An online survey that may have spilled the beans on the artist line-up for Rock Band 2 may have also given us a peek at what's coming to Guitar Hero World Tour. According to details from an online survey forwarded to us by a second reader, Guitar Hero World Tour will feature playable digital versions of Sting, Ozzy Osbourne, Ted Nugent, Billy Corgan, Jimi Hendrix, Travis Barker, Hayley Williams, and Zak Wylde. We had previously caught wind of Corgan's appearance in the next Guitar Hero after photos of the Smashing Pumpkins frontman in a motion capture suit were passed on.

The survey also lists a number of artists that have yet to be confirmed, but were revealed in a leak from market research firm Intellisponse. Those artists, still unconfirmed, include Korn, The Doors, Interpol and System of a Down. One additional artist, Tool, is now also rumoured to join the stable of Guitar Hero World Tour music acts.

The full survey description is after the break.

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Activision and RedOctane have stepped up the guitar controller game, adding an all new set of hardware features to the plastic axe that ships with Guitar Hero World Tour No longer are you limited to just five coloured buttons and a whammy bar, as the new Guitar Hero proprietary peripheral adds a new touch-sensitive slider on the neck, a new bridge button near the strum bar and a built-in accelerometer. Not only can they all be used during regular gameplay—oh, and your old Guitar Hero III guitar controllers will still work—but they all add a little something to Guitar Hero World Tour's new music creation mode.

Hit the jump for close-ups and a quick explanation of each new feature.

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Also in the batch of leaks going up on NeoGAF and elsewhere: Guitar Hero World Tour (aka GH IV) will feature new controls on the guitar neck, plus a raft of A-list artists including, curiously, the Doors.

"New touch-sensitive guitar Neck Slide opens up the entire guitar neck for unbound solos - shred how you want", says the leaked docs. Word up to this point had promised an upgraded guitar but no details.
The game will also roll out with drums with cymbals, and a mike, which we knew. The drums are wireless and will have quiet pads.

At this rate, GH and Rock Band enthusiasts will have a garage full of obsolete instruments, and this kit is likely to set you back $AU 191.56. But that money also buys you tracks from Jimi Hendrix, The Doors, Foo Fighters, Smashing Pumpkins, Korn, System of a Down, Ozzy Osbourne, Interpol, Muse "and dozens more".

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Activision CEO Bobby Kotick showed Guitar Hero World Tour this morning at the Wall Street Journal's All Things Digital conference, marking the game's debut and rocking out with the Journal's Walt Mossberg. Looks like folks at the event had a fun time with the full set!

And, bonus - following the jump, a new video showing off the upcoming game's drum set. If you can't play Guitar Hero on a stage with Activision's CEO, watching this is probably the best you can do right now.

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According to a NeoGAF poster armed with the latest issue of Game Informer magazine, Guitar Hero IV will, as expected, focus on more than just faux guitar playing, as the next proper iteration is said to add drums and vocals, just like Rock Band. Where GH IV is expected to go above and beyond the Rock Band experience is in its custom creation modes.

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Conde Nast Portfolio magazine isn't generally our number one source for gaming news, but Activision CEO Bobby Kotick has told the publication that Guitar Hero IV will...well...we'll just let him say it.

It's not just about guitars. We'll include a lot of other instruments, vocals. It will help us expand internationally. It's the first game we've had in which we can use local content and local bands.

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While we never really had any doubts that Activision's next installment of the Guitar Hero franchise would reach us this year, we've yet to hear anything concrete from the company outside of the Blizzard merger fact sheet issued in early December. Now one giddy British band may have unofficially spilled the beans. The band is called The Answer, and in a recently issue press release they proudly announce that their song "Never Too Late" was one of twenty picked by Activision last month out of over two-hundred submissions at the Marché international de l'édition musicale industry trade show to appear in Guitar Hero IV at the end of 2008. Eurogamer contacted Activision for their response but received only the standard "No comment." It's almost non-news, really. We knew it was coming out, and I guess now we know one of the songs. Hooray!

Guitar Hero IV this year [Eurogamer.net]

Several kotakuites have pointed us towards a PDF file detailing the Activision and Vivendi deal on Vivendi's website, getting all overexcited by the games listed as being in the pipeline on the Activision side. Guitar Hero IV and Call of Duty 5 are listed, alongside new Marvel titles, a new Tony Hawk game, a racing game from Bizarre, new Dreamworks titles, and James Bond. The vibe I've been getting from these emails is "OMG! Guitar Hero IV! CoD 5!" Come on folks, really. Was there any doubt that those two titles would be getting additional sequels? Was there some big scare I missed where they hinted that their most popular franchises were ending with the last installments? Calm down. Have yourself a nice cup of tea and save the excitement for when they announce Call of Guitar Hero, where you travel from the future to battle Nazis with the one weapon they can't counter - ROCK AND ROLL. *throws up horns*

Vivendi Activision Merger Fact Sheet (PDF) [Vivendi - Thanks Everyone]