PDP, the controller brand, has had a busy week. Not only did the Victrix Pro BFG Xbox Series X gamepad get a February release date, but the manufacturer has also announced that it would create the first guitar controller for PS5 and Xbox Series X.
That’s right, if you’ve ever felt nostalgic for the days of going to a friend’s house to jam out on Guitar Hero or Rockband, now is the time to be enthusiastic about reliving those memories. Fortnite Festival debuted in December 2023, adding to the ever-expanding Fortnite-verse, and it appears that it will bring some exciting additions to our top PS5 controller list.
Guitar Hero On PS5
PDP’s new controller, known as the RIFFMASTER Wireless Guitar, is a Guitar Hero-style peripheral that is technically compatible with Rock Band 4 but has “anticipated compatibility” with Fortnite Festival once controller support is introduced. Ironically, Rock Band 4 was released on PS4 and Xbox One in 2015, the same year as Guitar Hero Live, the franchise’s most recent installment.
Get ready to rock! Introducing the RIFFMASTER Wireless Guitars for Xbox and PlayStation.
Be one of 1st to play this Spring by entering our giveaway via the link in our bio. Winners will be selected 3/1. 🎸🎮⁰⁰#playpdp #RIFFMASTER #rockband4 #PlayStation #xbox pic.twitter.com/Og5su60Ef1
— PDP (@PDPgaming) January 31, 2024
Rock Band and Guitar Hero have some fantastic peripherals, but PDP appears to have found ways to improve on them. For starters, it features a wireless connection and a 36-hour battery life, which most of the top PC controllers cannot match.
It also contains a 3.5mm headphone socket, a joystick on the guitar’s neck for navigating in-game menus and console UI, and folds down at the base of the neck for easy transport or storage.
If you’re anything like me, you undoubtedly have a couple of Guitar Hero controllers lying around that are visually appealing but functionally useless because the USB dongles have gone missing. The new PDP RIFFMASTER includes a space under its detachable faceplate for storing and protecting your USB dongle.
Unfortunately, the pricing and release date have yet to be determined, though we do know it will be available sometime in the spring. The fact that it is officially licensed for both the PS5 and the Xbox Series X controller is nothing short of miraculous, but it is not surprising given that PDP accomplished the same feat with the Victrix Pro BFG, our top selection for the PS5, which is currently available for pre-order on Xbox.
I honestly couldn’t be more excited about this. Before this news came, I was planning to do a retrospective story about why Guitar Hero Guitars are among my all-time favorite gaming controllers. While that type of rhythm game appeared to be dead for years, Fortnite Festival and a new licensed controller may prove differently.
Will there be a comeback of rock-based rhythm games? Could we see new remasters of classics such as Guitar Hero 3? Activision famously struggled to preserve this genre, owing to the high expense of music licensing.