Sony: All PS3 rhythm-game instruments compatible

Activision Blizzard technically wasn't even party to this year's E3 Media & Business Summit, but the publisher still managed to make waves at the show with the shock announcement that the Xbox 360 edition of Guitar Hero: World Tour would support peripherals developed for archrival Rock Band 2.

At the time, Neversoft director Brian Bright said that the concession applied only to the Xbox 360 edition of the games, but teased that a similar arrangement was being sorted for the PlayStation 3 versions. Today, that announcement has come, and Sony has revealed that PS3 gamers will be extended the same compatibility courtesy for not just Rock Band 2 and Guitar Hero: World Tour, but also Rock Revolution and SingStar.

"For the past several months, we have been working closely with Neversoft and Activision, Harmonix, and Konami to ensure that PlayStation 3 guitars and drum sets will all feature a basic level of gameplay compatibility," said SCEA director of publisher relations Michael Shorrock via Sony's PlayStation Blog. "For the most part, this means that the titles with musical peripherals will work with the other's software."

Explicitly laying out what the compatibility measures mean to gamers, Shorrock said that the guitar and drum-kit peripherals from World Tour, Rock Band 2, and Rock Revolution will all be interchangeable. Shorrock also noted that World Tour and Rock Band 2 microphones will be compatible with the publisher's own SingStar karaoke game.

Unfortunately, the publisher has yet to finagle compatibility between current-generation Guitar Hero and Rock Band games, though Shorrock did say that "we hope to have an announcement on that shortly."

Rock Band 2 is expected to arrive for the Xbox 360 in September, with the PS3, Wii, and PlayStation 2 editions arriving later in the year. Konami's Rock Revolution is slated to arrive on the Xbox 360, PS3, and Nintendo's Wii and DS this fall. Guitar Hero: World Tour is also expected to go on the road this fall for the Xbox 360, PS3, PS2, Wii, and PC.