Battle of the bands, video game style

Next month Activision is slated to launch Guitar Hero Aerosmith, which features the rock band from Boston.

SAN FRANCISCO - Activision Inc. is adding drums, bass guitar, and microphone to its Guitar Hero video game, a move aimed at winning away fans of MTV's rival musical title Rock Band.

Guitar Hero World Tour will include the ability for two groups of four people each to compete online, as well as let players compose and play their own music, Activision said yesterday.

The game will feature songs from bands such as Van Halen, The Eagles, Linkin Park, and Sublime, with every song being an original master track, unlike past games where many of the songs were cover versions.

Due out in the fall, the game will mark a new direction for the Guitar Hero franchise, in which players push colored buttons on a plastic guitar-shaped controller to match notes on the screen.

"I certainly think it takes the edge off Rock Band," said Mike Hickey, an analyst with Janco Partners. "What's Rock Band going to do now, add a flute and banjo?"

Activision's money-spinning franchise got its first real competition last November when Viacom's MTV unit launched Rock Band, which features drumming and singing in addition to guitar playing. The Guitar Hero series has raked in more than a billion dollars for Activision and has helped drive a 72 percent rise in the company's stock over the past year.

That compares to virtually flat performance in the shares of Activision's top rival Electronic Arts Inc., which distributes Rock Band.

Activision did not say how much the new game will cost. Guitar Hero 3, which came with one wireless guitar controller, sold for about $90. Rock Band, which came with one guitar, a drum kit, and a microphone, sold for $170.