Guitar Hero Controller Manufacturer Posts Review as “customer” on Amazon

By Tyler Ryan on Mar 14, 2008 in News

In a move that could easily be called deceptive, Charlie Bernstein, the President of EZGear, posted a review of their ezJam Guitar for PS3 in the customer review section of Amazon. On the product page of Amazon for the ezJam guitar the first review is from a customer named C. Bernstein, dated December 13, 2007.

It is a mostly positive review that rated the product a full 5 stars, highlighting that it is the “ONLY guitar controller for the PS3 available today” and then he goes on to relate his personal experience with the product. Looking at the other customer product reviews posted by C. Bernstein on Amazon reveal that he only posts reviews about ezGear products, and a quick visit to the ezgear.com webpage on the About Us section reveals that the President of the company is a Charlie Bernstein.

Admittedly he does use his real name in the review, but at no point does he take the time to clarify that he is the President of the company that makes the guitar and would thus have an incentive to post a biased view. The name is verified through amazon.com by usage of their customer “badges”. C. Bernstein had a “Real Name” badge, which is used by amazon when they verify the customers name against their credit card.

Mr. Bernstein’s review is as follows

“I’ve used the Guitar from RedOctane and Activision, and this one is more responsive in my opinion. As far as I know, this is the ONLY guitar controller for PS3 available today.
As far as the small keys go, My wife tried playing on the big keys and really struggled. With the small keys, she is mastering Intermediate mode quickly.
I have been playing guitar for 34 years, and I find the performance of the ezJam great on Hard and Expert level. “

While he does not make any claims that can be verified to be untrue, to my knowledge it was the first guitar available for purchase for the PS3 without buying a bundle, it is very irresponsible to mislead consumers into possibly believing that the review they are reading is an unbiased account of a customer’s experience with a product.

What we’re curious about here is the claim on the product box that says it is “compatible with Guitar Hero I, II, & III”. Previously, only guitars built for PS2 would work with the PS2 games as this is a known compatibility issue, and the reviews on Amazon would indicate that the PS2 versions of Guitar Hero do not work on the PS3 with this guitar.

As of press time, ezGear has not commented on our request for more information.