Finally, a use is confirmed for the mysterious port in the X-plorer controller

Apr 2, 2007 08:09 GMT  ·  By
Why isn't it available anyway? It's not like they have to develop an entirely different game
   Why isn't it available anyway? It's not like they have to develop an entirely different game

Earlier this month, we talked about Guitar Hero II 360 and what it does better in comparison to the PS2 version. The most noticeable were the fret buttons. They're so tiny that only midgets can play, or elves maybe. Another difference concerns the visuals. The Xbox 360 GH II has better texturing on the characters and better lighting. In fact, everything is so lit up that it can become distracting at times. But recently, another improvement has emerged. The Effects Pedal.

Joystiq posts pictures of the instruction manual for GH II 360 and among other specifications, the Effects Pedal is mentioned. Up until recently, it wasn't very clear what the mysterious port on the X-plorer controller did. Now it is, and an earlier BBPS interview piece posted on the gaming site proves that people hinted to this a long time ago: "While RedOctane wouldn't elaborate on that port's function other than saying it will be 'gnarly,' it's the same port that's used to connect the pedals to the base station on Microsoft's steering wheel. Let's just call that a coincidence for now..."

In the left, you have actual pictures of the GH II manual flipped open to the page where the elusive pedal is specified. I can only imagine how happy this makes GH fans and especially those owners of an Xbox 360. But don't get too excited. If you look at the second picture, you'll notice that they also mention the current unavailability of the feature. So 360 owners don't have anything to be proud of yet. Still, the extra feature is indeed specified in the booklet and no, it's not an April Fools' hoax.