"It doesn't matter what you wear as long as you play kick-ass rock and roll and do this with your tongue."

There’s a big problem with the Guitar Hero series as of late. With each game you get some new songs, some new outfits for the regular characters and a new shape for your guitar controller. Nothing we haven’t seen before. And it’s boring.

Activision’s aware of it too, folks; you’re not alone in your fretting. That’s why they’re currently busying themselves with yet another Guitar Hero controller and game while the finishing touches are being applied to the three titles releasing later this year. The name? Guitar Hero: KISS.

KISS’ influence on rock cannot be disputed: ever-recognisable guitar riffs, those hairstyles and that make-up continue to be a staple of classic rock and roll even today. Not to mention Gene Simmons’ habit of using his tongue a little more than the average bassist is expected to.

Concept drawings we’ve obtained from an Activision mole reveal that, this time around, the publisher and controller developer RedOctane are taking the guitar super seriously, with a new addition to the neck: a lick sensor.

Based on what we can see in the concept doodles, the lick sensor is positioned on the side of the neck (presumably both sides, to give lefties the chance to Lick It Up too) with a coloured strip running down the middle representing each fret button. Hypoallergenic materials mean that you can lick away to your heart’s content in any sections which are lick-compatible without fear of infection.

An analogue/digital converter (with nothing more specific detailed) will presumably, from our guesswork, react with your saliva to produce a readable game input, and tiny fans located inside the guitar neck will ensure that the buttons remain dry and don’t give way to literally sloppy fretwork.

GH Kiss is will be helping you rock and roll all night sometime in Q2 2010. Reports of tongue-waggling Natal compatiblity to assist you with partying every day are unconfirmed.

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