An open letter to EA/Harmonix/Whoever's really responsible for this nightmare.

[mattitude]

Dear Whoever,

I've been looking forward to Rock Band since the day it was announced. I've never been more excited about a video game. This was my Halo 3. I reserved my copy months in advance, woke up early on release day, and got my hands on it as fast as the laws of physics would allow.

And for a couple days, all was well in the world. Everything was as great as I had dreamed it would be for months prior. Then, everything went sour, and it remains sour to this day.

Like everybody else, my guitar broke. I ordered a replacement. After forever and a day, it finally arrived. Broken. I can only imagine what flaws my THIRD guitar is going to have. And I can only imagine when my bass pedal is going to snap in half, which from the sounds of it, is all but inevitable. I mean seriously, a plastic bass pedal?! A bass pedal's sole purpose in life is to hammered on by a person's foot. Repeatedly. What were you thinking?!

But I digress. My point is, you blew it, and you know it. You decided to save a few bucks and send out cheap, faulty hardware. Yet my Guitar Hero 1 & 2 controllers play as good as they did the day they came out of the box. Years ago. And your equipment hasn't lasted a couple weeks. I have yet to hear of somebody getting a Rock Band bundle that has been 100% flawless, or at least remained flawless for more than a week. I can only imagine how many Christmases you'll be responsible for ruining this year.

I've never been in a position like this. Rock Band is one of my favorite games of all time. I love it dearly. I've never had such a satisfying gaming experience (while it lasted). And yet, I have no choice but to cut my losses and return the game. I don't want it anymore. No video game is worth the stress and hassle I've been forced to endure.

The dozens of message boards devoted to this game, including the Official ones, would normally be a place for a solid community to form, to gush and bond and share their love for this game. Instead, they're awash in a sea of complaints, dissatisfaction, and rage.

It seems like there is no hope. No official word from any major company responsible for this game. No reason to believe these problems are being addressed in any way. By anyone. We feel abandoned, standing around twiddling our thumbs, $170 short, surrounded by countless, worthless pieces of plastic.

Offering some, but not all (and again, with no explanation or logic as to why) people who have had to endure this nonsense a free game is a nice gesture and all, but it is simply a case of too little, too late.

What I'd rather have more than a complimentary video game, is equipment that I can count on to do what it claims to do, for more than a few days. I haven't been able to enjoy this game the way it was intended for weeks now, and I have no reason to believe that I ever could.

But you know what I want even more than working hardware? A confession. An apology. A public statement from whoever is truly responsible for this debacle. All I want it to say is "We totally screwed up. We blew it. We're really sorry." That's all I want. But I'm not holding my breath.

Hope you're enjoying my money. I sure as hell ain't enjoying your game.

Better luck next time,
Matt

[Maggot_Brain]

Hear hear!

Dear EA/Harmonix: anybody ready to fess up and repent your sins?

[Zousho]

I absolutely agree. I have a broken red drum pad, a snapped bass pedal, and a broken guitar. I have been waiting for ages on my "two day air" replacements. Some official statement would be extremely appreciated.

[Senkoy]

They admitted that the strum bar was faulty, but they've said nothing about the cheap ass pedal, the overdrive sensor, and weak whammy bars, the unresponsive drum pads, the mic lag. It's a great game but it's ruined by the many **** ups. I just pray to god that the third guitar controller i should be getting tomorrow isn't garbage like my first two.

[Spyle]

I just hate the thought that after 1/20/08 or whatever, when my guitar breaks yet again and my foot pedal breaks yet again, or my drum pads get even less responsive then they are now, I actually have to pay cash to continue enjoying the game.

[FamousLastX]

I just hate the thought that after 1/20/08 or whatever, when my guitar breaks yet again and my foot pedal breaks yet again, or my drum pads get even less responsive then they are now, I actually have to pay cash to continue enjoying the game.

I believe they've mentioned that they aren't concerned about the warrenty right now and that they just want everyone to be able to enjoy the game. Hopefully, they will extend the warrenty for a bit then, because 60 days won't get us through this mess.

[Quad_Ridin_CPA]

Well, all I can say is that at least you've received a replacement guitar!!! I completely agree with the OP. This is crap. I've been waiting patiently, not calling and emailing EA like that annoying little 6 year old kid and where has it gotten me? NOWHERE!!! I've been waiting nearly 2 weeks now and my status is the same as it was the day I placed the request; "Label Printed." I emailed them 2 days ago finally and have yet to hear back. This is a goddamn joke!

[whofan]

You have got to be f'ing kidding me here. Let's start from the beginning here...

Your guitar broke. You followed the proceedure and got a new one and it arrived broken as well. Well, I hate to tell you this, as it's probably going to wake you up to reality here, this kind of thing happens. There can be multiple reasons why this happened. First, maybe something happened during shipping that dislodged an essential part. Second, perhaps something happened during manufacturing and something just isn't right. Here's a reality check for you... not everything goes smoothly when you talk mass production. 99.999999999% of product released to the public is not officially tested, it's pulled of the assembly line and put in a box. These things happen when mass-producing items. Thirdly, perhaps there was an accident at the shipping facility and they put the wrong guitar in the box heading to your place. Accidents do happen and are committed by anybody (if you tell me you've never made a mistake in your life you're obviously lieing).

You know what? There's a VERY simple solution to this, send the guitar back for a new one and express your discontent to EA support, they'll probably offer you something as a "we're sorry for doing this to you" like they have to countless others on this forum. There's no need to get all pissy about it and whine on here.

Secondly, your bass pedal isn't broken but you're complaining about the possibility of it becoming broken? Where is the logic in that? It makes no sense! Yes it's plastic, 99.99% of us knew it was going to be plastic well before the release. It's plastic to - gasp - keep the cost down!! Wow, what a concept! The thing was expensive enough as is without adding to the cost by making metal accessories. Yes, there does seem to be a problem with them snapping, but let the makers investigate this further before demanding an answer.

Thirdly, yes they sent out faulty hardware, but I would argue that it most certainly wasn't intentional. The problems with the guitar probably weren't discovered until the game had started shipping. They did extensive testing with their created models and had no issues. The issues probably started arising due to the mass production of the guitars. As you can see by MANY posts here, they've already addressed that matter by sending out guitars with a different (and much better) switch on them. At least they're addressing the matter and not preteding it doesn't exist. You can't ask much more from a company.

Fourthly, ruining christmasses? Perhaps temporarily while people await their replacement guitars, but hardly. If a game breaking down (and being repaired within a fairly short period of time) ruins your christmas, I'm afraid you don't know the meaning of christmas and I pity you for that.

Fifthly, you state that you haven't seen anyone's game that has worked 100%. Have you even read these forums? There are hundreds of people on here who got 100% working models out of the box and are still enjoying their original models to this day. Your post shows a surprising amount of ignorance in an attempt to strengthen your arguement.

Sixthly, it's the best game you've ever played but you've had to return it? I sincerely doubt your sincerity about the worth of the game then. If you really did feel that it was the best game in the world you would hold onto it and keep trying to get it to work (or in the case of the pedal, find a way to make sure it doesn't snap in half. There are many suggestions on this board that are easy and cheap).

Seventhly, the forums are littered with complaints because many people are signing up here to complain. Those who aren't already signed up and have a perfectly working system generally aren't going to sign up just to say "I'm having a blast with it, now back to playing!". This board represents a VERY skewed minority of people playing the game and can not be judged as an accurate example of how the community as a whole feels. Again, supporting your arguement with ignorance is not a very good idea.

Eighthly, no official word? There's a replacement program in full swing right now. What more do you want?!!! A personalized apology from every Harmonix employee delivered right to your door? Why does everyone assume that just because the company has not come out and officially said anything that "they're not responding to us!!!!". The Moderators (read, the PR people) here have acknowledged some issues and relayed that they are working on fixes as we speak. EA and Harmonix have set up a return program. There is NOTHING else to be said/done right now.

Finally, the company owes you absolutely NOTHING (especially seeing you returned the product and got your money back, thus making you a non-customer in their books). The companies in question here do not have to give an apology for anything (especially not to you personally, I'm sorry but you're not that important), they have acknowledged the issues with the game, are working on repairs and have a replacement program in place. Therefore, your letter no longer holds any water.

If you aren't willing to take the avenues presented to you (i.e. the return program, suggestions of fellow board-members) then it is your loss. Just don't come on here looking for an apology for something that is being taken care of.

P.S. My paragraphs are numbered so as to keep track of what arguements I was addressing at the time.

[luganator]

Nice post Whofan..my feelings on this issue exactly.

[MixPlus]

You have got to be f'ing kidding me here. Let's start from the beginning here...

Your guitar broke. You followed the proceedure and got a new one and it arrived broken as well. Well, I hate to tell you this, as it's probably going to wake you up to reality here, this kind of thing happens. There can be multiple reasons why this happened. First, maybe something happened during shipping that dislodged an essential part. Second, perhaps something happened during manufacturing and something just isn't right. Here's a reality check for you... not everything goes smoothly when you talk mass production. 99.999999999% of product released to the public is not officially tested, it's pulled of the assembly line and put in a box. These things happen when mass-producing items.


Sir, with all due respect your first two points here are completely off the wall, unrealistic and frankly adolescent in its basis. The issues you describe here regarding "mass production" and "oh well, these things happen" and "maybe shipping is to blame" goes against everything ever written, taught or practiced when referring to Customer Satisfaction and Quality Control. These things happen?? "99.999999999% of product released to the public is not officially tested"? You MUST be kidding me. You certainly pulled that one out of your ass. Your arguments in point one and two make no sense, hold no water and if you ran a business with that attitude, which I am sure you don't, you'd be OUT OF BUSINESS.



Thirdly, perhaps there was an accident at the shipping facility and they put the wrong guitar in the box heading to your place. Accidents do happen and are committed by anybody (if you tell me you've never made a mistake in your life you're obviously lieing).


A mistake? Hmm...Ok...so you hire me to paint your house. You give me the paint. I accidentally paint it with my own paint by "mistake". You're ok with that? I mean I am sorry. I will strip your house, take another two or three weeks, repaint it. By the way, can you let me hold some of your money while I FIX WHAT I DID WRONG? Dude...you are kidding me right??? Wake up!



You know what? There's a VERY simple solution to this, send the guitar back for a new one and express your discontent to EA support, they'll probably offer you something as a "we're sorry for doing this to you" like they have to countless others on this forum. There's no need to get all pissy about it and whine on here.


I agree getting pissy and whining about it on this site is a waste of time. Hire a lawyer, make a complaint to the BBB, write a letter to the CEO of the company directly, maybe send an email or letter to a couple of the video game magazine publishers, etc. Complaining here for resolution is a waste of time. Do something that will really impact them directly - and the bottom line - that is the only thing that matters.



Secondly, your bass pedal isn't broken but you're complaining about the possibility of it becoming broken? Where is the logic in that? It makes no sense! Yes it's plastic, 99.99% of us knew it was going to be plastic well before the release. It's plastic to - gasp - keep the cost down!! Wow, what a concept! The thing was expensive enough as is without adding to the cost by making metal accessories. Yes, there does seem to be a problem with them snapping, but let the makers investigate this further before demanding an answer.


Your statement that "99.9% of us knew it was going to be plastic well before the release" is once again a completely unfounded statement. How on Earth would a general consumer, which is what this person seems to be, know what the equipment was made of in advance? Additionally, how on earth could a reasonable person expect a KICK PEDAL made of PLASTIC to hold up over time unless it was for a 4 year old to play with? This is why REAL kick pedals are made of metal and wood - could you imagine Ludwig releasing a kick pedal made of plastic??? Your action plan of "investigating further before demanding an answer" is once again adolescent in its foundation. Who's responsible for the "investigation"??? We all paid money for this gear - are we in the business of loaning EA/Harmonix/MTV money so they can better "investigate" the issues and "test" their GEAR??? That is just bullcrap. Sorry to tell you.



Thirdly, yes they sent out faulty hardware, but I would argue that it most certainly wasn't intentional. The problems with the guitar probably weren't discovered until the game had started shipping. They did extensive testing with their created models and had no issues. The issues probably started arising due to the mass production of the guitars. As you can see by MANY posts here, they've already addressed that matter by sending out guitars with a different (and much better) switch on them. At least they're addressing the matter and not preteding it doesn't exist. You can't ask much more from a company.


You contradict yourself here. In your wonderfully crafted introduction, insulting the OP, you state that "99.999999999% of product released to the public is not officially tested"? So now they've done "extensive testing"?? I can't ask much more from a company??? I am the CUSTOMER - I can ask whatever I want! Again, if you ran a business with this attitude you'd be out of business.

[MixPlus]

Fourthly, ruining christmasses? Perhaps temporarily while people await their replacement guitars, but hardly. If a game breaking down (and being repaired within a fairly short period of time) ruins your christmas, I'm afraid you don't know the meaning of christmas and I pity you for that.


You are obviously not a father or family man. Yes, as a 40 year old you are right - Christmas is more than about presents - but for a 7 year old whose been looking forward to Rock Band for months and for the father whose been looking forward to playing with his kids this could in fact ruin Christmas. I think your judgmental comment regarding what "Christmas really means" is offensive and low class. No one needs your "pity" so keep it to yourself would ya??



Fifthly, you state that you haven't seen anyone's game that has worked 100%. Have you even read these forums? There are hundreds of people on here who got 100% working models out of the box and are still enjoying their original models to this day. Your post shows a surprising amount of ignorance in an attempt to strengthen your arguement.


Again, you contradict yourself. Hundreds of people on here get 100% working models?? Yet below you say people only come on here to complain and the posts are skewed? Which is it???



Sixthly, it's the best game you've ever played but you've had to return it? I sincerely doubt your sincerity about the worth of the game then. If you really did feel that it was the best game in the world you would hold onto it and keep trying to get it to work (or in the case of the pedal, find a way to make sure it doesn't snap in half. There are many suggestions on this board that are easy and cheap).


If you READ his post he alludes to the fact that he is CONSIDERING returning the game not that he HAS in fact returned it. He is asking for resolution to his CUSTOMER SATISFACTION issue or he MAY return it. Again, completely unfounded in your statement. Also, again, if you ran a business with this attitude you'd have no business - you are in affect saying it is OK that he becomes a NON CUSTOMER?? How many people becoming NON CUSTOMERS is ok with you???



Seventhly, the forums are littered with complaints because many people are signing up here to complain. Those who aren't already signed up and have a perfectly working system generally aren't going to sign up just to say "I'm having a blast with it, now back to playing!". This board represents a VERY skewed minority of people playing the game and can not be judged as an accurate example of how the community as a whole feels. Again, supporting your arguement with ignorance is not a very good idea.


See above regarding "hundreds of people posting on here reporting 100% working models". More contradiction and stupidity. Why not speak for yourself instead of the whole "community"??? You certainly aren't speaking for me and I am part of the "community".



Eighthly, no official word? There's a replacement program in full swing right now. What more do you want?!!! A personalized apology from every Harmonix employee delivered right to your door? Why does everyone assume that just because the company has not come out and officially said anything that "they're not responding to us!!!!". The Moderators (read, the PR people) here have acknowledged some issues and relayed that they are working on fixes as we speak. EA and Harmonix have set up a return program. There is NOTHING else to be said/done right now.


This poster is looking to be heard. His complaints are VALID because they are HIS! Yes there is a "plan" in place to support the faulty design and production. But is it working?? Some say yes, some say no. The point is I don't think anyone is assuming anything. The fact is however, people are having problems with the "response" you speak of including second and third replacement gear still being broken, wrong platform gear being shipped and in some cases getting more than one of what was originally broken. The fact is there is ALWAYS something to be said and done when a company is in the middle of a PR storm and a major product defect issue.



Finally, the company owes you absolutely NOTHING (especially seeing you returned the product and got your money back, thus making you a non-customer in their books). The companies in question here do not have to give an apology for anything (especially not to you personally, I'm sorry but you're not that important), they have acknowledged the issues with the game, are working on repairs and have a replacement program in place. Therefore, your letter no longer holds any water.


He's not that important??? Are you kidding me??? This is a boutique product that is geared towards an enthusiast marketplace. Not that important??? What do you think they are selling here water in the desert??? How many customers do you think Harmonix can stand to lose before Rock Band no longer pays its way??? What about financing long term improvements and new releases/revisions???? If they LOSE customers who is going to foot the bill for more R&D??? YOU??? Come on now - ANY notable business person will tell you it's WHY you lose a customer that matters!! The key to a successful long term annuity business, especially in a commodity market like gaming, is CUSTOMER RETENTION. What an idiot! Geezz... No longer a customer so they owe you nothing?? How about what would it take to make you a customer again??? That would be a start. I don't think the OP is being unreasonable. He says point blank "give me hardware that works and I am happy". What is so unreasonable about that request???

[MorningThief581]

Your English is poor - I don't think "eighthly" is a word, etc, etc. Have a nice day...

This last part was just unnecessary.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/eighthly
:o

[MixPlus]

This last part was just unnecessary.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/eighthly
:o

Point well taken...post edited as such...

[Mistersh0w]

I happen to agree with what's being said here about HMX/EA/MTV Games... It's just not fair that we as consumers have to suffer through this horrible period of OBVIOUS consumer TESTING, before we can actually get a 100% working game... It's a sickening mess of corporate BS that this game was released so early, and we were suckered into paying our hard earned $170+ dollars for a game that essentially is NON-WORKING.

I would have gladly waited till next holiday season (Or even longer!) for this game, knowing that we would have a 100% functional game!!! As a consumer, I, along with many others who waited patiently for this theoretically amazing product, am completely angered and feel cheated and ripped off by these companies... Merry Christmas indeed...

[Quad_Ridin_CPA]

I couldn't agree more with everyone except Luganator and Whofan. My guess is that those two have working units and thus have no business telling someone that they can't complain about their non-working units. I'm not trying to call you out or start a flame war, I just simply stating my belief.

[MixPlus]

I couldn't agree more with everyone except Luganator and Whofan. My guess is that those two have working units and thus have no business telling someone that they can't complain about their non-working units.

...or more likely they are affiliated with EA/Harmonix/MTV Games in some way. Much of what they said gives way to the fact that they have "knowledge" others didn't or don't and the emotional defense of the companies lends itself to a personal pride perspective - which I get. However, no matter how you slice it this is an extremely poor representation of an otherwise respectable set of companies.

I hope they take some hard lessons from this debacle and get whatever went wrong fixed...and they can start by getting MY STUFF FIXED. :D

[mattitude]

Well, I hate to tell you this, as it's probably going to wake you up to reality here, this kind of thing happens. There can be multiple reasons why this happened. First, maybe something happened during shipping that dislodged an essential part. Second, perhaps something happened during manufacturing and something just isn't right. Here's a reality check for you... not everything goes smoothly when you talk mass production. 99.999999999% of product released to the public is not officially tested, it's pulled of the assembly line and put in a box. These things happen when mass-producing items. Thirdly, perhaps there was an accident at the shipping facility and they put the wrong guitar in the box heading to your place. Accidents do happen and are committed by anybody (if you tell me you've never made a mistake in your life you're obviously lieing).

Cripes. You sir, are the Bill O'Reilly of these forums. On to my rebuttal.

I'm not willing to let EA off the hook simply because "these things happen," "everybody makes mistakes," and "pobody's nerfect." That's foolish. Yes, these things happen, but usually, they don't. I don't know one person who has a Guitar Hero (One AND Two) controller that isn't still functioning perfectly today. Likewise, I don't know one person who has a Rock Band controller that IS still functioning today.

So unless EA is tossing all their boxes into a cement mixer before shipping them out, there's no excuse for this.


You know what? There's a VERY simple solution to this, send the guitar back for a new one and express your discontent to EA support, they'll probably offer you something as a "we're sorry for doing this to you" like they have to countless others on this forum. There's no need to get all pissy about it and whine on here.

You know what? I did that. It didn't work. And if you really must know, I sent a copy of this letter to EA's CEO before I posted it here. I just figured I'd share my views with other people who are enthusiastic about this game. How silly of me for thinking a community message board was the place to do that.


Yes, there does seem to be a problem with them snapping, but let the makers investigate this further before demanding an answer.

How about the months and months prior to the game's release?


Thirdly, yes they sent out faulty hardware, but I would argue that it most certainly wasn't intentional. The problems with the guitar probably weren't discovered until the game had started shipping. They did extensive testing with their created models and had no issues. The issues probably started arising due to the mass production of the guitars. As you can see by MANY posts here, they've already addressed that matter by sending out guitars with a different (and much better) switch on them. At least they're addressing the matter and not preteding it doesn't exist. You can't ask much more from a company.

It was intentional. Not intentionally faulty, but intentionally cheap. Open up the Rock Band guitar, and open up a GH guitar (I did). The difference between the quality of the hardware is night and day. I was ready to pay $200 for this game when that was the speculated price. Now I wish I had, and that extra money had gone towards reliable hardware.

And I can ask for plenty more from a company. The only official statement has been "There's a problem with the hardware and we're looking into it." Yeah, no duh.


Fourthly, ruining christmasses? Perhaps temporarily while people await their replacement guitars, but hardly. If a game breaking down (and being repaired within a fairly short period of time) ruins your christmas, I'm afraid you don't know the meaning of christmas and I pity you for that.

Like another poster said, you're obviously not a father. Think of how many first-generation Rock Bands are now sitting under the tree, with guitars that will be breaking within hours.

And no need to get personal, pal. I know the meaning of Christmas. I've seen the Charlie Brown Special.


There are hundreds of people on here who got 100% working models out of the box and are still enjoying their original models to this day.

Where?


Sixthly, it's the best game you've ever played but you've had to return it? I sincerely doubt your sincerity about the worth of the game then. If you really did feel that it was the best game in the world you would hold onto it and keep trying to get it to work (or in the case of the pedal, find a way to make sure it doesn't snap in half. There are many suggestions on this board that are easy and cheap).

Read gooder. First off, I haven't returned it. We'll see if I get lucky with this third guitar. And my point was, this game has caused me so much stress, and the fact that it's just a silly little video game that's causing me all this stress, causes me even more stress. As much fun as this game is, it's starting to become more trouble than it's worth.

And yes, I'm aware of the many homegrown fixes for the drums and guitars. But I shouldn't have to do that. I could go and buy a steel-plated, custom-cut pad for the drum pedal off of eBay, but can you honestly say it's morally right to put out a game where you have to spend EVEN MORE of your money to properly enjoy it?


Seventhly, the forums are littered with complaints because many people are signing up here to complain.

......and?!


Why does everyone assume that just because the company has not come out and officially said anything that "they're not responding to us!!!!".

Okay, I LOL'ed. Go back and read that sentence again. I'm not even going to bother explaining why it's funny (and actually, pretty sad at the same time).


EA and Harmonix have set up a return program. There is NOTHING else to be said/done right now.

There is, actually. They could, say, tweak their return program so that equally faulty hardware isn't being shipped to people. For starters. And maybe, oh, actually come out and tell us specifically what went wrong, and specifically what was done to correct it, so we're not worrying that we're just getting the same poorly-designed hardware sent to us over and over again.


Finally, the company owes you absolutely NOTHING (especially seeing you returned the product and got your money back, thus making you a non-customer in their books). The companies in question here do not have to give an apology for anything (especially not to you personally, I'm sorry but you're not that important)

Wow. I'm going to go out on a limb here and assume that you've never worked a day in your life. Rich daddy or something? Well, none of my business. But suffice to say, the customer is always right. The old saying is really true. From the tiniest little ma-and-pa store to the biggest mega-conglomerate imaginable, if you don't adhere to this simple cliche, your business fails. Simple as that.


If you aren't willing to take the avenues presented to you (i.e. the return program, suggestions of fellow board-members) then it is your loss. Just don't come on here looking for an apology for something that is being taken care of.

Um, I did each of those things. Twice. And I'm still just as unsatisfied as when I started. So I guess something's still rotten in Denmark, eh?

Okay, time to come clean, sir. You're really Bill O'Reilly, aren't you? I never pegged you as Rock Band fan.

[whofan]

Okay, let's start at the beginning.... No, I'm not a father, but I am a family man. What Christmas means now adays is offensive and low class. It's about family, peace, and, dare I say it, religion. It's been commercialized to a hideous extent, especially in modern times. Growing up, yes it was about the gifts, but I learned quickly that it wasn't just this. Regardless, the game can still be played with one or two disabled instruments, and those instruments can be replaced fairly quickly (hence my "temporarily" comment, which seems to have been ignored in favour of insulted)

I never contradicted myself throughout my entire post, you just chose to take two statements that had nothing to do with each other and meld them. I stated that "Hundreds of people here have 100% working units". Those hundreds are not the only posters on this board. The rest have received defective units and are complaining about them

I did read his post through several times (hence my rather long post addressing all of the points he raised). That was clearly not the interpretation I got. I was under the impression that he had already returned it or was going to very shortly, no matter what happened. Regardless, that's my interpretation problem and thereby withdraw my remarks in that regards.

I have never claimed to speak for the community, nor for anyone except myself

Yes, his complaints are valid and need to be heard. HOWEVER, the way in which he states these complaints are completely inappropriate. If you are unhappy with a movie you go to see the director and DEMAND an apology for what you see as a travesty? No, you go to the manager of the theatre and politely address the matter. There is a proper way for which to voice complaints and it isn't screaming like a 3 year old and demanding anything.

Regardless of what you think, individual posters are not important to companies. Groups of customers are. I realize that this is not an isolated opinion at all (as evidenced by the many posts here) but you do have to realize that Harmonix ARE listening to the group and addressing issues. They may not be saying anything much, but they may not be able to. Posts like this are completely irrelevant in both content and space (not sure if that's the proper word here, but it's the best I could come up with). The OP could have posted his frustration (in a much more civil way) in one of the countless other posts in this forum. Creating a new post for something that has been said one million and one times before is just a waste of space.

Before you trash my spelling, word choice or grammer (I notice you did before, but withdrew your comments for which I'm thankful) please note that I am Canadian and thus may express and spell things slightly different from yourself.

Finally, no I do not own the game nor do I work for Harmonix in any capacity (nor do I strive to). The game was delayed in Canada by a month, and while I was initially angry concerning this delay I expressed my frustration in a much more civil way and demanded nothing. I politely asked Harmonix the reason for the delay and received my response, which I am content with. Harmonix has no reason to lie to us.

There is a procedure in place with which to address the concerns of the OP, however he does not seem to wish to use it. I realize it is a hassle, but it's the only way it can be done.

[Jaacar]

I believe they've mentioned that they aren't concerned about the warrenty right now and that they just want everyone to be able to enjoy the game. Hopefully, they will extend the warrenty for a bit then, because 60 days won't get us through this mess.

LOL if you believe EA is going to warranty anything after the 60 days just because someone mentioned they might ... well lets just say I think you'd have more luck winning the lottery.

[stunner1210]

So unless EA is tossing all their boxes into a cement mixer before shipping them out, there's no excuse for this.

Sorry for the seemingly off topic post here, but my box I got for my guitar had four bent corners and the center was smashed to Hell and back.

I think they might be putting them through cement mixers after all. :(

[Jaacar]

I agree totally with the poster (Hey, remember me Mattitude? The Canadian with the broken plastic guitars?). Now we haven't always see eye to eye on things on the forums and we both have the right to different opinions.

In this case, we are agreed. EA/Harmonix/MTV Games/someone dropped the ball. They dropped it so hard, it broke everything inside and they shipped it anyways. That pink piece of paper that came in your box was a last minute addition and almost blatantly a signal that one or more pieces of hardware that are in the box is or will become quickly broken.

I am absolutely glad I cross-border shopped early for this game. As does the OP, I LOVE this game. Looking forward to it for ... well since the rumor of 'drum hero' started out and it was announced that 'rock band' would be taking its place. I too have taken the covers off my old GH guitars (firmly secured parts with screws and everything) and these new flimsy strat controllers (held together by hot glue - don't believe me? Just take the screws off the back and look for yourself, bet you find a spiderweb of hot glue everywhere). Plastic lowers their cost, so does hot glue apparently.

Now I know what you're saying (you nay-sayers), "What did you expect for $170? Especially when GH was $90 with only one guitar.". Well yes, there is some truth to that isn't there? But the bundle originally was leaked as a price of $200, which as another poster in this thread stated already, I would have gladly paid the extra if it meant more quality to the hardware. Cut a few corners here and there and they save the company alot of money is what they thought I guess.

But really, how much did they save? Admitted by EAs tech support (its in the forums somewhere, take a peek for it), they shipped over 4000 guitars out on a Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday alone. Lets do some simple math. Each guitar probably costs THEM around $30 (pretty fair estimate giving them quite the nice profit margin). Now lets add that up... 4000 guitars x $30... Wow, $120,000 out the door. Sounds like they lost a bit of money trying to save money. But wait, there's more! They paid for shipping, both ways! Even with the best deal that they as a company can buy, it'd cost at LEAST $20 per guitar for two way travel with a shipping company (UPS by the sounds of things). So lets add that up. 4000 guitars x $20 for shipping... ANOTHER $80,000. So by doing their cost cutting measures they cost themselves $200,000 in three days. And thats just guitars. Nevermind drums/pads/pedals/sticks (yes, they've sent out stick - wow is all I gotta say).

Ah well, enough harping/ranting/engaging in non-fanboy activities. I'm going to head back to my old guitar hero controllers, my taped up due to being non-responsive drum pads, my wooden covered bass pedal and one of my favorite games of all time, Rock Band. Its just too bad really I had to go through all of that trouble just to enjoy it. Good thing it's so good or I'm afraid Harmonix (the little guys in the equation) might find themselves out of business due to returns.

[Quad_Ridin_CPA]

Finally, no I do not own the game nor do I work for Harmonix in any capacity (nor do I strive to).

Then why do you feel the need to waste your time, as well as ours, speaking on this topic? Did you stay at a Holiday Inn last night? I'm guessing no. That would be like me commenting on someone's opinion about a new medicine to be released. I am not a doctor, I have no experience being a doctor, I have not taken the medicine, I've never heard of the medicine, and the kicker....I THEREFORE HAVE NO BASIS FOR MAKING MY OPINION ON THE SUBJECT.

Now, I'm not trying to tell you you can't post on here or read others' posts, but just stop and think about what I'm saying. You have no experience/basis whatsoever for making any kind of judgement on what is being discussed, none. So please, save yourself some time, as well as the rest of us, and only speak to that which you are knowledgeable about.

[whofan]

Mattitude,

Who is Bill O'Reilly? I've never heard of this person before

I'm not saying that EA should be let off the hook at all, it will just convince them to continue cheap practices. However, I don't believe that your initial letter was put in a civil way. It could have been stated better and still got your point across. My point was that you're really not in a position to demand anything.

In regards to the assertation that no-one has a working guitar, ask many of the forum members here. Several received working guitars out of the box that are still going today.

That's great that you sent a copy to the EA CEO, if anybody should be made aware of the issues (and probably aren't) it should be that person. I actually applaud your initiative on this one because most people would just ***** here and leave it at that believing they made a difference, when in actuallity they're only barking in the wind.

There was extensive testing of the pedal prior to release. My only response is either something was changed during mass production that weakened the pedal or it's not being played the way it was anticipated it would. I can not speak for Harmonix on this one except to say that apparently many different drummers tried it out without issue.

Again, the guitars were built by two different companies with two different levels of experience in the production of periphreals. RO knows by now what they can and can't get away with. Harmonix is still figuring that out (I think they have now with the newest guitars)

Official statements are hard to come by because the legal team at a company. If you have ever worked in a PR department at a large firm I'm sure you'd understand (For the record, I'm not a PR exec or anything of the like. HOWEVER, I have my B.A. in Law from Carleton University and am thus well versed in how the legal mind works. There's a lot of "don't do that"'s in there)

No, I'm not a father. Indeed there are a lot out there, but there is a solution in place so the problem is not a permanent one

In regards to the status of your bundle. As I stated in my last post I obviously misinterpreted it and hearby withdraw my comments on that issue.

My point in my statement regarding the responding to fans is this. You don't need an official statement to realize that they are listening to us and responding. The latest patch (which seems to be held up for some reason) is evidence enough of that. There was no official announcement that it was coming until the day it was to be released, but it was done and apparently fixes a lot of compatibility issues (PS3 LP?). How is that ignoring your customers?

Again, sometimes mistakes happen in return programs. Who knows, maybe you just got bad luck on that one. They have significantly changed the inner workings of the guitars so that it is a better system, how is that not tweaking their program?

Once again, they aren't saying anything because it's a really bad idea from a legal standpoint. This is especially true in the U.S. where everybody seems to be lawsuit happy. Their PR department is barred by many internal policies from saying anything that could land them in hot water down the line. It's smart business practice.

I have worked in the retail field most of my life and the legal field for the rest. The customer is NOT always right and that mentality is a good way to sink yourself in business. People always come up with superfulous things to argue about and if you're always bending you'll get the reputation as being soft and easily exploitable, not a rep you want in business. Regardless, customer retention is indeed very important and I would argue that Harmonix are doing what they can to keep their customers.

Regardless of my post here, I do offer my sincere apologies to you sir for coming across as confrontational. I overreacted a little because I keep seeing threads popping up saying stupid things like "burn Harmonix!!! They're not listening to us!!!!". They are doing things, maybe behind the scenes, but they are doing things to address issues for us and everybody turns on them.

I did not mean to personally attack you for this post, I was just overly-frustrated.

[Jaacar]

Secondly, your bass pedal isn't broken but you're complaining about the possibility of it becoming broken? Where is the logic in that? It makes no sense! Yes it's plastic, 99.99% of us knew it was going to be plastic well before the release. It's plastic to - gasp - keep the cost down!! Wow, what a concept! The thing was expensive enough as is without adding to the cost by making metal accessories. Yes, there does seem to be a problem with them snapping, but let the makers investigate this further before demanding an answer.

Oh yeah, one more thing. Just for a cost comparison, I bought my son a real set of drums (albeit a training set, but nonetheless drums) for Christmas this year (loved the RB ones, hated that they didn't work). The entire kit, including a bass drum, snare drum, two tom-toms, sticks, a stool, a crash symbol stand and two METAL kick pedals (one for hi-hat symbols, one for the bass drum) was $299 (Canadian, and we all know we get ripped off for prices to start with). I'm pretty sure they could have squeezed out some at least metal covered/reinforced kick pedals if they wanted to for that same cost.

And for all you parents out there who are worried about your kids not enjoying Rock Band at Christmas (I feel for you, I honestly do), a new drum set (real ones) or some guitar lessons might be an alternative/adjunct present. Isn't it sad we have to have a backup for one we already have though? :confused:

[whofan]

Then why do you feel the need to waste your time, as well as ours, speaking on this topic? Did you stay at a Holiday Inn last night? I'm guessing no. That would be like me commenting on someone's opinion about a new medicine to be released. I am not a doctor, I have no experience being a doctor, I have not taken the medicine, I've never heard of the medicine, and the kicker....I THEREFORE HAVE NO BASIS FOR MAKING MY OPINION ON THE SUBJECT.

Now, I'm not trying to tell you you can't post on here or read others' posts, but just stop and think about what I'm saying. You have no experience/basis whatsoever for making any kind of judgement on what is being discussed, none. So please, save yourself some time, as well as the rest of us, and only speak to that which you are knowledgeable about.
As a forum member and initially disappointed customer, I do have a basis on which to offer an opinion on this topic.

I have been in the same place as several of the posters here (different issue, but same emotions regardless).

Is it just too much to ask for some civility in regards to dealing with disatisfaction?

[MixPlus]

Okay, let's start at the beginning.... No, I'm not a father, but I am a family man. What Christmas means now adays is offensive and low class. It's about family, peace, and, dare I say it, religion. It's been commercialized to a hideous extent, especially in modern times. Growing up, yes it was about the gifts, but I learned quickly that it wasn't just this. Regardless, the game can still be played with one or two disabled instruments, and those instruments can be replaced fairly quickly (hence my "temporarily" comment, which seems to have been ignored in favour of insulted)

I never contradicted myself throughout my entire post, you just chose to take two statements that had nothing to do with each other and meld them. I stated that "Hundreds of people here have 100% working units". Those hundreds are not the only posters on this board. The rest have received defective units and are complaining about them

I did read his post through several times (hence my rather long post addressing all of the points he raised). That was clearly not the interpretation I got. I was under the impression that he had already returned it or was going to very shortly, no matter what happened. Regardless, that's my interpretation problem and thereby withdraw my remarks in that regards.

I have never claimed to speak for the community, nor for anyone except myself

Yes, his complaints are valid and need to be heard. HOWEVER, the way in which he states these complaints are completely inappropriate. If you are unhappy with a movie you go to see the director and DEMAND an apology for what you see as a travesty? No, you go to the manager of the theatre and politely address the matter. There is a proper way for which to voice complaints and it isn't screaming like a 3 year old and demanding anything.

Regardless of what you think, individual posters are not important to companies. Groups of customers are. I realize that this is not an isolated opinion at all (as evidenced by the many posts here) but you do have to realize that Harmonix ARE listening to the group and addressing issues. They may not be saying anything much, but they may not be able to. Posts like this are completely irrelevant in both content and space (not sure if that's the proper word here, but it's the best I could come up with). The OP could have posted his frustration (in a much more civil way) in one of the countless other posts in this forum. Creating a new post for something that has been said one million and one times before is just a waste of space.

Before you trash my spelling, word choice or grammer (I notice you did before, but withdrew your comments for which I'm thankful) please note that I am Canadian and thus may express and spell things slightly different from yourself.

Finally, no I do not own the game nor do I work for Harmonix in any capacity (nor do I strive to). The game was delayed in Canada by a month, and while I was initially angry concerning this delay I expressed my frustration in a much more civil way and demanded nothing. I politely asked Harmonix the reason for the delay and received my response, which I am content with. Harmonix has no reason to lie to us.

There is a procedure in place with which to address the concerns of the OP, however he does not seem to wish to use it. I realize it is a hassle, but it's the only way it can be done.

Thank you for your response and clarification.

However, you make one very, very important point in this post that you did not make in your initial post - you do not currently OWN the game which means you have not made an investment of time, money and emotion in really anything yet have "comments" about how WE are all dealing with this debacle.

For most of us it seems we have not only spent the original investment of almost $200 for the intial purchase of RockBand but another $250 in a credit card "holds" while we wait for new hardware only to find out the NEW hardware is broken and in some cases worse than what we had needing to now send it back yet again.

There's a difference between knowing the path, and walking the path. Let us know when you've acomplished the latter and we'll see how you're "feeling" at that time.

[Jaacar]

I did not mean to personally attack you for this post, I was just overly-frustrated.

I would hope nobody here is personally attacking anyone, and I hope from your point of view you can see how we as consumers are 'overly-frustrated' as well. Yes, some take it to the extreme (I'm gonna sue you and your dog and your dogs puppies too!).

[mattitude]

Who is Bill O'Reilly? I've never heard of this person before

Sorry, I didn't realize you were Canadian. Anyway, consider yourself lucky that you've never heard of Bill O'Reilly.


I did not mean to personally attack you for this post, I was just overly-frustrated.

Nor did I mean to attack you, as I was overly-frustrated as well. I apologize. I appreciate your latest response, and you do bring up some valid points.

I guess there's nothing much more I can do at this point but just hope for the best.

[Quad_Ridin_CPA]

As a forum member and initially disappointed customer, I do have a basis on which to offer an opinion on this topic.

I have been in the same place as several of the posters here (different issue, but same emotions regardless).

Is it just too much to ask for some civility in regards to dealing with disatisfaction?


Thank you for your response and clarification.

However, you make one very, very important point in this post that you did not make in your initial post - you do not currently OWN the game which means you have not made an investment of time, money and emotion in really anything yet have "comments" about how WE are all dealing with this debacle.

For most of us it seems we have not only spent the original investment of almost $200 for the intial purchase of RockBand but another $250 in a credit card "holds" while we wait for new hardware only to find out the NEW hardware is broken and in some cases worse than what we had needing to now send it back yet again.

There's a difference between knowing the path, and walking the path. Let us know when you've acomplished the latter and we'll see how you're "feeling" at that time.

I totally agree with Mix. Again, b/c you cannot express emotion very efficiently online, please don't start a flame war. I'm not personally attacking you and I hope you understand that. However, I don't understand how you can be an "initially disappointed customer" without owning the game. You may be knowing of the issues, but you haven't experienced them and trust me, there is a difference. I understand your argument that civility needs to be exercised with this matter but I frankly did not see a problem with the OP's thread. I think you may need to concede the fact that you don't really have a leg to stand on without having owned and experienced these issues.

[MixPlus]

Anyway, consider yourself lucky that you've never heard of Bill O'Reilly.


Amen to that...

[Jaacar]

Sorry, I didn't realize you were Canadian. Anyway, consider yourself lucky that you've never heard of Bill O'Reilly.


http://www.billoreilly.com/

Heh is all I gotta say.

[Maggot_Brain]

.... and what happens after the lousy 60 days are up? Extend the warranty. Do it. Do it. Do it.

[AVC808]

I don't understand how you can be an "initially disappointed customer" without owning the game.

he's saying he shared the frustrations of all the other Canadians looking forward to this game and found out at the very end that it was delayed. Not sure when you joined the forums, but for a while all we saw were flaming posts about how harmonix was screwing over the canadians, and demanding word about the hold up, etc.

i understand the frustration people have, and you cant expect everyone to handle it as calmly as some of us do, but i do agree that seeing threads repeatedly being created when there are already existing threads on the exact same thing can get pretty irritating, so i understand why whofan responded.

[Alyten]

Id like to say that I wish I could throw hundreds of dollars away on broken replacement guitars...

My problem is that I am a canadian who was so hardcore for RockBand I bought the first real bundle on eBay 12 hours before the release (also its about the only reason I own a ps3), EA wont speak to me about my broken guitar for a few more days, which broke in both whammy and strum bars in about 8 hours of expert play (I thought I was being gentle at the time) My GH3 guitar took more than 16 hours straight out of the box and is still working today... le sigh....

Id also like to add that as far as the 'game' RockBand, I love everything about it, really, down to the last little change and detail. I played 4 songs a few hours ago with my busted fender only upstrumming just cause the game is so great.

P.S. I think what is obvious to everyone now is that HMX and RO should NEVER have split up.

also www.sweetjesusihatebilloreilly.com

[CENACHAINGANG54]

Sir, with all due respect your first two points here are completely off the wall, unrealistic and frankly adolescent in its basis. The issues you describe here regarding "mass production" and "oh well, these things happen" and "maybe shipping is to blame" goes against everything ever written, taught or practiced when referring to Customer Satisfaction and Quality Control. These things happen?? "99.999999999% of product released to the public is not officially tested"? You MUST be kidding me. You certainly pulled that one out of your ass. Your arguments in point one and two make no sense, hold no water and if you ran a business with that attitude, which I am sure you don't, you'd be OUT OF BUSINESS.



A mistake? Hmm...Ok...so you hire me to paint your house. You give me the paint. I accidentally paint it with my own paint by "mistake". You're ok with that? I mean I am sorry. I will strip your house, take another two or three weeks, repaint it. By the way, can you let me hold some of your money while I FIX WHAT I DID WRONG? Dude...you are kidding me right??? Wake up!



I agree getting pissy and whining about it on this site is a waste of time. Hire a lawyer, make a complaint to the BBB, write a letter to the CEO of the company directly, maybe send an email or letter to a couple of the video game magazine publishers, etc. Complaining here for resolution is a waste of time. Do something that will really impact them directly - and the bottom line - that is the only thing that matters.



Your statement that "99.9% of us knew it was going to be plastic well before the release" is once again a completely unfounded statement. How on Earth would a general consumer, which is what this person seems to be, know what the equipment was made of in advance? Additionally, how on earth could a reasonable person expect a KICK PEDAL made of PLASTIC to hold up over time unless it was for a 4 year old to play with? This is why REAL kick pedals are made of metal and wood - could you imagine Ludwig releasing a kick pedal made of plastic??? Your action plan of "investigating further before demanding an answer" is once again adolescent in its foundation. Who's responsible for the "investigation"??? We all paid money for this gear - are we in the business of loaning EA/Harmonix/MTV money so they can better "investigate" the issues and "test" their GEAR??? That is just bullcrap. Sorry to tell you.



You contradict yourself here. In your wonderfully crafted introduction, insulting the OP, you state that "99.999999999% of product released to the public is not officially tested"? So now they've done "extensive testing"?? I can't ask much more from a company??? I am the CUSTOMER - I can ask whatever I want! Again, if you ran a business with this attitude you'd be out of business.

I totally AGREE with you MixPlus! Obviously this idiot has not had anything broken or had to talk to the unpleasant people at EA! I am not on my Third Drum kit! The replacement I got from EA did not work and had the same red yello drum problem. The pedal they sent me does not work at all on fast notes which makes run to the hills and Metallica imposible! Then I went and bought a new Rock Band from Circuit City to see if the drums were any different. First of the sticker on the box is Nov 10th. The drums were totally different! A little smaller and tighter. Seem to be made alot tougher and now on Day Three all the pads still work! But the bass pedal still does not work right, but the drums for now are fine. However I should not have to go and buy a new rock band just to get this quality equipment! The manager at Circuit told me to just box up the stuff that did not work and return it for a refund and the would send it in to EA and that is what I did. So I still do not have a drum kit that works 100%! The last thing is this. It totally blew my mind when the warranty manager told me that they knew the equipment was going to come back! We are now on the 4th Generation of instruments according to EA and the game has not been out a month! He stated they all knew when the boxes shipped that a majority of the equipment was faulty! So to the kid who knows nothing who wrote this long post that MixPlus answered to SIT ON IT AND RESEARCH BEFORE YOU DECIDE TO POST SOMETHING!!!

[jq715861]

I have a fully functional bundle and so apparently does everyone on my PSN buddy list. That makes about 25 fully functional bundles for the PS3.

While I agree with some statements you made Mattitude please don't spit out ignorant ones by using over exaggeration and hyperbole that no one has a working bundle. There are plenty of people that do. And the only reason they don't come on here anymore is because they are playing the game that takes up the time in their lives in which they came on the forum.

[smashedbunny]

Sorry, I didn't realize you were Canadian. Anyway, consider yourself lucky that you've never heard of Bill O'Reilly.



Any half assed educated Canadian knows who Bill O' Reilly is..

[Lord_Beelzebub]

Mattitude,

Who is Bill O'Reilly? I've never heard of this person before

I'm not saying that EA should be let off the hook at all, it will just convince them to continue cheap practices. However, I don't believe that your initial letter was put in a civil way. It could have been stated better and still got your point across. My point was that you're really not in a position to demand anything.

In regards to the assertation that no-one has a working guitar, ask many of the forum members here. Several received working guitars out of the box that are still going today.

That's great that you sent a copy to the EA CEO, if anybody should be made aware of the issues (and probably aren't) it should be that person. I actually applaud your initiative on this one because most people would just ***** here and leave it at that believing they made a difference, when in actuallity they're only barking in the wind.
Blah blah blah"


Ok so I've read enough and had to become a member of this forum to reply specifically to you.

#1 I do not own this game myself. I own Guitar Hero, the first and second game. I own a PS3 and from being a member of the PS3 forums I have heard of this game, and loved the concept of this game taking things a step further and adding drums and vocals. For some reason today, this game crossed my mind so I went on Best Buys website to check out the price, then decided to go on YouTube and see if I could find videos of people playing this game, get an idea what it's like. Reason being is because I've been considering buying this game (because of my job with GH), but I've learned over the years that you don't buy anything without doing extensive research on a product. Getting peoples opinions on a product. Who's going to be the most honest??? The consumer, not the company that makes the product. And where is the best place to obtain some solid consumer feedback??? Here I am...right here that's where. A products forum boards. Where is the best place for a company to see consumer feedback of their product?? Right here that's where. Just because the employees themselves aren't posting and responding on these boards, don't think they aren't being read by them. You said yourself that Harmonix/EA knows of the issues, how? One good place...right here that's where.

What erks me and makes me suspecious about you is you admit you do not own this game. Why are you on these forums then? Of what interest would you possibly have to be here or why would you even care one way or the other over a product you don't even own?? Unless your like me scoping out these boards cause your planning on buying the game and seeking consumer opinions.

When I do research on a product and seek conumer opinions and ratings, I don't look for the good reviews, I look for the bad reviews. I want to know what problems a product has, I want to know the severity of the problem. Yes in most cases those who participate on forum boards are those that have issues with the products, those who don't are too busy using and enjoying the product to bother being on a forum board. But an offical forum board for a product is prime place to come.

You said in a reply before that people knew months in advance that the kick pedal for the drums would be plastic....ok well I'm one person who knows nothing of what the hardware for this game is made of. I knew of the game in general, it's features and capabilities, but honestly, how many people go so far as to research or want to know how the hardware is made, from what materials, and how they are assembled??? When a company designs a product they know what it's intended use will be, therefore they should repeadidly test as well as endurance test it to make sure it can withstand the use of what it's intended to do. Changing that design at last minute before production and not retesting the new design is total stupidity by the company.

I didn't even have to read many threads on these forums for this game to already know there is a common and consistant problem with the hardware for this game. The guitars strumming mechinism, the sensitivity of the drum pads, and the kick drum pedal were poorly and cheaply designed. As much as this game sounds and looks cool from the videos and media I've read about it, for now I'll pass on it because of these common and consistant problems.

It seems obvious the companies involved went the cheap route. I understand why though, it was to try to keep costs down cause they wanted to make their product affordable to the average consumer who earns the average wage. But IMO from what I've read, they went TOO cheap. It's like they wanted to make a true rock band simulator game but made cheap plastic toys as the hardware for it. I'm sure the companies involved had good intensions of wanting to make the hardware cheap so it would be affordable, but that decision and come around and bitten them in the asss cause now their probably spending more money re-designing the hardware with better durable parts and money to replace new hardware to people, plus shipping costs. Not to mention the money they spent to make the cheap crap that is now being returned to them as broken garbage.

But anyway, you don't seem to be who you say you are. Cause as you've admitted, you don't own the game yourself so why are you investing time here? Not only that, but in reading your replies carefully, you sure do know a lot of what's going on about the problems, almost as if you know what's causing them, and you know specifically what's being done to fix those problems.

How do you know all of what you've been saying?? You sound like an insider to me and was quick to respond to this thread with a very lengthy reply defending the companies involved over a product you don't even own yet seem to have extensive knowlege of it.

Don't doubt for a minute companies don't browse forum boards to seek consumer feekback of their products. If your someone like me that does research first before buying anything, you know places like this are the perfect place to go to find out the true hardcore honest opinions of what people think. Believe that companies know the same thing. Just because they don't post and make official statements here, doesn't mean they don't read what get's posted here.

[liverebel]

All I have to say to the guy who was arguing for the makers of this stuff is as such: If they produced vehicles or car safety seats would you trust your kids with their "solutions"...LOL Then why should I accept their "attempt" to make things right when I am reminded by what an old wise man told me....If something is worth doing, its worth doing right. Now things happen, but for there to be as many issues as there are, someone dropped the ball. I dont care either way.....The game is great....it is just so buggy you can play or enjoy it. My guitar breaks every day or so and I pack their crap up and take it to the store for an exchange....eventually the stores will get fed up with customers returning the item and demand more from the makers. Lots of holidays will be ruined as most people wont realize its crap until it breaks after lil johnny opens it on Christmas then they will want answers. Retail stores the the company who answers their tech lines will be busy LOL Good job guys.....Great idea..POOR execution

[Teddy Bear Hugs]

Well, my guitar was defective, my drum pads didn't register correctly and my kick pedal broke after a few days, but I don't have a huge problem with it as long as they send me new ones for free. I expect that this'll happen with some of the replacements as well. They obviously need to update the designs, so hopefully they will before people's warranties are up. That'd be a pretty big problem if they didn't and the hardware continued to break.

[x016x]

My opinion on the subject is this and I think everyone on here can agree with me on this one: You don't drop 184 dollars and 23 cents for a game that DOESN'T WORK PROPERLY!!!! If I pay close to $200 dollars for a video game, it's NOT unreasonable for me to EXPECT it to work. If I pay that much money for a video game, then fck YEAH I would want that sht to work. The red drum pad on my drum kit didn't work for me right out of the box. I'm barely 5 minutes into the game, I put on Say It Ain't So drums on easy, right away, the red drum pad doesn't work. I'm thinking WHAT THE ****!! I barely finished the song and now I have a Rock Band drum set that is completely useless if one of the pads is broken. It's not like I can get by without it, like fck it, I'll just play without it. The whole reason I was looking forward to getting Rock Band in the first place BECAUSE of the drum set. I think it's awesome that drummers, REAL LIFE drummers like myself, can finally play a video game that caters to us drum whores. lol all jokes aside, I think it's ridiculous to play a video game, a game that I have been fiending to play since it was first announced, for 5 measely minutes just to have it break down. The pedal and everything else was responsive, but the red drum just never worked for me right out of the box. I think that's fcking RIDICULOUS considering the fact that for such a high price, we should be getting something that should last at least MORE THAN FIVE ****ING MINUTES. You'll have to excuse my language here because I have to say, I'm not too thrilled with my Rock Band experience so far. My guitar and mic both work great but I didn't buy Rock Band to sing or play guitar. I bought it for the drums. Even my guitar broke down on me. 5 hours after my drums died, my guitar crapped out on me and now I just have a working mic and the game itself. Sure I can always American Idol it and sing my way through career mode but **** THAT, I want my drumset and I want it now. I'm currently waiting for my new drum set AND guitar. Am I really enjoying the Rock Band experience so far, No I am ****ing NOT.

So in conclusion, Any ******* that wants to get technical or smart with me or anybody else for having a ****ing OPINION on a game that I personally paid a lot of money for can suck my ****ing cock. I figure the Rock Band Tech Forum would be the PERFECT IDEAL PLATFORM for me and for other people much like myself in my situation, to VENT and VOICE their frustrations with this game and the ****ty hardware that comes with the game. Because our problems with the game ARE TECH RELATED, the ROck Band Tech Support Forums would be the perfect place to voice our opinions on the hardware. So if any ******* wants to get smart, seriously, suck a ****ing cock and get a ****ing life. Go use your keen infinitie intellects somewhere else. Go run for president or something but do us all a favor and get the fck off the Rock Band Tech Forum. Over analyzing sht and what not, god get a life. Obviously people with 100% working Rock Band games aren't going to be posting threads like mad stating "my copy works GREAT, I LOVE IT, I'm going to go play some MORE! =] No Tech questions though, I just wanted to say that my Rock Band works 100%!" Obviously anyone that post threads on the Rock Band Tech Forum will have a Tech Problem of some sort. God people can be such *******s. If this guy Mattitude wants to write an open letter to EA or Harmonix or WHOEVER is responsible for this bullsht, because that's what all this is really, it's all bullsht, fcking LET HIM. I support his cause 100% but don't be a ****ing dick and rip him a new ******* because he has a ****ing opinion on the subject. I'd want a personal apology from EA/Harmonix too because I don't like to give my money away on useless pieces of plastic. If you enjoy giving your money away, that's your perogative, I personally don't and to drain so much money away to get CRAP, no fcking way am I going to let that stand without letting them know just what the hell I think about it.

So in REAL conclusion, to Mattitude, MUCH PROPS for saying everything I WANTED to say about the whole subject. If I knew you in real life, I'd give you a high ****ing five for speaking your mind. To whofan and everybody else on this board who likes to attack people for having an opinion and wanting at least what was PROMISED (which was a working guitar and a working drumset to SIMULATE the Rock Band EXPERIENCE) for their hard earned money, go suck a cock and get a life. Everybody else wants to say it to ya but no one really has said it, seriously GET A LIFE. Nobody likes giving away money for pieces of crap that don't work, Mattitude doesn't, I sure don't, and I'm sure as hell don't think anybody else on this board doesn't either. You giving the guy **** because he wants an apology, **** yeah he ain't the only one and why shouldn't we get it? Sure it may not be a one on one, formal apology, like the head CEO of EA and Harmonix is going to come down to my front door and personally apologize to me, I'm not expecting that and quite frankly, it's not what I would want. I want more of an open letter to all Rock Band owners type of apology. Anyways whatever I know some dickhead is just going to twist a few of my words around to try and one-up me so before that happens and before anyone even attempts to, I just want to say fck you, go get a life. I want what EA and Harmonix promised me, I want a video game that SIMULATES the Rock Band Drummer Video Game Experience. So far, I haven't experienced it. Anyways Mattitude, Rock on, you nailed everything I was thinking and wanting to say, whofan and any other heckler that likes to get technical, go suck a cock.

[Maggot_Brain]

But how do you really feel?


(Thanks for putting many of our thoughts into words. Goodbye.)

[TrunkMonkey]

The guitar that came with the games was broken, the replacement was broken so now im waiting on my 3rd guitar to arrive hopefully it will work, but with this kind of quality i doubt it will last long.

[skyjumper]

Holy smokes people, calm the frig down already. Somebody somewhere along the line screwed up. This s&^t happens and none of these companies are going to go out of business because of it, but it will definately affect their bottom line. How does manufacturing, packaging, and shipping 3 individual guitars to alot of people not affect it? Obviously the intent was not there, and the intent IS there to fix the problem the best way they see fit.

Somebody up top is well aware that someone screwed up and IS working to correct the problem so that when Rock Band 2 comes out, they still have at least some satisfied customers. We DO have the right as customers to ask that stuff we buy works for its intended purpose. And someone may have even lost their job over this debaucle. But holy crap... calm down, send your guitar back.. sit on the couch seething for a week before you get the new one, and then rock out!

By the way, the company is dealing with the release of the the biggest baddest video game entertainment product of all time all over the world for a sum of millions and millions packages. The sheer logistics of getting everyone replacements in a day or two would be impossible even with the best intent. I'm sure they do not have 500 or so employees standing around with their thumbs up their butts waiting to take a phone call and package you up a new guitar.

The qualiyt of the foot pedal WAS a pretty big oversight IMO. They didn't have to make it out of steel or anything, but perhaps a little bit more engineering thought behind the thickness and grade of polymer used was in order. But hey... it's the first time a gaming company has done this. I'm willing to cut them a little slack. But I've had much much shi^%ier things happen to me in my life than a busted video game controller... maybe it's just me.

[skyjumper]

BTW, 100% of the components in my set worked perfectly right out of the box and still do after a week of hardcore ****kicking, I love it, I think I'll go play some more... peace out..

[tribefan064]

Whofan....you say that instruments can be replaced fairly quickly??????? Try waiting 5 weeks on a guitar which is so ridiculous!!!!! Why can't they send out the replacements quicker than that??? The only thing I received thus far from UPS is an empty guitar box (which I received weeks AFTER they already received my faulty guitar).

[sjb111]

Am I the only one that finds x016x's post rather offensive? I'm surprised a mod hasn't deleted it yet.
Dude, I understand your anger and frustration, but there are far better ways to express it.

[zanzabez]

I am mixed here....

I am upset that my gutair didnt work properly, but can I realy blame HMX??? No IF they replace it, can I blame HMX for the poor response time? YES..

BUT! all of you have missed the whole point..

Dear Ford:

I recently bought a truck from you and it was broken when I first started it, i am pissed my life will never go on anymore, because of this I lost the hair off the back of my right hand. This is all your fault for selling me a defectitive truck and my life will not go on anymore.

I understand that you have a warranty process and it will be of no cost to me to have my truck replaced, but fuc* I just cant wait that long. I do think I may starve to death because I have no other means to get to the grocery store to buy groceries, no shall I make it to the local ti*ty bar to get any more enjoyment, and this has injured me is such a way that I will be emotionaly scared the rest of my life.


......

Point is guys, they made a poor choice for the equipment, it was poorly made, they know it, you know it.

They will replace it, that is what the warranty is for, the only thing that you can realy bit*h about is that the customer service sucks.

The bi*ching needs to be to them, not on these opublic forms as I dont need to read it, it is not asking for help, it is acting like a child and denostrateing how childish you realy are.

[AVC808]

BTW, 100% of the components in my set worked perfectly right out of the box and still do after a week of hardcore ****kicking, I love it, I think I'll go play some more... peace out..

why would you bump such an old thread? also although some people's launch bundles are still working fine, many arent. sounds like you recently got yours so that could help explain why you're enjoying your good set while others are upset over (but still enjoying) their broken set.

[Tender-Surrender]

I don't know if I am the first to say this, but I bought my package November 20th, 2007. It is now Jan 7, 2008. All my peripherals are working correctly and there is no problem whatsoever.

My guitar works flawlessly, although I suck at it. My drums are perfect, the sensors seem to pick up all my hits. And the mic works wonderfully. Seems everyone has bad luck!

I am sure there are plenty of people out there that got good packages as well, but I don't think you will ever see someone complaining about that. That is the reason you never hear about that.

[skyjumper]

why would you bump such an old thread?

My bad, the threads on here grow so damn fast, I didn't even think to check a thread on the first page for the last post date. Bad netiquette I guess ;)

[marissa312]

I so wish I had read through this forum before buying Rock Band TODAY. Yes, today. And I ALREADY have problems. I can't play it at all. The whole system crashes. EA offers very little options for support. I'm nervous about when I'll actually be able to play and/or get any kind of response from EA/Harmonix.

I had played the game once before buying it today and never, ever, ever should have done so. I knew that in October GH World Tour is coming out, with a much better drum kit and a mic, and I was too impatient to wait. So this piece of crap, apparently, is what I get instead.

I wonder if Game Stop will take a return the same day of purchase... With my luck, that's doubtful.

Good letter. I only hope someone of "importance" (if I can call it that) reads it and realizes that the game and the equipment SUCKS and they need to do something about it before I (or a bunch of other people who got screwed) start up a class action suit to get our money back and let them HAVE their piece of crap game!

[bse523]

Thank you for reviving a 7 month old thread to whine. And how do you know GHs stuff is better? Just cause they say so? HA! Class action suit? OMG thanks for the laughs. Millions are happy with the game so I guess it can't be that big of a piece of crap. Thanks again troll.

[memphus]

EA should send metal pedals to all players who have completed the "AN-I-MAL" challenge. In the end, they would save themselves thousands of dollars, as currently they are sending us a new plastic pedal every week, to each of the thousands of players who keep breaking them due to their crappiness.

[bse523]

Seriously, I think most of you guys are hitting the pedal WAY too hard. I've had mine for 2 months and nothing's wrong with the pedal.

[ThatAuthoringGroup]

I bought Rock Band at launch for the 360. Midnight even.

Played it pretty much every day. Some days for hours on end.

I've finished easy/med/hard on every instrument, and I'm almost finished with expert on them all.

I have not once, had anything break on me. Not the guitar, not the drums, not the mic. Nothing.

Now I'm not saying that there aren't problems, but you guys do realize that at the end of the day these are plastic representations of instruments right? You can't beat on them like it was a 'real' drum set. I've seen actual drum sets get demolished by drummers playing them. Sticks through drum heads, bent rims, etc.

And these are real sets made out of fiberglass, metal, and the like. So you can't beat a plastic version of a drum kit the same way you do an actual kit and expect it to not break.

Just take it easy when you play, and use common sense.

[marissa312]

Thank you for reviving a 7 month old thread to whine. And how do you know GHs stuff is better? Just cause they say so? HA! Class action suit? OMG thanks for the laughs. Millions are happy with the game so I guess it can't be that big of a piece of crap. Thanks again troll.

First off, I honestly think your sole purpose in life is to be a pain in the ass.

Second, the ONLY reason I "revived a 7 month old thread" is because I JUST bought Rock Band YESTERDAY and happened to end up on this forum for the very first time (a forum that apparently you spend every boring day of your boring life on).

So excuse ME for having JUST found the forum. If they weren't meant to be "REVIVED", they'd be DELETED.

How do I KNOW GH stuff is better?!? Well maybe, just maybe, this TROLL over here has played both RB AND GH. Ever think of that far off possibility?!? I only went with RB b/c I was too impatient to wait for October...

I don't need your attitude and name-calling bull here. We are all entitled to our opinions. And I'm too old and too laid back to be calling people names. CLEARLY you are a child looking for trouble.

In my HUMBLE OPINION, the game and it's equipment SUCK. It would be PERFECT if they made the equipment a little bit stronger (not cheap, thin plastic), and if there weren't so many friggin' software issues! But that is MY HUMBLE OPINION. TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT. DON'T POST A B.S. REMARK just because YOU disagree. LOSER. (And that's the extent of MY name-calling). :p

[hmxhenry]

Rather than bump a seven month old thread you'd probably be much better served opening up a new thread. There is an entire Tech Support forum dedicated to helping people resolve their hardware issues.

Additionally, EA customer support will be more than happy to help you get back up and rocking as quickly as possible. You can find their contact info posted below.

EA (Rock Band) support phone number: (650) 628-1001
Web: http://support.ea.com/rockband

We are constantly making updates and revisions to our hardware. We want to make sure that durable and reliable equipment gets into everyone's hands.

And, rather than run the risk of additional name calling and flaming in this necro bumped thread, I will now be closing this.