"New instrument controllers are not required to play World Tour. Older Guitar Hero guitar controllers will still work with the game. Activision also stated during their press conference held alongside E3 2008 that the existing Rock Band instrument controllers as well as other third party controllers will also work in Guitar Hero World Tour, though it is unknown if Rock Band 2's new instruments will work. Vicarious Visions has confirmed that controllers developed for the Wii version of Rock Band will not be compatible with the Wii version of World Tour. World Tour will adjust the tracks in the game to account for the instrument controller being used. For example, sections of the lead guitar track that are designed to be played on the new controller's touchpad can be played by tapping the frets on older controllers without strumming. When using Rock Band's drum controller, which has one fewer drum pad than the World Tour unit, two of the drum tracks will merge, reducing the note track to four drum pads and bass pedal.
Neversoft director Brian Bright stated that the instruments designed for World Tour would also work with the first Rock Band, although he was unsure of whether they would work with Rock Band 2. This is currently known to not apply to the Wii versions."