Rock Band strat may not rock with Guitar Hero 3
by Ross Miller 
{ Oct 27th 2007 at 1:06AM }
According to early tests conducted by IGN, the most compatible controller is Xbox 360's Guitar Hero 2 X-plorer model, which works with both upcoming titles, although you cannot use the special effects due to the lack of a five-way switch. The GH3 Les Paul controller works with everything except the PS2 version of GH2 (played on a PS3, natch) and, like the X-plorer, cannot activate effects.
Rock Band's Stratocaster, however, does not work with any Guitar Hero title on the Xbox 360. (IGN has not been able to test the PS3 version yet.) A statement released by Harmonix said, among other things, that they "welcome any 3rd party software that wishes to support Rock Band guitars. If a 3rd party guitar / music game does not support the Rock Band guitar controller, questions regarding this should be directed to the game manufacturer." There is no word yet from Guitar Hero publisher Activision. And when everything is finalized, we'll be sure to make you an colorful, easy-to-read compatibility chart.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Loki @ Oct 27th 2007 1:22AM
That sucks...
Mike Jenkins @ Oct 27th 2007 12:46PM
Yeah, it does. I already preordered Rock Band and I was hoping I could just buy the GHIII game and use the Rock Band guitar to play it, since it's a better guitar overall. I have a 360 and a PS2 and I was hoping I could have all my music games on 360 from now on but if I want to save money I might justh ave to buy GHIII on PS2.
Crono (NDF - Knight of the Old School) @ Oct 29th 2007 2:28PM
Guess I won't be getting GH3 after all. Activision just lost a sale.
gonk @ Oct 27th 2007 1:28AM
what's the special shit on the rock band guitar?
and the 360 GH3 guitar will work with rock band, except for the special shit, right? you only mention the ps3 version and the ign article wasn't fully clear either
RT @ Oct 27th 2007 1:40AM
Thank Activision for locking the Strat out of Guitar Hero III. They'll do anything to inhibit cross-compatibility. They can't be very confident in their Les Paul if they don't even trust the consumers to choose it over the Strat for GH3.
Werbal @ Oct 27th 2007 2:18AM
Wouldn't surprise me if this was intentional. Activision has never been gamer-friendly.
Billiam247 @ Oct 27th 2007 12:59PM
I wouldn't be surprised to see a patch for GHIII down the road that has "greater compatability for third party controllers." It just depends on when Activision thinks they've milked all they can out of controller sales.
Yuccadude @ Oct 27th 2007 2:27AM
Let me tell you. This news? It does not rock.
syco @ Oct 27th 2007 2:39AM
I never really planned on compatibility since I'm getting the Wii version of GH3.
That still kinda sucks though.
ToRo @ Oct 27th 2007 12:37PM
It also sucks that your getting the wii version.
syco @ Oct 27th 2007 3:22PM
In that I can't afford a console that has a hard drive, and thus will not be able to get horribly overpriced song packs later on? Yes, it's something I've had to consider, but it's between Wii or PS2 for me, and the Wii one has some sort of motion control thing added. It's not much, but it's enough to not get the PS2 version.
Not to mention the fact that the Wii version is $10 cheaper than the 360 or PS3 version.
gonk @ Oct 27th 2007 2:45AM
this sucks a lot for ppl who wanted to get gh3 (w/guitar) and rock band, so they'd have the 2 guitars right there
good thing for me rock band's outta my price range, i guess?
serotoninzero @ Oct 27th 2007 6:29AM
Guess I'm just keeping GH2 and renting GH3 to play solo.
Seroth @ Oct 27th 2007 3:15AM
Not a surprise, considering Red Octane's issue with third-party guitars when GHII first came out.
Sean @ Oct 27th 2007 3:44AM
The xplorer works like shit on the GH3 demo. The strum bar is too sensitive and constantly registers a phantom strum on the rebound.
ShawnMcCool @ Oct 28th 2007 5:34AM
You're using it incorrectly. You're not supposed to "snap" the strum bar. You move it up then down. You pretty much would never "snap" it otherwise you're wasting motion and negatively handicapping yourself.
Jeff Smith @ Oct 27th 2007 3:46AM
Sucks even worse when you factor in separate Rock Band items probably won't be on sale individually until next year.
Macroy @ Oct 27th 2007 3:47AM
DO NOT WANT
Eliot @ Oct 27th 2007 4:27AM
"colorful, easy-to-read compatibility chart"
Fuck that shit! I want a needlessly convoluted venn diagram.
CubeGuy @ Oct 29th 2007 12:45AM
Seconded.
Not really.
Chart please.
=3
gk128 @ Oct 27th 2007 8:01AM
I was planning on just buying the disk for GHIII tomorrow, but now I may just spring for the whole package. That is if the GHIII guitar has anything I can't do with my X-Plorer.
Kizzle @ Oct 27th 2007 8:55AM
Guess I'll just hold on to GH2 then, skip GH3, and buy Rock Band. Activision lost a customer.
playwhutyalike @ Oct 27th 2007 10:02AM
Jontheninja, we need your avatar in this post to complete the circle of ninjas!
dICKIE DAVIS @ Oct 27th 2007 10:09AM
If the 360 Rock Band guitar does not work with the 360 versions of Guitar Hero 2 and 3, then quite simply I will not buy Rock Band at all.
Nesagwa @ Oct 27th 2007 10:39AM
Ill be the complete opposite. I'll probably be skipping GH3 on 360 if the RB guitar doesnt work with it.
If GH3 comes out on PS2 eventually, hey, already got two guitars for that.
This is retarded and is going to create a lot of confusion at retailers (resulting in a lot of returned guitars this christmas.)
Mike Jenkins @ Oct 27th 2007 12:49PM
That's a bad attitude to take, considering that it's Guitar Hero's fault that the Rock Band guitar won't work on it, not Rock Band's. You should be supporting the game that welcomes competition, not cries about it.
Jeff @ Oct 27th 2007 10:55AM
This, as we all know, is retarded.
At least it makes me feel less crappy that the PC version comes bundled with the nasty-assed white explorer.
h0mi @ Oct 27th 2007 11:44AM
Yet another reason to dislike rock band.
Rhandos @ Oct 27th 2007 12:34PM
Stop trolling, you muppet. Harmonix supports an open controller interface. Activision is the one who locks their game to third-party controllers.
Linkman2004 @ Oct 27th 2007 3:04PM
What are you talking about, Rhandos? The Guitar Hero controllers work with Rock Band, it's Harmonix's Strat that doesn't work with Guitar Hero II or III. Read the article.
Rhandos @ Oct 27th 2007 3:46PM
So you're saying it's a valid reason to dislike Rock Band when it's Activision who deliberately locks out other controllers? I think you got your causeeffect wrong.
Abscissa @ Oct 27th 2007 6:10PM
"Harmonix supports an open controller interface." - Rhandos
Like hell they do. Go read up on TAC. Harmonix doesn't like competition any more than Activision does. Their quote is pure lip-service.
Howard-the-Duck @ Oct 27th 2007 12:17PM
How many times did both companies tell us that their controllers would be cross-compatible? What's the deal here
Mike Jenkins @ Oct 27th 2007 12:54PM
I don't remember Activision ever saying that they support cross-compatibility, only Harmonix.
GoldenS1104 @ Oct 27th 2007 12:51PM
I get the impression that the accessory manufacturers don't want us to buy Rock Band. First they force us to buy it in a bundle (with a wired guitar) till 2008, now they make it incompatible with GHIII.
Dumbasses...
Mike Jenkins @ Oct 27th 2007 12:56PM
It's GHIII that's incompatible with the Rock Band guitar, not the other way around.
GoldenS1104 @ Oct 27th 2007 1:02PM
Ah, I see now. I misunderstood. I'm still pissed about the whole bundle thing, but there's no reason GHIII shouldn't be able to support the basic features of the Rock Band guitar. It's not like they gain any money on the controllers they sell, just the game. With that in mind, they should want it to be compatible with everything. So people will buy their game regardless of what controller they have.
What I find strange is that none of the Guitar Hero games are compatible with the Rock Band Guitar.
Lord Chako @ Oct 27th 2007 1:16PM
It's because you can't buy Rock Band by itself, without the accessories. So making their game cross compatible with another controller isn't really taking anything away from them. You are still gonna pay $200.
The same can't be said for Guitar Hero.
why not the LS2/LS7? @ Oct 27th 2007 1:22PM
Two things:
You will be able to buy Rock Band without the accessories after the holidays.
You can buy GH3 without guitars for the PS2 and Xbox 360 but not for the PS3 or Wii. Wii I get, as no one has Wii guitars already, but PS3 WTF? The Red Octane FAQ indicates GH3 for PS3 works with PS2 guitars with an adapter, so why not sell it solo?
-Dominic @ Oct 27th 2007 1:01PM
So let me get this straight. If I buy the GH3 pack with game and guitar for 360, I can use it with GH2 as well right? I am not looking that forward to Rock Band at the moment. Just wanted to make sure that I could play both GHs on 360 with the new controller.
umm....hello??? @ Oct 27th 2007 1:59PM
-Dom
yes, GH3 guitar will work with GH2 and RockBand (with limited functionality) for your 360.
GH2 guitar will work for GH3 and RockBand (with limited functionality).
RockBand guitar WILL NOT work with GH2 or GH3 for 360.
sucks 'cuz I already have GH2 for my 360, was going to get GH3 disc only and RockBand bundle and have 2 guitars total. The way it is now I'll have to get GH3 bundle for 2 guitars to use for GH2 and GH3, and have 3 guitars total once RockBand comes out with their bundle.
OR I can wait and see if any of them come out with a patch or new guitar.
Conbus @ Oct 27th 2007 4:27PM
sean, I think it may be your Guitar that's messed up. The GH3 demo works just fine with my X-plorer.
I don't have a problem using my old GH2 guitar for GH3 and Rock Band- but this is not cool at all Activision.
Gnick @ Oct 27th 2007 2:07PM
It still seems to be like this is Rock Band's fault. The Guitar Hero devs seem to have kept the new controllers the same, so that they function just like every existing guitar controller on the market. The Rock Band folks have added new functionality as well as changed the way the existing buttons function, so that game support has to be added specifically for the new format.
I'm not sure about all this "open standards" talk is, considering there was an open standard, Harmonix and Red Octane originally created it, but now Harmonix is creating a new "open standard."
The fact that this information is just coming out now, the day before Guitar Hero III's release, leads me to believe Harmonix has done everything possible to keep this a secret so GH3 had no chance whatsoever of adding support to their own game for this new "standard."
Barrid @ Oct 27th 2007 4:13PM
Harmonix has stated many weeks ago that they attempted to contact Activision about guitar compatibilites. They wanted to make sure Rock Band works with the GH3 controller, and to share information about their new controller so GH3 could support it. Activision never responded. It seems like they are the ones strong-arming customers into buying a 2nd GH3 controller instead of using their Rock Band one.
Gnick @ Oct 27th 2007 2:43PM
Just to add to my previous comments...
If you read IGN's article, you'll find that the Rock Band guitar doesn't work with Guitar Hero II on the Xbox360. So if their company line is that their guitar follows an open standard, then you would think the game that they developed on the Xbox360 would work just fine with their new guitar. Unless they expect whatever developer currently in charge of the GH2 360 code (no one probably), to release a patch.
The fact that it doesn't, should lead you to disbelieve a lot of what they're saying. They have nothing to do with Guitar Hero now, so when people call and complain to Red Octane that their GH2 or GH3 doesn't work properly with their new Rock Band guitar, they'll be laughing it up, knowing that they mucked things up.
Abscissa @ Oct 27th 2007 6:13PM
Exactly what I was thinking.
why not the LS2/LS7? @ Oct 28th 2007 4:00AM
That's great the 360 X-plorer is really compatible. But it's such a piece of crap. Awful shape, the whammy bar is a mess and the start button is in kind of the wrong spot.
It'll be a great day when that controller is no more.
Although, I used the 360 GH3 guitar two weeks ago and the whammy bar comes in late on that one too. It doesn't seem to affect the game scoring any, but it is weird to press the whammy bar and see it wait 1/4 second before taking effect.
CubeGuy @ Oct 29th 2007 12:47AM
That's really depressing. It wouldn't be such a big deal if RB could be purchased without the guitar, but now I'm screwed.
Ricardo @ Nov 13th 2007 3:56PM
I played Rock Band yesterday at the "Rock Band tour" and didn't like the RB Guitar one bit the strum SUCKS, feels like its glued together and it won't move. The Les Paul from GHIII is MUCH MUCH better.
I hope the Les Paul works on Rock Band because I ain't using the on in Rock Band.
Jon D @ Nov 16th 2007 12:06AM
i'm stoked for the stratos. they're better weighted, don't feel like cheap plastic, and eliminate that obnoxious cheap plastic clicking noise. if the stratocasters worked w/ GH3, i'd buy a second one when they release individual instruments, but i guess i'll just have to deal....damn.