Report: Some Guitar Hero World Tour peripherals not functioning properly

by Griffin McElroy { Oct 26th 2008 at 8:00PM }

Many of us will find it easy to imagine the following scenario, having lived it a little over a year ago with the release of an alarmingly similar title -- hordes of rhythm game junkies returned home last night from midnight launch parties at various retailers, cumbersome Guitar Hero: World Tour bundles in tow. Shortly after failing "Eye of the Tiger" for the third time in a row, an upsetting discovery is made -- one (or more) of the bundled instruments doesn't work as intended. The rocking is abated! Hearts are broken! Hands are wrung! Teeth are gnashed!

Sadly, such a scenario has reportedly been experienced by many a concerned forum poster, as threads stating issues with the game's peripherals have sprung up like discontent weeds. Their complaints are many -- one GameFAQs thread includes reports from players with unresponsive cymbals and, less commonly, drum heads; some posters decry their guitar's inability to register every strum; and some complain of faulty fret buttons.

We should point out that there are a number of forum posters who have stated complete satisfaction with their newly acquired fake instruments -- still, Activision has been quick to direct those with busted periphs to their customer service page, where information on how to get warranty replacements from RedOctane is given. We certainly hope the replacement process is a speedy one -- not that you don't already have a gaggle of fully functional instrumentrollers strewn across your den.

[Thanks, Neb.]

Tags: activision, drums, guitar, guitar-hero-world-tour, instruments, neversoft, peripherals, red-octane

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)

nirvanafan0 @ Oct 26th 2008 8:05PM

and that's why I bought the Rock Band 2 kit as opposed to the Guitar Hero World Tour band kit.

Tiptup300 @ Oct 26th 2008 8:38PM

It's a good thing barely anyone got the Aerosmith guitar, I bought it just for the guitar then I was just planning on selling the game for like 30 after finishing it.

Well, I bought it and noticed that the strum bar couldn't go down at all. Well, it did, it just didn't register. So I tried fixing it by hitting it downwards very hard and it sorta worked sporatically then....

I took it back and got a brand new game and guitar. So I got to sell the game for 30 bucks to a friend, still in the case. My new guitar hasn't had problems but when you down strum it just makes a squishing sound, not a click, so I think it may stop working eventually, might just be in my head.

Long story short, I like the feel of the les paul, but I'd rather have the reliability of the Strat.

Jason @ Oct 26th 2008 9:20PM

Went to best Buy at 11am to get my first set:

1. On the first set, everything worked fine except the yellow cymbal. The cymbal would register most of the time, but you'd have to hit it really hard. The orange cymbal was very responsive.

2. The second drum set was completely messed up. Both cymbals had issues, and the red drum wouldn't register very well either.

3. The third set was by far the best; however, like the first, the yellow cymbal didn't work very well. If you hit the top part of the yellow cymbal, it worked almost 100% of the time. However, that's still really frustrating, and the really fast sequences of notes would never come through 100% of the time.

Luckily, Best buy just refunded my money at that point. I saw about 8 returned GHWT boxes that were behind the return counter, and someone was in the return line next to me, returning his copy on the Wii because of the same drum issue.

On a positive note, I really, really like the GHWT drums. They definitely feel more sturdy than the RB drums. The drum parts are more fun to play on GHWT (in my opinion) than they are in Rock Band. I also didn't have any issues using them with Rock Band 2 (well, except for the flaky yellow cymbal). True, the pressure sensitivity thing is messed up, and the cymbals in RB don't map... but you can still use them for both games, in the event you don't want 2 sets of drums in your living room!

I also took apart the yellow cymbal to see if I just needed to rejigger something to make it work; however, there was just a bolted-on motion sensor underneath - so I wouldn't expect any type of DIY fix for the cymbals.

Also, it should be noted that the Activision RMA procedure SUCKS! If you have a defective drum set, you first have to mail in your busted yet (you also pay shipping). Then activision takes 2-3 weeks to TEST your defective drum set. Then they mail you a replacement. They said the entire process should take about a month. Now, this brings to light the whole "guitar and drum" fiasco with Rock Band last year. However, EA, unlike Activision, immediately sent out a replacement guitar, and then they gave you the return label and box to ship back the defective guitar. then, on top of that, they gave you a FREE game because of the issue. Now that's what I call customer service!

So, after a highly frustrating Sunday, I've decided to not purchase this game for a few months, until Activision admits to the issue and corrects it. I unfortunately don't have the stamina to keep making trips to Best Buy.

Tiptup300 @ Oct 26th 2008 9:21PM

I submit, I can't top that long of a story.

evan @ Oct 26th 2008 11:48PM

The new Rock Band 2 kit has it's problems again as well. A lot of the drums register "phantom" hits on the green pad, making using them impossible. My drums stop working after a while of play and I have to take out the batteries and put them back in to get it to start working again. And I've heard of some guitar issues as well.

But the mics seem to work. Unless you have a PS3, and then the wiggly arrow problem is still there from time to time.

zuburi @ Oct 26th 2008 11:50PM

"On a positive note, I really, really like the GHWT drums. They definitely feel more sturdy than the RB drums."

Didn't you just say that you returned THREE sets before deciding to get your money back? What, did the Rock Band ones blow up and light your house on fire when you played them?

MarkHawk @ Oct 27th 2008 1:41AM

Just wanted to say thanks to Jason. It was a good read. Now to find some info on how the ION drum kits are working.

peter @ Nov 4th 2008 6:38PM

I just got GH WT this weekend as a gift. The drums feel great BUT--the left cymbal has a plug sticking out of it with nothing to plug it into-can anyone explain this one to me? Is this a defect?

spoons @ Oct 26th 2008 9:57PM

That's why I use Rock Band 1 peripherals for all of my music games.On another note, the music creator is phenomanal.

Bluebrake @ Oct 26th 2008 8:38PM

The one review I read said the finished studio songs sounded like crap, which would be disappointing. Are there any samples of finished tracks online?

VaultICEE @ Oct 26th 2008 9:27PM

Bluebrake, basically imagine a slightly higher than normal quality midi. It DOES sound bad.

Actually I really shouldn't be saying that... I've only heard one at my friend's, but that was my initial impression of the one heard.

oolz @ Oct 26th 2008 9:41PM

There are vids on youtube of "featred sogns" from ghtunes and it really sounds like something off a cheap midi keyboard or soundcard. The composition was fine, but the samples are just not good, not convincing. The music studio is wasted effort that could have gone into improving a game that needed it.

spoons @ Oct 26th 2008 10:04PM

You can't expect freaking masterpieces the first day it comes out.

Bluebrake @ Oct 27th 2008 12:13AM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_zm52wlX78

This was the best example I could find on Youtube. Everything but the guitar sounds great. Unfortunately, the guitar is kind of important...

I'd planned to get this game, but now I'm torn. The reasons I wanted it over Rock Band were the music creator and the superior drum set, but now both those things are sounding a lot worse. I guess I'll wait and see a little longer. The instrument problems, at least, will probably be resolved after a little bit...

jaymz9mm @ Oct 27th 2008 11:40AM

I didn't expect a masterpiece but I expected my guitar to WORK. I also expected the one I got when I took it back to work, let alone be MORE DEFECTIVE. I've been a fan of Guitar Hero and still am, but I can't justify spending my money on sloppily manufactured equipment.

giantenemycrab @ Oct 26th 2008 8:09PM

Drums were DOA for me and the guitar sometimes thinks I'm strumming when I'm not even touching it. IE, I started up a song and instantly lost because it thought I was strumming before the notes had even come down the "highway." Really annoying. I think I'll just stick to RB2, personally.

Ryan @ Oct 26th 2008 8:09PM

Their warranty policy is a joke. They make you pay to ship the faulty peripherals back.

MowDownJoe @ Oct 26th 2008 9:09PM

EA didn't make you do that. And that's saying something, since IT'S FRIGGIN' EA!

Activision really is the new EA...

E.J. @ Oct 27th 2008 1:57AM

@MowDownJoe

Untrue. People who bought the game at launch, myself included, and had failures immediately were charged $20 to get the replacement and return box.

T @ Oct 27th 2008 9:21AM

Speak for yourself. My launch guitar and drums stopped working within a week, I was sent replacements for both at no charge (including no charge to ship back the malfuntioning units)

Darin @ Oct 29th 2008 10:40PM

Mow that is funny and true as hell

capt_carl @ Oct 26th 2008 8:13PM

Makes me glad I'm still undecided on which bundle to buy.

Kyattsuai @ Oct 26th 2008 8:20PM

Looks like the Xplorer retains its throne for another year.

Christ-ian @ Oct 26th 2008 9:16PM

Really? The Xplorer? That's easily the cheapest feeling / worst playing official guitar. Les Paul or Strat all the way brother.

ratm @ Oct 26th 2008 11:09PM

Really.

cranium @ Oct 27th 2008 1:23AM

Xplorer owns all

dark_inchworm @ Oct 27th 2008 9:48AM

One more vote for the Xplorer.

Christ-ian @ Oct 27th 2008 10:06AM

Ok then. Was not aware the Xplorer was so beloved.

I learned something today. Good times.

TWiNKiE @ Oct 27th 2008 1:42PM

My guitar of choice is the Xplorer. Then again, I haven't seen the GHWT controller. I'm hoping that it's good (a fully functioning one that is).

whistlepig @ Oct 26th 2008 8:21PM

didnt see this coming . i figured rockband learned the lesson and made sure the 2 bundles worked . i was expecting guitar hero drums or guitar to have some issues as well which is why i just bought the rockband 2 bundle and just the guitar hero game . hopefully everyone will get the problem fixed quickly

kavendano14 @ Oct 26th 2008 8:22PM

Weren't they talking shit about RB instruments' reliability?

jpw21683 @ Oct 26th 2008 9:09PM

Yes, yes they were.

The sweet taste of irony.

OMGOMG @ Oct 26th 2008 9:30PM

Here's the exact quote:

"They can pick up the standalone version of World Tour and use those instruments, and when they break they can buy ours."

Neversoft is the anti-King Midas.

thecmoneyshow @ Oct 26th 2008 8:23PM

Bought the GUITAR bundle and got a faulty wammy and directional button. I already replaced it with the retailer (wish me luck this time).

Played the game a bit and was very MEH.

My wife and I will be sticking with RB2 for the most part but I personally like the GH guitar better and wanted a second wireless.

Best of luck.

nirvanafan0 @ Oct 26th 2008 9:27PM

that's what really got to me. I bought the RB2 band kit last weekend, and I got the Guitar Hero World Tour game only today. I was very unimpressed with Guitar Hero World Tour as a whole. It wasn't really a full band game. It's like Activision redeveloped Guitar Hero 3, and then at the last minute realized they needed to put other instruments in.

burgerbat @ Oct 26th 2008 9:38PM

I was wondering what someone with experience with both thinks about just buying the GHWT disc. Having been burned by GH3 and GH:A, I figured I'd wait this out. Thanks for your insight, you probably just saved me $60. Is it true that you can't save bandmates who are failing?