Activision blocking Rock Band patch, says Harmonix

by Andrew Yoon { Dec 12th 2007 at 5:10PM }

Imagine this scenario. You have a Guitar Hero III controller, and you have Rock Band. And yet, you can't use one guitar in the other game. Silly, right? Unfortunately, that's a reality for many. A patch was supposed to fix this irksome problem. In fact, a patch has actually been created. But where is it?

Harmonix is blaming Activision, saying the publisher is blocking any compatibility patch. In a statement to Joystiq, Harmonix reveals that "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."

Excuse me, Activision? Why object to cross-compatible guitars? Certainly, allowing us to use your controllers in EA's game won't cannibalize your own sales. You have nothing to lose Activision. Do the right thing, or face the wrath of angry PS fans.

[Image source: Joystiq]

Tags: activision, guitar, guitar-hero, guitar-hero-iii, guitars, harmonix, mtv-games, rock-band

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

Andy867 @ Feb 2nd 2008 9:06AM

Has anyone considered the fact that fortunately for 360 users, a GHIII guitar works for rockband, just not vice versa. It would be nice for backwards compatibility (but for now, I enjoy my GH3 guitar on rockband due to the design)

Microdot @ Dec 12th 2007 5:20PM

f**k activision. there. i said it.

im tired of their bs. i will be getting rid of guitar hero 3 immediately.

Dru @ Dec 12th 2007 8:54PM

F Activision...I'll be getting Rock Band only, thank you.

Cero21 @ Dec 12th 2007 5:20PM

That is ridiculous. I was actually planning on buying guitar hero 3 for PS3 so I could have another guitar for rock band and the bonus of having the game as well. Not anymore. Sorry Activision, you just lost a sale.

hypersauce @ Dec 12th 2007 5:21PM

Boy I wish I could cram my guitar hero 3 guitar into whoevers cornhole it is that is blocking this patch from being released. Maybe then the guitar would get some good use.

DG @ Dec 12th 2007 5:21PM

I feel bad for the PS3 owners affected by this. I bought Rock Band for my 360 because I already had the guitar that came with GHII, otherwise I would have picked it up for my PS3. I consider myself lucky.

Activision is acting pretty lame about this. I heard that they didn't want thier GHIII guitars to work with Rock Band because of the faulty guitars that come with the bundle. Unfortunetly my guitar was broken but I got a new one in two days and it's the best guitar controller yet. Activision really has no excuse now.

Akamaru @ Dec 12th 2007 5:24PM

I was gonna buy Rockband since I bought GHIII already and it would be cool to have 2 guitars. Now I will just have to sell GHIII to get Rockband.

Maci @ Dec 12th 2007 7:10PM

I was thinking about buying a GH3 controller for my PS3 to use with Rock Band then maybe get GH3 the game afterwards but that won't be happening now. One less sale?

mccomber @ Dec 12th 2007 5:27PM

Hey Activision, consider this one less copy of GH3 sold.

Bob @ Dec 12th 2007 5:34PM

This is making me consider selling GH3 just to screw over Activision. Well it wouldnt do much, but what the hell are they thinking?!

Solace @ Dec 12th 2007 5:29PM

wow. this could get interesting.
in tonight's first match up, Epic vs Silicon Knights;
followed by Activision vs. Harmonix.
*sits back with popcorn and watches the feuds*

PETEJOZ @ Dec 12th 2007 5:34PM

Ugh, first the admins ignore me on guitarhero.com about my account linking issues and now this. I knew I should have bought Call of Duty 4 instead, I hate myself.

Microdot @ Dec 12th 2007 6:25PM

pete... if its any consolation, your parents hate you too.

aortiz @ Dec 12th 2007 7:59PM

That's also an Activision game...

balaam @ Dec 12th 2007 5:42PM

i was getting gh3 for christmas
you can shove it up you and blizzards combined arses
xo

PETEJOZ @ Dec 12th 2007 6:01PM

Say what you want about Activision, but Blizzard owns, even with the merging.

Larz @ Dec 12th 2007 6:22PM

Anyways, Activision merged with Vivendi. Blizzard had say in that deal (Vivendi owns Blizzard).

Larz @ Dec 12th 2007 6:24PM

Er... Blizzard had *no* say...

anonymous @ Dec 12th 2007 6:54PM

Wow. I have to echo the comments of many others. I was planning on buying GHIII just to have the extra guitar for rock band and I figured the GHIII game would just sweeten the deal. Forget that. I'll gladly wait the extra months for individual Rock Band guitars to be sold if it means me not giving a cent to a company that pulls this sorta crap. Way to show respect to the company that started the Guitar Hero series that you're now trying to cash in on.

Hey Activision, don't take it out on the gamers because your two top series are headed to the dump (Skate > Tony Hawk, Rock Band > Guitar Hero).

maxdense @ Dec 12th 2007 6:09PM

Harmonix made Guitar Hero great not Red Octane. Activision backed the wrong horse. Harmonix's DLC is cheaper, more plentiful and more user friendly plus Rock Band is clearly the better game.
Activision is getting desperate as they see it all slipping away...

Jason @ Dec 12th 2007 6:23PM

I think this is just Activision throwing around it's newly acquired weight. Hopefully a large enough group of current and potential Guitar Hero customers will speak up and let them know that this is a huge mistake.

gamesblow @ Dec 12th 2007 6:24PM

That's an awesome pic "ha" Revenge of the Ninja is still one of my favorite movies from the genre... American Ninja is another one. Man, those were the days... "ponders"

Anyways, yeah this blows... I guess??? I'll opt to play a real guitar, though.

adamantypants @ Dec 12th 2007 6:26PM

Wow Activision.

I didn't think it was possible, but you're making people like EA more.

Jason @ Dec 12th 2007 6:27PM

Hamonix making this a public issue will put some good pressure on them, evening the odds in this fight. Hopefully Sony will support Harmonix or at least sit the fence. It would suck if they took Activision's side just because they are the largest publishing company IN THE WORLD.

indieandy @ Dec 12th 2007 6:30PM

This is once again how the videogame industry has become more and more like the film/TV industry. Does Activision really need that extra money from those *cheaply* made guitars? No, they push enough units of *cheaply* made game discs to recoop any minor loss from making things cross-compatible.

HedonismBot @ Dec 12th 2007 6:29PM

Agreed that Activision sees their cash cow slipping away because they made the cottage-cheese-brain move of taking development away from Harmonix, and Harmonix giggled gleefully whilst picking up a USB microphone and crushing GH and SingStar in one fell swoop.

The question is, what to do now? For myself, I believe I will go buy three GH3 bundles, hide them under a tarp in the garage like the lifeless bodies they are, then return them on Dec. 26th. That, and of course continue mercilessly ripping on the WoW losers in and around my workplace.

Activision, meet Activism.

dredwa @ Dec 12th 2007 7:17PM

I can't believe they could be so stupid. My unopened copy of GH3 is going directly back to Red Octane. It's hard for me to explain how much I now dislike Activision and Red Octane. First the new controller doesn't work with GH1 and 2 and now they block a compatibility patch. I don't think I've ever seen a game company act so foolishly.

BlackBeltJones @ Dec 12th 2007 6:44PM

Activision and Red Octane are acting like little babies just because everyone doesn't like their game as much as Rock Band.

GHIII is to recent Tony Hawk Games as Rock Band is to Skate.

bish @ Dec 12th 2007 7:04PM

Not defending Activision at all but I would like to point out that the Rock Band Controller does not work with Guitar Hero Either. I think it's stupid on both Harmonix and Activisions part to create and compatibility issues with controllers. In reality with all the Harmonix Guitar Problems Activision probably would have sold a ton of extra guitars if they worked and they were available seperately from Guitar Hero III.

On the other side of it, it would be really interesting if Harmonix printed up a bunch of cd's with the patch on it and allowed PS3 owners to either download the patch and burn it on a CD or request a CD.

Actually now that I think of it they could also do a second pressing of the game disc that is already patched and do an exchange program like they are doing with the faulty guitars.

JKPierce @ Dec 12th 2007 7:18PM

That issue is also with Activision; right on the box, you'll find a disclaimer that no other peripheral but the Les Paul will work with Guitar Hero 3.

On the reverse, Rock Band's box says most any third party controller will work. That Activision would so blatantly disregard consumers is remarkable. My friends and family have been convinced into a boycott.

aortiz @ Dec 12th 2007 7:59PM

And yet Harmonix stated they wouldn't care if Activision came up with a patch that allowed GH3 players to use Rock Band guitars in GH3.
I mean, Activision would have to take initiative, like Harmonix did.

bish @ Dec 13th 2007 1:42AM

I stand corrected :D

Lets hope Harmonex gets that patch out somehow.

borgman @ Dec 12th 2007 8:32PM

It is well within Activisions rights to do this. Tell EA to get off their asses and and start getting guitars in the stores

hypersauce @ Dec 12th 2007 8:55PM

Hey good point, troll! Shouldn't you get back to cashing your Activision paycheck, dicklicker?

HAAS599 @ Dec 12th 2007 7:12PM

im not buy guitar queero 3 now either

word @ Dec 12th 2007 7:14PM

This is probably why we cant play GH2 and GH with the controller...

aortiz @ Dec 12th 2007 8:03PM

What most gets me is that the GH3 guitar WORKS FINE with Rock Band's 360 version. So Activision is ONLY screwing over PS3 owners.

Great job, Activision. nice. You're so smart.

AX @ Dec 13th 2007 10:23AM

This is one of the most ridiculous moves i have seen. I work in retail and i sell games all day, and i was a fan of Guitar Hero. Seeing that Activision is behind the blocking of the patch (which i bought the ps3 Guitar Hero for, seeing as how they are in short supply often i wanted to snag a copy), I have lost all faith with Activision. Rockband is the superior game, and i will no longer recommend Guitar Hero to any customers. I will instead tell them Rockband is by far the better choice, and that it is worth waiting for (because we are often sold out). I hope Activision realizes that they have done their fans and customers a horrible disservice and think things through in the future. - Even if they realize what they've done to their fans and allow the patch, i will happily wait until the good people from Harmonix sell their guitars alone, even if it means months of my horrid singing as my friends and i take turn on the instruments.

linebeginstoblur @ Dec 12th 2007 11:25PM

This isn't why I've stayed away from Guitar Hero and Rock Band, but it does make me happy that I have. I love music games, but I don't really want to buy fancy controllers that mimic instruments, while still not acting anything like the instrument itself. The only music game series I have that has a special controller is SingStar, because it's a real microphone.

Harmonix needs to go back to making games like FreQuency and Amplitude: games that use simpler controls but more complex gameplay.

linebeginstoblur @ Dec 12th 2007 11:28PM

I forgot to mention the MAIN reason I stay away from games like Rock Band and Guitar Hero: price. I know the controllers cost money, but even the first Guitar Hero still goes for $70, where I've looked, and that's just one contoller. Meanwhile, I bought my first SingStar game that came with TWO microphones for just $50, and if the microphones don't work, I'm sure I could just plug my own mics into the USB thing. By the way, I'm not trying to troll, just sharing my opinion. :)

Kratos @ Dec 13th 2007 12:04AM

And what A GREAT WORTHWHILE OPINION IT IS! You have added SO MUCH to this dialogue!

Broken Haiku @ Dec 13th 2007 3:46AM

I chip in with previous speakers. I was going to get both games, now it'll be Rock Band only. Shame - and shame on Activision.

RangerPrimeX @ Dec 13th 2007 5:30AM

Just wait and see what Activision says in response instead of blowing up. Maybe their objection is that the patch does not allow their guitar to work 100 % correctly with the game and they want to make sure it is right.
Who knows?

Nate @ Dec 13th 2007 8:00AM

Bull manure. That might be their excuse, but the fact of the matter is that any incompatibilities would have to be handled by Harmonix, not Activision, so it's not like it adds support time. And it's not like it can make them look any worse than _not_working_at_all_.

It's purely because they don't want to give Rock Band any kind of edge at all, even if it means sacrificing sales and losing face with the community. Pretty much everyone who has played both games will agree that Rock Band is a FAR deeper game with so much more going for it than the tired GH franchise. What did Activision do with GH3? Added boss battles? They are obviously clueless.

SKI @ Dec 13th 2007 8:02AM

"Excuse me, Activision? Why object to cross-compatible guitars?"

Did anyone think they wanted to wait until they could get the RB guitar working with GH?

mf193 @ Dec 13th 2007 8:32AM

I expressed my disgust over their blocking of the GH3 guitar for use with Rock Band.

Here's my letter if anyone would like to use it.

To Whom It May Concern:

I just wanted to write and express my disgust with your blocking of the patch from Harmonix allowing for Guitar Hero III compatibility with Rock Band. I would have gladly purchased GH3 guitars and possibly the game, but your actions and the obvious selfish motivations behind them have lost you a customer.

Sincerely,

Info on the matter:
http://community.rockband.com/vbforum/showthread.php?t=15440

Sora57 @ Dec 13th 2007 5:48PM

Bobby Kotick (head of Activision): you're a dope if this true

RSly @ Dec 13th 2007 9:00PM

To everyone saying "I was going to buy a GH controller and POSSIBLY buy the game afterwards" is just so clearly lying its not even funny.

How does Activision allowing their controllers to be used on Rock Band benefit them at all? There is a shortage of Rock Band controllers right now, and by allowing this patch only encourages more sales for Rock Band.

People are looking for extra controllers to be used with Rock Band, not the other way around. The patch was a good solution for Harmonix to meet the demand without actually having the supply of guitars. Activision isnt stupid, they arent gonna to do something that helps their main competitor.

T-Mape @ Dec 14th 2007 12:19AM

I own a 360 but i dont understand how activision lets there guitars work on 360 Rb but not work on the ps3 it makes no sense i feel sorry for you guys and i wonder if microsoft is doing a deal under the table

red996 @ Dec 14th 2007 10:36AM

After playing the mediocre Guitar Hero 3 Demo at Best Buy I had no reason to buy it, but the inclusion of a second guitar/bass for my Rockband Bundle. This way me, my son and my wife could all play an intrument at once.

This attitude is ridiculous. They shouldn't be penalizing Harmonix for their shortcomings. Guitar Hero 3 feels like an empty shell of what the previous ones were. That is without adding the Rockband factor.

Once you play rockband with your friends & family or online is hard to be satisfied by Guitar Hero 3.

1. Abundance of Soundtracks from the original artists and their studio master recordings.

2. Long lasting appeal because you now have to learn and perfect real drumming and singing in addition to air guitar.

3. The online is solid experience. Cooperatively or competively.

4. The planned list of downloads and frequency (once a week).

5. And most important the people at Harmonix. They have been creating and proggraming Musical Games since forever and that experience translates into the game.

Activision could be moving GH3 to people like my self. But instead they are putting a Sour taste in our mouths and I probably wait until the Rockband Guitars come out.

Oh BTW activision instead of been a crying baby you should think money and mayber code an update to GH3 that allows use of drums. Harmonix already stated long time ago their peripherals are open to be developed for by any developer who wants to.

And for Sony, grow some balls! We love the network because of open standards. In order for activition to get certified they needed to follow your standards the y are the ones who didn't play by the rules.