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One of the biggest videogame phenomena of the last few years has been the success of the Guitar Hero games, which has now practically created a mini-industry unto itself; this holiday we'll see the release of not one but two major rockers in the form of Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock and Rock Band. To this point, PC gamers have been left out of the mix, but that will soon change as today, developer Aspyr announced that it will be bringing Guitar Hero III to both the Windows and Macintosh platforms this fall. Being the Guitar Hero freaks that we are, we naturally tracked down the folks at Aspyr for more info on the announcement.
GameSpy: How did the idea for PC and Mac ports come about? Did Activision approach Aspyr, or vice-versa?

Aspyr: Aspyr and Activision have a long-standing relationship collaborating on high-profile console titles porting to PC and Mac, so the idea to port Guitar Hero III was a natural topic during periodic discussions. And while some gamers have a PS2, PS3, Xbox 360 or Nintendo Wii, everyone has a PC or laptop in their life. It was thus paramount to provide access to one of the most popular games ever on the most abundant interface, and what's more, considering laptops, to make Guitar Hero III a game you can take anywhere, with or without your guitar peripheral.

GameSpy: What controllers -- particularly, guitar controllers -- will be supported?

Aspyr: We will be shipping with a USB Guitar Hero guitar controller. The model will be revealed soon. In addition we have engineered the game so that you can play entirely with your keyboard or keyboard/mouse if you so desire.

GameSpy: How will keyboard and mouse control work?

Aspyr: There will be default keys for navigating menus and UI, but in-game controls will be rebindable at the player's preference. That said, you can play utilizing your selected keys as frets and the mouse as strum, Star Power and whammy bar, or completely abandon the mouse and map all functions to the keyboard. This is very exciting for laptop users wishing to travel with Guitar Hero III as they can play anywhere, with or without guitar.

GameSpy: Will these versions be released simultaneous to the console versions? Also, have price points been determined?

Aspyr: We are targeting a day-and-date with console release for the PC and Mac versions and are on track from a development standpoint to meet that deadline. But, of course, we all know dates can change. We'll announce a ship date as soon as we get everything locked down. Price point will be announced soon.

GameSpy: Will these versions basically be identical to the console ones? What plans are there for online play, leaderboards and/or downloadable content? Are any exclusive features or content planned?

Aspyr: The PC/Mac SKU is a direct port from the Xbox 360 console, and will be identical to the console gameplay. This includes all of the online multiplayer modes, and we are currently finalizing plans for inclusion of leaderboards and downloadable content. We'll have more to talk about on that at a later date.