Last week rumors went around that Def Leppard would be featured on RedOctane/Activision's upcoming Guitar Hero IV, info extracted from an on-air Rockline radio interview. Said radio station has now put up a soundbite on its website where Def Leppard guitarist Phil Collen confirms that Photograph, Animal, and Rock of Ages will be featured on the rhythm game's next installment saying "No, it is coming out, it would have been out earlier, but we didn't get around to it."

Fire up the fret board, crank the amp to 11 and get ready to rock this way with Guitar Hero: Aerosmith. Play through Aerosmith's career, bands they performed with, venues they played, such as Aerosmith's own Make It, Uncle Salty, Draw the Line, No Surprize, and Sweet Emotion, Cheap Trick's Dream Police, Joan Jett & the Blackhearts' I Hate Myself for Loving You, or Mott the Hoople's All the Young Dudes and a cover of The Kinks' All Day and All Night.

Revealed yesterday, for the first time handheld gamers will have the freedom to unleash their inner rock star anywhere, anytime with Activision's upcoming Guitar Hero: On Tour offering the most diverse set list of master tracks ever offered in a Guitar Hero game, including classic rock, alternative and pop favorites such as Nirvana, OK Go and No Doubt.

Last week, Activision filed a preemptive lawsuit against Gibson regarding a patent violation claimed by the guitar maker, after it had been a partner for three years. Activision now revealed that the argument has spilled over into retail, as Gibson is trying to block stores from selling the franchise. "Our Guitar Hero retailing partners have done nothing wrong. We will confront this and any other efforts by Gibson to wrongfully interfere with Activision's relationship with its customers and its consumers."

Activision made no secret about wanting to bring its Guitar Hero franchise to the NDS, but the big question was the controller device. Guitar Hero: On Tour will use the GBA cartridge input to plug in a small device with the typical colored Guitar Hero buttons to activate the notes, although with only four buttons instead of the usual five on the console guitars. Guitar Hero: On Tour will feature 5 venues, 6 playable characters, and the usual clothing, guitars and accessories.

On Thursday, March 20th, the Dallas Mavericks will launch the Guitar Hero Challenge where aficionados will have the chance to show off their skills on the AT&T Plaza outside the South Entrance of American Airlines Center. The grand prize, the chance to play Guitar Hero during a quarter break at a First Round Playoff game, two-tickets to the game, an autographed Mavs Authentic jersey.

After three years, Gibson, one of the exclusive partners of Activision's Guitar Hero franchise, claims the game infringes on one of its patents and has notified Activision. In 1999, Gibson filed a patent for technology simulating a live performance using a musical instrument, a 3D headset with stereo speakers, and a pre-recorded concert. Not wanting to sit by idly, Activision has filed a lawsuit asking the U.S. District Court for California to declare Gibson's patent invalid and to bar it from seeking damages.

Sony has rolled out new PlayStation Store content, starting with Capcom's Rocketmen: Axis of Evil ($9.99), fl0w ($7.99) and Ape Escape: On the Loose ($14.99). Guitar Hero III: Modern Metal Track Pack (Avenged Sevenfold's Almost Easy, Thrice's The Arsonist, and Deftones' Hole in the earth, $6.25), Grateful Dead six-song pack (Casey Jones, Sugar Magnolia, Truckin, Franklin’s Tower, I Need A Miracle, and China Cat Sunflower, $1.99/$9.99). Apart from that, there was also a bunch of game/movie trailers and PS3 themes.

In celebration of the release of the inaugural Guinness World Records: Gamer's Edition 2008 on Mar. 11, Guinness World Records will sponsor a record-setting Guitar Hero event in New York City that will witness the world's #1 Guitar Hero player establish the record for Single Player High Score.

Activision revealed that two new Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock track packs are set to storm living rooms. Available today on XBLA/PSN is the Modern Metal pack, which includes Deftones' Hole in the Earth, Avenged Sevenfold's Almost Easy and Thrice's The Arsonist. On St. Patrick's Day, three songs from Celtic punk band Dropkick Murphys will become available for free.

Sony has rolled out new PlayStation Store content, starting with three NIN tracks (March of the Pigs, The Collector, and The Perfect Drug) for Rock Band ($1.99/5.49 track/pack) and fixes for a few previously released tracks. Guitar Hero III fans can download the No Doubt Track Pack ($6.25), and apart from that only a PAIN: Scurv Dogg Character ($0.99) and game/movie trailers.

Activision has rolled out three new track for GH III. Fans will now be able to shred to hits from No Doubt's renowned album Tragic Kingdom, "Don't Speak," "Excuse Me Mr.," and "Sunday Morning."

Fire up the fret board, crank the amp to 11 and get ready to rock this way with Activision's Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, the first game built around the legendary music of America’s Greatest Rock ‘N Roll Band. Play through Aerosmith's career, bands they performed with, venues they played. Guitar Hero 3 owners will be able to download Aerosmith's Dream On track for free this weekend!

Late January at the Marché international de l'édition musicale trade fair, Activision selected 20 tracks, out of 200 submissions, to be featured on Guitar Hero IV. Music label Albert Productions' UK boss James Cassidy was so excited he issued a press release spilling the beans that British band The Answer's 'Never Too Late' was selected as one of the titles for the next Guitar Hero installment, "This is a tremendous honour and privilege for both The Answer and the Alberts label. With a new album due later this year we look forward to taking the band to a whole new level of international success."

Activision has rolled out a Classic Rock Track Pack (550 Microsoft Points) which includes "Peace of Mind" as performed by Boston, "Juke Box Hero" as performed by Foreigner, and "Any Way you Want it" as performed by Journey.

Since its initial release in fall 2005, the Guitar Hero franchise has sold in excess of 14 million units in North America alone, setting an industry record as it has surpasses $1 billion in North American retail sales. In 10 weeks since the game’s launch, gamers have already downloaded more than five million songs.

Rock Your Party Weekend is a special Xbox Live event happening the weekend of the big game, February 1-3, 2008 for U.S. and Canada residents. The 72-hour event gives players the chance to prove their axe grinding skills and includes a Play & Win Sweepstakes that offers gamers who register and play, the chance to win a multitude of prizes.

A federal judge in Detroit on Monday, Dec. 17 denied The Romantics' request to stop the use of the song "What I Like About You" in Guitar Hero Rocks the 80s, saying that to the extent there were any copyright issues, Activision did exactly what the company was supposed to do in developing the product.

Activision has rolled out three new track for GH III, single song downloads from such popular European bands as Extremoduro, Trust and Die Fantastischen Vier, as well as a free, exclusive rock rendition of the holiday classic "We Three Kings," recorded by Steve Ouimette.

Aspyr has released the first patch for its PC port of Guitar Hero III, which will update any earlier version to v1.1, adding many general fixes and improvements so it is recommended that all users apply the update.

Apart from the new tracks revealed earlier today, a new Guitar Hero III update has been rolled out, which is available worldwide on the X360 and for North American PS3s (the European and Australian update has been submitted to Sony, but not approved yet). The update enables the Hyperspeed cheat in online games, adds the Co-Op Quickplay mode on PS3, calibration improvements, various stability improvements and fixes.

Master recordings from Warner/Reprise artists Linkin Park, Mastadon and The Used will be available as downloadable track pack for GH III later this month, as well as single song downloads from such popular European bands as Extremoduro, Trust and Die Fantastischen Vier, as well as a free, exclusive rock rendition of the holiday classic "We Three Kings," recorded by Steve Ouimette.

Harmonix created a software patch for the PS3 version of Rock Band to allow guitar compatibility for third-party peripherals, including Activision's Guitar Hero III controller. The compatibility patch was approved by Sony and had been scheduled for release on Dec. 4, but due to Activision's continued objection, the patch will not be released.

Activision has issued a statement regarding the mono restricted audio issue recently discovered in the Guitar Hero III Wii edition, "We are currently working with Nintendo and are planning to issue an improved audio experience in future versions of the game. We expect to have re-mastered discs available by early 2008 and we will be offering consumers replacement discs at no cost."

Now that the Vivendi and Activision merger is nearing completion, pending approval of its shareholders, the new #1 publisher revealed several new projects. Activision Blizzard's 12 internal studios have plenty of new titles in the pipeline, such as Guitar Hero IV, Call of Duty 5, James Bond, a new Tony Hawk, new DreamWorks titles, new Marvel titles and an entry into the racing genre with Bizarre.