Electronic Arts. Activision. Konami. XS Games? The relatively tiny publisher is wading into deep waters this October when they ship PopStar Guitar, a guitar playing game for the Wii and PlayStation 2. The game features more than 50 pop songs from artists such as 3 Doors Down, Simple Plan, Blink 182, and many other bands you'd be likely to find on that damn Buzz Cuts CD they keep advertising on television. The game includes single player and co-op mode, allowing one or two players to visit 25 unique venues on their road to making their hands tired.

The difference with PopStar Guitar is the way you control it on the Wii. While the PS2 version is compatible with Rock Band or Guitar Hero controllers, the Wii version ships with something called the AirG, which attaches to your Wii remote to form "an electrifying air guitar." Sounds dangerous. Look, I'm all for competition in the marketplace, but you have to bring something more to the table than a one-shot accessory and more than 50 pop songs " including several masters performed by the original artists." Several?

XS GAMES ANNOUNCES POPSTAR GUITAR™, NEW MUSIC RHYTHM GAME FEATURING HITS FROM TOP POP RECORDING ARTISTS

PopStar Guitar For the Wii™ Includes the Unique AirG™ Peripheral,
Turning your Wii Remote into an Air Guitar

NEW YORK, NY - July 22, 2008 - Videogame publisher XS Games announced today its new music rhythm game, PopStar Guitar™, featuring songs from top pop music stars including 3 Doors Down, Simple Plan, Blink 182 and many more. PopStar Guitar allows players to unlock their inner pop celebrity and star as the lead guitarist in their very own band. Shipping in October 2008, PopStar Guitar will be available for the Wii™ and the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system. The Wii™ version of PopStar Guitar will feature the AirG™, an exciting new peripheral that turns the Wii Remote™ into an air guitar.

"The popularity of music rhythm games is at an all time high, but to date the games have primarily featured hard core metal, classic and alternative rock music," said Steve Grossman, chief executive officer of XS Games. "With popular songs from today's top pop artists, PopStar Guitar is a game the whole family can enjoy. We've also created a dynamic new air guitar game play experience with our AirG peripheral for the Wii, allowing players to have a blast as they unleash their inner pop star."

PopStar Guitar features a single player Career Mode and two-player Co-operative Mode, along with single player and multi-player mini-games. The game takes the player on a musical journey that starts with forming a garage band to playing at 25 unique venues and eventually performing in the worldwide "Battle of the Bands" contest. Twelve playable characters are featured in the game and can be customized to give the band its own unique look. PopStar Guitar features over 50 pop songs, including several masters performed by the original artists.

Exclusively for the Wii™, PopStar Guitar will come with the AirG™, a peripheral that snaps onto the Wii Remote and turns the controller into an electrifying air guitar. For PlayStation®2 system players, PopStar Guitar will function with any PlayStation®2 system compatible guitar peripheral.

PopStar Guitar has not yet been rated by the ESRB.

Filed under: Rhythm

Rock and Roll legend Bo Diddley passed away from heart failure Monday at the age of 79. Widely acknowledged as the forefather of the mid-century rock revolution, Diddley was a musical genius, responsible for inspiring numerous other rock gods of his era. In one obituary for Diddley, it was announced that his recognizable "cigar-box shaped" guitar would be featured in the "impending" Rock Band 2. Unfortunately, we imagine they're talking about an unlockable guitar actually inside the game, and not about any kind of bundled peripheral.

Whether Harmonix planned for this to be a tribute to the blues luminary is unclear -- regardless, we'll be chomping at the bit to get Diddley's rectangular axe into the hands of our imaginary six-string virtuosos whenever the sequel to our third-best game of 2007 hits store shelves.

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Filed under: Sony PlayStation 2, Sony PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wii, Microsoft Xbox 360, Rhythm

In order to remain competitive with Harmonix's pre-existing multi-instrument rockstar simulator, Activision's upcoming entry in their insanely lucrative franchise, Guitar Hero: World Tour, needs to match the price of the game it so closely resembles, Rock Band. According to a recent listing on Gamestop, it'll do just that -- the game alone will cost $59.99 on PS3 and 360 ($49.99 on Wii and PS2), a "guitar kit" bundle will run you $99.99, and the full band kit (which we assume will contain a guitar, a mic, and a drum kit) will run you $189.99 on 360, Wii and PS3, and $179.99 on PS2.

If these prices are accurate, you'll be paying $20 more for Activision's bundle than Harmonix's -- perhaps their five-piece drum kit costs more to produce than Rock Band's four-head. We don't mind shelling out the extra Jackson to get our hands on Activision's new skins -- the thousands of dollars we'll spend expanding our living room to contain two fake drum kits and four fake guitars, however, may have a noticeable impact on our finances.

[Thanks, Hashbrown Hunter.]

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Filed under: Sony PlayStation 3, Peripherals

Nyko is now shipping to retailers its Rock Band/Guitar Hero III compatible Front Man wireless guitar for PS3. The third party controller is $60, which is the same price some retailers charge for first party controllers.

The Front Man guitar works up to 25 ft and allegedly gets 80 hours of play time, it also uses a "stomp box" to switch between the two rival rhythm games. It's great that the guitar is compatible with both games unlike the first party controllers, but isn't the whole point of a third party peripheral to be much less expensive than first party? Oh well, we had no complaints about the controller when we got some hands-on time with it at GDC. The Front Man seems like an alternative for those who need another ax quick and a first party controller isn't at the store .

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