Activision today confirmed that the Wii version of Guitar Hero World Tour will support some form of downloadable content, though no details were provided. It is not known if the content refers to new songs or the sharing of user-created tracks.

Downloadable content on the Wii is a concern for developers due to the console’s paltry 512MB of internal storage. Users can expand that space through the use of SD cards, however, the Wii will only executive downloaded content if it is located within the internal memory.

In related news, a picture of the drum kit that will come with the game has been released. Enjoy.

In a surprising move, a free track for Guitar Hero 3 will be offered for PS3 gamers on Thursday, June 5. The free track in question will be inspired by God of War, Sony’s insanely awesome action game. This was revealed through a PlayStation Underground mailing from Sony (attached in this post), with no additional details provided.

This may seem odd at first, but Neversoft and Microsoft teamed up for a similar promotion that saw them giving away a free Halo tune for the Xbox 360 edition of the game.

Some new downloadable content is coming to Lost Odyssey this weekend for 400 Microsoft points. The DLC adds a new area along with a single rare item and a new boss encounter at the end. Full details of the ‘Seeker of the Deep’ dungeon pack can be found here.

Shacknews carries word from Valve marketing director Doug Lombardi that downloadable content is in the pipeline for the Xbox 360 version of Team Fortress 2.

“We’re looking at bringing the Goldrush and the new achievements and stuff out to the 360,” Lombardi is quoted as saying. “How and when is still sort of being determined, on pricing and that kind of stuff. On the PC it’s sort of wide open, you can release stuff whenever you want. On the console there’s a little bit more of a pathway.”

Lombardi further noted that they have been waiting for a “critical mass of new content” before releasing something for the console. He hopes that the company will make announcements soon, though he wouldn’t offer any definite date. He also states that he “doesn’t know” if the DLC will be released for the PS3 or not.

Following up on the full album release of Judas Priests’ “Screaming for Vengeance”, Harmonix and MTV Games today announced the second complete album for Rock Band - The Cars’ 1978 self-titled debut.

To be available starting next Tuesday on Xbox Live and Thursday on PlayStation Network, the album is hailed by Rolling Stone as one of the greats and features quite a few hit singles. The album can be bought for $14.99 (1200 Microsoft points); individual tracks can also be bought for 160 Microsoft points ($1.99) each. Below is the track listing:

“Good Times Roll”
“My Best Friend’s Girl”
“Just What I Needed”
“I’m in Touch with Your World”
“Don’t Cha Stop”
“You’re All I’ve Got Tonight”
“Bye Bye Love”
“Moving in Stereo”
“All Mixed Up”

The upcoming “Davis” update for Burnout Paradise will add a completely new section to Paradise City, according to developer Criterion. Scheduled for release this August, the fourth update will mark the first expansion to Paradise City since the game’s release.

The update will also add motorbikes to the game, as well as new challenges suitable for these vehicles. It will also add night-time racing, allowing gamers to go all NFS on their Burnout.

Meanwhile, the “Cagney” update, the third one, will go live this June, adding new multiplayer modes including Online Road Rage, Marked Man and Stunt Events.

Those who still have the time-bending TimeShift game will be glad to know that five brand new maps for the game’s multiplayer mode have been released. The maps support all forms of gameplay modes, including One-on-One, Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch as well as Capture the Flag.

Following rumors that the Xbox 360 version of Grand Theft Auto IV may be receiving more than the two formally announced exclusive pieces of downloadable content, Rockstar set the record straight, stating that there are no plans to release any more content for either version.

The company recently delayed the game to sometime next year. This has pushed back the second content pack, which is now expected in 2009.

In related news, MCV claims that sources close to Take-Two has told them that the game will be released in the UK on April 25, though it is yet to be confirmed.

New tracks for Rock Band are now available for the game via Xbox Live Marketplace and PlayStation Network for their specific platforms. The three new tracks are The Clash’s “I Fought the Law,” “Rockaway Beach” by Ramones, and a cover of Buzzcocks’ “Ever Fallen in Love”.

They are bundled together for 400 MS points ($5.50), while each song can be purchased separately for 160 MS points ($2).

The first bit of downloadable content for Halo 3 is now out on Xbox Live Marketplace - the Heroic Map Pack. It features three new multiplayer maps for the game for 800 Microsoft points. Here’s the deal:

Standoff’s symmetrical valley, with its entrenched bases and fields of boulders is ideal for mid-sized objective and Slayer game types, while Rat’s Nest’s vast, labyrinthine passages bring something new to the “Halo” multiplayer experience: an indoor vehicle paradise, strongly influenced by the Campaign mode, ideal for big team battles. Finally, Foundry is the ultimate Forge map - players can edit every single object in this voluminous industrial warehouse, place stairways, walls, bridges and tunnels to create an entirely new play space and build almost any kind of map they can think of.

The maps can also be edited and customized by the game’s players. They will also be available for free download in Spring 2008, just prior to the next wave of new Halo 3 multiplayer maps.

Bethesda announced that the final piece of downloadable content for The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion will be released today, and will be free to download for all players for one week. Dubbed Fighter’s Guild, the DLC will let players own the Battlehorn Castle (pictured), replete with dining hall, training room and a private shrine.

The company also mentioned that while the PS3 won’t receive this piece of downloadable content, it did note that some content is coming to the console, though the medium was not defined. More news is expected soon.

The much hated Guitar Hero 2 song packs are apparently popular. Activision sent out word that downloadable song packs for the game have achieved multi-platinum status with more than 650,000 downloads through Xbox Live Marketplace in less than five months. Each pack contains three individual songs, which when combined top the two million mark, making them some of the most downloaded content on the broadband network.

“Activision was the first third-party publisher to offer downloadable content via Xbox LIVE to consumers and as a result, we have tremendous insight into the types of content that consumers want,” states Dusty Welch, head of publishing, RedOctane. “The Guitar Hero II downloadable video game song packs are some of the most popular content on Xbox LIVE and are quickly becoming a very lucrative revenue stream and powerful promotional vehicle for musicians and record labels today.”

Interestingly, people are actually interested in My Chemical Romance, as the band’s song pack, which included original recordings of “Teenagers”, “Famous Last Words” and “This is How I Disappear,” had achieved over 50,000 downloads within the first week.

Hoping to cater to more gamers, Bethesda sent out a press release announcing their intentions of releasing the retail disc of Shivering Isles for the Xbox 360. Gamers will be able to play the award-winning expansion to Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion without having to access Xbox Live. It will also include the downloadable content, Knights of the Nine.

With more than 30 hours of new gameplay, Shivering Isles allows you to explore an entirely new plane of Oblivion - the realm of Sheogorath, the Daedric Prince of Madness. Shivering Isles features a bizarre landscape split between the two sides - Mania and Dementia -filled with vast, twisting dungeons mirroring the roots of the trees they are buried within. Sheogorath himself looks to you to be his champion and defend his realm and its inhabitants from destruction as you discover all new items, ingredients, spells, and much more.

Knights of the Nine features an all-new faction and quests for noble characters and answers many of the questions surrounding the Ayleid ruins found throughout Oblivion. Players can join a new faction and found their own order of holy knights - leading them into battle against a sorcerer-king and his demonic minions while exploring massive dungeons and searching for legendary relics - the holy armor and weapons of the Divine Crusader.

The Shivering Isles disc will be available in stores this October.

The numero uno piece of premium downloadable content on Xbox Live is going free. Microsoft has announced that the Hidden Fronts Map Pack for Gears of War has been released for free this Monday, joining the Annex gametype and Multiplayer Map Pack 1 as another piece of free downloadable content for the blockbuster game.

The map pack contains four levels. Here’s the deal:

Bullet Marsh
In this Kryll-infested swamp, an old generator still powers the area lights. A few stray bullets could easily knock out the generator, leaving combatants to fend for themselves against the Kryll.

Garden
This overgrown and crumbling conservatory still has a working fertilization and pesticide system. This system can pose a serious hazard to anyone who ventures into the greenhouse without first venting the air.

Process
Fight for control of this subterranean Imulsion processing plant, still active despite the cessation of the Pendulum wars.

Subway
Timgad ’s Central Subway station used to serve as a central hub for commuters. Now the tunnels are crawling with Locust.

Gears of War is also being released for PC. It will feature all-new exclusive content, including three new multiplayer maps, a new multiplayer game type, Game Editor, five new campaign chapters and DirectX 10 support.

Those who bought Bomberman Live from Xbox Live Arcade now have a reason to get back to the game: Hudson Entertainment has announced that they have released an add-on pack for the game dubbed Bomb-Up-Pack 1. This add-on features over a dozen new features, including ten new characters, two additional levels, two new leaderboards and a new game mode. It is not free however; as it will cost you 250 Microsoft points ($3).

New characters in the pack include Little Bomby Foo Foo bunny and Rocky Bomboa the boxer. Players can customize their in-game Bomberman in many different ways. Additional levels in the pack include “High Stakes”, a Las Vegas-style casino level and “Zeppelin”, a level set aboard a dirigible which features tornado environmental hazards. The one new game mode is a “Frag” mode allowing players to preset the number of enemies they must bomb in order to win the game.