Harmonix is aiming for harmony in the music game world, but some sour notes are coming from Activision as of late.
Last week, one of our sources said that Activision could be behind the delayed release of the Rock Band controller compatibility patch, which would let gamers use their Guitar Hero III controllers with Rock Band on the PS3. And then, things started to come together when we witnessed Red Octane’s snarlings a few days back. Now we get the full story from a statement from Harmonix, sent to us today.
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.
Harmonix would like for Activision to reverse their decision, and would like to see Rock Band controllers work with Guitar Hero III. They go on to say that they welcome third-parties to join in, and will “and will provide any required support in order for them to do so.”
Red Octane has stated their reasons for not allowing Rock Band controllers to work with their game, but why block GHIII controllers from working with Rock Band? That just seems mean. C’mon, you used to be buddies!
