Activision/Red Octane Sabotage GH3 Guitars with Rock Band

[SirFozzie]

Wow, what an absolute dick move...

Harmonix passes on a patch to Sony, allowing Guitar Hero 3 PS3 guitars to work with Rock Band.

Activision blocks the release and is forcing Sony to hold the patch...

http://www.joystiq.com/2007/12/12/harmonix-blame-activision-for-ps3-rock-band-guitar-issues/

Harmonix Statement:

"As we have said in the past, Harmonix and MTV Games believe in an open standard philosophy of hardware and game compatibility. We think that there should be interoperability between music instrument controllers across all music games. This is clearly in the best interest of consumers, game developers and console manufacturers and will only help to grow the music game genre as well as inspire innovation and creativity.

Two weeks ago, Harmonix created a software patch for the Sony PLAYSTATION 3 version of Rock Band that allowed for guitar compatibility and support for third party peripherals, including enabling use of Activision's Guitar Hero III controller with Rock Band. The compatibility patch was submitted, approved and had been scheduled for release by Sony on Tuesday, December 4. Unfortunately, Activision objected to the release of the compatibility patch. The patch remains with Sony, but we have been told that it will unfortunately not be released due to Activision's continued objection.

The reason why it works for X360 and not PS3, is because both Activision and Harmonix were required to use a Microsoft-enforced standard for their controllers. For PS3, Sony has no such enforced standard, and Activision not only made their standard closed, they are actively preventing Sony from releasing a patch that would allow Rock Band to read the Activision guitar's commands.

Just.. wow. Keep giving Playstation owners reasons NOT to buy your next $100 game+Guitar Combo. I'm sure if Activision could somehow stop the X360 versions from working, they would.

edit: Actually, one of the latest 1UP podcasts apparently report that Activision is actually working on a patch to break the compatibility of thier guitar with Rock Band on the XBox360.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Wow, what an absolute dick move...

Harmonix passes on a patch to Sony, allowing Guitar Hero 3 PS3 guitars to work with Rock Band.

Activision blocks the release and is forcing Sony to hold the patch...

http://www.joystiq.com/2007/12/12/harmonix-blame-activision-for-ps3-rock-band-guitar-issues/

Harmonix Statement:

"As we have said in the past, Harmonix and MTV Games believe in an open standard philosophy of hardware and game compatibility. We think that there should be interoperability between music instrument controllers across all music games. This is clearly in the best interest of consumers, game developers and console manufacturers and will only help to grow the music game genre as well as inspire innovation and creativity.

Two weeks ago, Harmonix created a software patch for the Sony PLAYSTATION 3 version of Rock Band that allowed for guitar compatibility and support for third party peripherals, including enabling use of Activision's Guitar Hero III controller with Rock Band. The compatibility patch was submitted, approved and had been scheduled for release by Sony on Tuesday, December 4. Unfortunately, Activision objected to the release of the compatibility patch. The patch remains with Sony, but we have been told that it will unfortunately not be released due to Activision's continued objection.

The reason why it works for X360 and not PS3, is because both Activision and Harmonix were required to use a Microsoft-enforced standard for their controllers. For PS3, Sony has no such enforced standard, and Activision not only made their standard closed, they are actively preventing Sony from releasing a patch that would allow Rock Band to read the Activision guitar's commands.

Just.. wow. Keep giving Playstation owners reasons NOT to buy your next $100 game+Guitar Combo. I'm sure if Activision could somehow stop the X360 versions from working, they would.

edit: Actually, one of the latest 1UP podcasts apparently report that Activision is actually working on a patch to break the compatibility of thier guitar with Rock Band on the XBox360.

Really not a smart move at all by Activision. I didn't buy Rock Band in the initial rush. I'm sure as hell not supporting them after hearing about this.

[Raiders Army]

When they start selling their guitars for less than $60, I'll respect them a little...but when you're charging $60 for a guitar controller that's proprietary that's insane.

[SirFozzie]

Really not a smart move at all by Activision. I didn't buy Rock Band in the initial rush. I'm sure as hell not supporting them after hearing about this.


you mean guitar hero 3, not rock band, right?

[Pyser]

the rb guitar sucks. i hope the gh3 guitar stays compatible on xbox...

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

you mean guitar hero 3, not rock band, right?

Yes, got my companies swapped. I actually have not purchased either.

[Calis]

the rb guitar sucks. i hope the gh3 guitar stays compatible on xbox...

I really like the feel of the RB guitar, and the extra set of solo buttons...but man the thing is junk.

If it worked consistently I'd love it.

[SirFozzie]

The recent announcement by MTV Games/Viacom's Harmonix division that Activision is blocking Sony from releasing a patch and their plea to enable Rock Band software to work with Guitar Hero hardware paints a very misleading picture.

In fact, Harmonix and its parent company MTV Games/Viacom recently declined Activision's offer to reach an agreement that would allow the use of Guitar Hero guitar controllers with Rock Band. We have been and remain open to discussions with Harmonix and MTV Games/Viacom about the use of our technology in Rock Band. Unfortunately for Rock Band users, in this case Harmonix and MTV Games/Viacom are unwilling to discuss an agreement with Activision.

Activision's top priority is to provide consumers with a seamless marriage of best-in-class hardware and software. We are focusing our efforts on innovating hardware and software that are designed to work together, work flawlessly and provide an enjoyable gaming experience.

In other words, "We wanna get paid for other people's work"

Apparently Activision studies at the Sony School of Foot-Gun PR.

[BrianD]

For some reason, the press releases in this thread are confusing to me. Someone check if I've got this right. Harmonix (Rock Band) created a patch to allow Activision (GHIII) guitars to work with Rock Band...for free. Activision (GHIII) is looking to make a deal ($$$ for Activision) with Harmonix (Rock Band) to allow their guitars to work with Rock Band for a fee? Do I have that right?

[SirFozzie]

Yup, pretty much.

[Calis]

I'm trying to figure out how blocking the guitars from working on RB doesn't lose Activision money. What am I missing here? It seems like they should be happy that for now people are buying their guitars if they want a 2nd guitar, and also just because the RB guitars are so shoddy.

I'm not sure what they're losing.

[TroyF]

I'm trying to figure out how blocking the guitars from working on RB doesn't lose Activision money. What am I missing here? It seems like they should be happy that for now people are buying their guitars if they want a 2nd guitar, and also just because the RB guitars are so shoddy.

I'm not sure what they're losing.

I'm also not sure about the point of that press release. They'd have been better off just keeping their mouths shut. Of course Rock Band isn't going to do a deal with you, morons. They are in a win/win here.

You are getting your ass kicked in the court of public opinion. The best thing to do is to STFU and allow the patch to go through.

They are just shooting them selves in the foot and costing themselves money with this move. Moronic. Really, really moronic.

[SackAttack]

the rb guitar sucks. i hope the gh3 guitar stays compatible on xbox...

Don't connect to Xbox Live when you play GH3, and you'll be fine. They can't deliver that patch independently.

'Course, you might also want to avoid downloading new songs for GH3, as well. Don't give 'em a chance to trojan the patch in.

[Pyser]

Don't connect to Xbox Live when you play GH3, and you'll be fine. They can't deliver that patch independently.

'Course, you might also want to avoid downloading new songs for GH3, as well. Don't give 'em a chance to trojan the patch in.

has gh3 already pushed that patch through?

[SackAttack]

I don't think so. The rumor is they want(ed) to, but the GH3 guitar still works for me.

[SackAttack]

Dola, GH2 still works as well.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Ah, great move Activision (sarcasm off).............

http://www.joystiq.com/2007/12/20/activision-on-ps3-guitar-patch-show-me-the-money/

[SirFozzie]

"We want to be financially compensated for our work.."

You were.. when we bought your fucking guitar in the first fucking place. You see, by reaching for pennies now, you're gonna lose out on a shit load of dollars in the future, because now, I won't buy your piece of shit game.

Oh well, Activision off my list now, hopefully Blizzard stays seperate with regards to autonomy in this merger, I'd hate to stop feeding my WOW-diction.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Looks like the instrument compatibility issues have been resolved going forward on the PS3. All Konami/Activision/Harmonix music peripherals will be compatible with each other's games. No word yet on previous iterations, but there is talk that patches will be issued to allow for similar compatibility on the current versions of the games.

PlayStation.Blog » PS3 Music Peripheral Compatibility Update (http://blog.us.playstation.com/2008/08/18/ps3-music-peripheral-compatibility-update/)

Hi everybody, Michael Shorrock, here. I’m the Director of Publisher Relations here at SCEA. I work closely with all of the publishers and developers who create games for all PlayStation platforms. While SCEA had a ton of great announcements at E3, I’m excited to say, we have one more for today, one that I know a lot of you have been asking about:

For the past several months, we have been working closely with Neversoft and Activision, Harmonix and Konami to ensure that PlayStation 3 guitars and drum sets will all feature a basic level of gameplay compatibility.

For the most part, this means that the titles with musical peripherals will work with the other’s software. A few specific examples include: Guitar Hero: World Tour’s guitars and drums will work with Rock Band 2 and Konami’s Rock Revolution software.

And yes, you guessed it, Rock Band 2’s guitar and drum set will work with Guitar Hero: World Tour and with Rock Revolution.

Conversely, Rock Revolution’s drum set will work with both Guitar Hero: World Tour and Rock Band 2.

In addition, Guitar Hero: World Tour and Rock Band 2 will both support the SingStar microphones.

We’re still working hard to ensure compatibility between the Guitar Hero and Rock Band titles currently on the market, and we hope to have an announcement on that shortly.

Of course each of these great games have their own specific cool features that may not be compatible with the other controllers, but this is our first big step in bringing a level of compatibility to music games that is sure to benefit PlayStation 3 consumers.

Keep an eye out here for more information in the future.

[JediKooter]

Whew! That was close. Let's get that negotiating team to the table with Russia and Georgia before it's too late.

[sterlingice]

If only Nintendo and Microsoft could get them to play together.

SI

[Cringer]

These games do work with a normal controller right? Problem solved.

[SackAttack]

The Ant Commandos sent me a guitar last week that works with both Rock Band and Guitar Hero III on the PS3, and also apparently works with Guitar Hero I and III for PS2. The box says Guitar Hero II is compatible as well, but that must be only with the PS2 plug-in, because it doesn't work with the PS3 wireless bit.

Everything else does, though.