Guitar Hero coming to Europe

Axe wielders get ready to rock, because Red Octane has today confirmed that Guitar Hero will be released in the UK and "selected European territories" on April 7th.

Priced at £49.99 for the full package, the US publisher has decided to go it alone, with the firm's Kelly Sumner saying Harmonix's acclaimed rhythm action title was the company's "big chance to establish ourselves".

But gamers hoping to get a piece of the action had better be quick to place pre-orders when they can, with Sumner warning "there will be limited supply - but only because the factory [in China] can't produce them quick enough".

US take-up of the product has been "phenomenal" according to Sumner. "I've never seen anything like it. It's like how GTA 3 started. We didn't do any advertising initially, it was all word of mouth competitions, yet we sold 75 per cent of our inventory in the first weekend. According to NPD we did 39,000 in November, and we can't get them out there quick enough."

Speaking exclusively to Eurogamer, Sumner also revealed that "country specific" versions as well as other add-ons were planned, giving users access to a more tailored track list, presumably to reflect differing tastes. He did, however, confirm that the initial version planned for release in the UK would feature the same track list as the US version.

Meanwhile, Red Octane is also planning to release its premium dance mats in Europe later this year, as well as its In the Groove dance title. More music-based peripherals are also being discussed, as well as a follow-up to Guitar Hero, but Sumner vows to stay ahead of the competition.

"When everyone else is making knock-offs of Guitar Hero Mk1, we'll be ready to put out Mk2," Sumner added.

More news as we get it.