"We're not competing with Guitar Hero," claims Rock Band 2 developer

Harmonix, developer of new guitar, drums and microphone-compatible music game Rock Band 2, has said it's not in direct competition with Guitar Hero: World Tour.

You might think that sounds strange, considering Guitar Hero: World Tour is a new music game compatible with guitar, drums and microphones. Which is being released on the same day as Rock Band 2.

Lead designer Dan Teasdale would disagree, however. "I don't think we're competing," he told Eurogamer.

"At least from a design perspective, we're going after two completely different audiences. Rock Band is about an authentic band gameplay experience. We want people to have fun at parties, and we want to reach a wide audience."

Harmonix, of course, was responsible for producing the first Guitar Hero title. Development duties went to Neversoft after the franchise was snapped up by Activision. According to Teasdale, Harmonix's focus has since shifted.

"We developed the original Guitar Hero as a more technical experience. There's nothing wrong with that, it's a valid experience; it's just not what we're going for," he said.

"I don't sit around going, "How do we beat Guitar Hero?" I don't need to. My team's got more than enough great ideas."

And besides, Teasdale continued, there are plenty of other genres in which similar titles are popular. "Call of Duty and Halo are both great franchises you can enjoy," he observed. "It's the same with Guitar Hero and Rock Band."

The Xbox 360 version of Rock Band 2 is out on 14th November. So is Guitar Hero: World Tour. For more from Teasdale and fellow Harmonix type John Drake, read the full interview published today.