Update on Warranty 6/26/08

[gmagnus]

No way! Tomorrow is was going to buy some hardware and drill holes into my foot pedal to try and repair it. I guess I can just send it in now.

I already did that. Mine broke about a week after they started enforcing the policy.

[partyboydanial]

can somebody answer my question?

if i broke my foot pedal the other day, but my warranty is up and ive had the same drums since the game came out i can now send it in?

[AbrtRetryIgnore]

*standing ovation for EA and HMX listening to their customers*

And I don't even have anything I need to send in...

[AnEternalEnigma]

I am really glad that common sense prevailed here.

And by the way, the replacement instruments you are sending out still suck pond water. I haven't had my new drums for more than three weeks before the yellow pad broke tonight.

Would it kill you guys to make stuff that actually works?

[LibertineStripes]

Awesome! Thank you!

I got the game in Jan. and my drums are now ailing (mainly the red/yellow pads), making advancing in drumming nearly impossible.

This is why HMX is the best. Outstanding customer service.

[themadspin]

I'm a little worried about this statement:

Please note that any products that have been misused, modded in any way or were broken or defective due to excessive wear and tear are not covered under the warranty at all

When I called to ask about replacing my drum pedal, I was encouraged by the EA support guy to mod my next one. Another encouraged me to mod my drum pads.

I also wonder why excessive wear and tear aren't covered. I have protective pads on my drums just to keep them from getting abused too much and those pads still look worn. The more often they release a dozen songs in the same week, the more likely people are to put more wear and tear into their stuff. I would think that this game was specifically designed for wear and tear.

I'm thrilled that Harmonix is extending this because it allows me to enjoy, worry free, my attempts to beat the Expert Tier on drums (only six songs to go). Hopefully the Rock Band 2 peripherals will be much more sturdy and prepared for us. If the game really is slated for late 2008, then being able to replace my gear until October will give me plenty of time to evaluate my future plans--and that's all I can ask for. In the mean time I'll continue to reward Harmonix lenience with my DLC dollar as I have nearly every week.

Overall this is a thumbs up, in case it sounds too negative. I'm just hoping it's the ideal stop gap for actual improvements and progress--no matter how much faith they have in their current peripherals.

[healthyparanoid]

I'm glad to hear it;
but seriously - as much as I love the game, your confidence in the peripherals scares me.
Both my drum set and guitar quit out on me with a month; this is no different than my buddy. However, the mere ease in returning them made my day and renewed my hope that both the new drum and guitar I got will not go the same way as the originals.

[G_Rob_7]

I'm extremely glad to hear this and to hear the voice of the consumer got through to someone.

I didn't have a problem with the warranty being enforced but the lack of a warning hurt. My drum set had began to "bubble" on the red and yellow pads- although it hasn't caused me to drop notes often it's still bothersome and I wonder what it'll eventually lead to. Anyhoo, I was under the assumption that I could replace the set whenever I wanted and when I came to the site to do so, I was told that I would need a reciept and blah blah- needless to say I was a bit pissed.

Other than the bubble effect, I don't even know if my set really needs to be RMA'd-- like I said it has rare pad misses and is extremely better than the set I had packed in with the game. Still I can't help but feel that I'm owed a set that has NO pad misses ever. No mod required. If such a thing even exists.

[Goshdarnit]

Congratulations guys. A healthy response I think. Most people's issues were the sudden withdrawal of the "unofficial amnesty" that was in place as far as warranties went. This means anyone with issues can deal with them. And everyone knows in advance that the change is a-comin'.

My only "downside" response is that I really feel that replacement items should have the warranty extended once the 60 days starts to be enforced again. I mean, if someone returns a drum kit after 50 days, and gets a new one, it won't even arrive until after the 60 days has expired, so even if it is broken out of the box, it's not covered. I can understand you not wanting to extend it by 60 days every time, but maybe offer a shorter warranty on the new item of say 30 days?

Just a suggestion to keep the excellent customer relations going that you seem to have managed to maintain so far.

I'm in the UK, so I'm not grinding any "personal axe" here! We have a different system in place anyway. It's a genuine suggestion, made with good intentions, as I want to see the Rock Band brand maintain its position at the top of the Rhythm game tree!

[KitZune]

As an employee at EBgames, I'm extremely happy about this news. Not that I already don't pour out about Harmonix's business Ethics in an industry seemingly ignorant to the meaning of the term... But I do.

Time and time again, you guys really just seem to love your game. And you want to share it with the world. If no one else, I appreciate this to a very high degree.

I have a.. strangely malfunctioning guitar I will probably be sending off. Albeit, because of my previous statement, I wasn't much worried about replacing it myself. But it honestly feels as though your company would prefer to save it's consumers money so it can be properly spent on DLC. You definately win.

As far as I'm concerned I just freed up $60 of DLC for myself. Thank you Harmonix, for rocking. Hardcore.