14 DAY TRIAL // Logitech and Activision Blizzard have announced that they are going to enter into a partnership aimed at creating so called "premium" instruments for the upcoming Guitar Hero: World Tour. The game will be available sometime this fall for the PlayStation 3, the PlayStation 2, the Xbox 360 and the Nintendo Wii.
It seems that the instruments will debut at the same time as the game and, according to the companies, they will "allow players to elevate their Guitar Hero jam sessions to full-fledged rock concerts." The press release does not provide details on what fans of the series might expect from the new line of peripherals.
This move comes after Harmonix said that Rock Band 2 would be open platform when it comes to adding instruments. At the moment peripherals like ION, with its high-end Ion Drum Rocker, Mad Catz's Fender Telecaster Controller, Fender Bass Controller, Squire Stratocaster Guitar Controller and Cymbal Expansion Pack are apparently supported by the game.
Charles Huang, who is the business development vice president at RedOctane, stated, "Logitech is the leading producer of peripheral devices and the company is widely considered to be the gold standard for innovation and quality peripheral products. With Logitech, we know we have found the right partner who can deliver top-quality premium hardware that consumers have come to expect from Guitar Hero."
There's only one question that RedOctane and Logitech seem to have left unanswered: is there a big demand for premium instruments for Guitar Hero: World Tour? After all, we're talking about a videogame simulation of playing in a band and as soon as the simulation needs fake instruments that are nearing the price of real ones, it might be time to take up playing a real instrument in a real band. And let's face it, just how many plastic instruments can one own without feeling a bit ashamed?