Yesterday the internets were blazing with reported that Courtney Love had posted her discontent regarding the appearance of Kurt Cobain in Activision's Guitar Hero 5. She had apparently been upset over some legalities of the deal, which she stated had become a "breach of contract..."
Wondering just what was the meaning behind her Twitter update, PlanetXbox360.com contacted Activision directly, asking them about the situation and their response to her lashing out. Here is what they had to say on the matter:
"Guitar Hero secured the necessary licensing rights from the Cobain estate in a written agreement signed by Courtney Love to use Kurt Cobain’s likeness as a fully playable character in Guitar Hero 5."
Maybe next time Courtney should really read what she signs, or lay off the drugs during negotiations. That seems to pretty much clear things up. While we aren't quite sure why Courtney feels there was a breach, perhaps she wasn't clear on the terms (or more importantly the money) involved. Regardless, it seems she did in fact sign a deal, giving Activision the right to use Kurt's likeness.
UPDATE: In addition, PlanetXbox360.com was forwarded a joint statement issued by Cobain's former Nirvana bandmates, Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic: This is a statement regarding Nirvana, Guitar Hero and the likeness of the late Kurt Cobain.
"We want people to know that we are dismayed and very disappointed in the way a facsimile of Kurt is used in the Guitar Hero game. The name and likeness of Kurt Cobain are the sole property of his estate - we have no control whatsoever in that area.
While we were aware of Kurt's image being used with two Nirvana songs, we didn't know players have the ability to unlock the character. This feature allows the character to be used with any kind of song the player wants. We urge Activision to do the right thing in "re-locking" Kurt's character so that this won't continue in the future.
It's hard to watch an image of Kurt pantomiming other artists' music alongside cartoon characters. Kurt Cobain wrote songs that hold a lot of meaning to people all over the world. We feel he deserves better. - Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl"
