Guitar Compatability...take it for what it's worth...

[furbzilla33]

Hello all...long time lurker here. Just thought I'd pass along what just happened to me.

I just got back from Game Crazy picking up a game and the guy at the counter noticed my Rock Band pre-order and asked if I wanted the bundle instead of just game and drums like I had pre-ordered. I told him I was just going to use the Guitar Hero III bundle guitar with Rock Band. He said that they were informed this week via fax that the new Guitar Hero III controller (I'm getting it for 360, I should point out) will NOT work with Rock Band, and vice versa. Now, the dude better not be messing with me because I changed my pre-order to get the Rock Band guitar, and the last thing I need is a slew of plastic toy guitars laying around! But, if what he's saying is true, I'm kinda' stuck...

Again, I know how a lot of people say things that aren't confirmed and is heresay, but it better be legit cause I changed my order.

So take it for what it's worth. I really wish the makers would come out and confirm this question already, cause I can't find a true confirmation anywhere.

Furb

[jq71586]

It has not been confirmed as of yet. And I'm sure if there was this massive fax sent to every video game store in the country it would have no doubt leaked by now and the issue would be resolved. He was probably lying to you just to get you to put more money down and secure both bundles because that means more money for them.

I suppose you can always go back and change it if/when it does get confirmed but it was kind of mean for him to bold face lie to you.

[Oxyplox]

Yeah.
That was definitely a lie to make you spend more money.
Although it might be true, the whole "fax" thing, yeah, bullcrap.

[Magnet]

There's no reason to believe a Game Crazy employee's word is credible at this point. You shouldn't have altered your order. I imagine the final word on GH3/RB guitar compatibility will be out by the launch of GH3 (by then Harmonix would be able to test every combination; they may not have access to any Les Paul peripherals or the GH3 game yet). If they're not compatible, it's probably not something the publishers want out there yet in the press. If there's plans for compatibility but it's unknown at the moment, then it would be a mistake to speak out one way now if it happens that they can't get compatibility to work after all.

[furbzilla33]

Eaaaasy guys. Like I said, take it for what it's worth. I can change my bundle pre-order up until the day before it comes out. If it's a lie or whatever, I'm not affected. I'm just passing along info...Maybe someone else has run into this same situation or something.

Besides, the bundle really is the best deal, as I'm getting a guitar and microphone for about 30-40 dollars more than if I just got the drums and game alone...

Good points by everybody though...

[undertow]

I'm confused as to why most of the posters on this forum are perplexed over the compatibility of the Guitar Hero Controllers with Rock Band.

This information has been confirmed by Alex Rigupulos back in June. The answer is YES Rock Band WILL support Guitar Hero Controllers. Note: It says Guitar Hero Controllers. Does not say "Rock Band will only support Guitar Hero and Guitar Hero II Controllers".
... I just know someone is going to misread that and go around posting "zomg, rock band only supports gh and gh2 noooooooo!"

Here is the exerpt from the Interview IGN did back in June that is available on their website.


IGN: Initially, there was some confusion as to whether Rock Band would work with the Guitar Hero controller. Can you lay those worries to rest for us?

Alex Rigopulos: We do intend to support 3rd-party guitar peripherals, including the Guitar Hero controllers, because this kind of interoperability is exactly what gamers want and expect. However, the Rock Band game is specifically designed for the official Rock Band Fender Stratocaster guitar controller, and we've introduced some very cool hardware innovations into this device.

Link to the Article: http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/795/795310p2.html

[jq71586]

Just because they intend to do something doesn't mean that they actually will.

[Feigned]

Wait a second.....They got a piece of important information via fax? Blasphemy! :p

[jq71586]

Wait a second.....They got a piece of important information via fax? Blasphemy! :p

Well it's because their Morse code receiver was broken.

[undertow]

Just because they intend to do something doesn't mean that they actually will.

So let me get this straight, you'd rather believe or be on the side of random people who decide to post in a forum over the CEO of Harmonix?

Interesting Choice.

I'll go with what the CEO says. In addition to that, saying they intend to support the Guitar Hero Controllers (Obviously they should have zero troubles supporting the GH and GH 2 controllers, as I'm sure they still retain some proprietary information) could easily mean that even if the Les Paul from GH 3 is not initially supported (let's say, due to Red Octane designing it in a way that is initially not compatible), I believe the statement made by Alex would indicate that they will or atleast attempt to, support that controller for the reasons stated in the quote.

[masterx1918]

i'd wait to see before you change your pre-order. How much was your game+drum preorder? $130?

[crivit]

I think it's safe to assume by that article that RB will work with the previously released GH controllers. If Red Octane wants to make the GH3 guitar incompatable with RB there's not much HMX can do about it ahead of time. Depending on how it's made incompatable it may be possible for HMX to patch the game to make it work. Other than some general goodwill I'm not sure what they would gain by doing that though.

[undertow]

I think it's safe to assume by that article that RB will work with the previously released GH controllers. If Red Octane wants to make the GH3 guitar incompatable with RB there's not much HMX can do about it ahead of time. Depending on how it's made incompatable it may be possible for HMX to patch the game to make it work. Other than some general goodwill I'm not sure what they would gain by doing that though.

I agree completely. Summed up what I was trying to say, thanks! :)

[drno830]

So let me get this straight, you'd rather believe or be on the side of random people who decide to post in a forum over the CEO of Harmonix?

Interesting Choice.

I'll go with what the CEO says. In addition to that, saying they intend to support the Guitar Hero Controllers (Obviously they should have zero troubles supporting the GH and GH 2 controllers, as I'm sure they still retain some proprietary information) could easily mean that even if the Les Paul from GH 3 is not initially supported (let's say, due to Red Octane designing it in a way that is initially not compatible), I believe the statement made by Alex would indicate that they will or atleast attempt to, support that controller for the reasons stated in the quote.

He said that they intended to, that doesn't mean that Activision would cooperate. There was an article where Activision talked about Rock Band just riding on their popularity, and that they could use the Xplorer for fan base all they wanted. I can't find the article, but from what it said it seemed that they were being really snobby, and not wanting any other people involved at all with their guitars.

[jq71586]

So let me get this straight, you'd rather believe or be on the side of random people who decide to post in a forum over the CEO of Harmonix?

Interesting Choice.

I'll go with what the CEO says. In addition to that, saying they intend to support the Guitar Hero Controllers (Obviously they should have zero troubles supporting the GH and GH 2 controllers, as I'm sure they still retain some proprietary information) could easily mean that even if the Les Paul from GH 3 is not initially supported (let's say, due to Red Octane designing it in a way that is initially not compatible), I believe the statement made by Alex would indicate that they will or atleast attempt to, support that controller for the reasons stated in the quote.

Ok, let me try and understand what you are saying.

For them to support GH 1 and 2 contollers, you must be talking about PS. Because it has been confirmed that the 360 GH2 controller will work so there is no problem there. For the GH1/2 PS controllers to work it must come with an an adapter because the PS3 has no controller slots and will need a USB extension to connect to the PS3. So far no successful adapter has been made that allows HO's and PO's and the whammy bar to work correctly. The Pelican adapter has been the closest but not perfect by any means. And I would not want to purchase an adapter even it is manufactured by Harmonix to play with the GH1/2 controllers.

You even say it yourself

"I believe the statement made by Alex would indicate that they will or atleast attempt to, support that controller for the reasons stated in the quote"

He can attempt all he wants, the ball is really in Red Octane's court. If they don't want to have the GH3 controller work on RB they don't have to. I'm not saying he or Harmonix hasn't attempted, I'm sure they are trying like hell because they want the games to have the most choice, it's just that he didn't say "they WILL" work, just that they intend.

[Thrashdragon]

Harmonix has almost a full month after the release of Guitar Hero III to reverse engineer the software and release a compatibility patch. I have faith.

[Bakkster]

Harmonix has almost a full month after the release of Guitar Hero III to reverse engineer the software and release a compatibility patch. I have faith.

I think it all comes down to whether HMX wants to let you use the Les Paul on RB even if you can't use the Strat on GH3. It might not make business sense to let you buy a competitor's product instead of yours when your own product isn't compatible with theirs. Otherwise lots of people will buy LPs instead of Strats, since they could be used on both games, meaning HMX sells fewer products.

If RO agrees to cross-compatibility, then I guarantee they will work for both. Otherwise I'm not so sure. Any word on where this 'fax' came from (HMX/Activision/some game reviewer who had both)?

[miketoast]

The last time I brought this up was a month or two ago and Sean replied in the thread with:

Any decision to support the RB Strat controller for GH3 would be entirely up to Activision. Our policy is very much that the controller working for multiple games is a good thing for music game fans.

[TheWolf619]

Yea, if the GHIII controller doesn't work with RB, and vice versa, then that's just Activision being jerks. I hope that's not the case, though. :(

[Drossvirex]

Considering both companies make their money from selling software and not hardware, it would be the biggest mistake to not make each others compatible.

Where else will they make money? DLC. No sell game = No Sell DLC.

I would poop a GH controller if they weren't compatible.

[JackBNimble]

It has not been confirmed as of yet. And I'm sure if there was this massive fax sent to every video game store in the country it would have no doubt leaked by now and the issue would be resolved. He was probably lying to you just to get you to put more money down and secure both bundles because that means more money for them.

I suppose you can always go back and change it if/when it does get confirmed but it was kind of mean for him to bold face lie to you.

GH3 has confirmed it.They also say GHIII controller will not work for any GH1,2 or 80's.Just to ****you over.I bet RB contoller works for the GH series accept for GH3. http://www.gamespot.com/news/6180442.html?om_act=convert&om_c
lk=newstop&tag=newstop;title;7

[JackBNimble]

Harmonix has almost a full month after the release of Guitar Hero III to reverse engineer the software and release a compatibility patch. I have faith.

This whole thing isn't about HMX anymore,it's about neversoft and redoctane.And all they have done is change the control scheme.And dont think that its just PS3 owners its 360 aswell.

[Feigned]

If it's a simple matter that the controls are simply wired different then that will just give the modding community something to do.

I had my X-plorer for 2 days before I decided that I couldn't stand the skinny neck, now I have a custom XG controller. If I have to re-wire my Les Paul to work with RB, then so be it.