During some of the darkest days of music videogames, Ubisoft has announced Rocksmith.
Rocksmith, a music game for the Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and PC will play similarly to many recent rhythm games with a catch. Unlike Guitar Hero or the less-than-favorable Power Gig, Rocksmith utilizes an adapter that will allow players to use their good ‘ole electric guitar as the controller via an input jack.
Ubisoft plans on launching Rocksmith sometime in September with around 45 songs from notable musicians including David Bowie, The Rolling Stones and more. Ubisoft is currently in talks with guitar manufacturers such as Gibson and a variety of others in hopes of offering a $200 bundle which may or may not include the game and a very real, very electric guitar.
Ubisoft’s senior vp marketing Tony Key said, “Guitar Hero is a party game. Rocksmith is a music experience.” Key also said that Ubisoft will “create a new generation of guitar players.” A bold statement indeed.
Details are mum as to how Rocksmith might be different enough from the ill-fated Power Gig other than the fact that players will strum chords rather than mash colored buttons. Key also stated that Ubisoft hopes that players will “walk away from the game with the ability to play songs by memory.”
The major upside to Rocksmith is most certainly that those who already own a guitar will only need to run out and pick up the game and adapter. However, Power Gig was also intended to be an “experience,” but we all know how that turned out.
