You'd never know that we're still pulling out of a recession if you took one glance at the music peripheral market.
The Beatles: Rock Band bundle
costs more than some game consoles, and Mad Catz is
charging $300 for a genuine Fender Stratocaster that controls Rock Band on the Xbox 360. Now,
Logitech is joining the whole "rob gamers blind" movement with the introduction of the Wireless Guitar Controller and Wireless Drum Controller for Nintendo's Wii. Both products are licensed for use with Guitar Hero, with the axe boasting a maple neck, rosewood fingerboard and metal frets. Heck, there's even a "noise dampening strum bar and fret buttons," not to mention a touch-sensitive slider on the fretboard. The skins look all too familiar, with a trio of drum pads and a pair of cymbals to go along with the stainless steel kick pedal and its fancy adjustable spring. Naturally, you'll need to snap a Wiimote into each before mashing play, and more importantly, you'll need to empty $199.99 and / or $229.99 (respectively) from your bank account before snagging 'em this October.
[Via
Joystiq]
posted Sep 9th 2009 5:37PM
If you don't buy, you haven't been robbed.
"You miss 100% of the shots you don't take." -Wayne Gretzky
-Michael Scott
You have to be in it to win it!
When in Rome?
Dear Engadget,
They just showed your homepage on CNN while covering the return of Steve Jobs.
Good job!
Probably because CNN and Engadget both have the same shadowy corporate overlords.
Two words: E Gads.
Then again, same goes for a wide range of peripherals. There are $200 racing wheels and $300 headphones for 360 and PS3 out there, for instance.
How utterly ridiculous!
Not just these fake instruments, but the entire concept.
Have people really become so disgustingly lazy that they'd actually spend this amount of money to pretend to play an instrument as opposed to spending less and learning how to actually play?
Yes, they have.
:(
Man, this argument is SO tired.
While yes, the price is outrageous, the concept and game are far from "pointless". It's a GAME. Just because it incorperates something that can be taught and learned, and is obviously something that should be done for its artistic and fun value (real playing), doesn't mean that a game about it cannot be fun as well.
Please get off your high horse mentality of "because it's not real, it is therefore for losers". I don't know how to throw a touchdown pass, race in the Indy 500, or treasure hunt for gold in the jungle, but I'm not going to stop playing games about those things just because they are actual things (well maybe not so much the treasure hunting ;) )
Oh Dolphz...
Maybe it's less about presenting an argument here, and more about some of us having a general disdain for any of this mindlessly time-wasting tripe, especially from adults.
If these people are so bored, then maybe it's time to volunteer some community service time ;-)
The argument is not tired.
Yes, one may not have the opportunity to race in Indy 500 or treasure hunt for gold in the jungle at any price, but you surely have the opportunity to pick up a real guitar or a set of drums for the same price, for the same amount of effort (go to the store, buy it, carry it home, learn how to play). And worse, for the same amount of time you try to master the game and play the guitar the wrong way, you can probably play a couple songs with a real guitar already.
Besides, the skills that you earned by playing a fake instrument cannot be applied to anything but the same video game, however, the skills that you earned by playing a real instrument can be applied to virtually any real instrument of the same kind.
So why bother with playing a limited game when the real alternative is *right there*? Are we going to drink virtual beer when the beer is right there on your table? (Oh wait, that's called Second Life.)
I mean, god, just get a pair of chopsticks and knock on some bowls.
And treasure hunt in a real jungle is way more fun. Try that.
@Pak-Kei: And so what is the great value in learning how to play other people's songs ad nauseum on real instruments vs. playing them in a video game? What makes playing "One" in your mom's basement so much more rewarding than playing it in Guitar Hero? Or do you think that, miraculously, every one of these people are going to put down their guitar-shaped peripherals and write innovative, world-changing music? What incredible skills are taught by learning to play guitar besides "playing guitar" and/or "playing bass"?
I own:
-Rock Bands 1 and 2, a full instrument kit, electronic drums [crappy ones ... now ... sold to get synth], a bass, guitar, synth, crappy Yamaha piano, and acoustic guitar.
I play my synth a hell of a lot more than I play Rock Band [it's actually set up in front of my monitor right now :P]. But, you know, Rock Band's a lot of fun. It's good as a way to encourage people to play real instruments, and it's good as a way to jam with your rhythm-challenged friends [of which I, sadly, have many ... I mean, who can't play bass on Medium? Yeah ...].
@Ravnos: Well, if one ends up playing a real guitar in Mom's basement *only*, then I bet it won't be much different from playing Guitar Hero in Mom's basement...
There are a few things that learning how to play a real guitar is superior to learning how to play Guitar Hero, in geek terms:
1. Requirements:
- Real Guitar: bring a real guitar.
- Guitar Hero: bring a TV, a game console and a fake guitar.
2. Extensibility:
- Real Guitar: infinite songs to learn. or write your own.
- Guitar Hero: limited by the amount of money you have. or how long the game popularity lasts.
3. Portability:
- Real Guitar: play virtually anywhere in the world. no electricity needed.
- Guitar Hero: play at home only. or in a game tournament, if you're lucky enough.
4. Satisfaction:
- Real Guitar: can vary from being trashed or praised, depending on the crowd. (or no crowd at all)
- Guitar Hero: some points in your gamer card.
5. Sustainability:
- Real Guitar: wood and metal.
- Guitar Hero: plastic. and lots of electricity since it needs a tv.
It's true that playing a guitar won't really take you from anything other than playing a guitar, but it is much more flexible tool, that's all. Nobody assumes that they will change the world if they start playing a musical instrument or writing a song, and so shouldn't you either.
Sure, one can have a campfire with friends singing and playing a guitar and eating barbecue, and one can also have a TV party with friends playing the video game and also eating... barbecue... but why would I bother with a highly manufactured environment when I can get the same for a little more sense of... reality? I would take the latter any time, and I'm not saying you should take the latter either.
It doesn't even look like a Stratocaster.
that's not the stratocaster. The stratocaster is the one linked to.
Oh right, that was stupid of me.
Hey guys, been a busy day I know... but any word on The Beatles Rockband?
Dirty Vegas, how much do you like Pandora? Rhapsodize about it for us, please :)
Way to go Logitech, not only did you make a fake guitar, you made a fake guitar incorrectly. You put a Floyd Rose tremolo at the bridge, but fail to put the Lock Nut at the top of the neck. I wonder if you even got permission to use the fake Floyd?
air guitar = free
Shh. Don't give Logitech any ideas!
How are they "robbing gamers blind"?
No one HAS to have these things.
On the other hand, if you just HAVE to have the fancy fake guitar, then you pay for it. It's an asinine scenario: To lay out money that could buy a REAL guitar on a video game controller for playing a video game for wanna-bes is just stupid, but there's always been a market for the stupid and ridiculous, especially among the spoiled, impulse driven, have-to-impress-the-peers teenager to twenty-something crowd.
There is the option of NOT buying it, after all. To say this is "robbing" anyone is absolutely ridiculous. You can play the game with the plastic controller too.
Floyd rose, but no locking nut???
They suck at making fake guitars!
Next subject.
That drumset is the same one available for the 360.
It's actually (unofficially, it's not advertised ANYWHERE) a Simmons SD5K electric drumset minus the brain.
I work at Musician's Friend and have seen many of the Simmons kit and the 360; they are 100% identical.
So a $600 electric drumset minus the brain for $300, PLUS it can control the game? That's a good deal for a REAL instrument that can be used to really play drums.
/research
The ION drum kit is probably the better buy, given that it can be had with more cymbals and toms and the layout is more configurable. It can also be used with a drum brain, they specifically recommend the Alesis DM5, but I'm sure you can use others. It's also $300 without the brain.
The drum kit looks nice... but you'd still have to go through the awkward process of telling friends and family that you're gay; if you play Guitar Queero.
These would be mildly interesting if they could easily be converted into real instruments.
Or you could play a real guitar
Apparantly there is a real desire by gamers to make the play as realistic as possible which explains the strum bar and sliding, but a real Electric Guitar is not wireless. The wires add to the realism.
Nothing wrong with offering the consumer choices. Let them vote with their dollars.
I'm partial to the new You Rock Guitar.
It's a hybrid digital guitar and video game controller that can be played with any video game console or connected to an AMP and played as a real guitar. It's getting a lot of positive buzz online - including by Danny Johnson, Guitar Hero World Record Holder, and George Pajon Jr. from the Black Eyed Peas. Check it out.
Web site:
www.yourockguitar.com
Current Retail video:
http://www.youtube.com/user/YouRockGuitar#play/uploads/0/qpbjCURH7Eg
Studio Interview with Guitar Hero Phenom, Danny Johnson
http://www.youtube.com/user/YouRockGuitar#play/all/uploads-all/1/TGvMmAS6QsA
George Pajon Jr. Interview
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QC_Z0SCRvDc