As originally reported by Destructoid and GamingExcellence yesterday, RedOctane released a patch in order to fix complaints of spotty whammy bar performance on the X-plorer guitar that came packed with the game.

As quoted by the Activision FAQ:

We really appreciate you bringing this to our attention. A title update for Guitar Hero II for the Xbox 360 is now available on Xbox Live that should resolve the situation where input from the whammy bar was not always recognized. Downloading the update should resolve this issue for all Activision Guitar Hero branded guitar models. We are very sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused.

Apparently, there will be a lot more apologies, as this new patch is apparently causing the 360's equivalent of fin rot. There are many reports being found of Xbox 360's being found floating upside down with a flashing red circle on the Official Xbox Forums, and the Guitar Hero 2 Official Forums.

Eurogamer reports that RedOctane; the makers of Guitar Hero; are aware of the issue, and are "looking into the problem." Unfortunately for 360 shredders, the only present solution to the problem is to return the console to Microsoft for potentially costly repairs. Therefore, it will be interesting to see whether RedOctane will reimburse customers for bricking their 360s if this issue is confirmed to be the problem.

This is exactly what gamers feared over ever since patching games became possible on consoles. Remember the Myth II patch a few years ago that would delete hard drives? How long until this happens on a game console? Consoles gamers have the right to expect stability and full functionality out of the box.

RedOctane admitting to the problem is an important first step, the ball is in their court right now, and hopefully for Guitar Hero fans, they do the right thing.

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