The XBox 360 Fender Stratocaster Guitar is a great choice for people entering the world of Rock Band, Guitar Hero, or other guitar based games on the 360. It's inexpensive, light, and functional.

We own a variety of guitars for our Guitar Hero / Rock Band games on our 360. Many are far heavier and more expensive than this Harmonix Strat version. For a new gamer who isn't sure they're going to adore the music games, it's probably best to start easy. This Strat won't kill your shoulder after a few hours of playing. The buttons are responsive. The cost is reasonable.

The color on the Harmonix official strat is black with a white faceplate, and tan neck. The silver string holders on the top are purely decorative. The cable ends in a mouse-style connector, which then uses a breakaway converter unit to turn it into a USB plug to go into the XBox. So if you're buying a used guitar make sure it has that connector, otherwise you won't be able to plug the guitar into the XBox.

The unit takes three AA batteries, which go into a cavity in its back.

It's worth noting that the wire is fairly short. It's only about nine feet long including the connector. You can't really use an extension cord because that then messes up the timing of when you press the buttons and the unit receives the signals. So be aware, if your living room is large or if you have a lot of foot traffic between you and the TV, that you'll probably want to upgrade to a wireless unit at some point.

Also, it's worth noting that nearly every Strat of this model that I've seen or played with has its tilt sensor stop working after a short while. You can no longer "tilt up" to activate star power / overdrive. You can hit the SELECT button instead - that works just fine. There is a manual fix on the tilt sensor which involves opening up the guitar and playing with its innards, if you're technically minded.

Finally, some of these guitars have a strum bar which wears out. For example one of my guitars plays perfectly fine going up but is sticky going down. For me that's fine - my style is to only play up. On the other hand, my boyfriend's style is primarily to play down, so he can't use my guitar.

Still, anything that you hammer on for hours a day is going to wear out eventually, so it comes down to how much you play. If you're an all day every day player, you probably want to go for something more robust. If it's more an occasional thing for you, then this Fender Strat is probably just what you want.

Finally, if you're new to these guitars it's important to note that most of them are system specific. You can't buy this XBox guitar and use it on your Wii. So look at the guitar face to see what system it's for. This Fender has an actual Box 360 green X button on its front. If you're playing on an XBox, this is the one you want to look for.

If you see a similar, wood-colored guitar going for $300 or more - that's the "real wood" version of the guitar - completely separate. This is the plastic one :).

Well recommended for casual gamers.

Buy the XBox 360 Fender Stratocaster Guitar from Amazon.com