Broken RockBand 2 Drum Pads, Best Buy Retarded

October 31, 2008October 31, 2008| schommerschommer| 0 Comment| 10:07 am
Categories:

We purchased Rock Band 2 and the Drum Kit on the week of launch, having played on the drums for about a month we’ve already broke them. This time, however, it’s not the foot pedal, but the blue and yellow drum heads, now having smashed little holes in the center.

It’s not abuse when the object of the game is to hit the pads with sticks, right? Hopefully not, as we’re not the first to beat the pads to the breaking point using standard pressure and part-time play. In the full month we’ve had little time to really rock out with Rock Band 2 but we play when we can. It seems a bit early to already have blown out the pads.

The issue is simple: the blue and yellow pads have a dent/hole under the rubber surface, pressing down on the pad allows you to easily feel the plastic “button” which executes the hit. The middle of these two pads can be seen sunk in while the red pads center is popping up as if the rubber has let go from the surface and risen. Needless to say, the “bounce back” on the pads was gone.

Unfortunately, I didn’t take a photo of the busted instruments before returning it to Best Buy. Being the smart gamer that I am, I was sure to purchase a two-year extended warranty right from Best Buy prior to walking out with the initial purchase. Although a nice red paper arrives in the box that says “do not return to retail outlet” if it breaks, my warranty allowed me to do so upon destroying the set.

Of course, Best Buy was out of stock in the “Wireless Drum Kit” version of Rock Band 2, only having the “Special Edition” (translation: comes with everything.) Best Buy refused to swap out the drums from the Special Edition kit and their computers “were down” so they couldn’t find any stock numbers or estimates on new kit arrivals.

Computers are down?

I asked Best Buy to call up local stores in the area to see if they had any on the store floor but Best Buy is completely and utterly useless if their computers are down. They have absolutely no method of calling any other nearby stores unless the computers are up; apparently, they do not keep a store phone record on paper anymore so they couldn’t help me.

Best Buy doesn’t know how to dial a phone directory to find local stores and I sure as hell wasn’t going to oblige them with a Circuit City next door. They returned my busted product for a cash refund (including my two-year warranty) and I walked over to Circuit City and got myself a new one with a warranty.

I commend Best Buy for giving me a full cash refund, especially since I purchased it on a credit card and used my Reward Points card. I commend Circuit City for having them in stock and pray they’re still in business for the life of my warranty.

I am saddened that Best Buy is retarded when it comes to technology and not having a secondary method to help customers when their computers are on the fritz. I am saddened to see Rock Band 2‘s drum kit to fail after a month of gaming.

0 thoughts on “Broken RockBand 2 Drum Pads, Best Buy Retarded”

  1. If you purchased the 2 yr plan just call the number and have them pay for the shipping back. Granted your gonna spend some time with out Rock band for a week or 2 , but they’ll send you a gift Card for the Amount of the purchase – the service plan.

    LOL …how you think i got rock band 2….hehe
    I just sent RB1 back last week….lol

    Reply

  2. If you purchased the 2 yr plan just call the number and have them pay for the shipping back. Granted your gonna spend some time with out Rock band for a week or 2 , but they’ll send you a gift Card for the Amount of the purchase – the service plan.

    LOL …how you think i got rock band 2….hehe
    I just sent RB1 back last week….lol

    Reply

  3. Yeah, the problem I had was I didn’t want to lose the time waiting. That’s the worst part; I do have the old RB1 kit, but I bought the new one, want to use the new one and I want to use it now 🙂

    Reply

  4. Yeah, the problem I had was I didn’t want to lose the time waiting. That’s the worst part; I do have the old RB1 kit, but I bought the new one, want to use the new one and I want to use it now 🙂

    Reply
  5. Pingback: Circuit City Denied Sony Shipment, In Transit | Gaming Podcast
  6. Pingback: Circuit City Denied Sony Shipment, In Transit | Gaming Podcast

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Post

Evolution of RPG’s – Gamers Don’t Want an End?Evolution of RPG’s – Gamers Don’t Want an End?

I remember a day when old RPG games had either a level cap or a definite ending. From Pool of Radiance to Secrets of the Silver Blades to Final Fantasy the game had a final boss or stage and often had some type of level cap. Today, gamers don’t want it to end, they’d rather have the option to wonder around aimlessly or completing minor quests in order to soak up every ounce of money they spent on the title.

linkNow even Bethesda is saying “we’ve learned our lesson” from the whiplash of ending their game title and capping levels. Gamers want to go back and re-try content they missed, they want to run side quests and talk to everyone in the world they want to grind themselves to über powerful levels and become a god in their fantasy world. Can you blame them?

You can’t really blame them for wanting to maximize the content, although it’s slightly more evolved than RPG’s of old. Perhaps it was World of Warcraft and other MMORPG’s that brought us to the stage in life where we all want to squeeze every last RPG dime out of the title. As a kid I wondered the world of Hyrule and covered every tile of graphical color, burned every bush, bombed every stone looking for all the content. However, even Zelda had an end with scrolling credits – you didn’t just land on a platform with your master sword and a dream.

Other titles have used level caps to limit you and draw you into the next release of the game. This was popular in the D&D world because the game is designed to target specific levels of difficulty. They may only allow you to gain level 10 because the enemies are no tougher than level 13, allowing the challenge to be good but not overwhelming. If they allow you to get to level 50 they’d have to design the game so all the enemies grow powerful along with you — that’s not always a desired result.

Final Fantasy is a popular franchise that typically allows you to grow infinitely powerful depending on how much time you want to spend repeat killing the same enemies. Gamers aren’t always into the grind, they just want to grind “enough” to make the challenges a little more do-able.

Today, however, with larger storage capacity, larger development teams and the desire to build more value into your gameplay experience titles have dozens of side quests and sub-plots that are totally optional. The result of so many sub-quests results in a player who is much more powerful at the end of those quests compared to a player who sticks to the narrow path of the main plot. So, games much grow dynamically challenging to keep the fun per dollar high.

Do you like your RPG’s to have a definite end and a high but capped level?

Read MoreRead More

3 Reasons Publishers Desire Us to Keep Old Games3 Reasons Publishers Desire Us to Keep Old Games

When we invest in a new video game we want to feel satisfied by the content supplied in the game, we want to know we’re getting our moneys worth in the investment. Publishers, on the other hand, want us to keep our old games so they stay out of the used market. A publisher does not make a dime on used game sales. Their primary weapon to stop game sales? Downloadable Content (DLC).

1. Publishers Spend Lots on Marketing

A great example being GTA IV, hardcore gamers have a short attention span and live on hype more than physical games. Today, games live in press releases, demos, cinematic and live gameplay footage at conferences and on the web. Then, a game hits the shelves and sells millions of copies for a week or two before it’s forgotten. Publishers have marketed their game well, spent thousands on conference booths, streaming video bandwidth and rushing game demos through development and testing cycles early to get eyes on their titles.

Let’s face it, gamers that scrambled to buy Grant Theft Auto IV have moved onto the next big title or have decided to go outside for some fresh air (probably the former). Hardcore gamers consumes games like candy, sells them off for store credit and works towards their next purchase.

2. Publishers Want Loyalty

DLC breaths new life into old games, making them remain valuable for months after the hype and excitement has died. We’re now spending USD $60.00 for some of these new “current generation” game titles for a few days or weeks of excitement. Free downloadable content brings new reasons to play our “old stale” games and allows us to feel comfortable about our 60 bucks spent on a title.

Rainbow Six Vegas 2 is receiving a new “Fan Pack” for gamers to re-energize themselves about the “old” sequel to Rainbox Six Vegas. A game released in March is considered old by gamers, probably rarely played on Xbox Live anymore and needs something to keep the fans interested. This helps build loyalty to your product so the next franchise title which is released has a better chance of being purchased by your fan base because they can look forward to additional free content in the future.

3. Publishers Hate Used Games

Publishers are helping stick those games in the hands of the gamers for a longer period of time by supplying free add-on packs. Why would you re-sell your precious title back to the store when you could hold it and wait for potential DLC?

Publishers receive no revenue from the resale of a video game so it’s in their best interest to keep it out of the used markets. If there is a chance your beloved game will receive new features, at no cost to you, wouldn’t you hold off from selling it to see what’s coming?

Once a gamer has sold their title to a retail chain for pennies they’re unlikely to re-buy the title with the typical 80% markup when DLC arrives. They may opt to borrow a friends copy or rent the title rather than re-purchase it; neither fair well for the publisher in terms of revenue.

Games are expensive. Consumers must be wise to the best value in their video game titles and publishers want you to choose them for your gaming entertainment. Competition is high, profit margins are low and the market is all about sales volume. Publishers want repeat customers, people who feel their games are valuable before and after the purchase and are willing to share their loyalties with others.

Do you collect old console games, or do you sell them off to game stores and/or eBay? Would you consider holding off a sale if there was a great chance of new downloadable content?

Read MoreRead More

Gaming Podcast 118: Jump The SharkGaming Podcast 118: Jump The Shark

The gaming podcast of the week, the best gaming podcast on the planet! No, just kidding. This week we’re taking a look back at Starfox, we’re reading off some great community questions, covering history on Dave Arneson and hitting up some news:

  • podcast-200x200Will Wright Leaves Electronic Arts
  • Nintendo Wii Bringing Video Download
  • Nintendo Wii Manufacturing Costs down 45% since launch
  • RockStar connecting Flash games and the Nintendo DS
  • Dave Arneson Dies at Age 61
  • Electronic Arts Want Their Brass Knuckles Back

Thanks for the great responses this week, as always, we’re also asking a question of the week: Is anyone else angry that Wizards of the Coast came out of nowhere to buy TSR, Inc back in the day?

Read MoreRead More