Guitar Hero IV To Feature Mic, Drums, Copyright Infringement?

Guitar Hero lost some of its luster when Rock Band came along and improved on the concept by adding drums and a microphone, making the game more versatile and party-friendly. Now Guitar Hero hopes to steal the show once again by reinventing itself as…Rock Band? Activision CEO Bobby Kotick told Portfolio that the upcoming GHIV is “not just about guitars. We’ll include a lot of other instruments, vocals.”

Joystiq also claims a source close to the company told them that a drumkit will be in the next version of the game. Furthermore, when Guitar Hero: Aerosmith is released in June, they say Activision will expand their downloadable content, releasing songs “weekly”. There’s no denying that Guitar Hero has a lot to learn from the success of Rock Band, but we hope they can add some extra depth to the instrument roster—saxophones, kazoos, theremins, perhaps?—because it’s definitely better to lead than play catch-up. [Kotaku, Joystiq]