The Guitar Hero: Aerosmith demo has launched on the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 we're told.

The demo includes Sweet Emotion and Dream On by Aerosmith, as well as Walk this Way by Run DMC and I Hate Myself for Loving You by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts.

Say what you will about artist-themed Guitar Hero games, at least you're getting four free songs out of the deal.

Update: Seems that the official press release announcing that the demos was a bit premature. Back to playing regular old non-Aerosmith-infused Guitar Hero.

Guitar Hero: Aerosmith sold 567,000 copies in its first week on sale, according to a report from Rolling Stone. That, according to the music mag, is well over $US 25 million in revenue if you set the baseline at $US 50 a pop, a dollar figure that doesn't include pricey guitar bundles. Rolling Stone compares that to the aging band's last studio album, Honkin' On Bobo, which sold a less impressive 160,500 in its first week of availability.

Yes, Honkin' On Bobo. Who would've thought that catchy title wouldn't have the kids lining up?

Unsurprisingly, Aerosmith guitarist Brad Whitford says that "We're the first band of many" to get the titular treatment. Not hard to believe that established musicians might want to make a few millions by licensing their songs, likenesses and name to such a cash cow.

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There's little doubt that the artist line-up for Rock Band 2 is shaping up nicely. Guitar Hero is getting some nice exclusives as well. With Journey, Boston, Metallica, The Who and other top tier acts lending their tunes to the dominant rhythm games, there aren't many superstars left to cross off the list.

One of the artists that continues to elude both Activision and Harmonix is Led Zeppelin. It's been chalked up to a lengthy licensing process, but a recent write-up from the Wall Street Journal helps shed more light on the British band's absence.

According to their management, the band isn't "comfortable" giving up access to its master tapes, the very thing required to edit these things down to Rock Band and Guitar Hero ready formats.

"It ain't about the money", says Peter Mensch of Q Prime Management who handles Led Zep's interests.

In better news, the Wall Street Journal writes that hold outs like Van Halen, Steely Dan and Guns N' Roses all have "deals in the works to bring more music to gamers. In far, far worse news, so are the Eagles.

Aerosmith Stars In Guitar Hero Videogame [WSJ - thanks again, Max!]

The list of songs in Guitar Hero: Aerosmith has been trickling out for about a month. Now VideoGamesBlogger has just posted a list of all 41 tracks. It looks like a typical four-hour rotation for WKRR-FM "Rock 92" of Asheboro, N.C. back in my sophomore year of high school. The non-Aerosmith tracks are bands the gang either toured with or are big fans of.

Not a huge fan of Aerosmith, but I don't hate them, so, there's no real do-want moment here for me -- except then I see "She Sells Sanctuary", which has been an air-guitargasm going back to the days of velcro sneakers. But I've already got carpal tunnel coming on like a heart attack, and I'd probably spaz before getting to The Cult's classic.

The game releases August 6 in Australia. Full list after the jump:

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The bad news? Activision is making Guitar Hero: Aerosmith. Wait, that's not the bad news. The actual bad news was that all those Guitar Hero III tracks you downloaded from either Xbox Live or the PlayStation Store won't work on your copy of Guitar Hero: Aerosmith.

Here's a dash of good. Guitar Hero World Tour will support your existing GH III downloads, which begs the question "Why would you buy Guitar Hero: Aerosmith?"

Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you living, speeding proof that Activision is officially marketing the living hell out of Guitar Hero: Aerosmith. Presenting the Guitar Hero: Aerosmith Target Chip Ganassi Racing number 40 Dodge, appearing June 29th at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway to commemorate the launch of the game. This beast will be piloted by Ganassi's Dario Franchitti, who is just pleased as punch.

"I love video games and actually have versions of Guitar Hero that I play on my bus and at home. To have Target, Activision and Aerosmith on my car for the New Hampshire race is pretty cool," said Franchitti. "Who doesn't love Aerosmith's music? It's perfect for getting ready for the side-by-side, non-stop action of NASCAR racing."

In addition to the co-branded race car, Target stores will also be selling a special Wii bundle for GH: Aerosmith that includes 2 wireless controllers and a tour book for $AU 158.69. You might as well just buy the damn game before Activision starts marketing on you. Believe me, it's extremely difficult to breathe in a full vinyl wraparound.

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Any fond memories of Aerosmith from my childhood are directly attributable to Run DMC's cover of "Walk This Way". To this day I am disappointed nearly to tears if I hear that opening riff without DMC's vocals immediately following them. Purists be damned, this is one of those rare songs that rap actually made better.

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As a certified Slurpee addict, the press release for the massive May cross-promotion for Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, the Xbox 360, and 7-Eleven's Full Throttle Frozen Blast Slurpee initially read "blah blah Slurpee blah Slurpee for Fahey" until I read through it a couple more times. 7-Eleven, Microsoft, and Activison are teaming up for a massive May PR blitz for the upcoming game and the new Slurpee flavor, where lucky consumers within range of Slurpee goodness will be able to purchase special cups with codes that can be redeemed via Xbox Live for Microsoft points, with chances to win copies of Guitar Hero: Aerosmith every hour of the month. 10 winners will also be receiving an Xbox 360 console along with their GH: A. Along with the contest, 7-Eleven will be strategically placing giant Guitar Hero poster tear-off pads, while media vans featuring 6 by 12 foot video screens with playable versions of the game will be touring store locations. Guitar Hero cups may just be a sign that it is time for my annual Slurpee road trip to the closest 7-Eleven to Atlanta, some 300 miles away. *sigh*

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This trailer for Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, your one video game source for Aerosmith music, combines ugly cell animation with ugly 3D graphics to generate some of the most hideous imagery ever created for a video game. The graphics are well crafted, to be sure, but the Aerosmith models look like something out of The Dark Crystal, only without gelfling goodness. I do find myself feeling bad for drummer Joey Kramer, who apparently has no physical features worth enhancing to ugly Muppet proportions and winds up just looking like some guy on the drums. The trailer also loses points for cutting off Cheap Trick's Dream Police before the chorus, leaving me looking stupid singing along with nothing and my cats looking terribly confused.

Newsweek this morning is reporting that Aerosmith and their music will be a Guitar Hero exclusive for an "unspecified period of time." Activision CEO Bobby Kotick first hinted that the band would be "proprietary to our format" at last month's Morgan Stanley Technology Conference.

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