Controller maker PDP has revealed the dawn of a new era of musical console peripherals, with the arrival of the PDP Riffmaster guitar controller. This guitar-shaped instrument is designed to be compatible with Rock Band 4 as well as Fortnite Festival, allowing players to perform rock and pop tracks while indulging their rock star fantasies.
The Riffmaster is currently set to launch in two versions: for Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S, and for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5. Both are planned to release simultaneously in Spring 2024 [Northern Hemisphere], and they’re likely to be very popular.
Beyond being a cool controller for new generation rhythm and rock games, there’s a certain layer of nostalgia associated with gaming-focused music peripherals. The Guitar Hero series is widely beloved, and it popularised the use of plastic guitars in gaming – with nearly every gamer of the 2000s owning one of those guitars (or at least, having access to one through friends).
It’s been a long time since these guitars have been in the zeitgeist, but with newer rhythm games like Rock Band 4 and Fortnite Festival reintroducing audiences to the rhythm game genre, it certainly feels like high time for a new guitar peripheral.
As detailed, the PDP Riffmaster will include a special thumbstick on the back of the guitar’s head, toggle controls, strum and whammy bars, dedicated audio controls and an audio jack, as well as a wireless connection. PDP has promised 36 hours of battery life per charge, which should give users plenty of time for tunes.
At this stage, PDP has confirmed Rock Band 4 compatibility will be available on launch, with Fortnite Festival compatibility arriving after a period of testing, following a game update led by developer Harmonix.
Those keen to indulge their nostalgia, or experience the joy of gamified guitar playing, should keep an eye out for more news shortly. A price and preorder date for the PDP Riffmaster has not been revealed, but we anticipate more news in the coming months.
