My frizzy-haired colleague Patrick Klepek may be hanging out with his brother on the Warped Tour right now, but he also managed to break down the competition between all the major music-based video games for MTV News today. It's always a tricky topic for us because some people assume we're biased. Trust me, we steer clear of insider info.
Klepek reports that Konami, makers of the upcoming Rock Revolution do not believe in proprietary peripherals.
"Compatibility is a big issue for music games," Konami Digital Entertainment associate producer Keith Matejka told MTV News. "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."
More Klepek goodness at the link, including some counter-arguments about why compatibility doesn't make sense for the big publishers.
Side note: He reported in just to me that they don't have real showers on the Warped Tour. Whoops! Now, I guess he's reported that to all of you as well.
'Rock Band'/ 'Guitar Hero' Rivalry Heats Up, Draws Third Competitor [The place that pays my bills]