PS3 Owners - OFFICIAL RESPONSE FROM HARMONIX ON 1 GUITAR...

[Jimmytwoshoes]

One Guitar for Rock Band - Harmonix responds to concerns over PS3 compatibility.

As many PS3 owners are learning, the Guitar Hero III guitar does not work with Rock Band. The game recognizes the guitar as a normal controller and won't allow you to use it to rock out. Harmonix has offered an official response to growing concerns that gamers can't use an alternate guitar to play Rock Band:

"Harmonix develops and bases all of our games, guitars and other peripherals on open standards established by platform manufacturers such as Microsoft and Sony. Rock Band is no exception and supports an open controller standard. Guitar controllers are like any other standard game controllers--the controller sends a signal back to the game depending on the buttons you push. If a third party game controller is based on open standards, then it should work with Rock Band as well. If certain controllers do not work with Rock Band, questions about those controllers should be directed to the peripheral manufacturer. In addition, we 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."

Red Octane, the company that manufactures Guitar Hero's peripherals, has yet to offer IGN an explanation or official response. According to Harmonix, it's on Red Octane and publisher Activision. It would seem that unless these two can make nice (and realize that fans are the ones being punished), there will be no patch to remedy this situation.

[knoxskornerfan]

Right on man. In addition to the guitar not being compatible, the guitars they DO give us does not always work the way it really should (strum key sporadically works on my)

[snoopj123]

Makes perfect sense. My GH3 PS3 Les Paul controller was a hunk of junk (red fret key went out, along with all sorts of associated lag and non-response issues). My Fender RB controller lasted about 7 minutes. I played one song, passed the guitar to a friend, he played one song, and then it got stuck in the Up position.

So, I can't play any of the games with guitars. At least RB has the option to play with the drums. Soon to be my next broken peripheral.

--snoopj

[grdnhoe]

throw out the suck batteries that came with the guitar. that solved many problems for me. maybe you're a little hard on your controllers? i've never had those issues

[Finiel]

One Guitar for Rock Band - Harmonix responds to concerns over PS3 compatibility.

As many PS3 owners are learning, the Guitar Hero III guitar does not work with Rock Band. The game recognizes the guitar as a normal controller and won't allow you to use it to rock out. Harmonix has offered an official response to growing concerns that gamers can't use an alternate guitar to play Rock Band:

"Harmonix develops and bases all of our games, guitars and other peripherals on open standards established by platform manufacturers such as Microsoft and Sony. Rock Band is no exception and supports an open controller standard. Guitar controllers are like any other standard game controllers--the controller sends a signal back to the game depending on the buttons you push. If a third party game controller is based on open standards, then it should work with Rock Band as well. If certain controllers do not work with Rock Band, questions about those controllers should be directed to the peripheral manufacturer. In addition, we 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."

Red Octane, the company that manufactures Guitar Hero's peripherals, has yet to offer IGN an explanation or official response. According to Harmonix, it's on Red Octane and publisher Activision. It would seem that unless these two can make nice (and realize that fans are the ones being punished), there will be no patch to remedy this situation.
Sleazy weasel words. Who made the standards, and why didn't they make them compatible with the only existing game in the genre?
They were deliberatley misleading in everything they said on the matter before release. They went out of their way not to address the GH3 guitars, knowing that it would be the one most people have or would get, and knowing that it wouldn't work.(or at least they should have known.)They said it was compatible with "most" 3rd party controllers, when it is apparently not compatible with any.I guess they took the fact that 0 out of the 0 other controllers they tried worked and considered it 100% success.
The game as released is incomplete. There is no way to play with both bass and guitar-they don't even offer the option themselves.

Sleazy, misleading business practices-great way to get off on the wrong foot.

I look forward to somebody else offering a PS3 guitar thet is confirmed to work-I don't intend to buy another first party one if I can avoid it now.

[Phear]

Sleazy weasel words. Who made the standards, and why didn't they make them compatible with the only existing game in the genre?
They were deliberatley misleading in everything they said on the matter before release. They went out of their way not to address the GH3 guitars, knowing that it would be the one most people have or would get, and knowing that it wouldn't work.(or at least they should have known.)They said it was compatible with "most" 3rd party controllers, when it is apparently not compatible with any.I guess they took the fact that 0 out of the 0 other controllers they tried worked and considered it 100% success.
The game as released is incomplete. There is no way to play with both bass and guitar-they don't even offer the option themselves.

Sleazy, misleading business practices-great way to get off on the wrong foot.

I look forward to somebody else offering a PS3 guitar thet is confirmed to work-I don't intend to buy another first party one if I can avoid it now.
All Harmonix is doing is Redirecting our complaints - completely valid - and the fact that they released the game without ANY option for a 2nd guitar on the PS3 (at least an early release of the solo guitar), I think it's irresponsible. They advertised a 4 party game, and we're all stuck with 3. I guess our bass player will be mostly left out of playing with us (our band) until they have some solution. NOT COOL.

Well I guess I'll go file a complaint with Red Octane - the infamous peripheral maker. Good product I thought, for the most part, and looks awesome... too bad Fans are the victims based on these business practices.

[Phear]

All Harmonix is doing is Redirecting our complaints - completely valid - and the fact that they released the game without ANY option for a 2nd guitar on the PS3 (at least an early release of the solo guitar), I think it's irresponsible. They advertised a 4 party game, and we're all stuck with 3. I guess our bass player will be mostly left out of playing with us (our band) until they have some solution. NOT COOL.

Well I guess I'll go file a complaint with Red Octane - the infamous peripheral maker. Good product I thought, for the most part, and looks awesome... too bad Fans are the victims based on these business practices.

It's Harmonix responsibility to solve this issue with Red Octane and Activision - they shouldn't expect the fans to pursuade them. They advertised a full band experience, and then robbed the PS3 (one of the MAIN consoles) of that experience until they release the solo guitar. WHY? I mean THEY HAD TO KNOW the controller wouldn't work. What is their excuse?

False advertisement. Sucks. What do they expect us all to do? Go to Red Octane's website and ask them to please work with Harmonix???

[Finiel]

Just letting people know that it wasn't going to work before release would have been an improvement. Instead, they went out of their way to imply other guitars would be available.

[jedbeetle]

Seriously!? how hard is it REALLY to either

a: be honest
b: write a patch that supports other peripherals
c: all of the above

instead we are lied to, diverted, and left out in the lurch until....2008!?!
the compatibility statement that they used an "open format" or whatever is completely meaningless given that no other guitars made by any company for any game on any system will actually work with the game. WEAK.
i would return the game if it wasn't so awesome. i would write angry letters demanding my money back. but the game is sweet and addictive and in many ways better than i had hoped.

i feel like someone handed me an ice cream cone and then kicked me in the balls. i still want to eat the ice cream, but i'm too distracted by the crippling nad pain. this is no way to treat a fan base. it is actually entirely unacceptable. but what can we do?

[astonius]

i feel like someone handed me an ice cream cone and then kicked me in the balls. i still want to eat the ice cream, but i'm too distracted by the crippling nad pain. this is no way to treat a fan base. it is actually entirely unacceptable. but what can we do?

Best analogy ever.

By the way, I feel for you PS3 RB owners. I was lucky enough to chose the 360 version, but I definitely agree that Harmonix should be the ones to resolve this issue, and here's why:

They say that if a guitar does not work with the game it's because the designer of the controller put some sort of limitation on the controller. Well if that is true, then why does the 360 GH3 controller work with Rock Band? Why would Red Octane put a limitation on the PS3 guitar and not the 360 guitar?

[AdamBomb629]

Best analogy ever.

By the way, I feel for you PS3 RB owners. I was lucky enough to chose the 360 version, but I definitely agree that Harmonix should be the ones to resolve this issue, and here's why:

They say that if a guitar does not work with the game it's because the designer of the controller put some sort of limitation on the controller. Well if that is true, then why does the 360 GH3 controller work with Rock Band? Why would Red Octane put a limitation on the PS3 guitar and not the 360 guitar?

The difference lies with Microsoft. Because of their stringent peripheral rules, they require 360 controllers to be open standard... Sony does not. As a result, the 360 Les Paul works... the PS one does not. So in a way, it's Red Octane and Sony's fault. The harmonix guys would make it work, but alas, Activision and Red Octane are not playing nice.