It seems that the rumors are true and that Van Halen really is planning on being featured in a Guitar Hero game.
Eurogamer is giving the game an August 2009 release date.
And from RollingStone.com today:
Van Halen are rumored to be the next band to get its own Guitar Hero game, Joystiq.com is reporting. The group would be the third with a specifically branded Guitar Hero title, following Aerosmith and Metallica, whose version is set for release on March 29th (check out our Guitar Hero: Metallica sneak preview.) According to Joystiq, Guitar Hero: Van Halen will feature many of the band’s greatest hits (”Jump,” “Panama,” “Hot for Teacher”), plus recordings by Weezer, Tenacious D and Judas Priest.
While Activision wouldn’t comment on the game, the potential of a Van Halen Guitar Hero is already generating hundreds of questions. Will new bassist Wolfgang Van Halen appear in the game instead of Michael Anthony? Will the game feature playable versions David Lee Roth, Sammy Hagar and Gary Cherone, and if it’s just Roth does that mean his polygonal doppelganger will sing Hagar’s “Right Now?” Also, will Diamond Dave’s virtual dressing room ensure that he has enough room to practice his digital martial arts? We must know.
Of course, it comes as little surprise that rumors of a Van Halen Guitar Hero leaked out just days after their competitor Rock Band revealed more details about their own game dedicated to another pretty popular quartet. As Rock Daily reported last week, The Beatles: Rock Band will hit stores September 9th and feature career-spanning tracks from the Fab Four’s Please, Please Me through Abbey Road. Clearly the Guitar Hero makers had to plot a course of action to compete with Rock Band’s mega-release for the holiday sales, and they’re hoping the allure of blasting through “Eruption” and “Hot for Teacher” will ensure two video games are under the tree come Christmas.