Activision: Downloadable GH3 songs on Wii next year
Wednesday, December 5th, 2007 at 4:19am by Boss Hog
“Downloadable content for the Wii is something we are working very hard on getting in place for the new year,” a Red Octane official said in an email to Nintencast.
“There is no definite timetable in place but we are hoping it will be soon.”
How about a fix for mono-only sound while you’re at it?
December 5th, 2007 at 6:26 am
You’d think that should be high priority with mono. >.>
December 5th, 2007 at 7:30 am
Personally, I would rather get D.C. before a mono-sound patch. It really doesn’t bother me… Plus, enabling downloadable content for Guitar Hero will most likely mean that we will get it for other games as well. In other words, this is good news for all Wii owners, not just the ones who bought GH.
December 5th, 2007 at 7:50 am
They’re just waiting until Nintendo does something with the storage issue. In the meantime, fix the f-in mono problem.
December 5th, 2007 at 8:07 am
Drop the price (to a price that goes better with a regular game and a plastic wiimote shell) and you have a sale with me.
I’m with Kevin on the whole mono thing, doesn’t really bother me… A lot of games the stereo is done in a way that you can hardly tell the difference. If you went to a rock concert it’s unlikely that you could distinguish exactly where each of the sounds are coming from anyway, it’s the belnd of all the instruments that gets into your head.
The promise of downloadable tunes in the future sounds great though. I think that should be top priority over the mono thing.
December 5th, 2007 at 8:27 am
I think mono problem is more important than some of you suggested. At this point GH III has probably the worst sound of all Wii games I have (~10 ). Heck, Rayman Raving Rabbids music games sound a lot better than this.
So, by effectively saying ‘we don’t mind’, you are sending the message that Wii is a platform where you can get away with anything. I’m not sure I’m fine with this.
As a side note, the outcome of this ‘mono’ issues for me and my friends: 2 extra Xbox360 sold with GH III bundles to boot. I couldn’t recommend Wii version to my friend, so Microsoft got two new customers. I suspect Nintendo will see less of my gaming dollars as a result. It’s funny how things turn out sometimes.
December 5th, 2007 at 8:41 am
You bought a new console just to play Guitar Hero? Do you even *watch* South Park?
December 5th, 2007 at 9:06 am
Yep, and I did watch South Park. If you think about this for a second, it actually makes sense (at least for me):
1. Guitar Hero-type games are nothing special on the Wii, motion sensor is not really that important here.
2. No DLC so far and not clear when it comes. “We are working hard” does not a release date make. I’m working very hard on getting a Nobel prize myself.
3. Can’t get GHII on the Wii. I want to play it too, now that I’m hooked.
4. No Rock Band commitment. I would like that too.
5. Wii60 is a nice combination to have in general. GH III was just a tipping point and an excuse, both for me and my friend. It was actually his wife who demanded GH III after playing it at our house, so it’s a win-win…
December 5th, 2007 at 12:53 pm
I’m loving playing GHIII on Wii. I’ve recommended it to a dozen people. No one even noticed anything about the sound and we have it playing on a nice surround system. Its totally fine. And the best part? I can highly recommend it on Wii because its cheaper and because you can play online for free. Free online gaming is far more enticing to me and the people I know then a Mono update that will go unnoticed by vast the majority of users. The fact the MS actually withholds online multiplayer in a game that supports it if you don’t pay a monthly fee is unforgivable.
December 5th, 2007 at 1:25 pm
“The fact the MS actually withholds online multiplayer in a game that supports it if you don’t pay a monthly fee is unforgivable.”
Personally, I’d rather pay to use something that’s been well implemented and thought out than use something poorly implemented and thought out, as long as the price is nominal. $4 a month is nominal.
December 5th, 2007 at 2:26 pm
Fixing that mono issue must be top priority.
Imagine not fixing it and trying to sell GHIV to the 20+ million Wii owners out there?
Bad business……
As PG says…..the “we dont mind” mentality is really dangerous.
Its ok with a little less graphic quality since this isnt really a graphics game, and who has the focus on anything else than those little coloured dots anyway?
But come on….a music game with crappy sound?
December 5th, 2007 at 2:59 pm
“Personally, I’d rather pay to use something that’s been well implemented and thought out than use something poorly implemented and thought out, as long as the price is nominal. $4 a month is nominal.”
Thats because you’ve been tricked into thinking there is no other alternative.
Much like some people are saying “thats fine” to mono sound and letting Activision “get away with it”. So too are people saying “thats fine” to paying for online multiplayer and letting MS get away with it. They confuse you by tacking on a bunch of extra functionality and teaching the robots that “you get what you pay for”. The thing is, I just want online multiplayer. I don’t need or want elaborate friends lists, or in game chat, but regardless, you can’t play if you don’t pay.
That sucks. For some MONO sucks. Its all about your priorities.
December 5th, 2007 at 3:15 pm
If I own the Wii and the Xbox 360, what alternative do I have? The Wii’s online multiplayer is laughable. Just as you can’t forgive paying for it, I can’t forgive a lack of a persistent friends list and the complete lack of communication with your online counterpart. It’s not just halfassed, it’s insulting to anyone who’s played on XBL or on many PC games.
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: the Wii’s implementation of online multiplayer is absolutely no different than an additional difficulty level called “random.”
December 5th, 2007 at 4:19 pm
“If I own the Wii and the Xbox 360, what alternative do I have?”
This demonstrates perfectly the success with which MS has duped the masses. If people were not so quick to open their wallets to MS, the service would have gone free a long time ago. The alternative is a free, adware paid service. Its almost unheard of for an online service of any kind to both charge you AND serve you ads. This is double dipping pure and simple. As long as its tolerated by people who think they have no choice, it will continue. If they want to offer some premium service for a monthly fee, thats fine. Include a persistant friends list and all that unnecessary nonsense to placate the people who want to pay for it, but don’t hide the online multiplayer component of EVERY behind it, and don’t serve ads. If you’re going to serve ads, the service should be free. Simple.
December 5th, 2007 at 4:26 pm
Despite the nuisance of game specific friend codes, Guitar Hero III for Wii plays just as nice online as Xbox Live Gold (having played them both), provided you can do without all the stats and communication whistles. Best of all, it’s free on Wii.
December 5th, 2007 at 4:27 pm
The fact that you think that a persistent friends list is unnecessary nonsense perfectly illustrates the monumental gap in our online philosophies. The friends list is the spine of the community – and the single most essential component of a solid online community-based service.
As to the cost, sure I’d prefer it if it were free, but no one has demonstrated the ability to put together a service like Xbox Live for free, so why should I, as a consumer, be outraged? It’s not like there are obvious examples where I can point and say “why aren’t they doing it like this?” Sure, it kind of sucks that there are ads (by the way, there is ONE ad, and it’s not a pop up, and it’s not in the way at all, unlike the constant advertising in many XBox games, regardless of Xbox Live functionality) but the fact remains that the functionality is there, and they’re the only one offering it.
I ask “what alternative do I have if I want Xbox Live quality service?” Your answer is “don’t have Xbox Live quality service.” This is hardly an alternative.
For the record, the most wonderful part of Xbox Live (downloadable games and free demos, as well as persistent friends list) is 100% free. If you don’t want to play online, you don’t have to. Playing online is what I use XBL for the least.
December 5th, 2007 at 4:29 pm
“Despite the nuisance of game specific friend codes, Guitar Hero III for Wii plays just as nice online as Xbox Live (having played them both). If you can do without all the stats and communication whistles of Xbox Live, GHIII Wii is a great free alternative to online multiplayer.”
In GHIII, or any Wii online game where you’re playing with a friend, how do you have a discussion about which song you’d like to play? How is the lack of this ability not a problem with the Wii online community? I personally find online play useless without the benefit of voice chat and/or keyboard support. Communication with your online counterpart is an essential part of any online gaming.
December 5th, 2007 at 4:33 pm
“In GHIII, or any Wii online game where you’re playing with a friend, how do you have a discussion about which song you’d like to play? How is the lack of this ability not a problem with the Wii online community?”
In my experience, often times I’ll just invite a GH friend to a session (the game notifies friends with an onscreen popup just like on 360) and play without talking. Other times, I just exchange text messages during sessions.
UPDATE: Sadly, there is no online Wii community right now, only game-specific communities.
December 5th, 2007 at 4:56 pm
While I very much enjoy playing GH3 on my Wii, I couldn’t help but noticed you used a photo of either the 360 or PS3 version. Why? Because the GRAPHICS ON GH3 FOR WII SUCK!!! I’ll say no more.
December 5th, 2007 at 5:01 pm
I’m with blake on this one. I’ll trade the bells and whistles for free any day. When I play multiplayer, you each get to choose songs for the setlist. If I really need to talk to them, I’d pick up the phone I guess, but since I’ve never felt the needs, I probably don’t need it. I already pay for wireless and VOIP so paying for it again on xbox seems redundant. I was perfectly satisfied with the online component of GHIII on Wii, as well as games like Strikers and BWii. Both function perfectly and offer Free online multi as they should. I have yet to really get time with MOH:H2 but thats looking pretty solid too.
“I ask “what alternative do I have if I want Xbox Live quality service?” Your answer is “don’t have Xbox Live quality service.” This is hardly an alternative.”
No, not at all. The alternative is to have XBOX live quality service for free. If people weren’t so quick to bend over for online multiplayer because they’ve been taught they have no choice, it would be free and just as good. Or, worse case scenario, adware funded.
December 5th, 2007 at 6:23 pm
I really don’t mind the mono sound; I always just use my TV’s built-in speakers. However, I see how having a thousand-dollar surround sound system and having the same thing coming at you from all directions could pose some annoyance.
Anyways, the Downloadable Content was something I was hoping so dearly for but never actually expected to happen. Good on Activision (or is it Activision Blizzard now?)/RedOctane for getting this up.
December 6th, 2007 at 6:44 pm
“Drop the price (to a price that goes better with a regular game and a plastic wiimote shell) and you have a sale with me.”
The Wii Guitar is not just a plastic shell. It has electronic components. It’s more like the Classic Controller than the Zapper. Just because they left out the tilt sensor, doesn’t mean the thing is EMPTY.
As for the DLC, what about this? Since the game itself doesn’t have the ability to play DLC, what about a Guitar Hero channel? You would download the songs to an SD card, which the channel would be able to read. The channel could be tied to the disc channel is some way so it would only have full functionality if the GHIII disc was inserted. Without the disc, maybe you could download short demo songs to play in the channel, using the Wiimote to play them if you don’t have a guitar controller. (Yes, I know that you wouldn’t have the guitar if you didn’t have the game.)
December 6th, 2007 at 8:14 pm
Looks like a fix for mono sound is on the way: replacement discs. Activision says: “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.” [via]
January 5th, 2008 at 10:25 pm
i don’t care about the mono problem, but i agree with josh s. there should be a ghIII channel, that would be awesome…
February 4th, 2008 at 2:08 pm
if any body knows how to put custom songs on gh3 for xbox 360 let me know at justinsbabyboy@yahoo.com