Well, That Blows - Dueling guitars for Rock Band and Guitar Hero III

If you were hoping to save a few bucks and use your Guitar Hero III axe with Rock Band, think again. If the rumors prove true, neither new guitar will work with the other's game (yes, Harmonix and Red Octane are apparently going through the post-breakup blues). But, if you own the Guitar Hero II Explorer for Xbox 360, it's apparently been tested and (at least at this pre-release stage) works with both games. If you believe Harmonix (who moved on to make Rock Band), it's because the Guitar Hero III developers at Activision's Neversoft studio broke the existing guitar formula - though they apparently retain some backward compatibility with older controllers. But Harmonix isn't blameless; they'll only sell Rock Band in a $170 configuration that includes guitar, drums and microphone for at least the first few months of release.

Confused? Let's break it down:

• Guitar Hero and Guitar Hero II controllers (and any third-party guitars) will probably work with Guitar Hero III and Rock Band (the Xbox 360 one, at least, has been tested and worked with prerelease versions of the games)
• The guitar included with Guitar Hero III probably won't work with Rock Band or earlier Guitar Hero games
• The guitar bundled with Rock Band probably won't work with Guitar Hero III, though it probably will jam with its predecessors

Time will tell if these rumors are true. You might want to hold on to any guitars you have, just in case they help bypass some of this political nonsense. C'mon, guys, it's music. It's about playing together. Can't we all just strum along...