PS2 to PS3 converter bridges the Rock Band / Guitar Hero divide

It doesn't look like Activision and Harmonix are ever going to make nice and implement broad hardware compatibility for Rock Band and Guitar Hero controllers, but if you've got a sizable investment in PS2 gear, The Ant Commandos' new converter might let you ignore all the nastiness and keep rockin' anyway. TAC's Universal PS2-to-PS3 Converter is compatible with PS3 Rock Band and PS2 / PS3 GHIII, and it works with basically every PS2 axe you can think of, wired and wireless. Not bad for just $20, but c'mon, guys, let's just make this stuff work for real, alright?

[Ray @ Apr 29th 2008 1:22PM]

There have been solutions like this before, but they all had lag issues.

[whowhatme @ Apr 29th 2008 4:24PM]

so does this one have lag?

[Djunior80 @ Apr 29th 2008 1:26PM]

Has anyone actually tested this product? I bought a similar adaptor about a year ago from EBgames for $15 and it was pure crap...it never really worked! Grrrrrrrr!

[MeatyPi @ Apr 29th 2008 1:39PM]

general rule of thumb when buying electronics:




Never buy devices made of pure crap, and if you must don't spend more than 10 bucks.

[ulovemikeroch @ May 1st 2008 12:35AM]

You mean the pelican adapter which is currently the best and only lag free adapter on the market? If you don't want it I'll buy it off you.

[Alex @ Apr 29th 2008 5:50PM]

Can someone find someone who has reviewed this or tried it out? Just hearing about it does us no good since it's nothing new and others in the past have already tried and failed at this.

Why wouldn't you just get one and test it yourself engadget and then post your review of it?

That makes so much more sense...

[slarity @ Apr 29th 2008 1:54PM]

Yes it is quiet stupid that I have GH3 and Rock Band and cant play with both guitars on either game. Damn greedy companies want thier money.

[Jerry @ Apr 29th 2008 2:10PM]

And our money too!

[austin @ Apr 29th 2008 6:44PM]

i play rock band with one RB guitar and on GH guitar just fine.

i just cant play GH with my RB guitar

[Otsego_Undead @ Apr 29th 2008 2:09PM]

So will this thing allow for a GH3/RB guitar to work with the PS2 games, sans lag and show the fret buttons? I just really want to play GH PS2 games on my PS3.

[M.R. Turnage @ May 29th 2008 9:56PM]

No. I bought one and on a teeny tiny note on the inside of the package it says "The use of this PS2 to PS3 Controller Adapter for PS2 games on PS3 console is not supported."

[Dylan Thurston @ Apr 29th 2008 2:47PM]

I'm not sure if the last sentence of the article is asking for gh3 to put out a similar product, but if that is what they are asking. I seriously doubt it will ever happen. The companies that own GH3 and Rockband probably won't put out such a product because it only hurts the sales of the much more expensive guitar's that they sell.

Personally I'd much rather see a patch that enables inter game controller compatible. I'd really like my GH3 controller to work in Rockband (as my base guitar).

[tiuk @ Apr 29th 2008 3:08PM]

They want a patch, not a similar product.

[austin @ Apr 29th 2008 6:45PM]

it does work in RB as your bass. i do it all the time.

[Joe Smith @ Apr 29th 2008 2:56PM]

Will this allow me to use my PS2 GH3 controller on PS3 Rock Band?

If not, then this article is kind of pointless. I mean, who cares?

[tiuk @ Apr 29th 2008 3:09PM]

That's exactly what it does. What else would it do?

[SpicyHamster @ Apr 29th 2008 3:11PM]

what about ddr mats? my sister loves ddr and its a pain to have to hook up my old ps2 whenever she has friends over.

[Infnorm @ Apr 29th 2008 3:10PM]

This solution probably will work very well. I made a similar device from scratch
http://infnorm.googlepages.com/
that allows GH1/GH2 PS2 controllers to be used on Rockband. I have seen no flaws with my device in terms of lag or missed keys, and it has allowed me to have two guitars without requiring me to spend more money. I also prefer the older guitars much more than the new strat.

[Gluesniffer @ Apr 29th 2008 3:42PM]

Found on the bottom of the order page...
http://store.theantcommandos.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=GTR%2DPS3%2DADPT

Reviewer: Anonymous person from TX United States
Pay close attention to the fact that GH2 and GH Encore are NOT on the list of compatible games.

[chris fredette @ Apr 29th 2008 5:24PM]

But can you play the PS2 80's game on the PS3 with backwards compatibility?
I'm not touching this incompatible hardware crap until it does.

[PJ @ Apr 29th 2008 7:41PM]

Why can't the PS3 wireless Les Paul guitar get some older GH1 & GH2 love? I had never played GH series until GH3 on PS3 and now I can't play any of the others without buying a PS2 guitar and some craptastic hardware mod. I have the 60GB PS3 btw.

[Tony C @ Apr 29th 2008 10:22PM]

So is it TAC or "star"TAC? Heh.

Pretty cool if it works as advertised, but like others have said, there's been compatibility issues with all these other controller (namely Guitar Hero) "adapters"...

[gaston @ Apr 30th 2008 3:43AM]

I received mine 2 days ago and it works perfect (hammer-ons and all) with my GH2 red Gibson playing RB on PS3. It also turned my Dualshock2 into a third (I have a black Sixaxis and a white Dualshock3) controller for COD4 as well. Meaning, it turns all the PS2 controller into PS3 compatible ones. Unfortunately, once you plug in a PS2 game, it won't interface (I tried GH2). For PS3 games, it simulates the PS button by pressing Start+Select at the same time. For PS2 games, there isn't any option to press the "PS" button. Hope this helps.

[John Hodge @ Apr 30th 2008 10:56AM]

Thanks, Gaston. That's what I was waiting to hear. I think I'll probably go ahead an order one. Can you only get them directly from TAC? Has anyone found them from another retailer (you know . . . for cheaper)?

[John Hodge @ May 2nd 2008 5:47PM]

So I went ahead and ordered and I'm really happy with it. I wrote a 5-star review on the product page. I'm using the adapter to play Rock Band with my PS2 GHII controller and I can finally play the fast sections that I just couldn't get with the Rock Band guitar.