PS2/PS3 RB1 drums with Wii RB2? The answer is no

crunchewy

crunchewy

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I've been asking now and again if anyone has tried hooking PS2/PS3 rock band 1 (or 2) drum kit or guitar to a Wii for Rock Band 2, as I wanted to get RB2 for our Wii but didn't want to spend the big bucks on a full kit, and I didn't want to bother with RB2 on PS2 (don't have a PS3 or 360). Since the instruments are all USB based, my hope was that they would work fine in spite of them having console-specific buttons (those buttons aren't necessary for play).

Well, I can now definitely say that it doesn't work. I bought RB2 Wii game-only from CC for $25 when the discount was 50% off and tested it out. With my RB1 PS2 drum kit plugged into the back of the Wii, Rock Back 2 acts as if nothing is connected. It completely ignores it. I don't have a RB guitar controller in order to test that out, but it's probably safe to assume it doesn't work either. Annoying. Fortunately the GS trade 6 + 40% trade-in deal came through for me, getting me $30 in credit for RB2. Now I can save up for the full kit. Maybe. I'm not sure I'm enough into the game to spend that much money again, especially not with such bogus peripheral lock-in.
 
[quote name='crunchewy']I've been asking now and again if anyone has tried hooking PS2/PS3 rock band 1 (or 2) drum kit or guitar to a Wii for Rock Band 2, as I wanted to get RB2 for our Wii but didn't want to spend the big bucks on a full kit, and I didn't want to bother with RB2 on PS2 (don't have a PS3 or 360). Since the instruments are all USB based, my hope was that they would work fine in spite of them having console-specific buttons (those buttons aren't necessary for play).

Well, I can now definitely say that it doesn't work. I bought RB2 Wii game-only from CC for $25 when the discount was 50% off and tested it out. With my RB1 PS2 drum kit plugged into the back of the Wii, Rock Back 2 acts as if nothing is connected. It completely ignores it. I don't have a RB guitar controller in order to test that out, but it's probably safe to assume it doesn't work either. Annoying. Fortunately the GS trade 6 + 40% trade-in deal came through for me, getting me $30 in credit for RB2. Now I can save up for the full kit. Maybe. I'm not sure I'm enough into the game to spend that much money again, especially not with such bogus peripheral lock-in.[/quote]
Having played on both the Rock Band and Guitar Hero kits, I strongly recommend the Guitar Hero: World Tour standalone kit that just came out if you end up getting a new set for your Wii. Based on all your other posts I think our gaming/family setup is fairly similar and so far our entire family is really happy with the GH kit. The only real difference is that we weren't already saddled with a PS2 Rock Band kit like you are - we somehow missed out on the whole "pretend instrument" fad until we were well into Wii-land. Anyway, RB2 has a nice "drum trainer" mode where you get to just... play the drums. The six-year-old really likes that as it doesn't have the pressure associated with it that even a No Fail version of a song carries.
 
[quote name='crunchewy']What do you like better about the GH drums? Guitar? Or are you saying the game is better? I'm confused by your post. :)[/quote]
The kids were still awake which means I was pretty drunk when I wrote it, so it makes sense that you would be confused. The GH drums are better, I like RB2 better for gameplay and song selection. I like the GH drums better because they feel significantly sturdier, seem to be more responsive to hits, and include the extra pieces that you have to buy separately with the RB kit. Hopefully this makes more sense - the kids are asleep so I have sobered up a little.
 
[quote name='wii skiier']...The GH drums are better, I like RB2 better for gameplay and song selection. I like the GH drums better because they feel significantly sturdier, seem to be more responsive to hits, and include the extra pieces that you have to buy separately with the RB kit. Hopefully this makes more sense - the kids are asleep so I have sobered up a little.[/QUOTE]

Really? I didn't like the GH drumset. Unfortunately on the Wii it's the best way to go since it's compatible with both GHWT and RB2. It seemed very unsteady and wobbled a lot compared to the RB set. I didn't think it was as responsive either. I could be a bit jaded, though, because I played WT for the first time on the Wii after already being very comfortable with the RB set, RB gameplay, and the RB drum layout.

I'd advise just saving another $150 and getting a PS3. It's SO much more convenient to play all your downloaded songs and track paks without having to swap disks. The RB1 set will work for both games on the PS3 as well. I got a PS3 primarily for Rockband and haven't regretted it at all. Although I regret a lot of other aspects of the PS3, but that's another forum, eh?
 
[quote name='bmulligan']I'd advise just saving another $150 and getting a PS3. It's SO much more convenient to play all your downloaded songs and track paks without having to swap disks.[/QUOTE]

Uh, RB2 on the Wii has downloadable tracks and thus you don't have to swap disks. They are stored on the SD card. Of course you are limited to the storage available on your SD card, but oh well. It will be enough for me, I think. I said I wasn't sure I was willing to front the cash for a full RB2 set again, let alone another $150 in order to buy a PS3 just to play it! Oh, sure, I wouldn't mind having a PS3 some day. Not today or tomorrow, though, and certainly not just to play Rock Band!

I'm now trying to sell my RB1 PS2 setup (locally - don't want to ship the drums) in order to partly fund the Wii RB2 full band kit. That will help alleviate some of the wallet pain. That plus some recent trade-ins and such.
 
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