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In one of the stranger lawsuits I’ve seen in the gaming industry, the 80s rock band The Romantics has sued Guitar Hero publisher Activision and its subsidiary RedOctane over the band’s song “What I Like About You,” which is featured on the Guitar Hero Encore: Rock the 80s title. As it turns out, The Romantics gave permission to Activision to use its hit song for Rock the 80s. As a result, a cover version of the song was created by WaveGroup Sound, which is the music studio that has produced much of the material for all Guitar Hero games. But here’s the problem: The Romantics contend that the cover version on Rock the 80s sounded too similar to the band’s original recording. So in essence, the lawsuit complains that WaveGroup’s version of “What I Like About You” is too good, if that makes any sense at all.
So a band is basically suing Activision not because the cover version of its song sounded like crap, but because the song sounded potentially better than the original. Who knows where this lawsuit will go? I have no legal expertise so I can’t say one way or another. The band’s lawsuit is seeking an injunction against Rock the 80s, and if it’s approved by a judge, then Activision will be forced to take the popular Guitar Hero sequel off the shelves for the foreseeable future. Again, no legal knowledge here, so we at Tom’s Games can’t make any predictions.
What we do know a little about is WaveGroup Sound and the musicians that have worked tirelessly to recreate classic tunes for the Guitar Hero series (fore more on that subject, check out David Konow’s feature article on Guitar Hero at Tom’s Games). They’re a big reason, perhaps the biggest, that Guitar Hero has become a phenomenon because they’re charged with recording updated versions of many popular rock songs for the game, from Black Sabbath’s “Iron Man” to Guns ‘N Roses “Sweet Child ‘O Mine.” For example, Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock earned more than $100 million in sales during its first week, and the new game is so popular that Activision has said it may not be able to meet the holiday season demand this year.
Will Littlejohn, CEO of Wave Group, said he was proud of the game’s early success. “I'm speaking for everyone at WaveGroup when I say that we are thrilled with the great success of Guitar Hero III,” he said. “We have several songs on the disk, and are happy that everyone is rocking hard to our stuff.”
The Romantics aside, many rock bands are eager to see their songs in the Guitar Hero series. More and more bands, from the Sex Pistols to the Beastie Boys are providing master tapes and even re-recording classic tunes for the games. And in Guitar Hero III, Slash and Tom Morello make appearances as bosses. Marcus Henderson, one of the lead guitarists that worked with WaveGroup to make the Guitar Hero music, said the series has become more than just a series of hit games.
“It's just so surreal to see what we have accomplished in the last few years affect so many people in so many ways. Guitar Hero was on South Park recently as the main theme of the episode,” Henderson said. “I nearly sh*t myself when I saw that.”
With the continued popularity of Guitar Hero and the early success of Legends of Rock, it’s likely Activision will continue to make more Guitar Hero games and bring in more bands, bosses and beloved rock songs. Henderson says this is a good thing because it shows the power of music and gets people to pick up an instrument and jam – even if it is a game controller.
“It goes to show that music, in any form, is still more powerful than any *%#hole politician or tube-fed pop campaign,” Henderson said. “For those that have rocked, we bow to thee. For those about to rock, we salute you indeed and welcome you to the jungle, so to speak.”
Fucking weird comme poursuit...le monde poursuivent n'importe qui pour n'importe quoi...
