Before the plastic instrument video game phase has begun to die out back in the very early 2010s, Ubisoft saw an opportunity to offer the natural next step and get people playing actual guitars in front of their TVs, and thus Rocksmith was born. Although it followed a similar overall format as the Guitar Heros and Rock Bands, the fact that it used real instruments and you could plug in just about any guitar and also learn while you were playing made it quite novel.
The series dipped for a bit while people started to well and truly pack up their virtual bands, but more recently in 2022, Ubisoft launched “Rocksmith+” which reimagined the idea as a subscription service with an even heavier focus on the educational side of things and support for piano.
While it launched for PC via Ubisoft Connect in 2022 and then last year on mobile, now more players than ever can pick up an instrument and get playing with Rocksmith+ officially coming to PlayStation and Steam next month on June 6th.
Curious potential players on these new platforms will be able to download and play a free trial with limited access to the over 9000 available songs, and assuming the experience on PlayStation is similar to that on PC connection will be done either by MIDI/USB or the official Real Tone Cable which can be picked up at JB Hi-Fi here.
With the news of Rocksmith+ expanding, and the recent launch of Fortnite Festival and PDP’s The Riffmaster, it’s an exciting time for those of us with fond memories of jamming out in the loungeroom to Hotel California.
In my review of The Riffmaster I said, “The Riffmaster might seem niche with the glory days of plastic instruments far behind us, but for those that are still committed – or looking forward to support in Fortnite Festival – it’s a superbly well-designed and performant bit of kit that has a heap of potential. If you can stomach the $200 ticket price, you’re in for a heck of a show.”
You can find out more about Rocksmith+ on the Ubisoft website here.
