Guitar Hero to expand globally with 'multiple instruments'

Rock Bandmay be the rhythm game of choice for many in North America, butHarmonix has left the rest of the world out in the cold. Hoping to cashin on that deficiency, Activision boss Bobby Kotick outlined the company's plans to expand product availability of its successful Guitar Hero franchise in Europe as well as a shift to a significant new market in Asia.

Kotick discussed his company's plans during the Morgan Stanley Technology Conference yesterday. According to Kotaku, Kotick conceded that 2007 was very much devoted to developing the North American install base of the latest Guitar Heroiteration, but that 2008 would mark a shift in focus to Europe in termsof shipping and marketing, as well as the creation of localizeddownloadable content. Kotick noted that the company would be leveragingits connections with Universal to attain content from bands incountries like Britain, France, Germany, Spain, and Italy.
On the Asian front, Kotick announced that Guitar Herowould be coming to China and Korea. Traditional means of advertisingwon't work as well in those markets, Kotick said, so the company islooking to get the game "into internet cafés" followingexperience gained from the recently-acquired Blizzard. Café-based tournaments using Guitar Hero for the PC were offered as one potential solution.
Kotick left the topic with a final comment that's been a cause forquestion. Speaking on the potential of these café-based solutions, hesaid that these installations would operate "entirely on a prepaidbasis" and that "they could have 'multiple instruments in the sameroom'." As Kotaku points out, Kotick chose to use the word"instruments" instead of "guitars." Taken in context, it's easy to seethat the two might be interchangeable, but should Activision havesomething bigger up its sleeve, the worldwide rhythm game race couldget a little more interesting.