Can I play Guitar Hero or Rock Band on my PC?

Question

Is there any way to play Guitar Hero or Rock Band on my PC?

I also wonder if there's a way to get the instruments working on a PC.

Any suggestions?

Asked by Ivo Flipse

Answer

Several of the Guitar Hero games have been released for Windows and Mac, including Guitar Hero III, Guitar Hero: World Tour and Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, and USB-based instruments should work natively with them. None of the Rock Band games have been released for PC, however, and intercompatibility is generally bad.

Try Frets on Fire for a free and open source Guitar Hero-style game which works with all the console instruments. For full details, drivers, and the like, see the Frets on Fire Wiki page on using Guitar Hero and Rock Band controllers. Many of the Guitar Hero and Rock Band series songs have been converted for use with Frets on Fire, and there is an enormous base of user-created content: see the wiki for details on available song packs.

Answered by Ignis Umbrae

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Does the Rock Band 3 Midi-Pro Adapter work in Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock?

Question

Just recently got my MIDI-Pro Adapter, but it doesn't work in GH: Metallica, GH:5, GH: World Tour. I was thinking of buying GH: Warriors of Rock, but the GH wireless MIDI adapter that came with the Band Hero drums is appalling — it drops notes all the time, whereas the MIDI-Pro in Rock Band 3 seems flawless.

I e-mailed Activision support and they said they didn't know. So, does it work in Warriors of Rock? I can only guess that the answer is "No", but I would like somebody to verify it either way so I can purchase the game (or not).

Answer

I finally got around to trying this (picked up GH:WoR with the Guitar in a half price sale) and I can confirm it definitely does not work. The game picks up the MIDI controller only if the switch is set to D for drums, but then all attempts to start the game indicate that you're using a standard PS3 controller and the game asks you to plug in a microphone.

With Activision's announcement to drop GH games I don't think we'll see a patch any time soon, either.

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Do Guitar Hero peripherals work with Rock Band and vice versa?

Question

I own the Guitar Hero instruments. Can I buy a Rock Band game and use the instruments from Guitar Hero to play the game? And vice versa?

Answer

It depends on the instruments.

Here is a really nice compatibility chart that I found when I had the same question.

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