Music game wars

Rock Band redefined the music-game genre. But how are the rock stars at Harmonix going to keep their edge when everybody else’s game has a drum set, too?

If you want to rock out with a full band, Rock Band is currently your only choice, as it features lead guitar, bass, drums and vocals. But later this year, the new Guitar Hero World Tour (above) will add those extra instruments, bringing the game up to speed with Harmonix’s innovative hit. Activision is also adding an in-game music creation tool to an upcoming version of Guitar Hero so players can compose and share their own songs.

And Konami, which originated the guitar-and-drums genre many years ago in Japan, is bringing out an American game this Christmas called Rock Revolution.

Full-band music games, with their absurdly large outfits of plastic instruments, are about to go from a novelty to a very crowded genre. Where consumers will ultimately put their money is anyone’s guess.