PS3 Fanboy

Of course, what good is a guitar if it can't play as well as its competitors? In spite of its large size, we found the buttons to be as familiar as ever. The guitar may be larger, but the buttons are located in the exact same place. The strum bar is infinitely improved over the Guitar Hero and Rock Band guitars -- gone are the days where you'll hear your guitar instead of the music. The noise of hitting the strum button has been considerably muted. The tilt sensor is also responsive, and the addition of the easy-to-hit Star Power button near the strum bar is much appreciated.

The popularity of games like Rock Band and Guitar Hero has created an extraordinary demand for guitar peripherals. However, many PS3 fans are left cold knowing that their Guitar Hero controllers won't work in Rock Band, and vice versa. It seems ridiculous to have a small army of guitar controllers lying around to play these two games. Thankfully, Nyko has an excellent solution.

The Front Man guitar is an excellent option for those looking for an extra guitar. Unlike the official options from Activision and Harmonix, this third-party solution allows for playback on both games, with a simple flip of a switch. For those looking for one guitar that works with both music games, this is obviously an ideal choice.

However, we found that the Front Man guitar is simply the best guitar available on the PS3. Like other guitars on the platform, you will need to connect a dongle to the system for it to work wirelessly. The dongle is rather cute, looking like a guitar foot pedal. There are lights on the front of the pedal, each corresponding to the five buttons you can press on the guitar. They light up according to what you're pressing down. Neat!

Well, that solves the riddle. Activision has simply come out and said what's holding up the PS3 guitar patch that will allow Guitar Hero and Rock Band guitars to work with each other. The Boston Globe quotes Activision spokeswoman: "We believe we should be compensated for the use of our technology." Well, that's blunt.

We still don't understand what Activision has to lose by making the guitars compatible with each other. With so many Rock Band players desperate for another guitar controller, we're pretty sure they'll give Activision the sweet cash they're looking for by buying the game. Isn't that free money for them?

[Via Joystiq]

Don't you love it when companies play the blame game? Harmonix claimed that Activision was actively blocking the release of a guitar compatability patch, which will allow Guitar Hero and Rock Band guitars to work in harmony. However, Activision isn't ready to take responsibility, saying that it is actually Harmonix and MTV Games that's currently responsible for the guitar "snafu." In an official statement made to GameDaily, the company states:

"The recent announcement by MTV Games/Viacom's Harmonix division that Activision is blocking Sony from releasing a patch and their plea to enable Rock Band software to work with Guitar Hero hardware paints a very misleading picture.

In fact, Harmonix and its parent company MTV Games/Viacom recently declined Activision's offer to reach an agreement that would allow the use of Guitar Hero guitar controllers with Rock Band. We have been and remain open to discussions with Harmonix and MTV Games/Viacom about the use of our technology in Rock Band. Unfortunately for Rock Band users, in this case Harmonix and MTV Games/Viacom are unwilling to discuss an agreement with Activision."

So who's telling the truth and who's lying? Stay tuned for more.

Imagine this scenario. You have a Guitar Hero III controller, and you have Rock Band. And yet, you can't use one guitar in the other game. Silly, right? Unfortunately, that's a reality for many. A patch was supposed to fix this irksome problem. In fact, a patch has actually been created. But where is it?

Harmonix is blaming Activision, saying the publisher is blocking any compatibility patch. In a statement to Joystiq, Harmonix reveals that "Harmonix and MTV Games believe in an open standard philosophy of hardware and game compatibility. We think that there should be interoperability between music instrument controllers across all music games. This is clearly in the best interest of consumers, game developers and console manufacturers and will only help to grow the music game genre as well as inspire innovation and creativity."

"Two weeks ago, Harmonix created a software patch for the Sony PLAYSTATION 3 version of Rock Band that allowed for guitar compatibility and support for third party peripherals, including enabling use of Activision's Guitar Hero III controller with Rock Band. The compatibility patch was submitted, approved and had been scheduled for release by Sony on Tuesday, December 4. Unfortunately, Activision objected to the release of the compatibility patch. The patch remains with Sony, but we have been told that it will unfortunately not be released due to Activision's continued objection."

Excuse me, Activision? Why object to cross-compatible guitars? Certainly, allowing us to use your controllers in EA's game won't cannibalize your own sales. You have nothing to lose Activision. Do the right thing, or face the wrath of angry PS fans.

[Image source: Joystiq]