World Tour is obviously a direct response to MTV/Harmonix's Rock Band. The multi-instrument experience was something Activision was probably going to do anyway, but for it to pull out all the stops like this may leave some of the casual market behind. Here are a couple of questions I have, which may or may not be answered tonight:

- Does the multi-instrument game mean the guitar-only players will be out of luck? People have no problems paying $100 for a game with just the guitar. But will they be okay paying $150 or more for an all-instrument bundle if they don't really want it? I hope Activision is still thinking about the little guy here and offers an easy way for people to get a simpler, cheaper GHIV experience.

- Why build a wall between the two music games by making controllers that aren't cross-compatible? Rock Band and Guitar Hero are competitors, so competition is understandable. Activision and Red Octane got a lot of flak for making the GHIII Gibson controllers initially incompatible with Rock Band. While the new controllers could work with Rock Band (we don't know yet), at least the Rock Band (four pads) drums definitely won't be compatible with Guitar Hero World Tour (six pads). This essentially means gamers who got Rock Band will need to backpedal from what may be a large investment to re-equip for GHIV or make those who haven't pick one or the other. Pricey game-exclusive peripherals can be justified if the game they come with is unique. GH and RB offer basically the same experiences. Can the industry support them both, or will a genre divided be more harmful than helpful?