by: Shane McGlaun
Logitech and Activision will team up for instrument controllers
Music games are very popular right now and many recording labels are finding that games like Guitar Hero and Rock Band are even better places to sell digital tracks than iTunes. Because of this fact, a few bands are releasing new tracks directly to music games rather than starting with traditional digital music stores or CD singles.
Activision Blizzard has seen the potential to make money on playable digital tracks and is considering launching a digital music store based on its Guitar Hero game that would offer both playable game tracks and digital tracks for use on MP3 players.
Rock Band is the nemesis of Guitar Hero and in May MTV announced that it had sold 10 million downloadable tracks for Rock Band from the PS3 and Xbox 360. Rock Band upstaged Guitar Hero when it first launched by adding drums and vocal capabilities to go along with the guitar play so popular from Guitar Hero. Guitar Hero is fighting back though with Guitar Hero World Tour that will add other instruments to the guitar.
Downloadable tracks aren’t the only place that music games are making profits. Third party game controllers are a big market with several controllers already available for Rock Band and Guitar Hero. Logitech and Activision are teaming up to bring premium third-party controllers from Logitech specifically for Guitar Hero World Tour.
Logitech is playing coy with details on the premium instrument controllers and declined to comment on any specifics. All Logitech will say is that it will be bringing premium controllers for the Xbox 360, PS3, Wii and PS2 to market for Guitar Hero World Tour.
It doesn’t take a genius to figure out though that the line will include a guitar controller, microphone, and a drum kit though. Some Guitar Hero and Rock Band after market controllers work with both games, whether or not the Logitech line will be compatible with Rock Band is unknown.
