While the announcement of Guitar Hero Live was definitely the biggest news regarding rhythm games in some time, a Business Insider interview with one of the people behind the previously confirmed Rock Band 4 provided some encouraging news for longtime fans of the series who have held on to their plastic controller instruments.
Series developers Harmonix had already hinted at their goal to support previous instruments, but project director Daniel Sussman has now confirmed it, saying, “We’re planning to support everything that we can: That includes all of the old Rock Band controllers, and all the old Guitar Hero controllers”.
Considering that Harmonix has already confirmed that previously purchased downloadable songs from the first three Rock Band games will also work in Rock Band 4, it makes sense that the developer would also retain the primary methods used to play them previously. Compared to Guitar Hero Live, which will be incompatible with previous controllers and DLC due to its new guitar button layout, Harmonix seems to be sticking closer to what people expect from the Rock Band and Guitar Hero template.
Sussman also stated Harmonix’s reasons behind this aspect of the game:
Our position is really all about respect for our consumers and for the money that they have spent to get into the game space in the first place. They spend a fortune on games: on consoles, on hardware, and we’re sensitive to that. We play those games too. We buy all the same stuff. A world where you need to have three different guitars and two drum sets and all this stuff is…we don’t want to support that world.
We will continue to keep you updated on future news regarding Rock Band 4. For now, however, tell us, do you still have any old instrument controllers in storage that you’ll be pulling out when the series returns on Xbox One and PlayStation 4 later this year? Let us know below.