Retail Radar: Guitar Hero World Tour for $189?

Even before Activision formally announced Guitar Hero World Tour, its CEO, Bobby Kotick, had formally announced the series was getting multiple instruments and vocals. Then, leaked magazine scans showed the game as having a drum kit with two cymbals, indicating the game would be incompatible with Rock Band's drum set. Were that the case, gamers would have to purchase an entire second drum set to take full advantage of the game's innovative song creation and sharing feature.

To date, Activision still hasn't formally addressed the lack of compatibility issue, nor has it announced a price for Guitar Hero World Tour. However, this week GameStop's online store began offering preorders for the game, along with a possible price.

The game merchant is offering the game formerly known as Guitar Hero 4 a la carte for $59.99 for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 and $49.99 for the PlayStation 2 and Nintendo Wii. It will also apparently be available as part of a self-explanatory Guitar Kit bundle, which is being priced at $99.99 for all four versions. Finally, the Band Kit--which will presumably include a guitar, drum kit, microphone, and the game itself a la Rock Band--is going for $189.99 on the Wii, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3 and $179.99 on the PlayStation 2. All versions bore an October 27 release date.

As of press time, neither Activision nor Red Octane reps had replied to requests for comment about pricing. However, some reputable sources, such as Ars Technica's Opposable Thumbs blog, claim GameStop's prices and product configurations are the real deal. That said, the retailer is also notorious for posting higher speculative prices on preorders, ere it be burned by its low price guarantee, which would force the company to sell the game at the original posted price even if the final cost is higher.