EA: "Single-digit Complaints" on Rock Band Support

Despite apparently high defect rates for first-run instrument peripherals shipped with Harmonix's Rock Band (PS2, PS3, X360), distributor and co-marketer Electronic Arts claims that complaints with the company's high-lauded support and replacement process were extremely infrequent.

""We've had single-digit complaints around the guitar and the package," said EA CEO John Riccitiello, who clarified that "single-digit" referred to a percent figure, in today's financial conference call. "One of the things I'm very proud of is the cooperation between [EA and Harmonix], and the frankly unprecedented customer service support. All the data I've got now suggests that consumers are very happy."

EA offered to ship replacement peripherals to customers with hardware failures, without waiting for the defective units to be returned. Some customers who experienced long response times were offered free EA titles in compensation.

The company also spoke on the success of its downloadable content for Rock Band. On average, each user has purchased about two songs, and EA plans to continue selling downloadable content and utilizing the consoles' hard drives for years to come.