Ironic - Rock Band drove me back to GHIII

[StandingO]

Like many PS3 owners who have been big fans of GH1, GH2 and GH80s, I have been anxiously awaiting the arrival of both Guitar Hero III and Rock Band. Of course, GHIII arrived first, and there were problems - my first guitar would not connect properly to the dongle, but a quick "swap" at Best Buy resulted in a guitar that connected every time. I played through medium and hard, and started moving through expert when Rock Band finally arrived. Like many of you, I was very excited and started playing Rock Band when it arrived and put away GHIII.

Now, everyone is already aware that PS3 owners are once again on the short end of the stick with this game. Although I like the Strat, I prefer the Red Octane Les Paul - it has a more solid feel to it and I felt more confident playing guitar on it. I even thought that the Strat would be a better bass guitar and then I could play the Les Paul on lead. The discussions on this problem have been covered in other forums, but I remain frustrated that it has not been resolved. Now, I give both Harmoix and Red Octane credit for at least acknowledging the problem. I truly feel that the company that steps forward and fixes this problem will gain some good publicity and "street cred" from the move. We'll shall wait and see (and hope for the best!).

So, I have no second guitar. I play for several days and love the game. Granted the drums are loud, but the colored felt solution - found in another thread - helps a lot with this issue. However, my wife and I spend 2-3 nights playing guitar and singing until the dreaded strum breaking issues. Now, it's no fun to play guitar - I know that I am missing notes that are not my fault. Sure, I can get 94% on hard, but I lose points without consecutive note strings and it's not as rewarding.

So, I go through the warranty process on Sunday night, and EA's support starts off very strong - easy to register for the problem, a willingness to send a replacement, a RMA numebr and even a tracking number. Problem solved - I should have a replacement by the weekend. However, I have spend all week checking the websites (EA, UPS) and calling EA daily to check on my status - every day, the same report "oh, it's going out today" for three consecutive days (Wednesday, Thursday and Friday). It's Friday night and not shipment, and that means nothing shipped until Monday at the earliest.

So, I have a wonderful piece of software - Rock Band - but no guitar. Sure, my wife and I play drums and sing - which is fine, but when I am by myself I decided to return to GHIII. I am working to try to finish Expert (about 55% done) and start playing online - this is highly addictive and fun. I win some and lose some but have a really good time doing it.

So, I guess the point of the e-mail is to vent my two frustrations with EA/Harmonix (PS3 Les Paul does not work, replacement Strat is taking a long time to ship out) and comment on the irony that Rock Band has returned me to GHIII. That's all - thanks for the opportunity to get this out.

[Everman]

Hilarious, I am planning to play tonight just to get some guitar time in.

[nitroman28]

Just be glad your PS3 works. They bricked mine with the update so I had to take RB back and get it for the 360.

[Eman311]

have fun playing a tainted franchise.

[nVizzle]

Yeah, the Guitar Hero franchise is in the toilet now.

[Ventura]

Yeah, the Guitar Hero franchise is in the toilet now.

At least he can play the guitar on it though.

[Magnet]

I went back to PS3 Guitar Hero III when the boss battle tracks came out for download a day ago. I played them, felt very unsatisfied with how GH3 was compared to RB (I love the Les Paul, but the software is just plain inadequate in GH3), and immediately put back in RB. It's likely I'll never put in GH3 again after the Les Paul/Rock Band compatibility issue is solved for the PS3 (which I'm hopeful for). I have trouble looking at that GH3 gameplay after playing RB for a week, and I find playing GH3 is more of a chore than fun, especially when you compared it to RB. If they fix all of the software issues for GH4 and adjust the DLC pricing, I may be back for the next iteration of the franchise. But until that happens, it's not appealing to me anymore in the least. I'd probably sell the whole bundle on eBay now if it weren't for the hope of Les Paul/RB compatibility.

So, yeah, for me Rock Band drove me far, far away from GH3. Possibly away from all future Guitar Hero games for good, now that Harmonix is no longer a part of it. I won't deny that RedOctane knows what they're doing when it comes to hardware though. I still wish the companies could work together even though it's impossible now.

[admanimal]

Sold my GH3 on ebay yesterday.

[o0MeTaL0o]

I've been in the same boat myself with the strat broken and all.
I challange anyone who plays GH3 regularly and thinks it's too easy on expert to start playing drums on hard for RB or even sing for that matter.

[FultonPub]

I've never seen so many whiners in my life. Thats what you get for buying a PS3.

[o0MeTaL0o]

I've never seen so many whiners in my life. Thats what you get for buying a PS3.

Please don't troll for arguments with fanboi remarks.

[killroy420]

as an added comment, I bought my ps3 right as i bought Rock Band. I deliberately chose the system over the 360, even with the knowledge of incompatibility, lack of other games, etc... Regardless of the issues, I still believe it to have been a wise choice. The ps3 is superior in hardware quality ( no red rings of death for me to worry about), and best of all sony does not nickel and dime its customers ($100 freakin dollars for a wifi adapter???!!!)

I would like to point out that I am not a fanboy, just a man with limited resources trying to make the most of his purchases. Even though, i have to wait to get my second guitar, I don't feel shafted by the company, because I would rather have the strat anyways. Besides that, it wouldn't feel right to blame the company when I could have easily chose the 360 instead of the ps3 when i made my purchase.

On the topic of gHIII. It is a great game, and I could see it easily filling time for ppl who have Rock Band **but only during solo sessions** Will any of you be playing GHIII when you have company over or are playing with your significant others? I doubt it. regardless of the reasons you all know damn well RB will be dominating your consoles when other ppl are over. :)

[GHudston]

I've never seen so many whiners in my life. Thats what you get for buying a PS3.

I've said it once and I'll say it again, which console you own is down to personal choice. The xbox has some better games but has no ability to play HD movies out of the box and over heats and breaks, usually within a year, and the PS3 is a VERY good console, it's just been hurt by the price tag and the lack of exclusive games.

I own BOTH consoles, and I love them both despite their flaws. The point I want to make is that the PS3 has a major advantage to a lot of us in the rock band community that seem to be forgotten quite a lot. It is REGION FREE. Some of us actually HAVE to play rock band on a PS3 as it doesn't work on international 360's, no matter how much we may love our 360's. Others just prefer their PS3's because of their own reasons, probably because the PS2 was the best console of the previous generation and the PS3 is a logical progression, or because they want a console to double as a High Definition movie player. I don't know, that's up to them, whatever the reason most people HAVE a reason for buying their chosen console.

Can you understand why comments like "that's what you get for buying a PS3" are less than helpful to anyone? Mind your own business.

[Gryffindor]

We're back to playing GH3 after the Strat broke.

I don't know what all the bashing is about. I personally thing GH is much harder to play than RB and really tests your skills. I also thing the LP is a better guitar. If my replacement guitar has the same incredibly difficult to press down strum bar I'll be sorely disappointed.

However, I really do like the neck on the strat. It makes it so much easier to hit those Green to Orange notes as the distance is shorter which is great for those with smaller hands.

My daughter is playing GH3 on Expert (she's only 12 btw) and she gets bored and frustred with RB. The fast repetitive note are flat our ridiculous. No wonder the strum bars are breaking! She's switched to playing drums due to her hatred for the Strat.

I certianly hope that they implement a patch so that the LP's will work with RB.

As for the PS3 - for the money, it's a much better system than the 360. Everything is included and network access is FREE. By the time that you were to purchase everything needed for the 360 to bring it up to the functionality of the PS3 you would actually be paying MORE.

[DesiredFX]

So, yeah, for me Rock Band drove me far, far away from GH3. Possibly away from all future Guitar Hero games for good, now that Harmonix is no longer a part of it. I won't deny that RedOctane knows what they're doing when it comes to hardware though. I still wish the companies could work together even though it's impossible now.

I was going to post something very similar to this. Thanks for saving me both the thinking and the writing.

[turnthree]

Yeah, the Guitar Hero franchise is in the toilet now.

I bought GHI, GHII, 80's (PS2) GHIII, (360) when the were released and never had a problem with anything. I had a faulty mic out of the box and strum that broke to six hours later with RB. I ordered new instruments last Wed. morning and picked 2nd day. My billing information has been received since last Wed. night.

[DesiredFX]

I think the people that are down on GH3 are talking more about the gameplay than anything else--GH3's song charts feel very "video gamey" compared to the GH/GH2/GH80s/RB charts.

That and the silly boss battles.

Yeah, Harmonix/EA have had some technical issues with the equipment, but once it's straightened out (most people have received their replacement instruments or expect to receive them in the next few days), RB is going to continue to be a much more satisfying game experience for me than GH3 ever was or will be.

[StandingO]

I don't believe that ever implied that GHIII was better software than Rock Band. After playing both, I would rather play Rock Band, and I continue to play drums and sing with my wife before our son goes to bed. However, playing guitar is the best option for late at night when everyone else is asleep in the house. Thus, the point of my posting was to point out the irony - that Harmoix - through the problems with partnering with EA and creating inferior Strat guitars (and a really long process to wait for your warranty order to go from "Billing Information Received" to actually shipping out) and not creating a patch to make the Les Paul (PS3) work with their software - has led me back to the product they created - Guitar Hero.

If I had a working guitar (well, actually I do but it only works for GH III - the Les Paul), I would be playing Rock Band. While waiting for one of two things to happen (a patch to fix the Les Paul problem or EA to actually ship out a working, replacement guitar) I will continue to play GHIII.

The reason I started this post was to alert Harmoix - who supposedly read the forum - that there are many of us out there who are no longer playing this game due to software (Les Paul) and hardware (Strat) issues. I hope to play Rock Band for many years, but not today...

[sleepbox]

I had GH1 and 2 for PS2 then sold all of it and got a 360...waited out GH3 due to the retarted track list and THPS-style unlockable stupidity.

I think I am gonna re-buy GH2 for the 360 just for the xplorer controller because I hate the les paul...it cuts into my arm when I try to play it.

[FuznuckinShiznit]

I have to agree with Magnet on this. Both games seemed to have suffered from RedOctane and Harmonix splitting. Both companies are awesome at what they do, but GH3's software isn't up to par and Harmonix has a thing or two to learn about hardware. I'd have to say though that I'm still more impressed with RB.

[DesiredFX]

I have to agree with Magnet on this. Both games seemed to have suffered from RedOctane and Harmonix splitting. Both companies are awesome at what they do, but GH3's software isn't up to par and Harmonix has a thing or two to learn about hardware. I'd have to say though that I'm still more impressed with RB.

Yeah, but Harmonix didn't make the hardware--they just designed it on an interface level.

The real issue I would think is that they (Harmonix, EA, MTV Games, whoever) tried to make the package as inexpensive as possible while still including virtually all of the game experience. In all probability, corners were cut in production that have resulted in the problems and defects--obviously, the kind of plastic (or amount of plastic) used for the drum pedal is inadequate, and there was an obvious failure in whatever process was responsible for making sure the tension screw for the strum bar was set correctly.

One of the clear "make it cheaper" signs to me was the use of a screw-on door for the PS3 controller's battery compartment: the flat door is simpler and cheaper to make, and an assembly line can easily drop it into the slot and motor in a screw while it's screwing the body together.

Ultimately, though, I like the design and construction better on the Strat than I do on the Les Paul--obviously, a significant amount of money was spent on features for the Les Paul that do nothing to improve gameplay: the removable faceplate and detachable neck. While it helps to be able to break down the controller for transport, it's a relatively small unit anyway, and removing the neck doesn't do much to make it more convenient to store (believe me, I know...I've transported it several times). And, of course, the face plate is even more of a gimmick than the effects switch on the Strat.

[SoKGiX]

I've said it once and I'll say it again, which console you own is down to personal choice. The xbox has some better games but has no ability to play HD movies out of the box and over heats and breaks, usually within a year, and the PS3 is a VERY good console, it's just been hurt by the price tag and the lack of exclusive games.

I own BOTH consoles, and I love them both despite their flaws. The point I want to make is that the PS3 has a major advantage to a lot of us in the rock band community that seem to be forgotten quite a lot. It is REGION FREE. Some of us actually HAVE to play rock band on a PS3 as it doesn't work on international 360's, no matter how much we may love our 360's. Others just prefer their PS3's because of their own reasons, probably because the PS2 was the best console of the previous generation and the PS3 is a logical progression, or because they want a console to double as a High Definition movie player. I don't know, that's up to them, whatever the reason most people HAVE a reason for buying their chosen console.

Can you understand why comments like "that's what you get for buying a PS3" are less than helpful to anyone? Mind your own business.

sony doesn't nickel and dime? i hope you're kidding. no included hd component cables and a 3 foot charger cord for the controller, how can u play on a 60" tv w/ a three foot charging cord? and my monster cables for HD cost 100.

the original xbox wireless adapter works fine on 360, FYI.

i'm a ps36wii owner, and 360 ownes compared to anything. its all about the games, and in that area 360 dominates

[killroy420]

Uh you can buy an hd cord that works the same as the monsters for $20. And as far as playing while connected to the small charging usb cord, the only time I have done that was when i first opened the system, if you charge it after every couple of playthroughs you wont have to worry about being tetered to it..

I do agree the systems are about the games, and with a year head start, the 360 should justifiably have more quality games. at this point I think we all just gotta have faith that software development on the ps3 is gonna pick up steam, and with the recent events - sales numbers for ps3 in the last month, early release and excellent mod support for Unreal tournament 3, the eventual release of Home - I believe it won't be long for sony to catch up to M$.
Not that I am an fanboy or anything, if I had the unlimited resources I totally would have bought a 360 as well. no matter how we look at it all the consoles ( the wii included) has its pros and cons, and all have a library of quality software at this point. Game on dudez!

[vicam1581]

Originally Posted by Magnet View Post
So, yeah, for me Rock Band drove me far, far away from GH3. Possibly away from all future Guitar Hero games for good, now that Harmonix is no longer a part of it. I won't deny that RedOctane knows what they're doing when it comes to hardware though. I still wish the companies could work together even though it's impossible now.

pretty much how I feel. I mean I still sometimes play GHIII for a few songs:
1. Paint it Black
2. Messages by VR
3. LaGrange
4. One, although that will be solved soon.

When I got RB and hated the strat, but after a week I love this thing. I can play fast passages w/it better than the LP.

[tempxl]

I prefer GH more so than RB only when I feel like playing the guitar. GHIII's expert mode is more entertaining. Then again GH was built around guitar, not drums or singing. RB is a blast though because you can get more people involved. As far as the challenge for playing RB on hard w/ drums, eh, I've played it on expert and now I have to add the microphone to make it a challenge. As far as the other topic that has started, I have to agree that the XBOX 360 is right now superior w/ some games compared to the ps3 but this isn't by much. Gotta love the free online network though. My Wii is only for Super Smash Bros. Brawl and a couple of other games.