In what is a most amusing series of events, Harmonix and Activision are fighting like kindergarten kids over who’s responsible for not releasing a patch for Rock Band.
Harmonix, with some help from MTV, thought that releasing a patch for Rock Band, which would allow Guitar Hero III controller compatibility is a good idea. The idea did, after all, come after thunderous public request. However, it didn’t go down as well as they had expected. Harmonix’s patch was approved by Sony, but not by Activision, who supposedly objected to the patch.
This makes Harmonix and MTV heroes who want a free and liberal gaming area and where everything is good and compatible. Activision is suddenly a dark, evil EA-esque villain who wants the depraved gamers to buy Rock Band controllers. And because we need a fine background for a fight, we have Sony and their PlayStation 3.
Sony promptly replied that this is a matter out of their hands, and one that should be “amicably resolved” by Harmonix, MTV and Activision. Well, at least Sony has nothing to do with the whole fiasco. Then again, it’s the ill-fated, all-cursed PlayStation 3 that serves as a setting for this tale.
Activision struck back yesterday by saying that MTV/Viacom is unwilling to participate in a healthy tussle discussion about the issue. According to their press release, Activision were the good guys all along and Harmonix/MTV have been the ones who were not talking with Activision about their technology.
This fight is almost like the Silicon Knights/Epic brawl, except there’s no legal matters here and the subject is ridiculous. What’s bad is that the gamers are suffering in the long run. They are the ones who haven’t gotten the patch yet, while the big corporations talk about how they love gaming and want gaming to be accessible.
How will Harmonix/MTV respond? Is the PS3 really cursed? Isn’t watching this silly fight fun? Comment and conquer!
I’m really disappointed with Activision, and with Sony for not taking a leadership position in this matter.
I liked Guitar Hero enough to return to gaming and to buy what I thought was the most cutting edge console – the PS3. I even went out of my way to find a 60gb PS3 for the hardware compatability.
…and then I found out that the controllers wouldn’t work, even though the game starts right up like a champ.
Activision needs to take the high-road here, and deliver on the good faith that it’s GH, GH2 and GH80’s customers have shown them by buying their products for the last few years.
Sony needs to recognize as well, that the longer it sits on the fence and refuses to bring Activision to the table with Harmonix/MTV, that they are allowing them both to de-value their console system. It’s one thing if we were talking about a mildly popular game, but the Guitar Hero franchise is a MAJOR revenue stream to disenfranchise with petty behavior.
Sony definitely should be the mother in this situation. Why would they want to make their costumer base upset about peripherals that cost tons of money and can’t be used for extremely similar applications?
I think Activision is really scared that their consumer base is going to leave the franchise and move onto Rock Band. It seemed like making a band was going to be the next step for GH and now it has been already done. It’ll be interesting to see if this franchise can survive and expand without feeling like a clone.