Xbox 360 Rock Band USB hub revealed

While we're already fairly well acquainted with most of the Rock Band kit, the much-need Xbox 360 USB hub has so far been kept under wraps, leaving the amount of clutter soon to be occupying many a living room entirely up to the imagination. The folks at 1Up have now changed that situation, however, posting a slew of pictures of what they say is the finalized four-port USB hub. As you can see above, it's a powered-hub, meaning you'll have yet another cable snaking its way to your power outlet and, for those curious, it's apparently made by a company called ViPowER. If that shot above isn't enough to whet your appetite, you can find plenty more by hitting up the read link below.

[Via Joystiq]

[Scump @ Oct 30th 2007 1:49PM]

This is very annoying, I hope its an option of use, as in no prop. cables meaning the hub must be used

[Reid Conti @ Oct 30th 2007 1:50PM]

Wow! Pictures of an ugly USB hub really whet my appetite...

[murph @ Oct 30th 2007 2:00PM]

It needs a power cable? Ewwww. GH3 Wireless Guitars...FTW!!

[Larz @ Oct 30th 2007 7:34PM]

Actually, Rock Band for PS3 FTW! Harmonix devs have said the best version of the instruments are definitely the PS3 ones.

[Clinton.Ward @ Oct 30th 2007 2:03PM]

soooo...i'm assuming you can not use a regular usb hub?

[Shane @ Oct 30th 2007 2:37PM]

I was going to ask the same thing...Is there something proprietary about the 360's implementation of USB that prohibits it from using any standard USB hub?

[Travis Brown @ Oct 30th 2007 3:00PM]

No, I have a powered usb hub hooked into my 360, and it works like a charm. The hub is a D-Link DUB-H4.

[umm....hello??? @ Oct 30th 2007 2:10PM]

if you have the HD-DVD addon, you'll have 4 USB hubs on the 360/HDDVD itself, no need for the dongle. (the 360 has 3 USB ports, 2 front, 1 back).

[dfn_doe @ Oct 31st 2007 7:49PM]

I came here to say exactly this!

[John Cavanagh @ Oct 30th 2007 2:24PM]

Being a powered USB hub actually has one additional benefit, since anyone who purchases Rock Band will now have a way to charge their controllers with Play and Charge kits without the use of a PC or having the 360 continue running during the process.

[dave @ Oct 30th 2007 10:50PM]

yeah, but the very least microsoft can do is pick out a hub that has the USB and power connections on the same side, instead of having wires sticking out at all angles.


i actually just opened my halo edition 360, and i think a powered hub would be great to use multiple play-and-charge kits, but i'd rather get that mad catz 360 cooler with a built-in hub than this, because that doesn't have 10 million wires sticking out.

[Ruben @ Oct 30th 2007 2:43PM]

Honestly, looking at that just gives me chills as i imagine all the wires in my living room, me having to get up to plug everything in to play it, and telling people to watch their feet as they walk by.

Im not even touching Rock Band until wireless variants of all the instruments come out, even if they are sold as individual instruments. And i was really looking forward to playing the drums.

Like umm...hello? said, the HD-DVD drive is probably the most "tasteful" way to get a hub (besides going with another standard hub), because this is just a punch in the face (the least they could have done was make it look like a head unit. Come on!).

[phil.mills @ Oct 30th 2007 6:31PM]

Agreed - you'd think that Harmonix could have hit up Fender (or Mesa Boogie, or Crate if they didn't want to cheese off Gibson) for licensing to make a hub that looks like an amplifier head.

Heck, if I was Fender (or Mesa Boogie, or Crate...), I'd have /offered/ Harmonix some cash and permission to use the logos in exchange for the free publicity of having a "Fender" hub in a substantial portion of American living rooms.

It's all about the mind-share...

[phil.mills @ Oct 30th 2007 6:36PM]

I just noticed that the guitar controller for Rock Band is already a Fender Strat. Even more reason why Fender should have licensed up some design for an amp-head hub, then.

A little pointless dial that went to "11" above each socket would have been great, too.

[Benson Leung @ Oct 30th 2007 2:51PM]

I'm very confused... So... it's a generic USB hub? So any USB hub would work, but this one is important enough to require spy shots?

[Denots @ Oct 30th 2007 2:53PM]

Ah-hem. Excuse me, but since when is "the much-need Xbox 360 USB hub" proper english?

/Grammar police

[rawr @ Oct 30th 2007 3:03PM]

A little bird told me that USB hub power should not be required and that it should work fine with any regular one.

The hub is included with the 360 pack since a full band would use 4-5 usb ports and the 360 only has 3.

[Marty @ Oct 30th 2007 3:39PM]

"The hub is included with the 360 pack since a full band would use 4-5 usb ports and the 360 only has 3"

Yes, this article was written poorly. The hub pictured is INCLUDED with Rock Band cause you'll need it IF YOU DON'T ALREADY HAVE ANY OTHER GENERIC HUB.

If you use wired controllers and want to play a 4-player game, you'd have to have a hub already. I do.

[Marty @ Oct 30th 2007 3:40PM]

The hub is included with the 360 pack since a full band would use 4-5 usb ports and the 360 only has 3"

Yes, this article was written poorly.
The hub pictured is INCLUDED with Rock Band cause you'll need it IF YOU DON'T ALREADY HAVE ANY OTHER GENERIC HUB.If you use wired controllers and want to play a 4-player game, you'd have to have a hub already. I do.

[nollie @ Oct 30th 2007 3:58PM]

I'm surprised the FCC approved this hub.

[chris fredette @ Oct 30th 2007 6:04PM]

Why can't they build that into a face plate? Instructables, here I come!

[jayeffaar @ Oct 31st 2007 2:51PM]

I've been using a generic hub with two GH2 guitars for several months (as an extension and a quick way to plug/unplug the guitars), and it works like a charm (with the exception that I can't turn on the 360 from the guitar, through the hub - no big deal).

The hub I'm using is a powered hub, but I've been using it without the power and it's working great anyway. I'm wondering if it's really going to be necessary with the Rock Band controllers. Will 4 controllers on a single port draw too much power, making the powered hub a requirement?

[chris fredette @ Oct 31st 2007 3:47PM]

Unless the controllers have all kinds of lights on them I doubt they take that much power. It's just reading the button presses.

[Skullfighter @ Jan 14th 2008 12:22PM]

It allows plug and charge kits to charge while the Xbox 360 is off. I use the plug and charge and wish I had thought to do this myself. It's annoying needing to leave the 360 on for 6 hours (Auto Shut off time period) to charge my controllers. It's either that or play with the wire which is annoying.