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.
