If you’re reading this from across the pond in the US and you bought Guitar Hero Live within the last 12 months then I have some interesting news for you – you may be able to get a refund for your purchase.
There are, of course, some requirements for players to be eligible for the refund. On the very to-the-point claims page, Activision said:
Activision is offering a voluntary refund program for customers who bought the Guitar Hero Live gaming system on or after December 1, 2017, in the United States. Customers may qualify for a refund if:
- They purchased Guitar Hero Live in the United States during the period starting December 1, 2017 and ending on January 1, 2019.
- They submit a completed Claim Form by the deadline of May 1, 2019; and
- Their purchase of Guitar Hero Live since December 2017 can be confirmed by Activision.
The easiest way for players to guarantee a refund is if they can submit a purchase receipt as proof of purchase. It’s quite unlikely that players will still have the receipt, though, so submitting a credit card statement that shows the purchase of the game is the next best way to get your refund. If you can’t submit either of those then you can still submit a claims form and Activision will try to verify the purchase from their end.
Although Activision offered no explanation as to why they are offering these refunds, you don’t need to be a detective to work it out. Back in June, Activision announced that they would be shutting down Guitar Hero TV, the games music streaming service, in December. That move effectively cut 90% of the playable songs from the game, leaving only the 42 songs available on the disc rather than the almost 500 songs that were available when Guitar Hero TV was live.
As you can imagine, that upset a lot of people, with many players who had bought the game in the months prior claiming that they had been ripped off. In fact, one guy did file a lawsuit against Activision claiming false advertising, but he eventually voluntarily dismissed his case.
Guitat Hero Live released back in October 2015 as an effort to reinvigorate the franchise and the whole music game genre as a whole. Unfortunately, the game didn’t sell as well as expected and obviously didn’t hold enough players to keep Guitar Hero TV supported. I personally enjoyed the game, with GHTV being the absolute standout part of the whole package—I discovered numerous new artists and songs that are now integral parts of my playlists through the service—so the shutting down of that part of the game effectively made playing the game pointless for me.
Having bought the game at launch I had plenty of time to experience GHTV and get my moneys worth, but it is understandable that players who had bought the game in the months prior to the announcement would feel a bit miffed that such an integral part of the game was being taken from them so soon and leaving them with such a bare bones package that they didn’t sign up for. It’s great to see that Activision are offering refunds out—it does seem like the right thing to do—but I can’t help but wonder why this is only being offered to players in the US. This is bound to open a can of worms with players in other countries who will feel that they also deserve a refund, so I expect this offer to be spread to other countries sooner rather than later.
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