Ready to "beat it" with fire-lit butterfly wings? (Note to self: That came out wrong.) The latest issue of Stuff Magazine (via Guitar Hero Community) has a Guitar Hero World Tour preview, which lists nine confirmed tracks and five more confirmed artists. Although we already knew a few of those songs, five of them are new, including The Doors' "Light My Fire," Smashing Pumpkins' "Bullet with Butterfly Wings" and -- yes, really -- Michael Jackson's "Beat It."

Additionally, two of the listed artists with "unknown" track contributions already have confirmed songs (Foo Fighters' "Everlong" and Van Halen's "Hot for Teacher"). Newcomers include Muse, Beastie Boys and Nirvana. We've compiled a list of confirmed GHWT tracks after the break.

That Xbox marketing survey just keeps on giving: a slide on Guitar Hero 4 presents a $180 pricetag for now-gen consoles, $170 for PS2 including all instruments. Just the software? They're asking $60 for 360 and PS3 versions, and $50 for their lower-def cousins. A handful of artists are also name-dropped – Jimi Hendrix, The Doors, Foo Fighters, Smashing Pumpkins, Korn, System of a Down, Ozzy Osbourne, Interpol, Muse ... "and dozens more" – but what we're really interested in is this bit about an "all new wireless guitar controller with the first-ever touch-sensitive neck slide." We snuck a peek at the brandless guitar in the game's trailer and, though touch-sensiitive reads to us like "no buttons" – a claim that's as worrisome as it is intriguing – it certainly appears to have buttons in the pic above. So maybe just something below the buttons then, y'know, for solos and whatnot?

Of course, pricing information is always subject to change (read: let's wait to see what Rock Band 2 costs) and this survey doesn't include the game's "World Tour" subtitle so we're not entirely sold on the veracity of this information. Again, all eyes towards E3 where all will be revealed (we assume).

Activision made Guitar Hero: Rock Band Edition World Tour official today, confirming the details leaked from the current issue of Game Informer. World Tour will feature an all-master track cast, filled with previously named acts like Van Halen, Linkin Park, and The Eagles, plus today's confirmation of Sublime and "many more." The announcement also highlights the "Music Studio" mode (create-a-song), which allows players to "compose, record, edit and share music," and the 8-player "Battle of the Bands" mode.

World Tour will also feature so-called "new state of the art wireless instruments" (as sorta seen yesterday), meaning mom won't trip over the coil of wires when she walks in front of the TV and totally destroys the rock mojo; and the still curious, but ambitious sounding promise to add "significantly more localized downloadable music than ever before on all of the next-generation consoles." Yep, that includes the Wii version (developed by Vicarious Visions). Activision confirms that World Tour will be the "first game ever in the Guitar Hero franchise to allow in-game downloadable content on Wii" -- just make sure your SD card is inserted.

We'd like to extend a thanks to reader John M, who heeded our call for a new Guitar Hero IV image. Who better to replace Skeletor with than The Most Powerful Man in the Universe himself. Check out our highlights for today:

Joystiquery
Joystiq interview: GameTrailers EIC sets record straight on GRID controversy

News
Viva Piñata, Scene It? sequels revealed by Microsoft
Banjo-Kazooie 3 screens flood the net
'Lips' and 'Ninja Blade' also revealed, speculate away!
New games this week: We Ski edition?
WiiWare live, no Virtual Console update this week
Rockstar's Houser talks EA takeover
OMGS4: Guns of the Patriots gets its first 10
This Wednesday: Assault Heroes 2 shoots everything on XBLA
Pitfall Wii-vived for 'The Big Adventure'
GTA IV has 40% attach rate with new Xbox 360s, says Microsoft
GameTrailers compares PS3 GRID to 'PS3' GRID
Burnout 'Bogart' update barrels back to Live
Metal Gear Solid 4's Kojima explains PS3 comments
GameStop GTA IV data: 360 easily outsells PS3, not per console though
LucasArts planning demo for The Force Unleashed
See first screens of Skate It on Wii and DS
Agetec shows kid-friendly PS2 love in Falling Stars

Rumors & Speculation
Strong Bad could eventually check mail on Xbox Live, PSN
Pachter predicts PS3 beat Xbox 360 in April
Rumor: Microsoft's 'Lips' is an Xbox accessory
Rumor: Game Informer talks Guitar Hero IV's drums, create-a-track mode
Rumor: Sega publishing Platinum Games ... games

Culture & Community
Miyamoto: 'America has always been better at creating unique products'
For the Horde! BlizzCon 2008 invades Anaheim Oct. 10-11
NYC game development community slowly growing

Here we go again. Every month, someone gets an early copy of a gaming magazine, posts the highlights in a forum post, and we run it as a rumor until we can confirm its veracity. And again, we can't confirm this information, but a Neo GAF poster has claimed to already receive a copy of the latest Game Informer, the cover story being Guitar Hero IV.

Here's the alleged information. Guitar Hero IV features the requisite Rock Band features: drums, vocals, bass, guitar and create-a-rocker. Additionally (and most interestingly), there will be the option to create your own song tracks. Although vocals are excluded, all other tracks can be made and uploaded to GH Tunes for sharing and rating. We're not sure how this will apply to songs not in the game, given copyright concerns, but color us intrigued.

All songs will reportedly be master tracks, and four bands have been confirmed: Van Halen, Eagles, Linking Park and Van Halen. Is this the "significant leap" mentioned by Activision last week? Until we can obtain a copy to verify, consider this a rumor.

Activision is planning to innovate the Guitar Hero franchise. In a conference call yesterday, Publishing CEO Mike Griffith said, "For the holiday, we will provide a significant leap forward in innovation for Guitar Hero worldwide, on all platforms." That includes PlayStation 3, PS2, Xbox 360, Wii and DS. Griffith also said that more information will be provided "in the coming weeks."

We wonder if this has anything to do with those recent rumors about Guitar Hero IV going multi-instrumental. Guess we'll find out soon.

We're sorry to doubt the messengers of Rock Gods, but we finally got our own confirmation that Def Leppard has indeed contributed three songs to Guitar Hero IV. While not replaying the full interview, Rockline Radio's website did provide a stream of the bandmates talking specifically about the game.

"We're gonna have like three songs on Guitar Hero IV," said guitarist Phil Collen, before specifying "Photograph," "Animal" and "Rock of Ages." We've gone ahead and embedded the music videos after the break for those who want to rock out in this post.

It's amazing where you find video game news these days. Case in point, Eurogamer has picked up on a press release from British rock band The Answer, touting the inclusion of their single "Never Too Late" (video above) in the next Guitar Hero game (which, incidentally and unsurprisingly, is coming out by the end of 2008).

The band was one of 20 picked by Activision at a Guitar Hero listening session put on by Activision at France's MIDEM conference, where over 200 artists vied for a coveted spot in the new game. Answer fan debbywebby has also posted a list of 30 other tracks that are "unconfirmed as of yet" for the game. There's no indication where she got her information, but when has that mattered? Let the rampant speculation begin!

Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry tells Billboard they are working "hand in hand" with the developers of Guitar Hero IV. Guess that seals that deal: Aerosmith songs confirmed for GHIV. Speaking with Billboard, Perry apparently says that the next GH game will be dedicated to the group's music.

Don't expect an official Guitar Hero IV announcement from Activision or Red Octane for a while. We're pretty sure Perry spoke out of turn -- but that's rock n' roll. We know that the plan is to have a Guitar Hero every year, but we don't think they're going to announce GHIV before GHIII is out the the door. Before the band geeks start freaking out, the game is sure to have more than just Aerosmith. We just expect this dedication means plenty of master tracks from Aerosmith -- they better be master tracks!

[Via EvilAvatar]