Yep, you read that right. It’s been announced that by purchasing specially marked copies of Guitar Hero 5 throughout the month of September, players will be able to rock out to an advanced copy of the as yet unreleased Guitar Hero: Van Halen.

When the game drops on September 1st, the official release of Van Halen will still be at least 3 months away, which means attentive gamers will have a heck of a head start if they manage to get the latest incarnation of Guitar Hero before the month is out.

They will also be cashing in on an add-on that comes to around $60 MSRP.

Is this a corporation’s crazy attempt at moving as many units as is physically possible in the least amount of time? Absolutely, but it’s hard to argue with getting your hands on a premium title over 90 days before everyone else does.