Sony, Microsoft Broker Instrument Peripheral Cross-Compatibility

Sony Computer Entertainment America has taken an active hand in ensuring PlayStation 3 instrument peripheral cross-compatibility between Rock Band 2, Guitar Hero: World Tour, Singstar, and newcomer Rock Revolution, according to a new blog post by SCEA third-party relations director Michael Shorrock. Irregular hardware and software compatibility between games from competing developers Harmonix Music Systems (Rock Band) and Activision-owned Neversoft (Guitar Hero) has put strain on both the patience and wallets of music game aficionados, many of whom are known to be less than thrilled at the prospect of owning multiple plastic drum sets. Specifically, Shorrock notes that Rock Band 2- and Guitar Hero: World Tour-branded guitar and drum peripherals will function properly with all three band simulators, while Rock Revolution's drum peripheral (though it supports guitar gameplay, publisher Konami has not announced unique guitar hardware for its game) will also be compatible with all titles. The microphone peripheral for Sony's own SingStar karaoke game will work with both Rock Band 2 and Guitar Hero: World Tour. Sony hopes to expand its compatibility doctrine to existing music games already on the market. Similar music game peripheral enforcement has yet to be enacted (or at least officially announced) on the Xbox 360 platform. [UPDATE: Following up on this post, Microsoft's Chris Paladino has officially announced that the same interoperability will be true for the Xbox 360 versions of those third-party titles. Talking on the company's official Gamerscore Blog, he referenced the final paragraph of this article, which noted that Microsoft has yet to announce similar compatibility, and explained: "For the record, we also do that, so consider this an official announcement. All the instruments from Rock Band 2, Guitar Hero: World Tour, and Rock Revolution will be cross-compatible... In other words, welcome to the party. ;)"]