What Is the Expansion Port for on the Guitar Hero Guitars?

Guitar Hero II

• The expansion port began to appear on the line of Guitar Hero II controllers at its release. People began to ponder as to what it would be used for. Many people began to proclaim that Red Octane may have some sort of effects pedal in the works, while others speculated that it could be used for other things, such as a strobe light that could give the effect of a rock concert during a play session.

Evidence

• Those who had speculated that a effects pedal was in the works were proven correct. In the spring of 2007, an instructions manual included in the Xbox 360 version of Guitar Hero II said that an effects pedal would be in stores eventually. However, the official effects pedal never reached stores.

Guitar Hero: Legends of Rock and Guitar Hero: World Tour

• The expansion port returned for next two titles in the series. While many gamers again speculated that an effects pedal would be making its way to stores at any time, Red Octane never released the pedal to stores nor released any additions for use with the port.

Dissappearance of the Port

• In the next iteration of Guitar Hero, Guitar Hero V, the port was missing completely, signaling there were no plans to use an expansion port.

Third Party Uses of the Port

• While no official additions were ever released, that has not stopped third parties from releasing additions for the controller. An effects pedal is available for the PlayStation 2 version of Guitar Hero: Legends of Rock.