Activision and RedOctane send guitar faceplates to Guitar Hero III owners

by Candace Savino { Mar 22nd 2008 at 6:00PM }

Activision has made some mistakes with the Wii edition of Guitar Hero III, and it probably wasn't all too much fun for game owners to send in their discs and await fixed copies. The company, along with RedOctane, are trying to get back into people's good graces, though, by sending a free guitar faceplate to people who've replaced their discs.

We think this is a great move on Activision's part, especially since they didn't announce their good will publicly. It's nice that they're trying to compensate gamers for the inconvenience they've caused, considering they could have done nothing but fix the problem at hand -- that's what we call good customer service. From what we understand, the faceplates will arrive a few weeks after customers get their fixed editions.

So, what do you say, Guitar Hero owners? Will you forgive Activision, or will the company still be sleeping on the couch tonight?

To see Activision and RedOctane's love note to customers, check past the break.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in! And thanks, Michael, for the pics!]

Tags: accessories, activision, customerservice, faceplate, ghiii, guitar, guitar-hero-iii, red-octane, redoctane

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Gudaman @ Mar 22nd 2008 6:34PM

This is great, but, wheres our DLC we were told we would recieve...

LSC @ Mar 22nd 2008 6:40PM

Show us some DLC love and we'll talk.

Until then the Wii version will continue to be the red-headed stepchild of GH3.

Xiphoid @ Mar 22nd 2008 7:36PM

Anyone know if the Wii copies on store shelves now include the mono fix? Haven't bought the game yet because I didn't want to deal with a replacement send-off.

jinn35 @ Mar 22nd 2008 7:59PM

the only way that I know of to tell if the disc is mono or not is that there is a small star towards the bottom of the disc on the newer ones. But that doesn't help if you are buying it in a store or online...

Nick the Hero of Canton @ Mar 22nd 2008 8:18PM

:(

Guess I waited too long...

raptorspike @ Mar 22nd 2008 8:52PM

When there is a way I can incorporate all the free DLC into the game, I'll be happy.

buffalo_aaa @ Mar 22nd 2008 9:20PM

Well, I COULD forgive them if they didn't send me a postcard telling me "The disc included wasn't an original GH3 disc..." I've been fighting with them for about a week now, talking back and forth between managers who "need some more information." It's a tad bit annoying to have sent them my game, only for their system to eat it and label me a liar! We'll have to see how this plays out and if they end up sending me one of these nifty faceplates.

Steve @ Mar 22nd 2008 9:25PM

That's similar to what happened to me, only mine said they didn't receive any disc at all.

Steve @ Mar 22nd 2008 9:25PM

I sent in my Guitar Hero disc, only to get a letter today that they did not receive the disc. I have no clue what happened, I did everything they said, only to now have no Guitar Hero whatsoever.

So I'm not very happy with Activision, to say the least.

Roto13 @ Mar 22nd 2008 9:42PM

That sounds like it might have something to do with the postal system.

buffalo_aaa @ Mar 22nd 2008 9:43PM

I called the service center in Arizona and they told me there was nothing else they could do and to call activision directly - (310) 255-2050. They have a difficult menu, ripe with voice recognizing commands. Its not hard to get sent to a live person, though hopefully you have a speaker phone and something else to do because it usually takes 10 minutes of holding in order to get a live human. Good luck and let me know how your battle progresses.

(according to the rep at activision, this isn't a rare occurrence)

Roto13 @ Mar 22nd 2008 9:43PM

HEy, this is great. This appeases me and now I think I'll send mine in for replacement. Does anyone have a link to the website? xP

Alex @ Mar 22nd 2008 9:50PM

NOICE! I want a faceplate!

Are they all that faceplate, or do they send you a random one? Cause I want the Sex Pistols one!

amazon.com/Guitar-Pistols-Faceplate-Controller-Playstation/dp/B000YAICX8

Tom @ Mar 22nd 2008 10:09PM

I dunno. I like the faceplates, but I'm afraid to send my disc in cuz of all the people's discs "dissapearing" It's not worth it to me. But once they give us some DLC, I'll be happier.

Tom @ Mar 22nd 2008 10:10PM

It's still in effect until august of this year. You can still send it in.

ExMegalomaniac @ Mar 22nd 2008 11:20PM

it makes me happier with them, slightly, seeing our DLC will help a lot more, as well as a big price drop for the stand alone shell, 69.99 is way too much

joe smith @ Mar 22nd 2008 11:46PM

Wow. VERY nice of them. If you guys wanted DLC, you should've bought a PS3 (or 360, but ps3 is my system of choice). Either way, at least Activision admitted they were wrong and did something about it. They didn't have to.

Shadow31 @ Mar 23rd 2008 12:16AM

I send mine in almost two weeks ago and still have heard nothing. Starting to get nervous, but I'll wait another week or so. Was there supposed to be any confirmation email or something when they received it?

Calvin @ Mar 23rd 2008 12:18AM

I got my disk 2 weeks ago so hopefully I should be getting one of these puppys soon.

Dio @ Mar 23rd 2008 12:35AM

So umm, I just got my Wii recently so please understand that I have not been paying attention to the Wii scene previously. Do the current copies of GHIII for Wii in retail stores have stereo discs?

Valerie @ Mar 23rd 2008 12:55AM

This is righting some wrongs for me. As of now I can't tell what I'm lacking, but hopefully the game can sound better. Free faceplates sounds awesome, and the DLC ought to be coming soon enough. I think I'm going to wait until GH Aerosmith comes out so I'll have something to play while my disk is gone. Anyone else going with this plan?

CJ @ Mar 23rd 2008 1:39AM

The stereo disc on the bottom has RVL-RGHE-USA-02. The original disc has RVL-RGHE-USA-01. No clue what's on the shelves.
I got replacement discs fairly quickly (within 2-3 weeks). I got a faceplate today (~2 weeks after I received the replacement disc) and it's a nice gesture IMO. I got a confirmation email when they received the discs and you can check the status online
http://www.activisiongameexchange.com

sn1per @ Mar 23rd 2008 2:19AM

In response to lots of people having discs lost in the mail: It doesn't really help that the address you send it to contains "Guitar Hero III Disc Replacement Program" in it. Everyone who sees the envelope immediately knows there's a game in it. That's why I sent mine certified. Cost a good bit more, but at least I know it won't get stolen by a postal employee.

Nathan @ Mar 23rd 2008 7:18AM

I guess I might be lucky my disc didn't get lost in the mail. I'll gladly take any freebies they want to send out, but it still won't make me forget the overpricedness of the standalone guitar or the lack of DLC.

Ghen @ Mar 23rd 2008 8:16AM

Well, yes.. there is that ;) the 2nd guitar would put me in the poor house... thats more than my cable TV bill!

As far as DLC, we have to wait for WiiWare to come out. Blame Nintendo for that one. I'm sure Activision would sell us DLC if they could! Who throws away money?

Ghen @ Mar 23rd 2008 8:14AM

You know, this is all I wanted was just some kind of recognition. I'll accept the faceplate and all will be forgiven Activision. (we all know red octane had nothing to do with the audio on the disc)

Free DLC would have been worth what, $5-10? Faceplates are $20-$30. Sounds good in my books.

malisp @ Mar 23rd 2008 8:29AM

A random faceplate won't right all the wrongs that took place regarding this whole debacle. If they really wanted a show of good will, they would do like EA and ship the fixed discs first with a prepaid mailer to send the old disc back in (holding a credit card number to protect against fraud). Maybe that would make too much sense. Or maybe I should just remember this is the same Activision that decided to just ignore the QA process in order to rush the game to market before the holidays, turn a deaf ear to any complaints until after the holiday season and a lawsuit was filed, lie about only a few customers experiencing sound issues, and then ask people to send in their game and wait 3-4 weeks for a replacement. Oh yeah, and here's a $2 faceplate we couldn't sell anyways, see how sorry we are! When I heard they were finally releasing an additional guitar shell (more than 5 months after the game came out) and it was going to cost $70, that was the last straw for me. I'm going for the $132 refund and waiting for Rockband. Thanks for letting me play half of a crappy-sounding game for free for a few months though, I guess...

T12 @ Mar 23rd 2008 8:46AM

My disc is also "missing" after I sent it in. I called Activision customer support as well and they said they're starting to get calls from others that this is happening. They opened a support case for me and the support guy said: "Take a look around your place and make sure that you did not accidentally leave the disc in a different case or under something. Each time we have researched this issue the envelope has been empty. We have not had a case of envelopes arriving damaged or tampered with. If you were sent a card about the disc not being in the envelope then it is highly likley it was not in there. There has not been a case yet where the replacement house was in error."

I know it was in there, I have witnesses I sealed it in there and if they do not have cases of envelopes arriving damaged or tampered with, then the replacement house employees must be taking them. They're probably selling them on eBay. I'm waiting and continue to argue with them that I sent it in.

Joe Attardi @ Mar 23rd 2008 9:33AM

Nice... they should fire the bozo that wrote up the note. It's "complimentary", not "complementary". Nice job Activision/RedOctane!

Miami Heat @ Mar 24th 2008 2:36PM

Well, I guess 'technically' it is a complementary faceplate, provided complimentary! LOL!

xnifex @ Mar 23rd 2008 9:44AM

I had received the envelope to send the disc in and sent it in. I never received an email saying they received the disc but I did get a replacement disc in about 1.5 weeks. I'm looking forward to this free faceplate. I hope it's a nice one.

grp110nyr @ Mar 23rd 2008 10:02AM

Great gesture by Activison. Keep churning out solid titles and solid support and the fans will continue to reward you.

sn1per @ Mar 23rd 2008 2:35PM

Guitar Hero III is hardly a solid game, and a faceplate made of $2 worth of plastic and ink is hardly solid support.

Gabriel @ Mar 23rd 2008 4:02PM

are people who sent their disc in immedietly getting a faceplate cuz i haven't got mine yet.

Ghen @ Mar 24th 2008 6:03PM

nope, its not immediate.

chtrich @ Mar 24th 2008 10:32AM

I got my face plate Saturday.....it was a great surprise! Well done Activision!

jetsaredim @ Mar 24th 2008 11:30AM

One of my friends just got Guitar Hero and he says its the stereo version. Also, for all those waiting due to horror stories, I sent in my disc and got it back in something like 2-3 weeks. No problems at all. Except when I got it back and went to play for the first time in about a month, I found that my system was completely dead. (Not due to GH, though.)

Hafk @ Mar 24th 2008 1:40PM

Atleast it is good to know that Activision cares enough to atleast address one of the Wii's plastic guitar playing problems. (When was the last time us Wii owners heard anything from you, EA? Early/Mid Febuaray. Atleast give us a screenshot or SOMETHING. The Wii owners want Rock Band too...)

Hafk @ Mar 24th 2008 1:44PM

On an added note: HELL YEAH

A free faceplate to paint!

Still debating if I want to paint it. It actually looks pretty good.

I wish they would sell blank unglossed faceplates for $5-$10 for us painters out there. Oh, and if stores carried the Wii faceplates, that would be nice too. (I can only get Wii faceplates online)

jetsaredim @ Mar 26th 2008 12:51PM

Check their ebay store. They are selling them for $15 + $8 shipping.

Hafk @ Mar 30th 2008 7:54PM

Yes, but $23 is just too much for a piece of plastic.

TheDave @ Mar 24th 2008 4:58PM

This is a slap in the face to Wii owners everywhere.

So let me get this right,
*) Craptivision ROYALLY SCREWS UP making (& QA'ing) the game
*) They take a MONTH to even admit they screwed up
*) They take another THREE MONTHS to correct the problem
*) They expect their customers to go "3-4" weeks WITHOUT the game they paid for while they get around to sending out the corrected version?

Please, this whole thing has all been just a sick joke on Craptivisions part.

Now to mock their customers, they send them some random hunk of plastic to cover up the plain guitar controller, and they get NO choice over which one they even would like.

Can I trade in this POS for credit towards DLC?
Where is the damn DLC anyways?

I bet we have to wait until after the main WiiWare launches (May 19th) before Nintendo allows 3rd parties to sell DLC... What a shame.

I really feel the worst for those people form whom USPS (probably) lost their package, and have nothing right now.
I would be calling Craptivision demanding that they overnight me a new version of the game. They are the ones whole screwed up in the 1st place!

Isn't it funny how Craptivision recommends you 3 day UPS them to return a copy of the game, yet, they use the less than reliable USPS with NO tracking #'s to give people new version of the game THEY SCREWED UP MAKING?

Absolutely pathetic slap in the face on Craptivision part...

I can't wait for a faceplate to show up at someones house (as a goodwill gesture) BEFORE they get their replacement disc...

jetsaredim @ Mar 26th 2008 12:50PM

Just got my faceplate today. I'd been working on my own custom faceplate, but this is pretty nice and a cool design. I, for one, think that it's all water under the bridge. Yea, I would have liked to not have to send away my disc for a month, but shit happens. Being in the software biz, I know that sometimes things happen like this. At least they owned up and at least attempted to make good on the faulty discs and wait times. They could have just given everyone the finger and said - tough shit to those who'd already gotten the mono version.

Dreggor @ Mar 28th 2008 4:55PM

I sent mine out pretty immediately. I got the game sometime in the last week. I got the faceplate early this morning. Same as in the picture above.

I think it's cool. I don't get people who are complaining about getting free swag from the company as an apology. I'm sorry for the people who lost their discs in the mail, but that's not the company's fault. They don't have any control over the mail system, so you can't hold that against them.

DLC would be great. Unicorns that poop chocolate and sneeze jelly beans also would be great. For now, within the realms of what is possible, I personally am grateful that they went the extra step to only get me my new disc back quickly, but to also get a nice peripheral.

CBisGod @ Mar 31st 2008 4:55PM

Like alot of you here, I am also one of the unlucky ones who had their original disc disappear in the mail or in their warehouse. I sent mine in on Feb 14th and never got any acknowledgment of them receiving it. I called them numerous times to see what the heck was going on and they tell me that they never got my original disc and wouldn't send a replacement until they got my original. I am really furious right now and feel like I lost $50 due to their screw up with the mono sound. When I called the 1-310 number, they were no help at all. They told me to call USPS to see if they can see what happened to it. I called today and was told that someone from USPS would call me on Monday. But with no tracking number, I doubt they will able to check on it. I was also promised by Activision that a rep would call me early next week to try to resolve the situation, but I will be shocked if they actually do.

Rene Tan @ Apr 3rd 2008 5:49PM

I received my free faceplate yesterday but have yet to receive my replacement disc. I got my confirmation email that it had been sent out on the 21st of march. should I be worried that it isn't here yet? I live in toronto so I'm not sure if that plays a factor in all this. any feedback would be appreciated.

Rene Tan @ Apr 3rd 2008 6:46PM

stormandstress @ May 14th 2008 4:41PM

Same situation here, in Niagara Ontario. Got the faceplate, same insert stating "You recently received.. a replacement disc" as above, but haven't seen a replacement disc.

My theory is that they sent all of the faceplates out across NA at the same time from the US, but that the Canadian (or at least Ontarian) replacement send-out is somehow delayed / botched. I'd better see it soon, because I really don't relish the idea of trying to get in touch with them and correct yet another screwup in a long line of them. Nice faceplate, but I am not impressed.

Sambora @ May 15th 2008 11:08PM

Same here, just north of Toronto.
Mailed out my disc beginning of April.
Got my "faceplate" earlier this week (mid-May).
Did not receive a disc yet. The online rebate site shows that the disc was mailed "09-May-2008" and to allow "15 days for delivery". I determined that this wasn't the faceplate, because that came via FedEx with a ship date of 01-May-2008.
Nice gesture, but with no disc, it's useless. Keep waiting on I guess...

Manny Calavera @ May 26th 2008 3:59PM

Same for me. I'm from Sherbrooke, Qc and I received the faceplate but not the DVD itselft...

I called Activision and waited on hold for 15 minutes then they closed (17h PM)...

Anyway ! I hope to hear good news from you guys with the same issue !