Rock Band 3 Debuts Even More Life-Like Guitars
LOS ANGELES - Harmonix and MTV Games, the makers of the hit video game franchise "Rock Band," plan on making the third installment of the series even better, and one of the ways they're doing that is by making the instruments even more lifelike. Now the Rock Band guitars are nearly indistinguishable from the real thing.
There are several new improvements to the new Rock Band installment, but the new guitars will easily be the most exciting part for musicians.
There are two guitars that take music game realism to the next level: the Fender Mustang Pro and the Squier Stratocaster.
The Fender Mustang looks the most like a mashup between a traditional Rock Band guitar and a real guitar. There are still buttons, but they are shaped and placed like the strings they replace. Instead of 5 buttons, there are 6 between each fret, completely duplicating the range of notes on a real guitar. Below, there are a set of 6 strings that can be strummed or picked.
The Squier Stratocaster, on the other hand, will be nearly indistinguishable from a real guitar to the average person. It has full strings and operates just like a real guitar, except that it can also be used to play Rock Band 3. It can also be connected to an amplifier so that players can hear the notes they are playing outside of the game.
Now for the bad news: MTV reps said these controllers might not be ready for the release of Rock Band 3 later this year. Understandably, it's a big undertaking to make a real guitar compatible with a music game. Other companies have been working on the same technology for years with similar results.
However, seeing these guitars demoed at E3 is an indication that they will indeed come to market, so guitarists and Rock Band fanatics who want to see how they do on a six-string guitar controller should stay tuned.
- VIDEO: E3 2010: Rock Band 3
- The Most Influential Video Games of the Last 50 Years
- Alternative Gaming a Major Theme at E3
