With Rock Band winning in all areas of the music genre of gaming, the makers of Guitar Hero must feel like they have something to prove. Rock Band has better animation, better playability, plus a set of drums and a microphone. GH just has a guitar. But that is all about to change over the next six months.

Being released for the Nintendo DS on June 22 is Guitar Hero: On Tour. For the first time ever, gamers will be able to take the GH experience out into public and play the guitar in the palm of their hand. The buttons get attached to the DS, and the game comes with a stylus pick to strum on the touchscreen. When you want to unleash a little star power, you yell, “Rock Out!” into the microphone; or, for those who are timid, you can just blow into the microphone. I watched a how-to video, and it made my eyes hurt.

I think this is a very ambitious venture for GH, and I think that kids might get a kick out of it, but On Tour’s life may be short due to a potential for carpel tunnel syndrome. If you want to, GH: On Tour will let you to play on the bus home from work. I hope someone does and yells “Rock Out!” when I am on the bus, so I can have a good laugh instead of my usual open-mouth gaze out the window.

A week after the DS release will come Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, for all platforms. At first, I thought, “Why would you put out a whole game with just Aerosmith tracks?” But the game’s reviews have been good so far and there are more than just Aerosmith tracks. There are songs from the Kinks, Joan Jett, the Clash, New York Dolls, and more.

And finally, Guitar Hero: World Tour is scheduled for release this October. This installment will finally include drums, but still no microphone. The drums look good, a new feature that Rock Band doesn’t have is cymbals, and the whole thing is wireless and velocity-sensitive.

It’s great that GH is expanding because if it doesn’t, Rock Band will continue to dominate. It’s fun to play guitar, but if you can play with your friends as a band, it is that much more fun.

The greatest challenge for GH will be making consumers out of the many people who already own Rock Band and may not want two sets of drums sitting in their living rooms; I know I don’t. GH: World Tour will also have to compete with other big releases in the fall, such as Fallout 3, Fable 2, Halo Wars, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, NHL 09, and Gears of War 2.