No Doubt may be suing Activision for turning their Band Hero avatars into gender-defying, sex-endorsing puppets, but the game makers aren’t going down without a fight: they’re filing a countersuit. Why? Because this is America, and you can sue anybody for anything.
Says Spinner.com:
“Activision have accused the band of failing in their due diligence. They said the game’s “unlockable avatars” were a “publicly known” element, and the band should have been aware of them. They also say the band refused to assist in promotion, which was a breach of their contract.”
In No Doubt’s defense (though we’re sure they have as good a lawyer as the money earned from Band Hero can buy), may we play devil’s advocate here? Alright, well, if the “unlockable avatars” are generally assumed to be a known feature in the game—and you know what happens when we assume things—don’t you think, for legal reasons, Activision should probably have mentioned to the band anyway that this may happen to their avatars? Or were they just counting on the fact that Gwen Stefani & Co. would have heard how pissed off Courtney Love was at Activision and figured out on their own that this is what they were in for?
And as for refusing to assist in promotion, perhaps the band may not have wanted to shill a product they were clearly unhappy with? Besides, Activision is getting enough press for Band Hero via No Doubt just from the lawsuit. Maybe the company should tick off one of the contributing artists in DJ Hero, since that’s the real game that needs promoting.
All of this crap makes me wonder how well these games are selling anyway. DJ Hero comes off like a really bad idea to me, although I said the same thing about Guitar Hero. Anyway, Becky called it on this assuming thing. I’d like to know how much info Activision shares with the artists they’re using in their games. Courtney Love’s lack of awareness could be blamed on a number of factors, but one would assume No Doubt and their legal team wouldn’t file a fruitless claim just to burn money. Anyway, this does sound like a good promotional scheme for a game about playing in a rock band that isn’t ROCK BAND.
are you guys kidding me? What do you think the band thought would happen? They have been doing the same thing with unlockable avatars for 3 years now. If the band is agreeing to license their likeness they should have looked into what this meant. Besides, I’m sure they already knew this and are doing it because of all the bad publicity associated with the Cobain thing.