I admit it: I play Rock Band. A little too much, if you ask anyone I know.
Apart from trying to get the highest score and trying to get no.1 in the leader boards, I also get to enjoy two things I’m actually interested in; Music and Video Games. But that enjoyment is hampered by the fact that the instruments used for the games are just plastic copies of the instruments used in real life.
I know that. And most pro-gamers know that, often complaining that face melting solos cannot be played with 5 buttons, and drums cannot be played with 4 pads. Certainly, Harmonix Music Systems (the developer of Rock Band) has taken strides to involve more musically inclined gamers into the music-gaming world; by releasing a Pro Drum Kit in 2007, dubbed the Ion Drum Rocker, and a Pro Keyboard peripheral for its latest release, Rock Band 3. No surprise that this time around, Harmonix is trying to evolve past the whole plastic instrument insults by releasing a Pro Guitar!
It was teased to hungry masses of rhythm gamers at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in June of 2010. But new details, and a new revamped site, emerged from Harmonix and Fender Musical Instruments Corporation yesterday. Costing around a whopping $279.99 US Dollars (MSRP), this instrument is no ordinary guitar. People ask “Why is it $280, when a regular beginner level Fender Squire Strat costs around $150?”
Technically, the Fender Squire Stratocaster Guitar is three different things:
- A real guitar, that has 6 strings you have to string and tune for yourself, and you can plug into an amplifier and rock out with (just make sure to lower the string dampeners, used to mute the strings while playing the game).
- A video game controller to play on your console of choice. It has built in sensors in the fretboard to determine your fretting had position, plus buttons embedded in the main body of the guitar, making it a full fledged controller for the PS3/360/Wii.
- An MIDI enabled guitar for working with your favorite digital audio workstation application (Reaper, Abelton Live, Pro Tools, Cakewalk, ACID Pro, GarageBand, anything with MIDI functionality).
There’s your answer. A whole new level for those pro-gamers who think Rock Band is easy.
Too bad the guitar isn’t out yet. Pre-orders begin January 1st, 2011, while shipping begins March 1st, 2011. Just enough time to practice on my real guitar, and save up on some cash. Then I can dominate Rock Band tournaments with my “l33t” pro-gamer skills. Or maybe not…
I guess I’ll stick to Pro Drums for now, and maybe some Pro Keyboard.
More information [via Fender.com].
