Harmonix, EA sued for flimsy Rock Band kick pedal

by Griffin McElroy { Nov 22nd 2008 at 4:00PM }

Some of Joystiq's heavier-footed staffers have experienced the heartbreak that comes from snapping the original Rock Band kick pedal in the midst of a feverish playthough of ~~Paramore's "That's What You Get"~~ er, Judas Priest's "Painkiller". However, we never thought to take the bold course of action currently being followed by one Monte Morgan, who recently filed a class-action suit against Harmonix, MTV Networks (as well as parent company Viacom), and Electronic Arts for producing and distributing such an easily busted bass drum beater.

Morgan claims that the pedal "fractures under ordinary and expected usage," keeping potential faux-drummers from playing Rock Band "in the manner marketed and advertised." He also cites Harmonix and MTV Games for selling the original kit with knowledge of the pedal's fragility -- evidenced, he claims, by the metal-reinforced pedal included in Rock Band 2. His case calls for reimbursement of the purchase price of the Rock Band drum kit, and for the title's publishers to stop selling the brittle peripheral. We suggest another settlement -- just include a free dab of Rock Jam in every bundle. Everybody wins!

Tags: drum-pedal, ea, harmonix, lawsuit, mtv-games, rock-band, rock-band-2

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

Cerpin Taxt @ Nov 22nd 2008 4:13PM

Don't blame anyone but yourselves. It's just natural evolution for human feet to get stronger over time.

Joshb @ Nov 23rd 2008 2:25PM

I've had my Rock Band 1 drum kit for about a year, until the yellow pad stopped working. Taking it apart, I realized that 3 out of the 4 pads were cracked in half. My pedal is still in working order though. If anything id complain about the pads cracking in half.

Kyattsuai @ Nov 22nd 2008 4:19PM

Haha, great crossout... I haven't had any trouble with the pedal yet, but then, I haven't been able to pass hard mode, in which my foot still cramps up after 4 songs at most.

Mrblonde @ Nov 22nd 2008 4:19PM

I actually hope he wins his case.

NoHitHair @ Nov 22nd 2008 5:42PM

I don't understand the issue though. I believe I ended up breaking three (possibly four) of them but EA sent out replacements immediately. It's not as if they left us with a defective product only to screw us in the subsequent RMAs.

I suppose they should've tested the pedal more but to be fair, this was essentially the first drum kit for a home game console.

syrik zero @ Nov 22nd 2008 5:54PM

Now you have to show a receipt showing that you purchased the kit within the last 60 days. So it's not so easy anymore...

I bought the metal replacement piece from eBay. It works great!

Nick8708 @ Nov 22nd 2008 7:42PM

After playing with fire for several weeks and delaying the purchase of a metal reinforcement in hopes mine wouldn't break, it all of a sudden snapped while my friends were playing it one night. My solution to get up and running as soon as possible? Packing tape. No sort of reinforcement, just put the two pieces together and wrapped it with several layers of packing tape. Worked great, it's extremely strong and doesn't have any noticeable give, so there's no performance loss at all.

My point? The guy suing is a tool. Not every slight grievance warrants a lawsuit. I fixed mine with a nickel's worth of packing tape; that's all the more money he deserves to gain from this.

Sheppy (of the Fidlious Clan of Wong) @ Nov 22nd 2008 10:52PM

Why do you hope he wins? It's a class action lawsuit. Look those up. What he and everyone else involved gets is, at most, a replacement pedal for the one that broke. I severely doubt we'll get full on refunds. Meanwhile, those are either free or a $20 replacement part from what I've heard (sorry, mine isn't broken despite recently moving up to expert). Meanwhile the lawyers in this case walk away with millions.

Class Action Lawsuits... punishing legal systems with frivolous lawsuits.

Sackolantern PSN ID: johnnynumber5 @ Nov 22nd 2008 11:50PM

Wow sheepy expert on drums ... impressive! ... Can you make it through NIN The Perfect Drug? IMO that is by far the hardest song on the drums in the entire game.

I have recently graduated to Hard on drums and can at least make it through 90% of the songs without failing out. My favorite songs to play are el schorcho by weezer, testify by Rage, Girl U Want by Devo (absolute favorite!) & Wayward Son by Kansas.

bobartig @ Nov 23rd 2008 1:56PM

@Sheppy: I think it is YOU that should look up class action lawsuits. Within a class action suit, there can be an individual who is a "class representative", a lay person who filed the suit, and is present during court proceeding. They can receive a larger reward, depending on the length of the trial and their involvement.

This is not an amount of money that can compare to the lawyer's share, but it does provide an additional monetary incentive to get your litigatin' on, as it were.

Duke @ Nov 24th 2008 10:42AM

OK, I'm a lawyer and even I think class action suits are overused and mostly reward the attorneys while leaving the damaged parties in a bad spot. This suit is junk. Only the attorney will make money off of it.

Haggard @ Nov 22nd 2008 4:21PM

Harmonix/EA have a robust system for replacing the pedals and some guy rewards them with this?

Moorio - XBL: peacebyanymeans @ Nov 22nd 2008 4:30PM

I hope he doesn't.

Moorio - XBL: peacebyanymeans @ Nov 22nd 2008 4:30PM

Okay, apparently I clicked the wrong reply button.

Down vote me away!

OldKingCole @ Nov 22nd 2008 4:51PM

Except they aren't offering RMA replacements for RB1 stuff anymore.

This guy is right, they know it's totally broken, they need to stop putting this on the shelves. Make all the RB1 kits come with the metal pedal.

Ignatius @ Nov 22nd 2008 5:07PM

Actually, I nearly lost $250 because they LOST my guitar at their receiving facility. Thankfully, I had my UPS tracking numbers in order and told them to fark off.

syrik zero @ Nov 22nd 2008 5:57PM

Hey Ignatius,

I had to send in my guitar and they lost mine too! I did the free replacement because at the time my 360 red ringed. But it took nearly two months to get a replacement. And the only reason I got it was because I wouldn't get off of the phone until they said they would send a new one out. If you wait and fight you can almost always get what you want.

J.Goodwin @ Nov 22nd 2008 4:31PM

If you're playing hard on pretty much any instrument in Rock Band, just skip up to Expert, there are minimal differences, and the notes scroll faster so its easier to get the timing right.

I expect that this will be settled, EA will extend the warranty and send people who fill out a webform or respond to a form letter an RB2 pedal.

Chris @ Nov 22nd 2008 4:31PM

That's interesting. I'm still using my original RB1 pedal from launch day and haven't had any issues. I also play on expert and play at least 2+ hours a day.

reign-♥-of-♥-love @ Nov 22nd 2008 4:32PM

my roommate broke my pedal and he owes me another one. but if this thing goes through, good news for me!!! im actually going to call them monday and see if ea would give me a new one.

ice~ @ Nov 22nd 2008 5:02PM

My RB1 drum kit actually broke (I got angry at the drum trainer). Would it be worth it to buy the RB2 kit? or is it exactly the same?

Hafk @ Nov 22nd 2008 5:36PM

Much quiet, the pads are sensitive, and the pedal has a metal plate which prevents it from cracking in the middle. (You can still crack it at the hinge, but that can be fixed with good old duct tape, thankfully.)Also, you can buy expansion cymbals if you please.

However, you need to feed it batteries, since it is wireless. If you are like me, you already invested in Rechargables a long time ago, so it's not as much of a problem now.

ice~ @ Nov 22nd 2008 8:01PM

how much is the new drum kit? I'll definately buy it cause it's wireless and quiet

Ignatius @ Nov 22nd 2008 8:33PM

It normally retails for $90.

NoHitHair @ Nov 22nd 2008 9:54PM

The RB2 drum set is infinitely superior to the first. The pads actually bounce (in fact, it seems a tad more than real drums), they're able to take harder and faster hits without damaging the inside foam (which happened through numerous RB1 sets for me) and the pedal is reinforced.

If money isn't an issue, there is absolutely no reason to have the RB1 drum kit. It's better off in a Goodwill.

ice~ @ Nov 22nd 2008 10:47PM

RB2 Drum Kit for Christmas: CHECK :) y ty Santa!

Adam @ Nov 22nd 2008 5:14PM

I wish I could be a part of this lawsuit. My pedal got a little crack in it exactly one week after the warranty expired. I'm as gentle as I possibly could be with that thing. I even play with my shoes off, just to be on the safe side.

I'm so furious that normal play on this equipment will break it.

I want a new pedal, and I don't think I should have to pay for it.

jeepgun @ Nov 22nd 2008 5:26PM

I take my shoes off too and I still broke two of them, I was always so scared of snapping in two that I got nervous whenever a bass heavy song would come up and my performance would suffer.

I ordered the RB2 kit and now I have about as much confidence as the guy from the Enzyete commercials...also I play better. Metal footplate FTW, I hope this guy wins his case.

Brett @ Nov 22nd 2008 5:32PM

Don't be ashamed. "That's What You Get" is one of my favorite songs in the game. I'm ten times more likely to want to play that than "Painkiller," the most overrated song in the history of rhythm games.

ToRo @ Nov 22nd 2008 6:55PM

Why is it over rated? Because you can't pass it? lol no ownder your favorite song is "That's what you get". You kids now a days crack me up.

Brett @ Nov 22nd 2008 7:56PM

You're a true champion of reading comprehension.

Because when I said "overrated," I of course meant "too hard to play," and by "one of my favorite songs in the game," I meant "favorite song ever." You read me inner thoughts like a book. Way to go, bro.

Also, the day I get less than 5 stars on Painkiller is the day I turn in my balls for a set of ovaries.

Gary! @ Nov 22nd 2008 5:33PM

wtf, reimbursement of the purchase price AND yank it off store shelves? Why not just give everyone a free metal reinforced pedal IF they need it replaced? greedy jackass.

Colin @ Nov 22nd 2008 5:56PM

While I agree with this guys suit, I agree with you too. I just broke my pedal a few days ago, and while some money would be nice, all I really want is a new, preferably metal, pedal.

Markez @ Nov 22nd 2008 5:40PM

Who do we sue for eccentric taste in flooring?

Stink Snake @ Nov 22nd 2008 5:57PM

Smart money is on the pedal resting on a mosaic table not a floor.

Eh @ Nov 22nd 2008 6:12PM

Just looking at that piece of garbage makes me hope they get sued to hell for releasing that. Shame on them, they make a horrendous margin on these plastic "instruments" and that cheap ass thing is what they gave people? Seriously it looks about as well made as a toy from a happy meal, they definitely need to pay for that.

Bowser the Baptist @ Nov 23rd 2008 5:42AM

Tell them, Kramer.

Travis @ Nov 22nd 2008 6:16PM

a broken pedal must have ruined his birthday party causing him to have a tantrum, because last time I checked, pedals were replaced with no issues. I had mine within 8 days of emailing

ThornedVenom (Harley Quinn Defense Force) @ Nov 22nd 2008 6:39PM

Rock Jam made me lose my appetite: I think I threw up a bit in my mouth.

[.sm0ke.] @ Nov 22nd 2008 6:40PM

My pedal snapped on the LAST SONG of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame set in Rock Band 2. Needless to say, I raged... And ordered an Omega.

EA accidentally sent me a second replacement guitar once. It arrived snapped in half. This happened like four months ago and I haven't sent it back. I'll be damned if I waste gas for their blunder.

Burnt Meatloaf @ Nov 22nd 2008 10:04PM

I laugh at people who pay $250 for cheap plastic, and when stuff breaks, they say they're pleased that the company sent a replacement. What good is a replacement if it's still built to break just like the first one, and usually a refurb to boot? I'm looking at you, RROD.

If a company makes a product that's meant to be stomped, it either shouldn't be made of plastic, or it should be made out of that indestructible stuff that they use for Fisher Price toys. A low failure rate is grounds for complaints and replacements. very high failure rate is most definitely grounds for a lawsuit.

zombiejesus @ Nov 22nd 2008 10:04PM

My pedal started cracking and I ended up just buying the metal plate that goes on top of it. Best investment ever!

Kyera @ Nov 22nd 2008 10:09PM

I consider myself to be someone with a pretty heavy foot, but I'm always very cautious with my peripherals. I had the game for eight months, playing probably to Tier 6 on Expert drums, without any problems with the pedal or the pads.

One of my friends broke my pedal playing his first song on Hard by slamming his foot up and down on it.

Out of everyone I know, only one other guy plays the drums and doesn't sound like he's trying to kill the damn thing, so (just like the people that collapse pads) I'm just as inclined to blame the end user as I am Harmonix on this one.

Bagels @ Nov 22nd 2008 10:23PM

Hey Grif, breaking story- Paramore ROCKS. I don't care what you call it, chick rock, pop rock, dyed-red-blonde, they know how to jam. Fun to play in GuitarHeRockBand no less.

[.sm0ke.] @ Nov 23rd 2008 5:18PM

Yeah, they're kinda infectious.

memot @ Nov 22nd 2008 10:29PM

Mine broke too.

:(

I just bought Rock Band 2.

How much nanoseconds would the RB1 pedal stand before it's destroyed by Scott Travis

T @ Nov 22nd 2008 11:34PM

This all sounds like BS. Claiming the metal pedal in RB2 is proof of malice in regards to the old pedal shouldn't hold a shred of weight in court.

What next? The detachable neck in the GH guitars being used an excuse to sue Activision because they KNEW that people wouldn't be able to fit their guitar controllers in a normal shelf.

This is just a whiny RB fan going WAY too far. Some of those people prefer to blame the equipment instead of themselves.

I've seen people complain about broken equipment, then when they play they HAMMER on the equipment and STOMP the pedal.

Absurd.

holmes @ Nov 23rd 2008 9:51AM

i'm wondering how long it will take until there's a class action lawsuit against red octane for all the issues with guitar hero world tour peripherals. i had to pay to ship my stupid guitar back to them...$25! And they really have no response as to when they'll return it to me. we wouldn't accept this from any other sort of business, so why put up with it because it's just a video game manufacturer?

gigglez76 @ Nov 23rd 2008 10:14AM

This is not that complicated after breaking 3 previous drum pedals i went out and bought the indestructable plexiglass pedal,It's necessary when you use the hard or expert difficulties it's only 20.00,I never hurt myself breaking the Previous 3 pedals,and I've havn't broken the plexiglass pedal and I've had it for about a year, so i don't understand what this guy's beef is.