The Official Xbox Magazine Podcast is reporting that the PS3 version of Rock Band will feature wireless instruments, while the Xbox 360 version will wrap players up in a maze of wires.
Harmonix big wig, Alex Rigopulos, went on the show and confirmed that which had been speculated for a while now. No details were given as to why exactly this will be the case. It could be something as simple as copyrights of some kind are keeping the 360 plugged in, or it could be something as far fetched as Sony paying them off (although that’s pretty far removed.)
In this day and age it’s getting increasingly rare for any two versions of a multiplatform title to actually be the same. In fact I would say that the vast majority of multiplatform titles offer an advantage to one systems users.
Whether it’s Stranglehold’s HD version of Hard Boiled included in the PS3 collector’s edition, or the Xbox 360 version of Unreal Tournament 3 being scheduled for release around six months after the Playstation 3 and PC release dates.
What interests me in this issue is derived from what I’ve seen in the relationship of Microsoft and Epic. MS treated them like crap during the development of Gears of War. Is it a coincidence that the next game they make (UT3) is going to have major advantages for all users except Xbox 360 owners? No, and it’s well documented that this is deliberate.
What is also noteworthy is what percentage of the advantages found in multiplatform games stem from silly little quarrels between developers and console manufacturers.
While it rarely comes out to be anything serious (Xbox 360 owners might have been disappointed when they heard they’d be missing out on the Hard Boiled pack-in, but it’s not going to stop them from enjoying the game) sometimes it can be. A six month delay on one version of a game without an actual reason is absurd.
When videogame companies start placing inter-company revenge higher on their list of priorities than making their fans happy, then the industry itself has a big problem.
