The Pianocade allows the fighting game community to take over the DJ scene

More proof that the fighting game community is slowing taking over the world, now there is the Pianocade.  Just what is a Pianocade you may ask (a solid question)?  It is both a synthesizer and MIDI device put into one.  The catch, is that the Pianocade looks like an arcade style fight stick.  As a traditional fight stick, the Pianocade is fully hackable, customizable, and wearable – yes wearable like a keytar.

This bad boy has USB support and can be programmed and used for input / output.  If you’re like me, you’re asking yourself – ‘but does it really work?’  I was quite skeptical until I watched the two videos attached below.  The first video shows the functions of the Pianocade and the second video shows it performing the Mega Man theme.  So… yea.

The only question left in my head is ‘but can the Pianocade be used AS a fight stick?’  The company responded with, “There's no theoretical reason it can't, but this is a feature that just hasn't been a priority. Hopefully it can be added before shipping time, otherwise it will have to wait for a firmware update (or a user hack).”  That works for me.

If you’re throwing your money at the monitor and nothing is happening, I assure you that you can pre order the Pianocade now.  The two octave version sells for $325, one octave is $250, and the electronics alone is $100. 

[Engadget via Pianocade]

Historian, teacher, writer, gamer, cheat master, and tech guru: follow on Twitter @AndrewC_GZ