A couple months back I wrote about my frustration while waiting for the delivery of my much-anticipated copy of Guitar Hero 5. I don’t know who was to blame, Activision, Amazon or the USPS, but I assumed that the game publisher could be absolved in any guilt in regards to shipping delays. However, now, looking back, I don’t know. These days it seems that Guitar Hero/Activision is asleep at the wheel.
Of course there was the Kurt Cobain avatar controversy in Guitar Hero 5 (heck, even Bon Jovi was embarrassed by the idea of the late Nirvana frontman and grunge icon singing Jersey’s greatest hits). Then came news this week that ska/punk/rocksteady/rock/pop outfit No Doubt is suing Activision over the use of their image in the Guitar Hero spin-off Band Hero. Evidently, much like the Cobain fiasco, Gwen Stefani and the boys did not provide Activision permission (or so they claim) to use their virtual counterparts in songs other than No Doubt tracks (apparently the prospect of No Doubt avatars performing a Taylor Swift jam is an affront to everything ska/punk/rocksteady/rock/pop stands for). Certainly, it looks like Activision is having some issues. But these avatar disputes are not what concerns me.
Jumped The Snark 