RedOctane admits to Guitar Hero II patch problem

Guitar Hero II publisher RedOctane has admitted that some users are experiencing problems with a patch released for the Xbox 360 version over the weekend.

The update, released on Saturday, was supposed to help users whose copies of the game were refusing to acknowledge input from the Xplorer controller's whammy bar.

However forum threads quickly sprang up on Xbox.com and the official Guitar Hero website complaining that the patch was followed immediately by system freezes and, in some cases, the dreaded ring of death - the only answer to which is returning the console to Microsoft.

For gamers whose consoles are now out of warranty, that could mean a significant charge from Microsoft in order to get it fixed.

RedOctane initially declined to comment, but this afternoon a spokesperson told Eurogamer: "We're aware of the problem and we're looking into it."

Given how quickly the last patch was released, it's probably safe to expect something in the near future. What will be interesting though is how the publisher intends to deal with customers who claim their consoles have been "bricked" by the update.