Fans of the Guitar Hero franchise have been asking for a DS version of the game for some time now. Some fans have even come up with creative potential designs for how the game might be played on a handheld device. Today, IGN has revealed that Activision was well aware of the demand, and is bringing the popular rhythm-based music game to the Nintendo DS in Guitar Hero: On Tour.

The peripheral shown above inserts into the GameBoy slot on the bottom of the DS, and will allow players to rock out on the go. According to Activision, this final design was chosen after extensive research and development on the project. In total, over 20 prototype “guitars” were created and tested, and this design was chosen as the most practical and most comfortable way of transforming the DS into a guitar.

Although it appears that the peripheral will do a fair job of recreating the experience of Guitar Hero on the go, there are several obvious changes to the tried and true formula that has turned the series into a cultural phenomenon. Veterans to the franchise will notice immediately that the DS version of the game only uses four fret buttons, while all previous installments have used five. In addition to this, the method of strumming is fairly unique as players will use the touch screen and a stylus pick, which can be conveniently be stored in the back of the guitar peripheral.

No official release date has been announced for On Tour yet, but Activision hopes to have the product in stores sometime in Summer 2008. When the game is released, it will feature over 20 licensed songs from bands such as Nirvana, OK Go, and No Doubt. The game will also feature several two-player modes including co-op, face off, and a battle mode that will make full use of the DS hardware and utilize the built-in microphone.

Check out the video below for a demonstration of how multiplayer Guitar Hero looks on the DS.

IGN

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