Red Octane and Activision have finally announced that the Guitar Hero: World Tour (Xbox 360, PS2, PS3, Wii) Drum Tuning Kit is now available for download. Click on through for more details.

Guitar Hero World Tour finally gets tagged with a price, as listed on GameStop, with various bundles across the platform versions. The complete band kit includes the game, the guitar peripheral, drums, and microphone.

And since it's a weekend, we've included something special for the American Idol fans: as seen in the finale, David Cook and David Archuleta are advertising for Guitar Hero... in their undies. Wait. What?!

Clamoring for more guitar legends in Guitar Hero? Well, Ted "Motor City Madman" Nugent has just confirmed during a podcast interview that he will be involved in a future installment of the Guitar Hero franchise.

We just learned that aside from the replacement disc being sent out by Activision and RedOctane for the defective Wii copies of Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock, the two are also giving away boxes containing free faceplates for the guitar peripheral. Know more about this after the jump!

When bands leave their managers, there's usually a bitter aftertaste involved. In the case of old partners Harmonix and Activision, a similar predicament has risen. A royalty dispute concerning Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (Xbox 360, Wii, PS3, PC) was taken to court but was quickly withdrawn. Details follow right after the jump.

So you just can't stand it playing RedOctane's Guitar Hero 3: Legends of Rock with only one wireless guitar? Well, news has it the the publishing company is currently taking orders for the the GH III Les Paul guitars for the Wii console. Find out more after the jump!

Ever wanted to know what a gym full of Wiis would be like? Well, you're in luck, because we went ahead and found out for ourselves (so you could, too).

Check out just where QJ.NET went in the full article, and how it could take the videogaming world by storm.

Despite Activision's optimistic US$ 250 million sales estimate for the end of Q3 for fiscal year 2007, Wedbush Morgan Securities analyst Michael Pachter seems to think that the Santa Monica-based publisher's projections were a bit modest. In fact, Pachter believes that with last quarter's spillover success of Transformers: The Game and RedOctane's Guitar Hero II, Activision should expect to net a whole lot more.

A note entitled Encore: Activision Rocks the Quarter, Again authored by Pachter ran numbers for Guitar Hero II's sales estimates, and the guitar rhythm title has already gained a consolidated 3.5 million unit sales on both the Sony PlayStation 2 and Microsoft's Xbox 360, leading to at least US$ 270 million in gross sales.

Pachter does admit that the publisher's lineup has but a few big titles that could have warranted the throttled projection, but he does acknowledge that id Software's Enemy Territory: QUAKE Wars and RedOctane's Guitar Hero Encore: Rock the 80s would have uplifted the performance by some degree. Infinity Ward's Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Microsoft Xbox 360, Sony PS3, Microsoft Windows PC) has yet to make landfall in North America, so it would contribute to Activision's Q4 sales.

Overall, the analyst pegs a more optimistic target of US$ 300 million (59% increase from last year's quarter performance) to be nabbed in sales for this quarter, due to a predicted 122% increase in sales for the publisher's current products. In a short note, Pachter added, "We think guidance is extremely conservative and recommend that investors opportunistically add to positions."

Looks like his confidence is placed, but investors may still have to ponder this one out.

Think those snazzy Gibson and special Kramer wireless guitars are the only heavy-hitting names making their way into Guitar Hero III for the Microsoft Xbox 360, Sony PlayStation 3, and Nintendo Wii? Activision is sending out word that even GHIII's in-game characters are going to be packing branded gear, courtesy of several partnerships they're establishing with companies within the musical instrument industry. Here's a shortlist of the product names you'll be seeing in-game:

• Gibson
• Guitar Center
• Audio-Technica
• Crate
• Ernie Ball
• Krank
• Line 6
• Mackie
• Zildjian
• Alternative Press
• Decibel
• Guitar Player
• Kerrang
• Paste magazines
• Pontiac
• Axe

In line with this announcement, Activision's senior director of business development Dave Anderson had this to say:

By forging exclusive relationships with key companies in the music and consumer packaged goods industries we are able to bring an even greater depth of realism to Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock. From venues like Pontiac Garage, to customized guitars from Axe, the game delivers the ultimate rock and roll experience.

RedOctane and Neversoft's Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock will be launching this October 28. Aside from the launch, the guys may want to take part in the upcoming Play and Win Sweepstakes Microsoft has lined up for GHIII's 360 port for this November 2 to 4. 

Buy: [Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock Bundle (Xbox 360)]
Buy: [Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock Bundle (PS3)]
Buy: [Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock Bundle (Wii)]

In an official statement, Activision said that fans in Europe will have to wait until November 23 to get their hands on the game.

Despite this almost one-month gap between the North American and European launches of the game, RedOctane Europe General Manager Zach Fountain still sounded optimistic about the launch. He said:

Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock is the first time the franchise has released simultaneously across multiple formats, so we're delighted to be able to confirm a single street date for all home consoles. The game introduces a host of innovations on each format - no matter what your console of choice.

Speaking of features, it was announced a couple of weeks ago that all guitar peripherals for Guitar Hero III are going to be wireless. The one for the Nintendo Wii is somewhat different compared to others though, as the Wiimote should be inserted inside the guitar. Aside from that, Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock also sports co-op career mode, battle mode and a wide array of characters.

Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock will be available in North America this coming October 28 on the Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii, PlayStation 3, and Windows PC platforms.