Rock Band Creators Hit With Class Action Lawsuit

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.

I have an Idea for a lawsuit

[Anonymous Coward]

How a class action lawsuit for all those who lose sleep because their [drunken] neighbours own Rock Band?

In before "kill the lawyers"

[carbon 68k]

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:What is with...

[Anonymous Coward]

Its not the product -- its the people that sue who simply want money and fame.

Wait, what?

[Gordonjcp]

They're actually suing the manufacturer of a cheap plastic toy, which is designed to be stamped on, because it broke?

Re:Wait, what?

[maxume]

Even worse, they are suing because the company released an improved version.

Re:Wait, what?

[Walpurgiss]

I think it is pretty stupid. The problem is people expect the plastic pedal housing a solenoid switch to be as strong as a real bass drum kick pedal. It is complete stupidity on the consumer's part. I got rock band at launch, and within 2 months we broke my pedal. My room mate plays drums and he really abused the thing, like he hits his when he plays. It broke in half. I fixed it by screwing a diamond plate cut to fit the pedal part, and it has worked perfectly since then, better than new. I think the class should lose based on just being stupid for thinking plastic == strength of metal. The only metal in the original pedal was literally the spring, metal on the pcb, and in the magnetic switch. Of course you can't stomp the shit out of it. If there's any case for class action, I'd think it would be the defective drum heads that shipped until a hardware revision a month or so later, or for the defective guitars that used leaf switches that fail after like 100,000 switches (Why even think that would be ok for this application?) Of course, they did offer free replacement for all of these problems, for months longer than a normal warantee for a game, and they covered shipping. Even would ship you the new gear first, if you'd give them a credit card # in case you didn't send yours back.

Re:In before "kill the lawyers"

[Tomster]

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

Re:Wait, what?

[maxume]

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:Disgruntled Musician

[mccalli]

Maybe, just maybe, this class action lawsuit will convince the general masses to buy real instruments?

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