Be a real guitar hero with Power Gig: Rise of the SixString
by Stevie Smith - Mar 10 2010, 06:28 (Strum till your fingers are bloody. Awesome! Seven45 Studios).
Looking to refresh the rhythm-based videogame genre while potentially attracting genuine musicians, guitar manufacturer First Act has this week unveiled Power Gig: Rise of the SixString, which will present music gamers with a notable twist – they’ll need to play an actual guitar.
“Power Gig: Rise of the SixString is meant to be the answer for all those gamers who have wanted to take their band experience to the next level,” enthused Bernard Chui, chief executive officer of Power Gig developer Seven45 Studios.
“We’re confident that players will agree that the transition from the existing [music-rhythm] games is both seamless and exhilarating,” he added.
Announced on Tuesday during the Game Developers Conference (GDC) in San Francisco, Power Gig’s gameplay will resemble the likes of Guitar Hero and Rock Band insofar as budding rockers will be tasked with playing through songs by matching on-screen beats through their peripheral axe.
Of course, while the guitars in Guitar Hero and Rock Band function by strumming a plastic paddle and inputting different finger combinations through the coloured buttons on the fret bar, Power Gig’s guitar will need players to depress actual strings and strike real chords to match on-screen prompts.
Adding yet another layer of appeal not evident in existing music-based games, the Power Gig guitar will also be fully functional in the real world, and will even come complete with a standard instrument jack – which means it can be plugged into an amp. When used during gameplay, a dampener near the pickup lifts in order to deaden string noise.
Of course, it’s unlikely that all music game fans will want to test their mettle with a real guitar (raises own hand). So, in order to help Power Gig avoid a retail death for catering to a niche minority, the game will also be available with regular strum paddle and fret button guitar controllers.
Expect to enjoy bleeding fingers when Power Gig: Rise of the SixString launches on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in 2010’s third quarter. A band bundle with drums and a microphone is also in the developmental pipeline.
Power Gig will be the FIRST AND ONLY band game that uses a real six-string guitar as a controller when it hits stores October 19, 2010. We don’t know when the makers of Rock Band™ 3 will release their guitar controller. They haven’t said.***
Power Gig’s guitar bundle (guitar & software) will be available for only $179.99. We don’t know what the price of the Rock Band™ 3 guitar controller will be. Again, they haven’t said a peep. Not one peep.
Power Gig’s guitar is easy for ANYONE to pick up and play. As far as anyone can tell, you can only use their guitar controller in Pro Mode.* Sounds tricky.
Power Gig’s guitar is the ONLY real six-string guitar controller that works with almost ANY band games you already own.** From what we understand, you can only use Rock Band™ 3’s guitar controller in Rock Band™ 3 – and not even in the full game. Only in Pro Mode.*
Real guitars are better than fake guitars. So if Rock Band™ 3 really does have a real guitar, and it really comes out and people really play it…awesome!! At Power Gig, we believe in real music for all. So on October 19, we invite everyone to rock out on our 100% real six string guitar – for real. And that’s the difference.
* As revealed at PAX Prime 2010 during the Harmonix panel on Rock Band
** Go to http://www.powergig.com/
*** In partnership with Fender Musical Instruments Corporation as announced on June 11, 2010.