantly: Guitar Heroes simply don't get indy street cred confining their trashing to the isolation of their own living room. We can't swagger around downtown, a guitar controller slung over our shoulder, a lit Marlboro dangling from our lower lips. Girls would take one look at that plastic guitar with the Fisher Price buttons and make a collective decision through the Feminine Hive Mind to never sleep with us again, forever.

Or at least, they would have until now. But I see over at Lik Sang that they are now selling a Guitar Hero guitar case with the words Guitar Hero actually printed upon it. Just like a real rock god! Finally, a suitable scabbard in which to sheathe our controller and stride with confidence and attitude through the streets. I'm going to take mine everywhere.

PS: They are also pre-selling Guitar Hero 2. Florian Eckhardt

Guitar Hero Gig Bag [Lik Sang]

Tam explains both the coolness and the difficulty of the feature:

Yes it would be cool to swap out that Slash's Gibson LP sound from a GNR track to maybe a Flying V or some other guitar but it's really difficult because we actually stamp down one uncompressed guitar track for the Lead Guitar on each song,

Of course, a 'simple' way to do this would be to allow gamers to just fudge around with the mix of the guitar sound. It wouldn't be perfect, but you'd satisfy a lot of people. A more interesting approach might be an online database through Sony's hub of downloadable, user-created content like new songs or guitar sounds that the less savvy can download. Possibly a pipe dream, but I'd love to see it. Florian Eckhardt

Make A Guitar Mode in Future GH Games [John Tam's 1UP Blog [1UP]