Kotaku
When Activision shipped Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock for Wii sans promised Dolby Pro Logic surround sound, audiophiles were pissed. Rightly so, we thought. The ensuing replacement plan, which would provide affected Wii owners saddled with mono sound with a replacement disc, was welcome, but was soon followed by the bitter taste of bad customer service.
Now that those seeking a remastered copy of Guitar Hero III are getting their fulfillment forms, they probably find themselves thrice screwed. Seems Activision will take a good three to four weeks to supply Wii owners with a working-as-promised copy and only after they've sent in their current discs. No doubt those in possession of the Wii version of the game will enjoy staring at their empty DVD cases for a good month.
Looks like another case of EA and MTV getting something right with Rock Band, with Activision leaving customers high and dry. Thanks for the pics, Mike.
Comments
Glad I dumped my copy on Ebay... I made $5 off the used game =) Yay for Christmas shortages
lol way to screw people over
It's a lose-lose situation. If they did the "Send you a copy first and then you send yours back" system, people would be pissed cuz they'd have to give their CC number for the replacement, or they can have people send theirs first, not worry about it, and listen to the complaints.
There's no positive outcome for Activision in this situation.
Bad form, Activision, bad form.
First you mess with Clive Winston and Xavier Stone, and now this?
@Lemming To The Sea:
Which is why you do it right the first time.
Who plays guitar hero? Wheres my dang Guitar Freaks?
Getting something right with Rock Band? You mean NOT providing the game on Wii was the right move?
#1 solution to this problem?
don't buy the wii.
Get a PS3/XboX 360 instead.
Discless
hee hee
/penis joke
@Lemming To The Sea: No. There is a correct idea. Just give free replacement discs to everyone who asks for one. It's not like you can play it without a Wii guitar anyways.
How the fuck did this even happen in the first place? Did Activision just sort of not include stereo and not tell anybody? That seems like class action law suit material to me.
By the time the GH3 replacements ship, RB for Wii will probably be out.
Great job Activision ... instead of focusing on sequels, and crappy downloads ... oh wait ... get these people who bought your shit taken care of ASAP!
Great success Activision, though this doesn't really surprise me very much, after they managed to make the wii version of GH3 look worse than the ps2 version of GH2. I just see this as another nail in the coffin of the Guitar Hero franchise, who needs the series after Harmonix went on to make Rock Band and the development was left in the hands of Neversoft to be ruined.
And so it begins... it seems like Activision wants to be the worst company out there now. It's only getting closer to beating EA as the worst company. This sucks that you have to wait so long to play a game that should've had Stereo in it. Ohh well. Sorryt o hear for the guys who are waiting. *HUGS*
@Kirbytheslayer: Awkward Phrase: That would mean they could never sell standalone guitars for 2 player. Also, you could get a free disc, wait until GH4, and get the with-guitar version of that, netting two games for the price of one. Finally, it is technically possible to play without a guitar, albeit terrible.
@boxofthegods:
I cant wait till Rock Band adds Band World tour via Download on the 360 and PS3 this June/July!!!
Then it will really kick some ass... (not that it doesn't already)!
This sounds like a complete and utter rip. I think it would have probably been best just to keep the mono-only copies instead of having to wait so long, like I did.
Rock Band is honestly looking beter and better every day...
@gamadaya: You'd think someone at Activision would... you know, test the sound in a music game.
@Kirbytheslayer: Awkward Phrase: Indeed. That'd make a lot of sense, especially as a lot of people won't want "GH3: Assy Sound Edition" hanging around their place anyway. However, they probably don't want a bunch of people selling their disc for $10 to a bunch of other people who are waiting for some 3rd party guitars to show up from HK.
@Kirbytheslayer: Awkward Phrase: Actually, you can play with the wii remote, like the PS2, PS3 and 360 version. One of my friends beated the game on middle and working on hard with his 360 controller.
"Looks like another case of EA and MTV getting something right with Rock Band"
Another Case? what other case has there been? DLC?
I wouldn't say EA and MTV got the RMA process right either. I had to go through a month without my Rock Band guitar, and I've heard horror stories about Discs, Drum sets, being wrongly charged, etc... Both Activision and EA got it all wrong. Make the fucking things correctly in the first place, please.
Poor Activision is caught in quite the catch 22. Either give out discs and have the used games market flooded with GHIII:Mono, or accept returns and cop whining from customers.
Why can't people just be happy that they are getting a replacement at all? It sucks that the game was "broken" out of the box, but it still worked enough that Activision could have just shrugged their shoulders at it.
"audiophiles were pissed."
haha... because audiophiles play Guitar Hero 3 on their Wiis in Prologic, right? :p
Activision sucks. I thought we had this established at least 5 years ago. What the hell happened? Well, if you for some reason ever doubted it, I hope you now realize the truth: Activision sucks.
I'm excited to read the reports of new discs (in over a month, of course) that arrive all scratched, like. I just have a hunch.
@PeterQC: Other than the obvious lack of more than 3 buttons.
Who cares? Guitar Hero 3 is old news. Besides, Rock Band is coming to the Wii, so trade up.
@xRiOT: If they weren't doing a replacement, class action suits would actually have traction.
@boxofthegods: blame Vicarious Visions for the crappyness of the Guitar Hero 3 port on Wii.
They could just do like what was done for Rock Band repairs where you didn't want to send-in first...put a pre-charge on a credit card that's waived when they receive the disc.
Kinda makes me glad I never bothered to sign up for this. They've been handling this whole thing like some sort of secret, it sure doesn't make me very interested in Gh4 whenever it comes out.
@TORGEN: Or it could mean a refund for everyone who sent back their disc. They didn't HAVE to issue a new version. In that case activision loose money (except for all that juicy interest they would have earned) AND Wii owners who dislike the semi functioning yet still playable game would have nothing except their money back.
How did Activision manage to screw this up so badly?
I've signed up for a replacement disc, but I've been thinking about the refund program. I've played enough of the game to be satiated (its good, but it isn't my favorite on the system) and I'm irked by the fact that my money is supporting this poor service. I wonder if it really would have been that much more expensive to make and send copies of the fixed game disc to everyone who asked for one, rather than a swap with such a turn-around. If the discs are provided free, there should be no reason for them to have an immediate resale value (anyone who wants one can get their own) and the only people who would get any real use of the discs have a guitar (they already bought the game).
holy christ is this an ordeal, they should get an award for worst treatment to wii gamers. i mean the fact that they borked the AUDIO on a game centered around music is ridonkulous to begin with, then forcing them to send back a game they are most likely sick of now for a replacement is so lame on so many levels.
@xRiOT: "it still worked enough that Activision could have just shrugged their shoulders" would be true if it didn't have the Dolby ProLogic logo on the box... that's what we call false advertising in my neck of the woods.
@xRiOT:
They should not have fucked it up in the first place! No excuses from companies that make so much money, and milk ports.
Skate owned Tony Hawk
Rockband owned Guitar Heroes
neversoft.. wtf are you doing..?
@ Torgen and Peter:
Here's the thing, the replacement disc thing had a one month span limit in which you had to register for a replacement.
It's not like you can claim it now, you had to have said you had the game over a month ago.
Don't ya just love Activision these days? This is why when I'm at work, I never recommend GH3 to anybody and always go for the Rock Band plug whenever I can.
Not only do I not support moneyhatting like this, but Activision's shoddy service record speaks for itself. Hell, GH3 just isn't even that good of a game.
@EnigmaNemesis:
"I cant wait till Rock Band adds Band World tour via Download on the 360 and PS3 this June/July!!!"
i'm kinda confused by your comment. are we going to be able to play band world tour over live/psn?? i haven't heard anything like that but that would be EXCELLENT!!
@feegore:
Yes! So I have heard! /wink
@feegore:
It is a rumor that's been going around for a while. I wouldn't count on it though, since we still haven't seen the first full album download. Sigh.
Maybe we'll luck out and get both, though.
Activision did not port the game to the Wii.. Some other company did, and now activision is catching flak for the F^...
Granted someone dropped the ball during QA, but really, activision is handling this the best way they can. (I am on the fence about replacing my copy... one on hand I want dolby, on the other, I want to be able to play my game....)
Another case of Rock Band doing stuff right where GH3 fails? What the fuck are you talking about? RB has been completely plagued from the beginning.. they're replacing shit hardware with shit hardware.. Its a cash sink of DLC and those unlucky enough to have RRoDs on Xbox cant even access that sink offline. RB promised compatibility with the GH guitar with absolutely no ability to do so.. and the PS3 compatibility across the board is shit.
Not to mention the sea of cords the goddamn game leaves on the living room floor.
Whoever made the Wii version of GH3 serious screwed the pooch.. theres no doubt about that.. but honestly, how long did it take for anyone to notice? Like a friggin' month!
Rock Band on the other hand made a sea of promises and delivered a steamy pile. If you're going to make negative comparisons.. make them fairly.. and make some sense.
@Korbei: Those 4 cords really ruin my living room for the time I have them out when I'm playing the game.
I played GH for every installment before Rock Band, then Rock Band came and blew completely out of the water.
@Korbei:
No argument on the cord thing, and the DLC has been a little disappointing (but still better than GH3's), but really. Rock Band's done damn well for a game with so many peripherals hitting all at once. The only problems I had with it were strum bar-related, and since I live in Boston, my guitar got replaced in 24 hours.
And I'd rather deal with Rock Band's shorter but sweeter track list over GH3's excessively punk-and-metal soundtrack. No songs I like + ugly animations and characters + over-empahasis on Expert mode (I play Hard at the most) = no fun for me. So Rock Band delivers what I need.
I guess I should check my mail sometime this week so I can be all pissed off, too.
I thought RB sucked.... (played ps3 version, at a party with a shiz ton of my drunk friends...)
Never played any GH until 3... (Wii version)
I just think GH is better...
singing in rb is akin to talking to yourself....
the drums gave me the most horrible cramp (that is probably not a fault of the game...) (actually, if it wasnt for the foot pedal, the drums would have been cool)
I wish GH had some DLC for the wii though... (again not a fault of the game here, more a fault with ninty)
Guitar Herowned
Activision was kind enough to screw me over to the maximum by not applying postage to my envelope. They are sending a new envelope.. I should get it in 4-8 weeks, or I can pay for my own postage.
@Korbei:
You sir are on the pot it would seem. Rock Band beats GH3 hands down. Also RRoD and download access is a Microsoft problem and the ps3 version of the game is not compatible with the Guitar Hero controller because Activision is a big douche company and blocked that patch that would have made it work.
@fuchikoma: That's a good question. Here's a better one: "Why would audiophiles play a music game with a controller that makes a loud clicking sound with every strum?"
...and the answer is... Wii owners. Even though I am one. I wish I made more money.
Wait, we're getting forms now? I haven't even gotten an email saying that the replacement program has started. What the fuck.
Goddamned Canada.
I'll keep playing RB on my flawless canadian batch hardware in dolby digital 5.1 on my 360 with lots of kickass DL tunes.
I stopped at guitar hero 2 on ps2. Saw the 3 and omg did the band look like stupid robots. AWFUL.
Will it really be worth the wait?
Unfortunately, as a Wii owner, Rockband is not an option. I'm not going to relish being without Guitar Hero for a month. Really not happy with activision now. First screwing up by crippling the sound and not offering what was advertised, then raping us on extra controllers (come on! It shouldn't cost $60 for a guitar shell! It isn't like the PS3 or 360 guitars where it has any complicated electronics), and now taking their sweet ass time to fix their mistake.
@Dragoonkin:
Someone else mentioned that higher up, claiming that people would be pissed that they'd be (even temporarily) charged for a replacement. If they gave the people a choice, however, you couldn't bitch. Either you pay up front and get reimbursed, or you don't and you wait.
Either way, it sounds like what is happening is they are waiting to see what sort of response they get, so they can ballpark an order for replacement discs before they start churning them out.
I totally did'nt expect people to shit on Rock band in a article about Guitar Hero...
I guess I don't understand how the affected people could expect anything better than this. Activision is fixing the problem free of charge. You can't expect a company to just say "oh and by the way, were going to trust that you actually bought this game and send you a copy of it just because we are that nice." Honestly I think Activision is handling this as best they can.