Ars Technica picked up on this story about a Gene Simmons branded guitar that has been made available by a small, third-party peripheral designer named Hipstreet. This is the first of their product offerings that has caught my eye and my gut reaction is one of conflict.



On the one hand, I'm quite impressed by this particular piece of hardware. On the other hand, the big problem for me is that I suspect it might represent the beginning of a trend that could lead to a glut of cheesy branded/licensed instruments. As far as I can tell, just about everyone involved with rhythm games (except Harmonix) at this point is looking to milk this thing until the udders are dry and this just might be another avenue for that to take place. The era of cheap plastic instruments has begun and it will consume your wallet.