Guitar Wars: Activision Says Harmonix "Painting A Misleading Picture"

In response to Harmonix's statement yesterday that Activision is blocking the release of a patch that would allow the* Guitar Hero III* PlayStation 3 controller to function with Rock Band, Activision says that the Rock Band maker "paints a very misleading picture" of the situation.

"Harmonix and its parent company MTV Games/Viacom recently declined
Activision’s offer to reach an agreement that would allow the use of
Guitar Hero guitar controllers with Rock Band," reads the statement.

It's becoming a little more clear what's going on. It sounds like when Activision talks about an "agreement," it is talking about some kind of licensing situation. Whereas Harmonix just wants to release a patch that allows Rock Band to use the controller, without getting into any sort of contract or agreement with Activision.

To Music Gaming Fans:

The recent announcement by MTV Games/Viacom’s Harmonix division that Activision is blocking Sony from releasing a patch and their plea to enable Rock Band software to work with Guitar Hero hardware paints a very misleading picture.

In fact, Harmonix and its parent company MTV Games/Viacom recently declined Activision’s offer to reach an agreement that would allow the use of Guitar Hero guitar controllers with Rock Band. We have been and remain open to discussions with Harmonix and MTV Games/Viacom about the use of our technology in Rock Band. Unfortunately for Rock Band users, in this case Harmonix and MTV Games/Viacom are unwilling to discuss an agreement with Activision.

Activision’s top priority is to provide consumers with a seamless marriage of best-in-class hardware and software. We are focusing our efforts on innovating hardware and software that are designed to work together, work flawlessly and provide an enjoyable gaming experience.

Best regards,

Activision