Ubisoft is preparing to revive the struggling music video game market with the release of ‘Rocksmith.’ Unlike its ancestors, ‘Rocksmith’ allows users to jam on their own guitar. For the first time, you will have the ability to plug your guitar into your Xbox 360 or PS3, shred to your heart’s content, and actually walk away knowing how to play the instrument. You can check out the trailer for ‘Rocksmith’ below.
“How many parents are there out there with teenagers who spent 100 hours playing ‘Guitar Hero’ or ‘Rock Band’ but didn’t learning anyting? How much waste — wouldn’t you rather play the real thing instead?” Ubisoft executive director Laurent Detoc said.
Following the demise of Activision Blizzard’s ‘Guitar Hero’ franchise it was pronounced that the music game genre was dead. And for a while it seemed as though it really was; the other major franchise, ‘Rockstar’ was losing its grip on the market, and no other competitors seemed to want to touch the genre.
Many analysts reported that it was the games lack of innovation that nearly sent the whole genre into the abyss. It seems Ubisoft, who is responsible for games like Splinter Cell and the Assassins Creed trilogy, has come to the rescue. “A plastic guitar you will throw away at some point. A real guitar you are going to keep.”
In order to merge real guitars into the gaming environment, Ubisoft bought a startup that specializes in sound conversion, from analogue to digital. You will be able to plug in electric and acoustic guitars with quarter-inch jacks. Sound can be routed to home stereo speakers, letting you crank the volume.
Rocksmith displays an animated on-screen ‘note highway’ that shows the fret board of a guitar neck on its side. Notes slide toward players, who only need to hit the corresponding strings at the designated moments.
“We’ve had at least 100 people try this game, and we have yet to find one person who says it doesn’t work… People will get a lifelong skill if they stick with this game…It is very validating to think how many new guitarists Ubisoft will create.”
Don’t have a guitar? Don’t worry. ‘Rocksmith’ will be available in a package, which includes the game and cable as well as a Les Paul Jr. guitar, for $200.
‘Rocksmith’ hits store October 18.