Q&A: Steven Tyler and Joe Perry

— -- Aerosmith's Steven Tyler and Joe Perry talked to USA TODAY's Mike Snider about the plans for their new Guitar Hero: Aerosmith game. Here's extended excerpts from their con-versations:

Q: What do you think about Aerosmith having its own video game?

Steven Tyler:There are some battles you can't fight. You would like to keep it traditional and make it just deep, deep tracks from albums or B-sides. But technology is going so fast right now rather than be left behind, you are going with the flow.

It's a different day and age. Twenty-five years ago we would never have let one of our songs (Dream On ) be one of those used in selling cars (in a 2004 Buick commercial). But now, like with I Don't Want to Miss A Thing (in 1998's blockbuster film Armageddon), it's placement.

When I heard about Activision and all this. I thought whatever I can do for this to make it as good as it can be — because my son plays it — I thought I should do it.

Q: You're talking about the motion capture session for the game?

Tyler:I went to Los Angeles to see how you do this. And they said somebody can mouth your lyrics and I said, 'I didn't spend 30 years being me to let someone else do that.' We spent four weeks with the guys at Activision and Neversoft. It was like what I did for the (2004) movie The Polar Express (Tyler played an elf). You have all these (sensors) on you and they are synched up with a computer, but we kind of took it five steps farther. I said, 'What if we move the cameras out and set up a field in the middle and I grab the mike stand and do my thing with the mike so more of me can be captured.' On the third week, they showed me what I'd done and I just couldn't believe it.

Q: How do musicians see the video game industry, particularly with games like Guitar Hero?

Tyler:I think there are so many kids playing video games now, it's kind of like a sound-track to a movie. It takes a song and enhances it. That attached with a good moment in a song can mean everything, like a live appearance where Joe runs to the end of the ramp and takes his shirt off and smashes his guitar. I had my doubts, but it's really insane. I was able to do things you would never see live. And if you win, we did some special things like interviews and told some secrets like what was I thinking of when I wrote the songs.