Konami Thinks Devs Should Make Music Game Peripherals Cross-Compatible

Keith Matejka, the associate producer for Konami’s upcoming Rock Revolution, believes that the developers of Guitar Hero and Rock Band should make their peripherals cross-compatible.

Matejka feels that the peripheral’s retail cost combines with the cost to produce them is too high for gamers and developers alike especially when they offer”only a slightly different gameplay experience”.

According to him:

“Compatibility is a big issue for music games. Peripherals are expensive for the user and they are expensive to produce. The existing peripherals all deliver only a slightly different gameplay experience. Different teams have varying perspectives on what should be compatible with each game. I think all guitar- and drum-based games need to be compatible with each other to some level.”

While it is indeed nice to hear a game producer talking about this issue, Matejka is a little late to the party because gamers have been bitching about this since Rock Band came out.

Of course, gaming industry analysts have to have their say as well, and here is one that might tick you off a bit from Pacific Crest Securities’ analyst Evan Wilson:

“The lack of compatibility reduces the amount of switching between ‘Guitar Hero’ and ‘Rock Band’ because ‘Guitar Hero’ currently has a larger installed base, it is to its advantage if market share remains the same. Most consumers don’t want to buy duplicative hardware. So, lack of compatibility certainly isn’t a problem for Activision.”

Most consumers do not want to have to choose which one they want more than the other because in a perfect world, we would all be able to have all three games and their peripherals hogging space in our living quarters – and while all three games are great for the industry as a whole – equipment that is not compatible is not so good. Add to this that Microsoft will not allow a third-parties to make wireless guitars for Xbox 360 ported games unless the company buys the rights to use MS’s patent (or leases it), and that adds to it because if a peripheral company went that route, a wireless guitar for the 360 would cost an arm and a leg. So, you are stuck buying one made by the game developers which means that generally anything with the Xbox seal-of-approval is going to cost you even more.

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Via: MTV