Konami: Music Peripherals Should be Universal

Konami recently expressed hopes for compatible music peripherals for rhythm/guitar games.

The company recently discussed the heaps of plastic being a requirement for recent music efforts: Activision/Red Octane's Guitar hero and EA's Rock Band being successful franchises.

The company are working on a new project for current generation machines, unrelated to the highly successful arcade ventures: Guitar Freaks and Drum Master.

Keith Matejka, Konami Digital Entertainment associate producer, recently expressed concerns for compatibility between different musical games:

Compatibility is a big issue for music games. Peripherals are expensive for the user and they are expensive to produce. The existing peripherals all deliver only a slightly different gameplay experience.

Different teams have varying perspectives on what should be compatible with each game. I think all guitar- and drum-based games need to be compatible with each other to some level.

Konami Digital Entertainment associate producer Keith Matejka

Both Nintendo and Disney are joining Konami in developing rhythm projects (Wii Music and Ultimate Band) that involve use of only the Wii remote and nunchuck to simulate playing instruments.

Should peripherals be compatible across the board? Would you prefer a single guitar controller and drum kit as opposed to numerous different varities?