E-Talk: Rockers in a hard place

By Glen Atwell
AS MOST Playstation 3 owners would be aware, Guitar Hero and Guitar Hero 2 are not playable on Sony’s newest black box and the bad news is there is no fix in sight.
The number one selling Playstation 2 game and the all-important guitar accessory are not compatible with the PS3 because the plastic guitar lacks the ‘PS Home’ button that connects the Playstation 3 with controllers.
This button is the console’s heart-starter and enables the user to turn the PS3 on and off, quit games and return to the main menu.
But it is the same button that is causing Guitar Hero fans – in true rock star style – to smash their beloved guitars all over living room floors.
Third party companies have released USB adaptors that claim to allow users to connect the Guitar Hero guitar, and other Playstation 2 accessories, with the PS3.
But dance mats, joysticks, joypads, steering wheels and, most importantly, plastic guitars have a tendency to act weird when connected to the PS3 through some of the adaptors currently available.
One company even distributed a USB PS2 to PS3 adaptor that claimed to work with Guitar Hero and Guitar Hero 2.
It does work but the buttons are all jumbled – frets included.
Green becomes blue, orange becomes yellow and lime even turns turquoise.
A certain adaptor does allow rockers to rock the original Guitar Hero on their Playstation 3, but who wants to play the original, when the even-better sequel is available?
With third parties unable to fix the problem, all eyes have been on Sony to release a PS3 system update to correct the issue.
This month, Sony update the Playstation 3 firmware to version 1.70, and many strummers pinned their hopes on this download solving the problem.
But it didn’t.
Xbox 360 users are enjoying the newly released version of Guitar Hero 2, with updated graphics and minor game play tweaks and, most importantly, a brand new wireless guitar compatible with their system.
Surely Playstation 3 owners should have access to one of the PS2’s most popular games or will rockers be forced to wait until Guitar Hero 3 is released on PS3 late this year?
The official word from Sony is that “Guitar Hero 1 and 2 are both Playstation 2 titles so they are not compatible with the Playstation 3”.
It seems there is no fix in sight.
The longer this problem goes unresolved, the more likely it is that it will never be fixed.