Clarifying its stance on rhythm game compatibility issues, Microsoft's Gamerscore Blog announced today that all the instruments for Rock Band 2, Guitar Hero: World Tour and Rock Revolution will be "cross-compatible" on Xbox 360.

Sony announced yesterday that PlayStation 3 would feature full cross-compatibility among the three games as well. Guess that leaves only Nintendo to make it official.

Update: The Instrument Compatibility Matrix has been updated
[Thanks, Mike]

It's about time someone stepped in and took an active role in fixing this nonsense. SCEA Director of Publisher Relations Michael Shorrock has announced on PlayStation.Blog that Sony has reached an agreement with Activision, Neversoft, Harmonix and Konami to ensure that all the instrument peripherals for Rock Band 2, Guitar Hero: World Tour and Rock Revolution will work across all games for PlayStation 3.

In case you're too stunned to comprehend what should've been no-brainer functionality from the start, your PS3 Rock Band 2 drum set should now be guaranteed to work with GH:WT and RR, and likewise for every game's guitar and drum peripherals. Said Shorrock, "We're still working hard to ensure compatibility between the Guitar Hero and Rock Band titles currently on the market, and we hope to have an announcement on that shortly."

We're excited, but at the same time, we're a bit dismayed it took this long to sort out. To be clear, instrument compatibility has not been confirmed for Xbox 360 (although we do know GH:WT instruments work with RB2) or Wii versions of the music games. Microsoft, Nintendo, we're looking to you to make this universal compatibility, erm, more universal.

Okay, we aren't sure what the general opinion is going to be for why these are being created or who's going to end up purchasing 'em, but we think we can agree it's an odd franchise to spawn action figures from.

The Toddy McFarlane sculpting crew (the same crew who makes those lovely Halo 3 figures) just announced today that they've partnered with Acti to release Guitar Hero action figures ... yes, Guitar Hero figures of action. Odd, seeing that the GH franchise really doesn't focus on character development so our enthusiasm for owning a figure like, say, Johnny Napalm is kinda lacking. Oh well. The complete set of four figures (Axel Steel, Johnny Napalm, Lars Umlaut and God of Rock) will be available this Fall for around $15 a pop. Yup, yup ...

[Thanks, TMD]

Did somebody say instruments? Actually, no, no they didn't. Still, it's hard to imagine what else could be in store for Guitar Hero. According to Activision Publishing CEO Mike Griffith, the series is set to make a "significant leap forward in innovation." The information was revealed in a conference call yesterday, and while no more details were given, Griffith did note that more info would be released "in the coming weeks." Honestly though, what would it be other than more instruments? Maybe you can also tilt the guitar down now? Real strings instead of buttons? Feel free to post your thoughts in the comments as we wait for the official answer.

[Via Joystiq]

Activision has made a formal statement about its lawsuit against Gibson Guitar Corporation's patent claim on Guitar Hero. Activision calls Gibson's squeeze-play a "transparent end run ... on patent assertions that Gibson knows have no merit." According to Activision, Gibson waited three years until this past January to make its patent allegations and only did so after Activision said it was no longer interested in renewing its "marketing and support agreement with Gibson."

Poor Gibson, looks like it's just a little bitter about (Warning: double cliché alert) not seeing the light on its patent many moons ago and missing the boat on a billion dollar franchise. Meanwhile, Harmonix is still making money off the franchise it lost and is currently working out a deal with Activision over the $14.5 million the company says it's due in royalty fees.

Chris Chike, currently the Guinness world record holder for points in Guitar Hero III, won the Play N Trade GHIII tournament last weekend and bested his record-setting score. Chike's Guinness score was 870,647 (seen in video above) before he won the tournament, along with $2000 of in-store credit, with 889,256 points.

The best part of this story is that Chike actually drove two hours to compete at the Play N Trade store in Bloomington, Minnesota. Guess when you're the world record holder the trip seems worth it, considering you've probably got the win in the bag. Chike says he still hasn't done as well at any tournament event than he's done at home. The good thing about tournaments and competition is you only have to be better than second place.

Variety reports developer Harmonix sued Activision on Monday for $14.5 million in royalties owed them from the Guitar Hero franchise, only to pull the suit Tuesday night. The filing of the lawsuit seems to have been all Activision apparently needed to talk things through outside of court.

The lawsuit revolved around Harmonix's technology being used in creating Guitar Hero III and royalties owed them for that deal. Harmonix, which created the first two GH's before publisher Red Octane was purchased by Activision, also claims it has not been paid for GH DLC, in-game advertising and other nitty-gritty details. Activision originally stated it had paid what it owed to Harmonix and "the claims otherwise do not have merit."

With Activision looking to drive the Guitar Hero franchise into the ground the seventh level of hell, it looks like Harmonix wants to get some money out of watching its original cash cow get milked into oblivion.

Read -- Viacom withdraws 'Guitar' suit
Read -- The full court docs.

Have no friends? No self-respect? No foot fungus? Then the below video of an unorthodox method for playing two Guitar Hero parts at once might just be for you!

When tipster Rob first sent us this extraordinary video, we thought it was somewhat unique. Apparently, though, playing Guitar Hero with your feet became a minor internet trend while we weren't looking. Some wimp out by only doing a solo part, or using their hands for one of the parts. Some use their feet out of necessity, others out of camaraderie. Some take it seriously and some just ham it up. But all of them use their feet for a game that ostensibly requires hands.

One other thing seems constant too... they all pretty much suck. Unsurprisingly, hitting those fret buttons with your stinky toes makes it nearly impossible to play on anything past Easy difficulty ... and even then it's no bed of roses. Think you can prove us wrong? Send us your video of Expert-level, foot-controlled Guitar Hero and we guarantee you a spot of internet semi-fame on this very page. To those about to rock with their feet ... we salute you.

[Thanks Dan]

Activision and RedOctane have finally unveiled the Wii's Guitar Hero 3 controller. Like the one for the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions, it's based on the Gibson Les Paul shape, with a removable solid white faceplate. However, unlike the version for the other systems, it's got a big cavity in it for the Wiimote, which a lot of us expected.

Does the fact that we have already bought about $40 worth of this controller make the $90 price for game and guitar too high? It's an old argument, but now that we have a little more information, it may be worth thinking about again.

[Via GayGamer]

Thanks to seemingly never ending supply issues, finding a second guitar for Guitar Hero II can be quite a challenge. Now, if you want to spend a little extra scratch, you can find custom guitars on eBay. Put up for auction by sheppyboy2000, the guitar features an original black-on-red paint job. This is actually his second guitar (you can see the first one here). Apparently stickers weren't enough for sheppyboy2000. You'd better really want this puppy, though: the current high bid is $85 with $11 more for shipping. For that price, you could buy a brand new copy of Guitar Hero II and give it to a friend. Still, if you like custom gaming accessories, this one seems pretty nice. Oh, and sheppyboy2000 plans to make more, so keep your eyes peeled if you like what you see.

[Thanks, Adam Wessel]

Word on the tubes is that these videos (one above, one past the break) are for the Xbox 360 version of the game, but they still exhibit some of the changes the franchise has received and showcase two of the new confirmed songs in Weezer's "My Name is Jonas" and Foghat's "Slow Ride." These changes include a revamped HUD, new chain gauge telling you how many notes you hit in a row and a series of lights replacing the old Star Power meter.

Sure, it doesn't take Nostradamus to predict that the gaming world will be receiving Guitar Hero 3. Even with the popularity of the franchise, we have to be honest and say we didn't expect the franchise would be hitting the Wii and we certainly hoped that, if it were to happen, the Wii wouldn't receive just another port of Guitar Hero 2. Turns out, we all may be lucky come this Fall as, according to Red Octane's customer support website, the Wii (along with a bunch of other systems) will be receiving Guitar Hero 3.

For those about to rock, we salute you ...

Update: Red Octane has changed the information on their page, taking out the information about Guitar Hero 3.

[Thanks, Juan!]

Here's a charity item we guarantee no one has ever auctioned off before: a Guitar Hero controller bonded to a skateboard fragment -- with Tony Hawk's siggy, no less. Bidding starts at $100 and proceeds go to the MusiCares organization, which catches panhandling musicians in a delicate safety net and provides them with "critical assistance" (read: not a record deal). Some 29 other celeb- and rocker-decorated GH controllers are also up on eBay to support the cause.

For anyone hoping for more than just a geeky display piece, please note the fine print: "Owing to customization, the controller is offered solely as an art object and is not guaranteed to have retained any functionality; buyers who choose to connect the controller to a console do so at their own risk." (Ever seen a skate-guitar asplode...?)

[Via IGN]

We here at Joystiq have posted a lot of insane videos of people playing Guitar Hero and other rhythm games, even going so far as to declare one pizza-fueled shredfest as the best GH vid ever. Well we were wrong. This video of an eight-year old getting five stars on Guitar Hero II's Psychobilly Freakout on expert difficulty is, in fact, the best Guitar Hero video we've ever seen.

While we can't confirm for sure that this performance isn't faked somehow, the video's frequent close-ups on the frets and consistent, unbroken point-of-view make it seem unlikely. The best part of the video is the way this kid disdainfully turns away from the screen during some of the hardest sections, essentially playing blind just because he can. Now that's rock and roll.

So, to the anonymous little guitar god in this video, we salute you with the new title of best Guitar Hero video ever. Until the next one comes along, that is.