Here’s one way to increase sales of a dumb game. Oh, I’m sure Lips is a fine game for wannabe singers, but it’s not for me. Today, Microsoft announced that the wireless mics that come with Lips will be compatible with Rock Band 2 and Guitar Hero: Metallica. Support for RB2 won’t happen until the Summer, but the Lips mic works with GHM now. Microsoft promises additional compatibility with other games later this year.

Best Buy is selling the wireless Les Paul Guitar Hero controller for Xbox 360, PS3, and Wii for $19.99 each. You’ll have to pony up an extra $7.49 for shipping or pick it up at your local store, but even with shipping it’s still a pretty good deal.

Guitar Hero Wireless Les Paul Controller [Best Buy via dealnews]

Activision may have a slight problem on its hands what with Guitar Hero: World Tour not selling too well. The latest numbers, as one analyst from Electronic Entertainment Design and Research has interpreted for us, suggest that Guitar Hero sales may have peaked. (Please note the distinction between Guitar Hero and “music games;” no one is saying that music games are dead.)

This is the bad news, as articulated by the analyst:

Currently, we expect unit sales to decline by more than 50 percent series-over-series for November. This is coming off the October month where series-over-series units declined by more than 60 percent.

A couple reasons for this, maybe. (Who knows for real, in other words.) One is that Rock Band 2 has been reviewed more favorably than GH:WT, suggesting that it’s the better game. (Doug essentially says the same thing in his comparison between the two.) When forced to chose between the two (“you can only have one game this year for Christmas, son, seeing as though mommy and daddy are out of work now”), the rational person is going to pick the better game. Let’s not forget that many stores were selling Guitar Hero 3 cheaply on Black Friday, which could have eaten into GH:WT’s sales. It could also be that GH fans put a premium on guitar play rather than the whole “we’re a fake band, together!” camaraderie of GH:WT.

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Short Version: As music games go, both Rock Band 2 and Guitar Hero World Tour are impressive, fun, and either would make a great addition to any gamer’s lineup. But which one is best for you?

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My thoughts on Rock Band/Guitar Hero accessories haven’t changed and I doubt they ever will, but Nyko’s Metal Pedal looks bitchin. Or course, my affinity for anything with skulls may be clouding my judgement, but a ‘heavy-duty’ replacement pedal that works for all Rock Band and Guitar Hero titles across all platforms might actually be worth $20. Besides the skull graphics, the Metal Pedal is actually constructed with metal plates and appears to be more durable than the drum pedals that ship with RB/GH.

It won’t be available until after CES, but we’ll get a first look at them in Las Vegas and let you know if it’s worth it.

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Spot on, as usual. Well, except for the all the bibbly-babbly about Australia residents not getting Rock Band soon enough. Everyone knows that Australia isn’t somewhere you live – it’s somewhere you fly to every few years for snorkeling and koala petting.

(Man, I miss Australia.)

Near the beginning of this you’re like “Eh. It’s a kid on a bike.” Then, when you think of the planning that went into this carnival of lights, sound, and blue streamers you kind of realize that maybe the human race isn’t doomed after all if kids like these will be calling the shots in thirty years.

Thanks, John

This is a silly, nigh inaudible video of some Harmonix developers playing Rock Band. They mostly stink, I think—I’m not a Rock Band or Guitar Hero connoisseur—but as Kotaku points out, it’s hard to fault Harmonix completely.

First of all, this video was taken at the Nottingham GameCity3 event, whatever that was—it’s fair to assume that they all had a few beers in them. Unless you’re James Hetfiled in the late 1980s, you shouldn’t be mixing alcohol and guitars.

Second, the girl isn’t even an employee of Harmonix; it’s former Edge editor Margaret Robertson. That’s no slight against Edge, mind you, but her awful playing is in no way Harmonix’s fault.

Third, why hasn’t anyone made a Hop-Hop Hero Hip-Hop Hero (I leave the typo there to encourage you kids to stay in school, forever if at all possible) game? You’d think the big game publishers would be all over that.

In honor of Heidi Kium’s turn as a Risky Business-inspired Guitar Hero player (who, as John Brownlee notes, never looks at the screen), we present you with the ultimate Guitar Hero player, who, in the proud tradition of “hot girl playing Wii”, truly changes the way we look at a video gaming.

Slightly NSFW after the jump.
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