Rumor: Guitar issues with Xbox 360 Guitar Hero II

by Alexander Sliwinski { Apr 3rd 2007 at 10:55PM }

Today we received two separate tips from readers telling us that Target stores wouldn't sell them Guitar Hero II on the Xbox 360 because there was a "recall." We couldn't get in touch with Target corporate, but numerous local Target stores we contacted said they hadn't received anything from corporate about a recall. However, they did say that it may take a day and to check back tomorrow. Best Buy and Gamestop also have nothing in their system about a recall. Red Octane wouldn't return our phone call and an Xbox spokesperson at Edelman says they don't "directly handle third-party relationships" for Microsoft.

Based on a Gamespot message board GameStooge is reporting that the guitar is having issues with an unresponsive whammy bar. Apparently there were two different guitars manufactured (pictured above) for the game and the problems allegedly exist in the guitar with the pedal jack next to the power cord.

We're awaiting word from Red Octane on whether or not there is an issue with their Xbox 360 guitar controller and we'll follow up with Target tomorrow to see if the "recall" is official.

Tags: guitar hero II, GuitarHeroIi, recall, target, xbox 360

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)

Syphon @ Apr 3rd 2007 11:02PM

I hope it isn't true. That would mean I have the problematic version.
If it indeed is true, I hope they replace the guitars free of charge.

ragunax @ Apr 3rd 2007 11:03PM

Wow. Interestingly enough I was in a Best Buy in Savannah, GA and I gave Beast and the Harlot a try. I am addicted to the PS2 version. I had a problem with the whammy bar, as well. I walked away thinking it was either dropped and broken, or just way too loose.

Kevin @ Apr 3rd 2007 11:05PM

Sounds like some employees trying to hold some guitars for themselves until they get off work.

mofo @ Apr 3rd 2007 11:06PM

I'm gonna add some fuel to the fire on this one. I pre-ordered mine from RedOctane cause for whatever crazy reason every place around here included store stock with the pre-orders, thus, no extras...

...but I did play it at Best Buy about 2 weeks ago. It was a demo version and had a lot more songs than the demo version the PS2 had (along with being different). Anywayz, Sweet Child O' Mine was one of the songs and as I was playing the song I noticed the whammy bar wasn't working properly. See in the PS2 version you can use it whenever. Even the really short holds (not the proper term but you know what I mean) you can use it. However, the way this was working seemed like it was only working during the long ones. So I was like "oh, it only works when the actual artist distorts the sounds" (i.e. certain parts of War Pigs, not all of'em). However, towards the end of the song, it was just crapping out really hard and just wasn't working to good. It seemed to keep working once you got it going, but the problem was getting it going most of the time. Also, I noticed some slowdown in the song which threw me off but again I only played one song and it was a demo, but I'm not really that worried. Comes in the mail tommorow, can't wait.

Anonymous @ Apr 3rd 2007 11:06PM

Good news is my whammy bar is just fine.
Bad news is I've got one of those powercord pedal-ports.

powercordpedalportspowercordpedalportspowercordpedalports.

m ike @ Apr 3rd 2007 11:09PM

my whammy bar works fine and its the ine with the powerpedal by the power jack

i was told by the gamestop employee to check it when i got home as there was issues with it.

so i guess there is a problem but mine works fine. now if i could just play good on medium i might be alright. man i suck at this game but its freaking awsome

scot[t]us @ Apr 3rd 2007 11:12PM

I'm having this exact problem with my whammy bar. about half the time it doesn't work at all. I'm glad to hear i'm not the only one having the problem. Here's hoping it doesn't cost me anything to replace my defective guitar.

Jake @ Apr 3rd 2007 11:14PM

This will cause me to wait a couple more days to pick this game up. Sure hope it isn't real problem.

autistk @ Apr 3rd 2007 11:15PM

this is somewhat true. you have to kinda pull the bar back slightly (like, a barely noticible amount) before you whammy at times and it'll work fine. if you're the kinda person that whammys properly in the game rather than the lowerandslowlyraise technique it shouldn't really be a problem. a bit of a drag but it'snot gonna stop me playing

Another issue I've noticed with the guitar is that it seems to cause weird problems with some XBLA games. Alien Homonid for instance. with the guitar plugged in the main menu wouldn't show up properly for me, but would appear once the guitar was unplugged.

thebiggameover @ Apr 3rd 2007 11:16PM

crap. i was hoping to pick this up this weekend. any way to tell what guitar is in what box?

autistk @ Apr 3rd 2007 11:16PM

oh yeah, for the record, my guitar has the effects port on the same side as the cable.

dsub @ Apr 3rd 2007 11:19PM

We sold 24 today at the EB Games that I work at. Of the 24 that were sold, we had 4 returned with "broken whammy bars" it's my guess that there were likely more than just those 4, but alot of people don't use the whammy because it isn't essentially vital to gameplay. We'll see how many more we get returned tommorrow.

Syphon @ Apr 3rd 2007 11:26PM

There has to be a way to determine which package contains the "defective" guitars. As as said earlier, I have one with the port next to the power. On my box, the "Part No." listed is: 95055.491 US

Not sure if that number is just for my box or if many boxes have this number.

Christopher7xii @ Apr 3rd 2007 11:27PM

Eh, I have the "broken" one, and I've had no problem so far(cleared about 45 songs so far). Guess I'm one of the lucky ones.

Bi11 Brasky @ Apr 3rd 2007 11:31PM

I work at Target. There was no recall on the guitar. In a email we got right away in the morning they said it was just a error in our registers. New upcs codes were given to put on the guitars.

ncxcstud @ Apr 3rd 2007 11:31PM

I have one of the 'defective' guitars, but I have no problem using the whammy bar.

WetWired @ Apr 3rd 2007 11:34PM

Well I can't vouch for how widespread this is, but I picked mine up first thing this morning hooked it up the 2 different retail 360s at work and neither worked.

Both worked for about 30 seconds, I'd hit a few buttons and nothing would happen about 20 seconds later the button presses must have been registered and the menus went ape shit flicking through items, then nothing, no controller. I tried all the USB ports, I tried unplugging and plugging the cord where it comes apart several times. When I do get lights on it, it's all of them or nothing.

This is in Brisbane, Australia

thebiggameover @ Apr 3rd 2007 11:42PM

can anybody check their box with the # that syphon (post 13) posted?

Geoff Schwindt @ Apr 3rd 2007 11:46PM

I have a 'defective' one too, and I've noticed no issues with it. Hopefully it stays that way.

If a free recall happens though I may send it in just to be safe.

Don @ Apr 3rd 2007 11:47PM

There are two different model numbers on the guitars. The one I got with the game has the pedal port near the controller cable is model #95055. The extra guitar I bought has the pedal port near the headset port is model #95065. SO far we haven't had any issues with either one but I'm definitely going to pay attention to this. Hopefully I'm in the clear.

Kabal @ Apr 3rd 2007 11:48PM

I've returned two for dead whammy bars. I acutally opened the second one up (I had opened my PS2 ones before so I knew I could get it back together OK). The potentiometer inside it was in a sad state of affairs. The disc that rotates inside it to change the resistance was all bent and retarded, which I am pretty sure is not how they are supposed to be ;)

I gave up and got my money back because I don't think any of the ones in that store would work - Still got 2 guitars for my PS2 to keep me going until they fix this.

Kemonuts @ Apr 3rd 2007 11:50PM

I have a broken one too and my part # is 95055.491.US

Shmil @ Apr 3rd 2007 11:52PM

I got a "defective" guitar as well but there appears to be no problems, and the part no. is 95055.491 US just like #13's

CrunchBite @ Apr 3rd 2007 11:54PM

I have a "broken" one and my whammy bar is fine. One thing I did notice though is that voice chat has terrible feedback through the guitar. I was talking with a friend over live and as long as either one of us used a guitar, there was tons of feedback for both of us. Regular controller's worked fine though.

ANt @ Apr 3rd 2007 11:58PM

My guitar stopped working (every other button that is, dead) for no apparent reason.

I got lucky because my GS had one left, so far no problems with this one, at least for now.....lame-ness......

a dirty bastard @ Apr 4th 2007 12:02AM

RRoD on the Gitars lol

ANt @ Apr 4th 2007 12:03AM

By the way my guitar (DEFECTIVE BUTTONS) was the guitar that is stated here as defective...

Jason @ Apr 4th 2007 12:16AM

You won't see this issue with Guitar Hero on the PS3!

oh, wait...

beans @ Apr 4th 2007 12:18AM

I have no problem with my whammy but I do have a problem with the layout of the guitar and I think my motion sensor is fakked. With the ps2 one, I would use my palm to push the select button to activate the super whatever it's called. With this new one, the directional pad is in the way AND I keep hitting it so it messes up my streak...this blows....I'm not going to start flailing about like a retard

Iggy @ Apr 4th 2007 12:40AM

Yeh bought it today any my whammy bar is also broken, fantastic! this isn't a rumor, it's more of a.....fact?

West @ Apr 4th 2007 12:47AM

I've got the model 95055.491.US, however my port's on the microphone side. Go figure. I've no problems though.

VT11 @ Apr 4th 2007 12:52AM

umm.. i thought it was just me, but my whammy bar is messed up... its not loose, but it doesnt respond completely when i try to use it while gaming...

hope theres a free replacement...

i ordered 2 guitars, 2nd one in tomorrow, so ill see if that one is the same way.. hope not

Jeff @ Apr 4th 2007 12:57AM

I work for Target. The reason there was a "recall" is because the guitars were "hardlocked" until today so we couldn't sell them early. If we rung one up it would come out with a recall receipt. Problem was that someone from Corporate forgot to "unlock" the sell this morning and it took them until about 11am EST to fix it. There is no recall on the guitar.

Tetranitrocubane @ Apr 4th 2007 1:09AM

Whoops! Another 360 product is broken out of the box.

What a surprise!

Tony Bowman @ Apr 4th 2007 1:13AM

Beans: you don't have to hit the button to activate star power. you can also tilt up the guitar vertically and drop it back down to normal playing position.

doomkin @ Apr 4th 2007 1:24AM

My whammy bar sucks -- completely flaccid. I have to lift it up away from the guitar and really 'whammy' it to get any kind of reaction and even then I only get maybe 60% of the additional Star Power I should have.

After a few hours of missing the immediate note following something I needed to whammy-bar I completely gave up on it and finished Hard mode without whammying at all. :(

Rod Oracheski @ Apr 4th 2007 2:04AM

I got a 'bad' one and, despite being played for at least 10 hours today, it's working fine.

magicRob @ Apr 4th 2007 2:07AM

I've got one of the pedal jack near the power cord ones, and the whammy bar is fine. My tilt sensor is very ordinary though. It doesn't seem to work... unlike the PS2 version....

Go figure...

The Man @ Apr 4th 2007 2:09AM

I had to exchange the game today after an hour of play the whamy bar stopped working. The replacement guitar is working fine.

mcchicken @ Apr 4th 2007 2:33AM

Tossing my hat in to say that mine has definitely got something weird going on. I've got the plug on he bottom near the cord, and you have to waggle the bar a sec before it starts responding, and it sometimes stops working, especially if you go faster. Hope this becomes a known issue (seems like it's on it's way :P) and we can get some replacements going on them.

Jason @ Apr 4th 2007 3:27AM

@34

as opposed to all of the ps3 glitches that happened "out of the box"?....

regardless of the few games that get published that have a few issues with it, at least my 360 has something to play on it, and isn't a glorified dvd console....

seriously...want to flame?....get a console that's worth supporting before you start talking smack about the 360...

Christopher Gabriel @ Apr 4th 2007 3:36AM

I purchased my copy of Guitar Hero II from Best Buy in Honolulu,Hi. I had a coupon for $10 when you purchase $75+ in games and accessories (which I received through e-mail and I believe Xbox360Fanboy featured said coupon). When I was at the register I purchased the game and handed the coupon over. It wasn't until I had already left (I was in a hurry to be able to get to class on time) that I noticed that the price rung up was suspiciously high. When I went over the receipt I saw that they had only deducted $5 from the game. I returned to the store and explained that the coupon says "$10 off". I was told that in order to get my discount I would have had to buy games AND accessories, not either or. But I showed that with the wording of the coupon's terms and conditions has no mention of having to buy both. After explaining the confusion with the language on the coupon I received $5 back. Anyone else had the same problem when using the coupon at their local Best Buy?

Zepolcire @ Apr 4th 2007 3:37AM

Mine has the accessory jack near the mic port, and my whammy is hit and miss. Sometimes it works fine, sometimes it only works if I moved it very little. pull it too far away from the guitar and it wont register. Oh, and the star power activate is wonky. It activates only when putting the guitar upright. I dont have to put it back down. so its kinda crappy cuz I keep using it when im not ready to. Oh well Ill keep an eye on this info.

Matt Cooper @ Apr 4th 2007 3:54AM

I noticed my whammy bar needs to be hit hard to work.. Compared to the ps2 version which is a lot easyer

teitoku @ Apr 4th 2007 4:11AM

I've got a 95055, cord by the drum jack, and the whammy bar IS slow to respond by about a half second. Sort of annoying, but really....it doesn't actually affect anything.

Adam @ Apr 4th 2007 4:16AM

I just now played it for the first time. I have played the PS2 version a good amount and I definitely noticed a difference with the whammy bar. It really wasn't as responsive as the PS2 guitar.

And, guess what, I have the pedal jack next to the power cord. Okay, RedOctane. Give me a free guitar NOW!

Sengoku @ Apr 4th 2007 8:11AM

Got it yesterday. On the first guitar, the picking bar thingy started to stick in the down position after playing one song (for reference, I have the PS2 version and everything is fine). Also noticed the whammy bar problem - it's as if you don't have nearly enough play in it, or maybe as if the 360 doesn't detect motion on the bar until you push it further than you have to on the PS2. Anyway, took it back, and got a second one. The picking bar works fine on this second guitar, but the whammy bar still sucks compared to the PS2 version.

Danny @ Apr 4th 2007 8:14AM

oh man that sucked for me because target sold 4 before me it had the recall and then they 14 in the back and all of them had recalls. i was like *WTF PEOPLE GIVE IT TO ME I DON'T CARE IF IT DOESN'T WORK, I JUST WANT TO PLAY!!!! but then there was another target that had a different guitar and got it :-) lol but 14 other guitars that's a lot and no one went to go get it