EON

Activision’s much anticipated Guitar Hero 5 was released September 1st with eighty-five songs by eighty-three different artists, including three tunes from Gwen Stefani and her band, No Doubt. Upon the game’s release it was discovered that the various artist’s avatars could be used to perform any of the songs in the game, a “feature” No Doubt is not pleased with. The band filed a law suit against Activision in early November claiming the video game maker had “turned the group into virtual karaoke players by having them perform over 60 additional songs by other musical groups” without the band’s knowledge or approval.

The law suit further alleges that individual band members can be used to sing solo songs not appropriate to that avatar’s real-life counterpart. One example had Stefani singing the Rolling Stones “Honky Tonk Women” with a male voice.

In an official statement Activision responded to the law suit by claiming, ” Activision worked with No Doubt and the band’s management in developing Band Hero. As a result, Activision believes it is within its legal rights with respect to the use and portrayal of the band members in the game and that this lawsuit is without merit.”