We've known for a while that inclusion on a video game soundtrack can help drive music sales, but usually the song in question is actually available for sale when it appears in the game. Not so for Def Leppard's new single, "Nine Lives," which will premiere as a downloadable Guitar Hero III track before it's available at retail or other online services. No F-f-f-foolin'!

The track, which comes as part of a Def Leppard pack along with classics "Rock of Ages" and "Photograph," will be available on April 24th in the U.S. and May 8th in the U.K. The album "Songs from the Sparkle Lounge" follows soon after on April 28 (digital download) and May 5 (physical disc).

"I know from personal experience how much more you get into the music by playing the game," said Def Leppard Lead Singer Joe Elliott in a press release. "Guitar Hero is extremely popular with all kinds of music heads, which includes a lot of our fans - and we think releasing Nine Lives this way first is just fantastic!"

[Via X3F]

We've got more than a feeling that next week's Rock Band DLC is bringing a six-pack of songs by Boston. All the tracks hail from the band's self-titled debut album which has sold over 17 million copies. Not bad for a bunch of guys from the small Minnesota town of Lake Wobegon -- no, they're actually from Boston.

Boston pack (800 MS points / $9.99)

• Hitch a Ride (160 MS points/ $2)
• More Than a Feeling (160 MS points/ $2)
• Peace of Mind (160 MS Points / $2)
• Rock & Roll Band (160 MS Points / $2)
• Smokin' (160 MS Points / $2)
• Something About You (160 MS Points / $2)

Videos for this week's Rock Band DLC can be found after the break and this may be our last week doing them as audio previews are now available through the Rock Band music store patch available now. The Boston songs will be available next Tuesday and Thursday for Xbox 360 and PS3 respectively.

"We're aware of the problem and we're looking into it." So says RedOctane in response to complaints of a Guitar Hero II patch leaving Xbox 360s paralyzed by the dreaded red ring of death. A string of users have posted their tales of woe on the official Xbox forums, noting post-patch game freezes, startup glitches and eventual system lockups. The patch was initially issued to correct unresponsive whammy bars in some guitar controllers.

Though Red Octane doesn't divulge to Eurogamer just exactly what "we're looking into it" entails, there's little hope that a further software patch could repair completely inoperative consoles. There's also no direct evidence to suggest that the patch itself is causing the Xbox 360 hardware to malfunction. The operating system might be fooled into thinking there is, however, which isn't much better than a physical malfunction. This occurrence is awfully similar to what transpires whenever a new Xbox 360 game is released -- is software causing a new problem, or is it letting you know that you had a rotten system to begin with?

We'll let you know as soon as RedOctane or Microsoft comment further.

If there's one thing we like, it's a really well-done strategy guide. Add the words free and video to that guide, and you had us at free. The video part is just a bonus. It sure beats the old days of searching Usenet and praying that someone had posted a way to beat the uber-boss on level nine.

GameAlmighty has put together a top-notch strategy guide for Guitar Hero to help you rock yourself to high-scores. It does get a bit dry at times, but thankfully the videos are brief and informative. It's not quite a face-melting tribute to rockmania, but it'll improve your thrashing for sure.

However, it probably won't help you if you've got whammy bar problems.

Hands On Mobile, Inc. announced today that they have entered into an agreement with Activision to produce a Guitar Hero mobile game for handhelds. While we aren't sure if that means cell phones, PlayStation Portables, Nintendo DSs, Game Boy Advances, HP calculators or all of the above, it's further proof of the massive juggernaut that is the Guitar Hero franchise. Although this franchise was announced before, then canceled, it's now apparently been reborn.

Plus with the announcement earlier today of Harmonix' Rock Band, Ubisoft's Jam Sessions for the DS, and even the Mother 3 soundtrack being made available on iTunes -- it's clear that games and music are currently making waves. It's like the horror genre in movie theaters right now. Soon you'll be seeing things like Hammered Dulcimer Champion and Harmonica Savior hitting store shelves.

We here at Joystiq are really holding out for Kazoo Knights. Wake us when the announcement is on the way.

Frank Black is a rock icon. So when the Pixies frontman teams up with 3volution Productions* to record an exclusive cover of The Stooges' "Gimme Danger" for a new Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 trailer, it's reason to take notice. The song has been paired with nearly 90 seconds of GRAW 2 gameplay footage; a different direction from the one taken in the more stylized Gears of War "Mad World" ad. Still, the Black laced GRAW 2 teaser is worth a gander -- or at least a listen.

*3volution Productions, created by Fear Factory drummer Raymond Herrera, specializes in producing audio tracks for games.

RedOctane will be rockin' the Xbox 360 world tomorrow when they make their announcement regarding the upcoming release of Guitar Hero II for that console. They are expected to confirm the March release date, and to cover the new songs this version will have. TeamXbox has the scoop on almost all of the ten new tracks that 360 players will get, which is ten more than the PS2 version for a total of 74. Additionally, Xbox Live will let rockers download songs from the original Guitar Hero (hope that includes the ones you can buy, like The Slip's "Even Rats"), as well as the ability to purchase new songs in the future.

Check out their complete coverage, and stay tuned (get it? tuned? Okay, slap us) tomorrow for more after the word hits the show floor.

The San Francisco Chronicle reports that Left Behind: Eternal Forces is beginning to raise the ire of some religious and political groups a month after its release. The Campaign to Defend the Constitution and the Christian Alliance for Progress are working to get the critically panned game pulled from Wal-mart shelves because of its "message of religious intolerance." Apparently some people think that gunning down the forces of the Antichrist, which include Muslims, rock stars and a sexy Secretary-General of the U.N., is un-Christian. Who knew?

To be fair, the game does let you convert non-believers instead of killing them, but it's hard to argue with the campaign's message that the game promotes "violent, divisive and hateful scenarios." Still, it seems a bit opportunistic to single out Wal-mart, which only sells the game in 200 of its 3,800 locations, while other equally culpable retailers get a free pass. Is an intolerant message enough to justify restricting a game's sale?

Hot guitar strummin' and finger pickin' action collided with the corporate man at Best Buy in Los Angeles on Monday, with Dave Navarro (because real rockers love the game too) on hand to promote Guitar Hero II, and Joystiq was there. We lined up about half an hour early to get pix and vids, quietly slipping in amidst the obsessive fans of either Navarro or this game. After talking to about a dozen people, we realized that they could have sent James Taylor to plug this thing, and the same people would've shown up. Everyone was stoked for the midnight release of the game, and one hardcore fan even drove up from San Diego, just to get his axe signed.

A representative from BB handed tickets out and told us that they were only giving out 50 so that you could get in line to have things signed. Once they finally opened the doors and let us flood in, we spent some time at the various demo stations they had set up (with pretty sweet speaker systems that looked like they were on loan from a K.I.S.S. concert), and then dutifully took our spot in the signing line. We grabbed a game en route to the table and pulled the guitar out of the box, got it signed by Navarro, and then -- surprise! We were told that Activision was buying the game for those first 50 tickets. Score! Big announcement about that guitar & game soon on Joystiq, so keep your eyes open.

Pictures and video after the jump, but sadly no Carmen Electra since she and Dave went splitsville earlier in the summer.

[Update: added some rockers]

Tickets are now on sale for the two Video Games Live shows planned in conjunction with Gen Con Indy Friday & Saturday, August 11-12.

After a stop in Philly earlier this month, the VGL tour is moving on to Houston July 14th, Chicago August 5th, and then Indianapolis the weekend after that. More on reserving seats for the Hilbert Circle Theatre can be found on the official announcement page (via the pic to the right or the Read link below).

Judging by the reviews of the Philly show so far, Video Games Live sounds like it could be a lot of fun. If they keep providing public access to Guitar Hero II, they may have sold this blogger on going already. We hope Midwestern gamers not attending the Chicago show can make a pitstop in Indy to keep Tommy's show on the road. So, yeah ... rock on.

See also:

• Official VGL report from Philly (with some local links to boot)
• Video Games Live ticket purchases opened a bit early
• The official page for Gen Con Indy
• PS2 impressions: Guitar Hero II

In case you missed it on Friday, IGN posted a pre-E3 hands-on preview of Guitar Hero II's new co-op mode. It's a departure from the first game's multiplayer mode in that the two players have to depend on each other a lot more to pass each song and thereby make beautiful music together.

While the old multiplayer option will still be around in the sequel, the new mode mixes distinct lead guitar and bass or rhythm parts where each player affects the other in various ways, whether by failing if either performance slips (as in DDR), sharing the same Rock Meter (with mistakes from either player resetting the score multiplier), and needing to both go vertical at the same time to activate the shared Star Power. Thankfully, different difficulty levels can be assigned to each player.

The Joystiq team out in L.A. will probably find something to do until they get their sweaty paws on a guitar controller or two on the E3 show floor (maybe one of those wacky press conferences will help pass the time), but we're sure the wait to try the latest build of this rockin' series will be worth it. The seven songs available at E3 are listed below.

[Thanks, murph]