Guitar Hero World Tour dated down under

Activision Blizzard's Guitar Hero franchise has been a boon for the megapublisher, with its yearly iterations selling millions and turning the rhythm game into a bona fide cultural phenomenon. The next instalment in the series--Guitar Hero World Tour--notches the volume up to 11 by going down the Rock Band route and including guitars, drums, and vocals into the package. And while the publisher hasn't detailed when the game is set for release for the rest of the world, it has confirmed that Australians will get the full package on November 12, 2008.

The November 12 Australian release date was revealed at an Activision press event being held in New Zealand, with publisher reps saying confirmation on other global release dates would be made soon. Four new tracks were also unveiled, including one from Aussie rockabilly act The Living End, whose song Prisoner of Society will appear in World Tour. The other new songs are "La Bamba" by Los Lobos, "Scream Aim Fire" by Bullet for My Valentine, and "Our Truth" by Lacuna Coil.

Australians haven't had much luck when it comes to band rhythm games, with World Tour's main rival--Harmonix's Rock Band--still not available down under despite being released in the US last year. Rumours have been swirling about an impending release for both Rock Band and Rock Band 2, but the release date confirmation for World Tour may mean Activision's game will beat both Rock Bands into this country.