Anyone who has rocked out on Guitar Hero: Metallica or Rock Band 2 knows that although they are incredibly fun party games, they have so many wires running from a console that they can quickly turn a living room into an obstacle course. Today, Microsoft has announced that a step has been taken to clear up at least some of that clutter. In a press release, we have learned that both games will become the first third-party games to support the Microsoft-made wireless microphone that comes with the karaoke game Lips.

Metallica will be first to incorporate the use of the microphone, with Rock Band 2 getting a patch at some undetermined time in the future. Microsoft also promises that we can look forward to more games using the Lips microphone, but doesn't name any more names.

I find it interesting that we now find ourselves faced with a situation where Activision and Harmonix are actually agreeing on peripheral device support, rather than the old model of "support our guitar - block that support." I guess it's easier to take a mandate from Microsoft, a company your games depend on, than do a favor for a competitor.

Is anyone as excited about this as Coop?

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