Activision Releases Formal Statement About Guitar Hero Drum Problems

By Joe Haygood | October 28, 2008

Not too long after Guitar Hero World Tour hit the pavement, complaints were starting to come from the gaming community that there were some issues with the drum kits.  The biggest complaint seemed to be the fact that the two cymbals would not register hits at all, or would not register the velocity correctly.  In rare cases, some reported hairline cracks in the cymbal supports.

On top of the physical issues with the drums, PS3 owners were also shocked to find out that the promised musical instrument compatibility they were suppose to receive did not happen.  The Guitar Hero World Tour drums did not want to work in Rock Band 2 as had been previously advertised.

Today, Activision has released a formal statement covering the first issues of stability and registering velocity.  However, it did not address the PS3 support issues with Rock Band 2.  The statement discusses a drum calibration kit, and a support number if you have broken hardware.  Activision does state that these issues look to be from an early run of hardware, but still, after all the issues Rock Band had with broken drum sets, I would have hoped Red Octaine and Activision would have done a better job.   Check the jump for the press release.

“We have learned that certain drum kit controllers manufactured for Guitar Hero World Tour have sensitivity issues. We believe that these controllers are limited to ones in the earlier manufacturing stages. While we believe that this was an isolated manufacturing issue, we are stepping our efforts to randomly test our drum kit controllers so customers can be assured they work properly. In the event any consumers do experience problems with their drum kit controllers associated with sensitivity issues, Activision will soon be offering a drum tuning kit that will enable players to fully optimize their drums.

Our goal would be to immediately address any hardware issues Guitar Hero World Tour players have with the game. Consumers should visit the Activision Publishing customer support website at www.activision.com/support website or call 310 255-2050 in the U.S. where a customer care representative will assist them. Activision is fully committed to the highest quality manufacturing standards, and to satisfying every Guitar Hero World Tour fan so they can enjoy the best musical gaming experience ever created.”