Activision’s F-You To Consumers Part 2

The Boston Globe has a bit on the videogame “Guitar Wars”, that is, the brewing battle between Guitar Hero and Rock Band, and their respective publishers.  Regarding the compatibility patch that was blocked by Activision, the newspaper managed to get a quote out of an Activision spokesperson stating that “we believe we should be compensated for the use of our technology.”  You know, they’re absolutely right.  They do deserve to get paid for people to use their technology.  What the hell is Harmonix thinking?  That they can just waltz into the music game business (that they created) and use any ol’ controller that they want to and people wouldn’t have to pay for it?  That’s crazy talk!

Oh wait… that’s right, people are ALREADY paying to use their technology.  You see, whenever someone goes up to a register with a copy of Guitar Hero 3, they’re buying that technology.  You might even say that they’re… compensating Activision for the use of their technology!  I know… rocket science.  It’s amazing that Activision has managed to come as far as they have without apparently understanding this very basic tenet of business (you know, selling a product to people for a profit, aka, being compensated for selling their technology), but I guess they’ve just gotten lucky so far.

Maybe Activision thinks this is savvy business, because what they THINK they’re doing is pissing off purchasers of the PS3 version of Rock Band who can’t yet buy another controller to play the game, but this is stupidly short-sighted.  To begin with, Activision isn’t selling stand-alone guitars for the PS3 yet either, so people would similarly have to buy 2 copies of Guitar Hero 3 for PS3 if they wanted an extra guitar now.  It’s stupid to think that these Rock Band customers (who would only be really pissed if they wanted a second controller right away) will be going back to Guitar Hero to buy 2 copies of the game just because they can’t get an extra guitar for RB yet.  Activision is also blowing an easy opportunity for easy money.  EA/MTV/Harmonix have promised that stand-alone controllers will be available in January, but the game released in November.  Had Activision simply allowed the compatibility, they would easily sell even more copies of the game to people who need an extra controller and don’t want to wait until January.  Perhaps they’ll realize their mistake, but by then it’ll be too late for them to really capitalize on RB’s guitar issues.
Something still confuses me, though. Sony basically sided with Activision on this issue by not allowing the patch to be released for the PS3.  However, the PS2 version of Rock Band just released and, according to the Boston Globe article, IS compatible with the Guitar Hero 3 PS2 controller.  If Sony sided with Activision for the PS3 version, why didn’t Sony block the release of a compatible Rock Band on the PS2 as well?  Is it simply the fact that the disc is shipping compatible (without a patch)?  If that’s the case, could Harmonix offer replacement discs with the compatibility patch for PS3 owners?  Could they just issue a voluntary recall? Could Activision do anything?  I’d love to see this happen and the fireworks that ensue.