Guitar Hero shortages expected throughout Europe

RedOctane CEO Kelly Sumner has revealed that the European launch of Guitar Hero is likely to be plagued by shortages.

In an interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Sumner said it is likely that the highly anticipated Guitar Hero will be in short supply when releases across Europe next month, mainly because of manufacturing constraints placed on the game's unique guitar controller.

"We actually haven't got huge amounts of product," said Sumner. "It's an authorised game with an authorised peripheral and we have to manufacture it within the constraints of Sony's approved manufacturing guides. We can't just go to twenty different companies in China and ask them to produce as many as we'd like."

Sumner went on to discuss the firm's expectations for the game, stating that the main marketing campaign is not planned to begin until September, with shortages expected to be over by this time.

"There's no point going into overkill when you haven't got the supply," he said. "We've got some interesting things planned which will come to light in the next couple of weeks based around concerts and festivals. But as far as TV and other ads are concerned that's really not going to start until September when we've got much more product availability."

Guitar Hero is released in Europe on April 7 with a recommended retail price of £49.99.