Guitar Hero: Aerosmith - it's official

Activision has finally got round to confirming the rumoured music spin-off Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, which is basically a plastic guitar series entry dedicated entirely to the Armageddon rock band.

Slated for release this June, the 360, PS3 (Neversoft), Wii (Vicarious Visions) and PS2 (Budcat) instalment puts players in the shoes of Perry (guitar), Whitford (guitar) and Hamilton (bass), as they perform alongside front man Tyler and drummer Kramer.

Players will be able experience Aerosmith's entire career, says Activision.

As well as sporting tons of Aerosmith's hits, the spin-off is also promised to have songs from "celebrated artists that the band has either performed with or has been inspired by in some way".

"Having a game built around Aerosmith has been a huge honor and really a great experience for us," said axe-man Joe Perry. "We've put a lot of ideas into the game so that fans can have fun interacting with our music, getting inside our body of work and learning about the band's history."

Steven Tyler's added, "Any band that can go from 'Don't Want to Miss A Thing' (Aerosmith's #1 smash hit) to the ass-kicking 'Sweet Emotion' to the cheekiness of 'Love in an Elevator,' to the classic ballad 'Dream On' shows why Activision chose us to headline this game based on the diversity of the Aerosmith catalog.

"Not only is songwriting a bitch, but then it goes and has puppies."

Perry adds, "On a larger scale, it's cool for us to be pioneers helping to rebuild the music industry through a format like video games.

"It's great for rock since the record companies are struggling to make sense of how things are changing. Fans want to get and experience music in new formats - and there are going to be some of them who will play the game, then pick up the guitar for real and start bands.

"It's what's happening now, and it's only going to build more momentum in the future. It's a massive change for the music business."

To put some oomph behind the announcement, from February 16-18 Activision is offering Guitar Hero III owners Aerosmith's "Dream On" as a free download on Xbox Live, which is nice.

This is half-confirmation that we're in for a proper Guitar Hero-fest this year then. Let's hope Guitar Hero: McFly isn't next.