What makes this lawsuit interesting is not that it's about the faulty equipment -- gamers have known for some time that the Rock Band drum pedal has a tendency to snap under conditions of extreme rock. Morgan's lawsuit is notable because it alleges that the bad pedal was part of a deliberate campaign to coerce people into buying the sequel.
On June 26th, Electronic Arts extended the Rock Band warranty until October 1st of this year. Rock Band 2 was announced four days later, and the product shipped in October. Plaintiffs cited marketing for the game that advertised an "improved kick pedal with metal plate." The lawsuit alleges that the defendants intentionally timed the warranty expiration to drive users of the faulty existing hardware to purchase a new full game.
Deliberate conspiracy? That'll be tough to prove. Here at GameSpy, we agree that the new Rock Band 2 drum set is far better than the set that came with the original game, but videogame hardware and software is improving all the time. Proving that the improvements were anything more than the natural development of a product and that the warranty expiration was anything more than a coincidence will be a tall order.
Update: We just received comment from a Harmonix / MTV Games spokesperson:
Harmonix and MTV Games are dedicated to consumers having an outstanding experience with our products. When used as directed, our drum pedals are designed to provide years of enjoyment. In addition, at the launch of Rock Band we offered consumers an extended opportunity return defective or broken hardware for any reason whatsoever--no questions asked. This litigation is opportunistic and baseless.
