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Rock Band Creators Hit With Class Action Lawsuit
Posted by
Soulskill
on Sat Nov 22, 2008 04:14 AM
from the thump-thump-thump-snap-!@#$ dept.
from the thump-thump-thump-snap-!@#$ dept.
GameCyteSean writes "GameCyte is reporting that Harmonix, EA, MTV and Viacom have been targeted by a class action lawsuit. Customers allege that the companies knowingly shipped defective bass drum pedals for the music game Rock Band, then exploited customers' necessity for replacements by having the game's hardware warranty extension expire just as the sequel, Rock Band 2 — a game with improved pedals — was scheduled to release."
I wonder if we'll see a similar suit against Neversoft and Activision over the equipment problems related to the Guitar Hero World Tour launch.
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Guitar Hero: World Tour's recent launch saw boxes of plastic instruments flying off store shelves, quickly selling out in many areas. Unfortunately, many players reported problems with the bundled drums sets, prompting Activision to release a drum "tuning" application and a free midi-USB cable to connect the instruments to a PC. Otherwise, reviews for the game have been largely positive, and MTV's Multiplayer Blog did an analysis of using Rock Band drums in GH:WT, and vice-versa. Kotaku looked at which set was louder, coming to the conclusion that while they sound different, decibel levels are very similar. The early success in sales for GH:WT caused Activision to say holiday demand may not be met, and that they're examining two methods in particular to develop the franchise: instrument upgrades (hopefully less ludicrous than Logitech's $250 axe) and the possibility of a subscription-based model for user-generated content. "[Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby] Kotick says that there are now 25,000 user generated tunes that have been created for the game, and projected 'up to 100,000 songs' by the end of this year."
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I have an Idea for a lawsuit (Score:2, Insightful)
How a class action lawsuit for all those who lose sleep because their [drunken] neighbours own Rock Band?
Re: (Score:2)
In before "kill the lawyers" (Score:4, Insightful)
Settle now. Pay the plaintiff's attorneys, pay the heads of the class action, and make the pedals available for, say, another year.
Almost by definition, it can't be much more expensive than fighting the lawsuit out, and it would make people feel a lot better about buying from the Rock Band franchise in the future.
Re:In before "kill the lawyers" (Score:4, Insightful)
It's cheaper the first time 'round. But settling is just a way of telling everyone you'll roll over. Any company that does this is begging for another fifty class action lawsuits. Once the attorneys have been brought into play by the other team, you have to play the legal game.
A better idea is mediation first, then if that fails bring out the attorneys. But in our legal system there is essentially no risk/cost associated with bringing a lawsuit, so that's what people do.
Thomas
Parent
Re:In before "kill the lawyers" (Score:5, Funny)
Almost by definition, it can't be much more expensive than fighting the lawsuit out, and it would make people feel a lot better about buying from the Rock Band franchise in the future.
I do not think that phrase means what you think it means.
Parent
What is with... (Score:2)
All these game makers getting the crap sued out of them? What's with all the class-actions? I know the quality of product has gone down, but I didn't know it was getting this bad.
Wait, what? (Score:5, Insightful)
They're actually suing the manufacturer of a cheap plastic toy, which is designed to be stamped on, because it broke?
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Even worse, they are suing because the company released an improved version.
Re:Wait, what? (Score:5, Insightful)
Parent
Re:Wait, what? (Score:4, Informative)
The plastic pedals on my Logitech Driving Force GT can be stamped on. I stamp on them regularly (though not every time, I modulate when required). The pedals on my previous wheel, a Logitech GT Force, were also plastic. They got stamped on for seven years. You can make stamp-on-able things out of plastic, you just need enough of the right sort of plastic in the right places. Metal isn't the answer, you can make weak shit out of metal too, the answer is proper design.
Parent
Re: (Score:2, Insightful)
The flaw being really obvious weakens the case for the class. If the purchaser can see that it is a piece of junk, they can't really claim that they expected it to perform well.
Re: (Score:2)
The problem is that it is clearly not designed to be stamped on, just intended to be.
That's not exactly true. Breaking one of these pedals requires either a defective piece or abuse. I have had mine for over a year (launch day kit), I play heal up (far more aggressive than heal down), and I play drums for real so I'm not exactly gentle on the thing. Even after playing uncountable hours on expert level drums my pedal is still as solid as day one. This pedal has also been used by many different people ranging in age and size so it's not just that I know how to avoid breaking it.
If you re
Equipment is catching on fire.... (Score:2)
At least one guy had the 4 port usb hub that ships with rock band catch on fire.
http://www.thebbps.com/blog/2008/10/20/rock-band-tried-to-burn-my-house-down/ [thebbps.com]
I stumbled that a while ago.
Re:Pot, Kettle, Blackness (Score:4, Informative)
This has nothing to do with the pot calling the kettle black. That would be, to use your example, if Ford was filing a lawsuit against Harmonix because of mental anguish due to broken base pedals and warranty issues.
I don't see that happening anytime soon for some reason...
Parent
Re: (Score:2, Funny)
Re: (Score:2, Funny)
Re: (Score:2, Funny)
Make that More Effective (Score:2, Funny)
But I think comparing cars and video game equipment is a great idea!
In order to achieve a proper comparison, you need to convert the Ford warranty and the Harmonix warranty into a more common and well understood unit of measurement, like Libraries of Congress.
Re: (Score:2)
Eh? You can't fling a brick in most cities without hitting a ten-year-old Ka or Fiesta still in daily use. I'm pretty sure they're all long since out of warranty.
Re: (Score:2)
They're the European Fords, which are on the whole good cars. American Fords are apparently shit, perhaps because Americans seem to tolerate cars with crappy suspension, god-awful plastics and shoddy build quality just as long as they're fucking huge and have an enormous engine with lots and lots of cylinders.
Re: (Score:2)
--and then it works really great! right?
so simply buy a used Ford vehicle whose warranty has already run out. problem solved!
Re: (Score:2, Informative)
So I bought a copy of guitar hero WT with just the guitar, swapped out mine for the new one, then returned it.
The new guitar has a strummer that is squeakier than the guitar I own
Re:GH Lawsuit? Please (Score:4, Informative)
So I bought a copy of guitar hero WT with just the guitar, swapped out mine for the new one, then returned it.
Congratulations! You have committed fraud.
Parent
Re:GH Lawsuit? Please (Score:5, Informative)
Looking past the fact that two items are clearly not identical if one of them is defective. . .
When you "return" something that means that you are "returning" it. Meaning that you are giving back what you got. If you "return" something else, you are misrepresenting it, and obviously it is fraud.
Parent
Re:Disgruntled Musician (Score:5, Insightful)
I'm a musician too - I write music and play keyboards. I'm a slightly above average player, fairly average writer (though I'd like to think differently of course). To reach those dizzying heights, it took me years of learning and practice. Years. I'm 36 now, I started learning when I was 9, haven't finished learning and doubt I ever will. Anyone on here who plays will be able to relate to that statement I think.
I also own Rock Band and Guitar Hero III. Have really enjoyed playing Guitar Hero III, though I've not really got into Rock Band as yet due to lack of time. Am I for a moment fooled into thinking I could really play a guitar to that level? No, I'm not. How many years would it take me to play guitar at the required level of skill? A lot of years, and that's assuming I ever made it. These games - they're not a substitute for real musicianship, but then they're not supposed to be either. They're exactly what they say they are, music-based games. I have a lot of fun with them, and to deny myself that just because I know I'm not really playing a proper guitar just seems foolish.
Cheers,
Ian
Parent