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Guitar Hero II on PS3?

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Pale

Member
So my PS2 has finally kicked the bucket. Therefore I have no good way of playing Guitar Hero 2 anymore because I can't make the guitars work on my PS3.

Guitar Hero 3 PS3 just came out. Has anyone tried one of the GH3 guitars with GH2 and had any luck?

If that doesn't work, has anyone gotten the GH2 guitars to work perfectly on the PS3? Last I checked, there was a converter that required a strum in order to register a fret button press, thus making the menu navigation annoying and completely disabling hammer-ons.


As of right now, I think I'm going to go Guitar Hero III for Wii, only because most of my friends are buying the Wii version so that is where most of my multiplayer fun will be (Yes I know I will be forfeiting DLC, but multiplayer is more important to me than that). This question could affect that decision though.
 
The last hope are the Rock Band guitars, nobody has given a report on whether or not those work with GH1/2 on the PS3

It's unlikely, though
 
How badly do the GH3 guitars not work? Like not at all? That's really quite strange. I guess Activision may have been more likely to put out the extra effort if Sony didn't all but say they don't care about BC.

So, I take it no one has found a better alternative beyond that converter that screws up hammer-ons either?
 
kenta said:
The last hope are the Rock Band guitars, nobody has given a report on whether or not those work with GH1/2 on the PS3
Click to expand...
considering the RB guitars won't even work with GH3, I think unlikely turns into "impossible."

Pale said:
How badly do the GH3 guitars not work? Like not at all?
Click to expand...
Yes, not at all. GH1 or 2 don't even recognize them.
 
borghe said:
considering the RB guitars won't even work with GH3, I think unlikely turns into "impossible."
Click to expand...
But GH3 is a completely different game from a completely different company. Harmonix was behind GH1/2 and Rock Band, and have stated that they use "standards" on their guitar peripherals so we're back to "unlikely"
 
kenta said:
But GH3 is a completely different game from a completely different company. Harmonix was behind GH1/2 and Rock Band, and have stated that they use "standards" on their guitar peripherals so we're back to "unlikely"
Click to expand...
except... harmonix didn't make the controllers. red octane did. red octane being a peripheral manufacturer not only didn't use 'standard' in the GH and GH2 guitars, but they tried to sue people that made third party guitars.

no f'ing chance.
 
plagiarize said:
except... harmonix didn't make the controllers. red octane did. red octane being a peripheral manufacturer not only didn't use 'standard' in the GH and GH2 guitars, but they tried to sue people that made third party guitars.

no f'ing chance.
Click to expand...
needs to be quoted and reread. There is no chance here.
 
plagiarize said:
except... harmonix didn't make the controllers. red octane did. red octane being a peripheral manufacturer not only didn't use 'standard' in the GH and GH2 guitars, but they tried to sue people that made third party guitars.

no f'ing chance.
Click to expand...

That lawsuit was related to trademark infringement, because the Ant Commandos guitar packaging looked too similar to the official GH packaging. It is still legal to make 3rd party guitar controllers.

I think it's possible that a 3rd party might make a guitar for PS3 that was compatible with GH1/2 and even Rock Band, but first it would require that there was a large enough user base that such a peripheral could be profitable.
 
How the god damn hell can it be so hard to get these things working on the PS3? Is it really beyond their programming abilities?!
 
You can play Guitar Hero 2 on PS3


Go to Radio Shack or wherever and get a "USB Adapter for PlayStation®2 Controller" converter thing. Plug the USB end into your PS3, plug the PS end into your controller, Voila! The only catch is that - on mine anyway - strumming up causes the curser to go down and vice versa

this is it (no picture though)
http://www.radioshack.com/sm-usb-adapter-for-playstation-2-controller--pi-2348187.html

er.. and another edit: I had small lag, but you can adjust for this in the game settings (unfortunately you can't for GH1 though).
 
Pai Pai Master said:
Pretty sure Activision's stance on the matter is that if you want to play Guitar Hero 1 and 2 on the PS3 with the PS3 guitar, then you should buy them all again as DLC micrapements. In bundles that consist of one song you actually want with crappy ones they couldn't sell attached.
Click to expand...

fixed?
 
genjiZERO said:
You can play Guitar Hero 2 on PS3


Go to Radio Shack or wherever and get a "USB Adapter for PlayStation®2 Controller" converter thing. Plug the USB end into your PS3, plug the PS end into your controller, Voila! The only catch is that - on mine anyway - strumming up causes the curser to go down and vice versa

this is it (no picture though)
http://www.radioshack.com/sm-usb-adapter-for-playstation-2-controller--pi-2348187.html

er.. and another edit: I had small lag, but you can adjust for this in the game settings (unfortunately you can't for GH1 though).
Click to expand...

I heard that it doesn't work for GH1 and it doesn't work for hammer ons and pull offs.
 
DeejayKnight said:
I'm wondering if the 360 guitar will work on the PS3, as it's just a USB guitar...
Click to expand...
no. while the interface is just a USB interface, the signals it is sending are most definitely not the same as the signals GH1 and 2 are expecting. Remember, USB can carry a tremendously wide variety of signaling across it.. It would be like pugging in a USB ethernet adapter and wondering if GH2 can be played with that. Not trying to be facetious or mean, but really that's how different signals can be over USB.
 
genjiZERO said:
You can play Guitar Hero 2 on PS3


Go to Radio Shack or wherever and get a "USB Adapter for PlayStation®2 Controller" converter thing. Plug the USB end into your PS3, plug the PS end into your controller, Voila! The only catch is that - on mine anyway - strumming up causes the curser to go down and vice versa

this is it (no picture though)
http://www.radioshack.com/sm-usb-adapter-for-playstation-2-controller--pi-2348187.html

er.. and another edit: I had small lag, but you can adjust for this in the game settings (unfortunately you can't for GH1 though).
Click to expand...

This is incredibly intriguing and awesome news if true. So other than the reverse direction thing (which obviously isn't a problem) the guitars work great? Hammer ons work. Hmm, so a bit of lag is the only side effect. Interesting...
 
MrNyarlathotep said:
fixed?
Click to expand...


Hey...I would accept this as well because it would still likely be cheaper than going on and re-purchasing a PS2, guitar, GH1 and the 80s plus I'd get it in HD. But considering how pathetic the DLC was for 360 (which was a big selling point printed on the damn box)...I'm not holding out much hope.
 
genjiZERO said:
You can play Guitar Hero 2 on PS3


Go to Radio Shack or wherever and get a "USB Adapter for PlayStation®2 Controller" converter thing. Plug the USB end into your PS3, plug the PS end into your controller, Voila! The only catch is that - on mine anyway - strumming up causes the curser to go down and vice versa

this is it (no picture though)
http://www.radioshack.com/sm-usb-adapter-for-playstation-2-controller--pi-2348187.html

er.. and another edit: I had small lag, but you can adjust for this in the game settings (unfortunately you can't for GH1 though).
Click to expand...
umm... how do you have this working? The entire problem with GH and BC is that you couldn't press the PS button to turn on the controller. This does nothing to fix that.
 
tanod said:
I heard that it doesn't work for GH1 and it doesn't work for hammer ons and pull offs.
Click to expand...

Works fine - but there's a slight delay for GH1 - so it makes the solos harder.
his is incredibly intriguing and awesome news if true. So other than the reverse direction thing (which obviously isn't a problem) the guitars work great? Hammer ons work. Hmm, so a bit of lag is the only side effect. Interesting..
Click to expand...

For GH2 hammer on and so forth aren't a problem.

umm... how do you have this working? The entire problem with GH and BC is that you couldn't press the PS button to turn on the controller. This does nothing to fix that.
Click to expand...

you just plug in the USB/PS thing (I use USB-4) - it works automatically. Use your regular PS3 controller to turn on the machine, game, etc. When you're done playing the game. Press the PS button on the controller until the menu for turning off the game comes up.

I should note that there is a sight slight delay for bother GH1 and 2. It's not so bad for 2 because you can adjust for it, and 1 is completely playable - but it is there. I should note that I play on the hardest difficulty setting and on my PS2 usually get about 95% for each song, but with the PS3 am getting slightly lower scores (but still over 90%)
 
borghe said:
no. while the interface is just a USB interface, the signals it is sending are most definitely not the same as the signals GH1 and 2 are expecting. Remember, USB can carry a tremendously wide variety of signaling across it.. It would be like pugging in a USB ethernet adapter and wondering if GH2 can be played with that. Not trying to be facetious or mean, but really that's how different signals can be over USB.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the clarification. I wasn't thinking it was possible or anything - more like just hoping that it did because i have an Xplorer. :D

If the Xplorer were using a system-specific adapter I never would've thought it possible, but USB brought upon that shimmering light of hope. Since it was expected that they'd never allow that kind of thing (they want you to buy as much hardware as possible, after all), I'm not too surprised.
 
genjiZERO said:
Works fine - but there's a slight delay for GH1 - so it makes the solos harder.


For GH2 hammer on and so forth aren't a problem.



you just plug in the USB/PS thing (I use USB-4) - it works automatically. Use your regular PS3 controller to turn on the machine, game, etc. When you're done playing the game. Press the PS button on the controller until the menu for turning off the game comes up.

I should note that there is a sight slight delay for bother GH1 and 2. It's not so bad for 2 because you can adjust for it, and 1 is completely playable - but it is there. I should note that I play on the hardest difficulty setting and on my PS2 usually get about 95% for each song, but with the PS3 am getting slightly lower scores (but still over 90%)
Click to expand...
You're kidding. This actually works? Do you have any idea how many people on the net are 100% convinced GH2 is broken on the PS3 due to no hammer-on/pull-offs and needing to press Select to activate Star Power?

This is really great news for me if true.
 
The Sphinx said:
You're kidding. This actually works? Do you have any idea how many people on the net are 100% convinced GH2 is broken on the PS3 due to no hammer-on/pull-offs and needing to press Select to activate Star Power?

This is really great news for me if true.
Click to expand...

what? it works perfectly for me. I can hammer-on and pull off and I just tilt for star power
 
genjiZERO said:
what? it works perfectly for me. I can hammer-on and pull off and I just tilt for star power
Click to expand...
I spent a week searching the internet for solutions to the GH2 on PS3 problem. Everything I found pointed to having to use one of these: http://www.gamestop.com/product.asp?product_id=802566

These shitty Pelican adapters have a switch that toggles between "Normal" (for using a Dual Shock 2, DDR pad, etc.) and "GH2" (specifically designed for Guitar Hero 2). All user reports say that hammer-ons and pull-offs do not work with that adapter and the Star Power must be activated by pressing "Select". This makes it basically useless in my eyes.

Hearing that just the normal PS2 to USB adapter at Radio Shack works properly is awesome. Best news I've heard all day.
 
genjiZERO said:
what? it works perfectly for me. I can hammer-on and pull off and I just tilt for star power
Click to expand...
Was this snuck in with a firmware update and no one knew about it? I have some ps2 usb adapters at home that didn't work before. I'm going to try them again tonight.
 
The Sphinx said:
Hearing that just the normal PS2 to USB adapter at Radio Shack works properly is awesome. Best news I've heard all day.
Click to expand...
I would still be very skeptical. I've heard plenty of other reports of regular PS2->USB adapters being even worse than the pelican ones. I would be interested to hear back from more than once source also... I just have a hard time believing that after a year and countless of guitar hero fans failing, that there is some device that's been on the market forever that makes this happen. color me skeptical I guess.

Pale said:
Was this snuck in with a firmware update and no one knew about it? I have some ps2 usb adapters at home that didn't work before. I'm going to try them again tonight.
Click to expand...
like I said.. I was under the impression before that none of them worked because they required the PS button to be pressed to recognize the "controller". Every PS2->PS3 adapter I've ever seen marketed had the PS button on it. The ones that are just PS2->USB have pretty much never worked, even when they've been marketed as PS3 adapters. Unfortunately for me it's not worth $15 to give it a shot, find out it doesn't work, and then be stuck with something I'll never use.
 
borghe said:
like I said.. I was under the impression before that none of them worked because they required the PS button to be pressed to recognize the "controller". Every PS2->PS3 adapter I've ever seen marketed had the PS button on it. The ones that are just PS2->USB have pretty much never worked, even when they've been marketed as PS3 adapters. Unfortunately for me it's not worth $15 to give it a shot, find out it doesn't work, and then be stuck with something I'll never use.
Click to expand...

This has been fixed by a FW update a while back IIRC. You are no longer forced to push the PS button - the screen goes away after a few seconds.

Even after that update however I heard that GH2 causes some buttons to be recognized incorrectly when using a standard PS2-USB adapter.

If anyone else can confirm that a radio shack adapter can play GH2 without major issues please LET US KNOW. This is absolutely rediculous that one of the most popular PS2 games is not compatable with any PS3.
 
So here's my setup

f_setupm_3a63682.jpg


you can see that everything is all turned on and working

Here's the adapter that I have (this was the clearest image I could take)

f_adapterm_c036d09.jpg
 
genjiZERO said:
So here's my setup

f_setupm_3a63682.jpg


you can see that everything is all turned on and working

Here's the adapter that I have (this was the clearest image I could take)

f_adapterm_c036d09.jpg
Click to expand...

How are response time? I think I could design my own USB/PS2 adapter, hmm.
 
typhonsentra said:
The reason it doesn't work is because the USB dongle shuts off when the system goes into PS2 mode.
Click to expand...


Are you implying the pictures above are clever photoshops?


I need some suspenseful organ music right about now.




Checked inventory online and the nearest Radio Shack that has this in stock is 30 miles away. Shitty. I know of four within a few miles distance of my home/work but none of them have it. I'd love to try this out.
 
genjiZero said:
it works perfectly for me. I can hammer-on and pull off and I just tilt for star power
Click to expand...
So if this works with the PS2 controllers for the PS2 GH games, might the controller also work for the PS3 version of GH3? The plot thickens...
 
I tried using the GHIII controller to play FreQuency and the controller wouldn't sync at all. I was bummed.

I know this has nothing to do with this thread but there's a frickin' GHIII topic already and the question in the OP of this thread is answered in the first goddamn post of that thread. Frickin' read, people.
 
genjiZERO said:
So here's my setup

f_setupm_3a63682.jpg


you can see that everything is all turned on and working

Here's the adapter that I have (this was the clearest image I could take)

f_adapterm_c036d09.jpg
Click to expand...

Woot I had a couple of those radio shack adapters around so I tried it and it works great.
 
genjiZERO said:
You can play Guitar Hero 2 on PS3


Go to Radio Shack or wherever and get a "USB Adapter for PlayStation®2 Controller" converter thing. Plug the USB end into your PS3, plug the PS end into your controller, Voila! The only catch is that - on mine anyway - strumming up causes the curser to go down and vice versa

this is it (no picture though)
http://www.radioshack.com/sm-usb-adapter-for-playstation-2-controller--pi-2348187.html

er.. and another edit: I had small lag, but you can adjust for this in the game settings (unfortunately you can't for GH1 though).
Click to expand...
WHAT??? Going to have to go to my local radio shack tomorrow to pick this up and report back if it works with GHI / GHII / DDR Custom dance pad

edit: ah it seems that it won't work with DDR :< why must it be so hard for me to play these things on the PS3
 
Wow. I'll have to swing by and pick one up tomorrow and see for myself. Anyone who's got one of these adapters up and running want to give the PS3 version of GH3 a shot with it? *fingers crossed*
 
bune duggy said:
I tried using the GHIII controller to play FreQuency and the controller wouldn't sync at all. I was bummed.

I know this has nothing to do with this thread but there's a frickin' GHIII topic already and the question in the OP of this thread is answered in the first goddamn post of that thread. Frickin' read, people.
Click to expand...


Wow...chill out a little bit. This really isn't a GHIII question anyway....this is about PS3 BC with GH/GHII. Look at the bright side...this question has been asked many, many times in various GH threads but it took it's own thread before somebody offered up a possibly legitimate solution and firsthand experience that said solution works.
 
Wow pretty cool this just might make me double dip for this game since I already preordered the Wii version. Maybe they can patch the other stuff and I could just sell my old game on ebay or somethin.
 
genjiZERO said:
In GH2 you sync in the options (it's the same thing as calibrating for HDTV lag). You can't in GH1
Click to expand...
Uh, that's not the kind of "sync" i meant. I mean how do you sync the guitar controller (via the adapter) to the PS3. The PS3 controllers all have a PS button that syncs the controller to the console. The Pelican USB adapters have a sync button, also. These Radio Shack ones have no sync button.

So I ask again, how did you sync?

I believe my excitement blinded me to the obvious truth here. There is no holy grail of guitar adapters. Alas.
 
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