Rock Band 3 Stratocaster is a Best Buy exclusive

by JC Fletcher on Dec 14th 2010 5:40PM

If you want to rock, first you have to pay your dues. To Best Buy.

Last week, Best Buy announced that it would be exclusively selling the Rock Band 3 Squier Stratocaster before the peripheral's previously announced March release date. Now, according to the retailer, it'll be the only place to go for the $280 guitar after that, as well. In a brief statement received by Joystiq today, Best Buy said that it would be "the exclusive retailer of the Rock Band 3 Squier when it goes on sale in stores on March 1."

Pre-orders for the instrument (which requires the MIDI PRO-Adapter for use with the game) will be offered beginning tomorrow, December 15, both in-store and on BestBuy.com.

Show full PR text

Best Buy is the exclusive pre-seller of the Rock Band 3 Squier® by Fender® Stratocaster® Guitar Controller".

Beginning on December 15, the pre sale will be available on both dotcom (www.bestbuy.com/rockband3) and in stores.

Best Buy will be the exclusive retailer of the Rock Band 3 Squier when it goes on sale in stores on March 1st. It retails for $279.99.

Tags: electronic-arts, harmonix, microsoft, nintendo, peripherals, playstation, ps3, Rock-Band-3, squier, stratocaster, wii, xbox

Reader Comments (53)

I think I'll pass on that...cost more than a good real Yamaha electric guitar

@solidsnake8282 Yeah but compared to MIDI-compatible guitars, it's incredibly cheap.

@solidsnake8282 what do you mean "real" ?

You do know this guitar predates Rock Band, right? They grafted the RB tech into the guitar, they didn't create a guitar for Rock Band.

@solidsnake8282 Yeah, but cheaper than any other MIDI/electric hybrids in existance. You just can't compare them like that.

@solidsnake8282 Show me an actual rock musician that uses a Yamaha guitar.

@Petebot330

It's really not that bad.

It's better than many guitars from 30 years ago, for example.

Is it a competitor to a Parker Fly Classic (a great midi//electric)? No, but so what?

You can make good music with this, and it's a shame people look down on instruments like they are fashion accessories.

This really isn't the best $300 you can spend on a guitar. Hell, it's Best Buy, so I guess everyone understands it's probably a lousy deal.

@solidsnake8282 ...but both Squier and Yamaha suck when it comes to making electric guitars...

@Batsu336
Squier is a brand, the actual guitar is made by Fender, who is *pretty good* at making guitars :)

@BlueRajasmyk - I'm pretty sure this is one of the lowest quality models in their lineup. Real Fenders are three or four times the price (up to far more than that for signature editions). Anyone buying this thing to learn how to play guitar isn't likely to notice though, and it is more than fine for that purpose.

As others have said, if you need a cheap midi guitar, you probably won't find one cheaper than this.

@Petebot330 So I'm guessing real musicians use the RB3 guitar? and also not all of us can afford a Les Paul ...seriously man!
besides I do play guitar but I can't consider myself to be a musician .. but at least I know what I'm talking about and Yamaha is great :trust me on that...sometimes expensive things are expensive because of their brand not because how good they are
My point is if ur looking for pure simple fun get the old RB1&2 guitars ... if you really wanna get pro go get a real guitar

@solidsnake8282

Buuuuuut if you want a reasonably priced midi guitar that's more than serviceable to PLAY WITH ROCK BAND 3, this is your guitar.

Alrighty then.

What the hell is the point of this exclusivity? I can see it for low/medium-budget games or promotions and the like, but a major peripheral upon which a very high budget game was designed around?

@mbarriault

"Best Buy announces they are the only retailer who's going to bother selling this thing."

Whoopty Doo.

I'm still rocking the original instrument bundle on the odd occasion I actually play a rhythm game. I dunno why but I'm just over the genre. Maybe there were to many released in a short time with little new aside from tracks. It just feels more like a chore to get a RB game setup.

@xiaoqinhhk

Accidently clicked the store link on my iPhone. Your store sucks.

Im waiting for the Fender one. You know, the one thats atually being made by Fender as a real Guitar that works with RB3. All other "pro" guitars are RB3 guitars that could function as real ones.

@Billlop
Isn't this Squire one plastic too?
Also, I thought there was going to be a "real" guitar for RB3 that was only around $130.

@Billlop
That's what this is. There are two Rock Band 3 Pro guitars. The Fender Stratocaster Squier is an actual (I'm guessing wood) stringed electric guitar with sensors in the neck, and MIDI output that the separate MIDI adapter will translate into signals so you can play Pro Guitar/Bass in the game. It's not out until March, and will be $280.

The other one is a Mad Catz MIDI guitar/controller, modelled after the Fender Mustang. I believe it's plastic, and it's red. It has nylon (?) strings to strum, and rows of buttons along the fretboard; 102 in total. It's on sale now, and about $150.

@Billlop And this is it. This is the non-plastic $280 Fender Squier Stratocaster with real strings and amplifier capabilities. Works both in-game and IRL as well.

@beano There's the plastic $130 (?) Mad Catz Fender Mustang with 102 buttons for frets and strings instead of a strummer.

@Billlop the squier is exactly the fender you claim to be waiting for. it is a real guitar plus other features and is not plastic.

@Billlop

Um, this is it. Ok then.

Man, I really thought Guitar Center would have grabbed exclusivity on this.

MUSICIANS. and FAKE MUSICIANS. and ASPIRING MUSICIANS: This weekend at GUITAR CENTER everything is being marked DOWN DOWN DOWN.

(pretty sure they only play these commercials in the NY/NJ area)

@WiNGSPANTT from TopTierTacticsco nah, Chicago too.

@WiNGSPANTT from TopTierTacticsco

All over Texas, I hear that same Guitar Center advertisement.

Though I really enjoy visiting Guitar Center, much unlike Best Buy. You can really get ripped off if you don't know what you're doing, but it's still a lot of fun.

@WiNGSPANTT from TopTierTacticsco

Oh, they play those commercials out here on the west coast, too.

@WiNGSPANTT from TopTierTacticsco Anywhere there's a Guitar Center, there's a once-in-a-lifetime sale happening, every weekend. I've heard those ads for as long as I can remember in San Fran and L.A.

More on topic: I'm surprised that Guitar Center won't be selling the Pro Strat. It seems a natural fit, and they obviously have distribution for Fender gear all set up. Does Best Buy currently sell anything made by Fender?

@Mr Bungo
No, unless you count the cheap intro-guitars they sell near the back of the store (the ones that come in a cardboard box, that they also sell at Wal-Mart...)

@WiNGSPANTT from TopTierTacticsco
lol no unfortunitly they dont.......... i was surprised they didnt either

Wait, how is it gonna be outside the US?

That's a lil steep. $280 + $40 for the midi adapter :/ I know it's not necessary to play the actual game but it'd be nice if it included the adapter with it. I'll prob end up buying one when they are on clearance.

$280 for a Squier???? really? You can buy those "Poor man Fenders" for $199 or less at most music stores. They are a cheaply made "Fender" that are mass produced out of country. They are good for kindling and making sounds similar to a drowning cat.
At least get a good manufacturer for these controllers...

@Batsu336 don't forget there's extra electronics and sensors in the neck for the midi interface. It's not just a standard electric guitar.

@Batsu336 True for the Affinity series, but the others really aren't that bad. I have one of the Yamaha strats that are pretty much the same thing, and I have to say it sounds pretty damn good for what I paid.

Am I going to take that over my Ibanez SV5470F? Never. Probably not even over my brow beaten RG. Is it a horrible guitar though? No. At least it isn't those garbage Laguna gutars that Guitar Center has started pushing. I picked one of those up and I literally felt in danger from it breaking in my hands and forcing me to pay for it.

@Batsu336

Also, Squires are Fenders... they say Fender Squire Stratocaster right on the tag buddy. So... yeah. It's like Epiphones are actually Gibson guitars.

@oJMan240o
I'm with Jman here. Why is everyone so ignorant about Squires and this model for RB3 in particular? Sheesh.

Store exclusives need to stop

...So, if Best Buy is the only store selling the guitar BEFORE the March 1st release date ...and Best Buy is the only store selling the guitar AFTER the March 1st release date ...then March 1st isn't really the release date, is it?

This should be a Fender.

@smoothy
The Fender Squier Stratocaster is a Fender...

@smoothy As BlueRajasmyk said, this is a Fender product, but they're using a Squier as a base to keep costs down. An actual Fender-branded Strat starts at around 500 bucks for the low end, and adding the game bits would push the cost well north of that. Who's going to pay in the neighborhood of $600 for a game controller? Certainly not enough people to make the whole thing worthwhile.

@Mr Bungo Hell man, a real strat with MIDI interface would probably run you in the $800 range... plus, they aren't going to cut pickups out of a true strat just to make it work with a video game. That's akin to sacrilege because it's such a well balanced guitar.

On another note, the Squires really aren't that bad. The only ones that are REALLY crappy are the $99 Affinity strats, which might as well have been made out of plywood or pressboard for how crappy they sound.

@Mr Bungo I have my doubts how many people will actually pay $320 for a game controller. I think that Best Buy is way over-estimating the interest in this guitar.

@Ghoti
It's a specialty item. It's the guitar version of the ION drum kit, basically.

- Frank

Is it me, or does this make no damn sense whatsoever? The Best Buys near me aren't even the ones that carry instruments. Why the hell would they shoot themselves in the foot and not allow places like Guitar Center, where people who might purchase this item likely frequent, to carry it? Stupid, just plain stupid. I love Harmonix, I think they are one of the best developers out there as far as supporting their games, but they and their associates have been making an inordinately large amount of questionable decisions of all kinds lately. Like no more backwards compatibility, the decision to not include Expert+ style base mapping for the new Pro Mode drums. (Yes, I understand that the older songs wouldn't work because they never included that much charting, but it would be nice to have a + mode on the newer songs.) Now they choose to make a peripheral that likely wasn't going to sell great in the first place even harder to get a hold of. Why? All I can ask is why?

@oJMan240o

$$$$$$

Bestbuy is probably paying Harmonix more than what they figure they would make selling at other retailers.

I pass and stay with Offbeat Guitarist. (http://JamOrigin.com). Its AMAZING. Works for ANY guitar.

I bought the pro guitar, and played it for a weekend on RB3.
Now, I do play real guitar, and I can read music, notes, Chords of all kinds.
But I am certainly not an awesome guitar player, but i can play.

This Pro guitar mode on RB3 sucks.
It might play better on this guitar, but the chords (RB3's version of chords) and the tabs that fly at you with the same speed as the colored buttons do, make it nearly impossible to play the pro mode without having to practice at it for days and hours.

I took it back. I just dont have the time. This is not something you can just pick up and play. Its like you have to relearn how to play the guitar the rock band way.

@Golds
Not something you can just pick up and play, yes.
Impossible, no.

I played limited guitar a decade ago, and I'm slowly working my way up.
I've passed every song on medium. It does get exponentially harder as it goes on. There are a handful of people posting expert pro videos of them playing the really hard songs.

- Frank

@Golds Wow. Playing the guitar part of a song at the actual speed of the song takes practice, huh? Who'd a thunk?

i like guitar but i rather just learn guitar at this point because it is almost cheaper to do so depending on the type of guitar you are going to play.

I prefer drums myself so ill just be sticking to the pro drums.

| 1 | 2 | Most Recent | Next 50 Comments

Sorry, you must be logged in to leave a comment.

Breaking News

The most popular posts
in the last 7 days

Rumor: Japanese Vita devs jumping ship, Sony responds 124 comments
Buy 2 get 1 free on select Vita games at GameStop starting today 114 comments
Sony's Rohde: proprietary Vita cards 'completely necessary' to combat piracy 112 comments
Sony: Call of Duty blasting onto Vita this fall 89 comments
Asura's Wrath review: Wrecking the curve 84 comments

Rock Band 3

Rock Band 3 Stratocaster is a Best Buy exclusive

Reader Comments (53)

Posted: Dec 14th 2010 5:50PM solidsnake8282 said

Posted: Dec 14th 2010 5:51PM mbarriault said

Posted: Dec 14th 2010 5:54PM XaiaX said

Posted: Dec 14th 2010 5:58PM Dark Archon PSN Archonik XBL Dar said

Posted: Dec 14th 2010 6:05PM Petebot330 said

Posted: Dec 14th 2010 6:11PM Dustin F said

Posted: Dec 14th 2010 6:29PM Batsu336 said

Posted: Dec 14th 2010 7:10PM BlueRajasmyk said

Posted: Dec 15th 2010 4:38AM BananaBoat said

Posted: Dec 15th 2010 6:13AM solidsnake8282 said

Posted: Dec 15th 2010 9:56AM Brian Griffin said

Posted: Dec 14th 2010 5:50PM mbarriault said

Posted: Dec 14th 2010 5:53PM XaiaX said

Posted: Dec 14th 2010 5:53PM Johnnynumber5 is powered by cell said

Posted: Dec 14th 2010 5:55PM Johnnynumber5 is powered by cell said

Posted: Dec 14th 2010 5:58PM Billlop said

Posted: Dec 14th 2010 6:08PM beano311 said

Posted: Dec 14th 2010 6:24PM AnonymousBroccoli said

Posted: Dec 14th 2010 6:34PM Dark Archon PSN Archonik XBL Dar said

Posted: Dec 14th 2010 6:38PM AnonymousHippopotamus said

Posted: Dec 15th 2010 9:57AM Brian Griffin said

Posted: Dec 14th 2010 6:03PM WiNGSPANTT from TopTierTacticsco said

Posted: Dec 14th 2010 6:06PM Petebot330 said

Posted: Dec 14th 2010 6:13PM Dustin F said

Posted: Dec 14th 2010 6:15PM Orkchop said

Posted: Dec 14th 2010 6:33PM Mr Bungo said

Posted: Dec 14th 2010 7:14PM BlueRajasmyk said

Posted: Dec 15th 2010 11:05AM Protege420 said

Posted: Dec 14th 2010 6:08PM Unvrfd said

Posted: Dec 14th 2010 6:13PM pibs said

Posted: Dec 14th 2010 6:31PM Batsu336 said

Posted: Dec 14th 2010 6:37PM Dark Archon PSN Archonik XBL Dar said

Posted: Dec 14th 2010 9:33PM oJMan240o said

Posted: Dec 14th 2010 9:35PM oJMan240o said

Posted: Dec 15th 2010 9:58AM Brian Griffin said

Posted: Dec 14th 2010 6:58PM The Cole Train said

Posted: Dec 14th 2010 7:08PM BlueRajasmyk said

Posted: Dec 14th 2010 7:13PM smoothy said

Posted: Dec 14th 2010 7:15PM BlueRajasmyk said

Posted: Dec 14th 2010 7:50PM Mr Bungo said

Posted: Dec 14th 2010 9:28PM oJMan240o said

Posted: Dec 14th 2010 9:30PM Ghoti said

Posted: Dec 15th 2010 12:23AM ChodTheWacko said

Posted: Dec 14th 2010 9:24PM oJMan240o said

Posted: Dec 15th 2010 11:45AM Moorbo said

Posted: Dec 14th 2010 10:35PM GitGod said

Posted: Dec 14th 2010 10:36PM Golds said

Posted: Dec 15th 2010 12:22AM ChodTheWacko said

Posted: Dec 15th 2010 10:05AM pmiddy said

Posted: Dec 15th 2010 12:01AM avianpaladin said

Rock Band 3 Info

Description

MSRP

Release Date

Genre

Developer

Publisher

Rating

Breaking News

Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs is the next title from Frictional Games and Dear Esther dev

Featured Stories

Building A Machine for Pigs and expanding the universe of Amnesia

Persona 3, Tactics Ogre, and other PSP RPGs that will live on my Vita

Tekken 3D Prime Edition review: Far from prime edition

The most popular postsin the last 7 days

Engadget

TUAW

Massively

WoW

The most popular posts
in the last 7 days