According to official Guitar Hero message boards, this week's release of Guitar Hero World Tour drew a lot of complaints from gamers. More than a handful of players have experienced problems with the packaged instruments, and Activision, the game's publisher, has stepped in for damage control.
The most commonly reported problem is with Guitar Hero World Tour's drum set: the plastic instrument has been sacked with sensitivity issues and the inability to read beats. (That's kind of important in a rhythm-based game.)
See also:
Guitar Hero: World Tour expert review
Guitar Hero World Tour: first hands-on review
Guitar Hero World Tour: broken drum kit
The Guitar Hero World Tour customer support centre offers some helpful solutions such as, "Hit the drum set harder or softer", and "Make sure that the drum set is powered on and bound to the console."
But after it's been determined they're capable of plugging in a controller, where do future video game rock gods go? Activision and Red Octane - the maker of the peripherals - have used a message board "sticky" to try and redirect complaints to the customer service center or, worst case scenario: Red Octane's warranty department:
"We have learned that certain drum controllers manufactured for Guitar Hero World Tour have sensitivity issues. We believe that these controllers are limited to ones in the earlier manufacturing stages.
"While we believe that this was an isolated manufacturing issue, we are stepping our efforts to randomly test our drum controllers so customers can be assured they work properly.
"In the event any consumers do experience problems with their drum controllers associated with sensitivity issues, Activision will soon be offering a drum tuning kit that will enable players to fully optimize their drums.
"Our goal would be to immediately address any hardware issues Guitar Hero World Tour players have with the game. Consumers should visit the Activision Publishing customer support website... where a customer care representative will assist them. Activision is fully committed to the highest quality manufacturing standards, and to satisfying every Guitar Hero World Tour fan so they can enjoy the best musical gaming experience ever created."
Some commenters who have had persistent problems used reams of masking tape to repair the drum set. Other message boarders started angry petitions for Red Octane to "Take this crap back".
Comments
burner said: after 2 days playing gt Red Drum pad not registrarting soft hit but only realy hard hits waiting for usb cabel2 Rma tickets pending bc Rma ticket status Database Down
Some Guy said: Come on people Get over it Buy it from Best Buy or Circuit City and if its broken exchange for a new one No need to go all propaganda-boycott crap all over the place Its a freakin controller and it WILL be fixed Just be patient
annoyed guitar hero fan said: i bought this game for my birthday and i thought it would b immense but wen i opened the box the wire connecting the drum and symbal was missingwtfand i cant return it becoz they sed it had been used wtf does anyone know wat the wire is called
Mike J said: well ive got no problem wgith the game the set list kicks ass steely dan woohoo P but ye the drums are pretty crappy mine broke after about half an hour of playing but meh its not called guitarsinging and drumming hero they shoud just stick to the guitar or atleast the guitar and singing and maby drums if they werent so crappy expencive
Luke C. said: Me too Bought my copy on release had two hours of normal drumming since then ive noticed both cymbals are cracked in multiple places ive got a midiusb cable and the tuning programIt helped with all the pads sensitivity but due to the shte cracked plastic used in the cymbals they still wont register a note or only register double notes Neither of which i want and this is AFTER using the tuning program Sent cymbals off for replacements yesterday ill play the waiting game of 2 weeks Hoping for the best I also tried the tape method once the cymbals went funny but had no real effect If this doesnt work i think ill buy the Ion Drummer kit
Matt said: What a RIP OFF Same old story After about 8 songs my left drum pad just decided to stop working and when I tried to return it to JB HiFiwith a receipt they wouldnt accept it Since when have you been able to sell faulty items in Australia and not offer a refund And whats to say its not going to break just as quickly after I send it back to Red Octane Ive had to send my X-Box back twice now to micro soft for the red rings of death
Olivier said: Ive bought my GHWT pack a few hours ago and after 4 hours playing the snare drum pad the red one xD is alrealy broken Only if i hit really really hard it registers a bitThis sucks im taking it back to the store for a refund
earlygamer said: this is usually what happens when companies outsource to other manufacturers to create cheap hardware in every sense i could be wrong of course if youve recently bought yours hold on to that receipt just in case
vincent said: bought my GHWT from some friends at EB replaced the whole package 3 times in one week the hi-hats are too flimsy they crack and break like paper they need a better hi-hat developed before i think about purchasing this product im taking my bundle back tomorrow my high hopes for GHWT have been shattered because of shoddy manufacturing thanks alot
Shannon said: I only had guitar hero world tour for a few weeks and the drum kit is broken so so sucks for the money has major sensitivity issues I had a guitar hear would tour party and because the drums had issues the party was over 11-21-08 so sad
Anthony said: i got my Guitar Hero World tour back today and i dont have a problem with the red blue or green its the high hats which screwed up the yellow one stopped working and even when i smack it as hard as i can it doesnt register so yeah its broken and i cant be bothered taking it back with the microphone and guitar cause walking out of it was embarassing enough for me lol what do i do
mike said: yep pretty much same here my cymbals suck and the yellow cymbal BENT and it still hardly works plus the stand kinda like broke so if u bring the drums and and snap it in place it falls straight down on your knee Im pissed i was at this piece of sht
Chris said: My cymbols and drum pads are so none responsive Ive got in contact with the Red octane customer services and there sending me out that USB thingy but why should us the consumers be configuring sensitivity issuesIt should have been checked on all instruments before they were shipped out Now im waiting for this stupid USB cable before i can even play So dissapointed as i had really high hopes for these drums
George K. said: I bought GHWT last Sunday and by Friday the guitar would only read every other downstroke The worst part is that it was a gift and I do not have the receipt
Problem Solver said: NELSON If you have cracked cymbals you do not have a sensitivity issue they are simply broken it doesnt matter how hard you hit the cymbals the sticks will break before the cymbals should My advice is to return GHWT to the store and get another
Adam K. said: My first GHWT drum kit came with broken cymbals my second the red pad broke after only one day of playing at medium difficulty Im just lucky the stores took them back
Gold said: Well based on what I have just heard I dont think Ill be spending my money on GHWT Rock Band2 it is
Andrew said: I bought GHWT on Saturday and already the cymbals are both cracked Im taking it back to EBs tomorrow my advice is DONT BUY IT Its a piece of sht
Jim said: add me to the list got the bundle only to find the drum stand is missing I took it back to gamestopwhere i purchased it and they told me to contact Redoctane WTF
Matthan A. said: I bought GHWT from target yesterdaytoday i got home and wanted to play and it turns out my yellow cymbal isnt workingI am super pissed Didnt keep receipt hopefully target will take it back and give me in store credit so i can buy another one when they work