Guitar Hero III axes on video: Love will tear USB apart

by Christopher Grant { Oct 9th 2007 at 10:14AM }

Curious about the new guitar peripherals for Guitar Hero III? After discovering that the PS3 guitar used a rather unsightly USB dongle (uh, what about Bluetooth?), we realized there were so many questions we still had and, lucky for us, Multiplayer slapped together a video answering many of them. Questions like, how are they going to ship these new, much larger guitar controllers? (Really, that's how? Clever ...). Other questions like, How precisely does the Wiimote get entombed in the guitar like that? Black magic? (Oh, is that all? Just like that ...). Hit up the video after the break or by clicking on that 'Read' link to answer all of these mysteries.

Gallery: Guitar Hero 3

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

blooh (CDF - Ass Ring) @ Oct 9th 2007 10:25AM

coolio

jack shaftoe @ Oct 9th 2007 10:34AM

Ouch, that headline, Ian Curtis just rolled over in his grave!

Vince @ Oct 9th 2007 10:44AM

why did they change the 360 controller from white to black?

blooh (CDF - Ass Ring) @ Oct 9th 2007 10:44AM

for coolness

phoenix @ Oct 9th 2007 10:53AM

for ROCK!!

Retman @ Oct 9th 2007 10:48AM

It is saying 'Video Not Accessible'

Michael @ Oct 9th 2007 11:57AM

Same for me ...?

CloudANDTidus @ Oct 9th 2007 11:58AM

MTV blocks their content from being played outside of the US. >.>

Michael @ Oct 9th 2007 11:58AM

Same for me ...?

Ralph @ Oct 9th 2007 10:49AM

The gear for the Wii is superior!
I can't wait to play GH3 with Rumble. Integrating the wiimote into the guitar was genius.

Dormammu @ Oct 9th 2007 12:34PM

Integrating the Wiimotes battery life into Guitar Hero III? Not so genius. :/

kip @ Oct 9th 2007 12:43PM

Assuming you don't plan to download additional songs onto the non-existent hard drive....

Chase @ Oct 9th 2007 10:48AM

I do like how they integrated the Wiimote's abilities into the guitar. Nicely done.

mmxzero @ Oct 9th 2007 10:57AM

Shouldn't the Wii bundle of GH3 cost about $10 less than it is since the Wiimote inside will take care the wireless and accelerometers that they didn't have to build into the controller? Eh, I guess that would be asking too much. Still looking forward to it.

Christopher Grant @ Oct 9th 2007 11:00AM

It costs *precisely* $10 less ... I still think it should be even cheaper than that. Plugging in a $30 Wiimote every time I want to play GH on Wii means that Wiimote is living in there and never coming out.

mmxzero @ Oct 9th 2007 11:08AM

Exactly, though I did mean 10 bucks lower than its current $90 price (same as PS2 with with a wireless controller).

Christopher Grant @ Oct 9th 2007 11:13AM

Oh, we're still in agreement then. Yeah, not high-def and with no built-in wireless functionality? $90 is a little steep. Though, to be fair, I won't be buying it for Wii (as much as I

Christopher Grant @ Oct 9th 2007 11:13AM

... love friend codes).

Ralph @ Oct 9th 2007 11:38AM

Is plugging in your wiimote into the guitar each time you want to play really *that* much of an inconvenience? At least the guitar uses the wiimotes rumble and speaker functionality while playing. None of the other guitars for the ps3/ps2/x360 have that.

Phranctoast @ Oct 9th 2007 11:00AM

I was under the impression the "unsightly" usb donge was shaped like a pick.

Christopher Grant @ Oct 9th 2007 11:14AM

Sure, so it's a giant pick hanging off the front of your PS3 ... unsightly, no?

Spooky @ Oct 9th 2007 11:27AM

The guy on the left is pretty cute, I just wish he had hair or maybe shaved off what he has left LOL.

chad @ Oct 9th 2007 12:38PM

Is the 360 guitar actually a better quality than the gh2 one. Mine broke after only 3 months.

Jag0tje @ Oct 9th 2007 1:09PM

Man they look so tiny, like ukulele tiny.

Alfred @ Oct 9th 2007 1:27PM

Ian Curtis spits in your general direction!

Pfft, you probably won't even go to see Control...

Joe @ Oct 9th 2007 1:26PM

the wii remote adding rumble and a speaker to the guitar is retarded and incredibly unrealistic... am i the only one who finds this feature stupid? even if xbox live and the graphics of the 360 weren't far superior to the wii's i would buy it for 360 just for the sole fact that those features are dumb. the only upside i can see to the wii remote is that the star power motion sensing is probably better. but i dont care because i always hit star power with select with my palm.

Deaddy @ Oct 9th 2007 1:34PM

How are rumble and a speaker any less realistic than hitting 5 colored buttons to play a guitar? The speaker is probably the most realistic element of guitar hero, it involves sound coming out of the guitar.

Zeromaru @ Oct 9th 2007 1:59PM

So video is not accessible outside the US... can someone post this to YouTube so that the majority of the human population can watch?

Joe @ Oct 9th 2007 2:02PM

@Deaddy:

the sound of an electric guitar comes out of an amplifier, yes there is SOUND that comes from the electric guitar, but an amp turned up past 2 will make it not audible. and no, when you mess up while playing electric guitar it doesnt magically switch from coming out of the amp to the guitar, you hear you mess up loud and clear through the amplifier. also, your guitar does not start to vibrate, no matter how good youre playing. THEREFOR, these features are dumb.

Aksel @ Oct 9th 2007 5:31PM

I'm in norway. and it works perfectly for me...

Philip @ Oct 23rd 2007 12:03AM

The sound through the guitar could be helpful during multiplayer, where the mistake "twangs" will come directly from the player making them rather than the tv. While the mistakes in real life are normally heard from an amp, that is distracting and confusing in multiplayer mode and this will let you know exactly who is screwing up.

As for rumble, who knows how much the wii remote will actually shake the guitar given all the movement when playing and what feedback the vibration even gives you. So you've got a good argument for the rumble possibly being lame, but come on... its a cheap plastic guitar for a game, it's not supposed to be real.

Ari @ Oct 9th 2007 2:22PM

Totally unnecessary Joy Division reference. Props on the knowledge of good music, though.

Sieged Eagle @ Oct 9th 2007 2:57PM

Haha, it seems James loves to rock out with the GH controller, even though he's not playing!

And my thoughts about how the Wii remote is going to be inserted on that controller finally have been answered. The white color fits in well, since the Wii's white, and the 360's guitar looks bad-ass in black. I might get the 360's version, because I don't own a Wii... at least for now.

And Zeromaru, I'm from Mexico and I can still see the video clip. =/

wootman @ Oct 9th 2007 4:44PM

aren't you still technically in north america then?
the rules for that always confuse me.

gavinrobinson @ Oct 9th 2007 3:19PM

ummm...where's that wii wrist strap that they make me wear all the time supposed to go in that thing?

Mikeawesome @ Oct 9th 2007 6:36PM

Wait, those guitars don't look much bigger than the old ones at all. Unless it's simply because there isn't a comparison or something.

I will admit, though, I'm all for a bigger, more realistically sized GH guitar.

icicle0424 @ Oct 9th 2007 3:37PM

will the wii remote still fit in there with it's condom, er um, "jacket" on?

glassd @ Oct 9th 2007 5:02PM

OMG... I can't watch this video because i'm not in the US? bullshit... the internet is suposed to be a nexus of freely available information, not a roadblock.

mykie @ Oct 9th 2007 6:07PM

It's a nexus of freely available information, just not for you.

breachless @ Oct 9th 2007 6:07PM

I love how everyone is cutting down the Wii version for it's lack of HD graphics...

I don't know about you guys, but I never really cared how the game looked... ever. I was busy watching the notes I was supposed to hit.

For the record I will be getting it for my 360 and not my Wii. Not for the better graphics, but because the 360 will have some achievements for me to hunt down.

Also, some food for thought for the guy cutting down the Wii version because of the sound coming from the guitar... The only thing I see about that is that FINALLY, when you play two player at a particularly difficult part of a song with a lot of notes, everyone will know which one of you are screwing up.

jinn35 @ Oct 9th 2007 10:27PM

anyone remember that interview where slash said that another boss was "the devil" he might actually mean the devil since a newly announced song was "devil went down to georgia" anyone else think i might be right?

Grey Acumen @ Oct 9th 2007 10:04PM

I still am pretty disappointed with the Wii version. I think it could have fit quite easily into the neck of the guitar, just above the buttons and then had a latch that you caught the wrist strap on to ensure that the Wiimote didn't fly off while you were jamming.

Rather than needing to open the case and plug it into the cord and stuff you just plug the wiimote into the neck. Which would also allow you to navigate the Wii menu while you still have the wiimote plugged into the guitar. you'd still have yoru rumble and speakers but you'd also be able to do a little pointer action as well. Plus you'd be able to access the b button.

*sighs * It's not as bad as I thought, but it still could have been better.

also, rumble and sound issues, sure, they are dumb, but they're also FUN, so suck it up, losers.