Awhile back, the Destructophone rang off the hook with concerned calls when the word got out that Wii version of Guitar Hero III emitted only monaural audio. Nevermind the Dobly Pro Logic logo on the box; the audio output from the game is the same coming out of each speaker, no matter how many speakers are switched on.
Destructoid's staff debated on whether we should run the story or not, and eventually we decided to leave it alone. We figured that this issue wouldn't matter that much for most of the Wii-owning gaming public, and that players should be more concerned with hitting the right notes on their fake, plasitc guitars than the quality of the audio coming out of their TV speakers.
For those that are still concerned, The New York Times' Bits blog has run a statement from Activision:
We recently became aware that some consumers have not been able to enjoy the full audio output in the Nintendo Wii version of Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock. We are currently working with Nintendo and are planning to issue an improved audio experience in future versions of the game. We expect to have re-mastered discs available by early 2008 and we will be offering consumers replacement discs at no cost once they become available. We thank all of our customers for their support and patience.
We'd love to see the final numbers on how many Guitar Hero III Wii owners actually bother acquiring the new "re-mastered" fix. I'd guess that many users wouldn't even notice the mono audio unless you told them about it.
Dale North is Destructoid's Editor-In-Chief, a founding editor, and specialist in Japanese gaming. An accomplished musician, Dale was reporting from Japan during the earthquakes of 2011. Luckily, he got the fuck out alive and is home in America now with his wife and beloved corgi, Einstein. Dale is also a co-founder of Destructoid's sister anime site
Japanator. Likes Corgis, Sega Saturn, PSP, iPhone, Photographic tools.
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Contest:
8:20 PM on 12.07.2007
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If this was a problem on the 360 or PS3, it would've been patched within 72 hours.
Apparently, the Wii version is the hottest version this holidays. With the Guitar Hero Brand and the Wii name, from what I understand, the game is really hard to find.
.
.
. Yeah, the eBay prices are pretty high.
[urlhttp://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?from=R40&_trksid=m37&satitle=guitar+hero+III+wii&category0=[/url]
Indeed
and yay. Another reason to save or spend 90 bucks on something else if need be till next year.
With all the other minor gaming news and nitpicks that you run throughout the day, you decided your blog didn't have enough room for a story about a fairly important bug in one of the most popular recent game releases? I dislike the PS3, but something tells me if the PS3 version had this problem, you would've run the story.
Are you kidding? You didn't think this would matter to people who purchased a MUSIC game?
I hope you guys don't get paid for your "reporting."
'cause, of course, Wii owners aren't like, real gamers or anything. Wii owners are too fucking stupid to realize things like Mono audio 'cause the Wii is just a kid's console; a toy for stupid mouth-breathers who obviously can't tell stereo from mono.
Fuck you, Dale.
Did I care before hand? Nope.
Do I care now? Nope.
But I'm sure as hell going to jump in on this conversation.
I also recall reading a statement saying they were working on making DLC available on Wii, which is pretty cool assuming it's downloadable to an SD card instead of the system memory.
I can't tell if you're just trying to be funny or you're being sincere...but I don't think thats what dale meant. It was probably more on the lines of...since the average Wii owners argument against a 360/PS3 owner is "it's not all about graphics" (and whether you want to acknowledge it or not, audio is involved in that because of the upgrade you get when going to HDMI or Digital optical), it can be somewhat assumable that Wii owners wouldn't be complaining so much about mono sound...
but, thats just what I think he meant and you shouldn't take things so serious. If it is a problem thats personally affecting you, then complain to activision....
That's an odd line to take. I'd have thought that not giving the player what was advertised would be a fairly major infraction by any company. The game is marketed as having Dolby Pro Logic II, not only does it not meet this criteria, it doesn't even do stereo sound.
As cynical as it might sound, I honestly can't think of this same situation occurring on any of the other current generation consoles. If the 360 or PS3 versions outputted only in mono, we'd be hearing about it non stop, (most likely as ammunition from those who's console was NOT affected by the problem).
It's interesting to note that out of the 5 versions of GHIII on metacritic, (PS2, PS3, 360, Wii and PC), the Wii is tying with the 360 version and leading it in user reviews, though there are almost double the number of 360 reviews. Perhaps when Wii downloadable content launches, it'll be enough to push it over the edge.
As for the Wii being inferior? When it comes down to raw power, definitely, absolutely. When it comes down to sales and engagement, I think both the 360 and the PS3 are very much lacking in those departments.
It's a bug, and it should be fixed. No one should be claiming that they bought it purely on the basis that it had Dolby Pro Logic II, but that doesn't mean that it's something that those who own the game should be without.
Don't you thing a mess up like that in a music based game is a little important? Why were you worried about how the game is going to sell? Anyways it doesn't matter that much cause your reporting it now and everyone that reads VG blogs know anyways. It's not like your trying to Kane and Lynch us.
I would have picked up the mono version anyways if I could have actually found it.