Yuck
I finally figured out what I don't like about Activision CEO Bobby Kotick: when he talks about gaming franchises, he sounds like their pimp.That explains very comprehensively why I've completely lost interest in the Guitar Hero series (or Guitar Hero World Tour, which Activision has essentially abandoned). There's just a fundamental difference in the level of respect accorded to the music/musicians in the two games. Maybe that's because so many people at Harmonix are musicians (and have the legacy of at least one great band, Tribe), but they just handle all this differently.
Here's an example.
Kurt Cobain is a playable character in Guitar Hero 5. This means the virtual Kurt Cobain will do things like sing Public Enemy and Bon Jovi songs ("You Give Love A Bad Name" right here).
Hey, is there an unlockable where you can use his corpse, too?
If Guitar Hero wanted to put out a downloadable pack of Nirvana songs, or even do a full-disc expansion pack, that would be one thing. But this is the good taste equivalent of leaving a used condom in the break room.
I'm not a gigantic Nirvana fan or anything. I have one of their albums that I wouldn't trade for anything (the MTV Unplugged album, which is entirely sensational), but I have eight Adrian Belew albums and one Nirvana album. It's just that some degree of respect for the dead doesn't seem inappropriate, even in the context of games.
Yes, someone sold the rights to use Kurt Cobain's likeness to Activision, and they either approved how it's being used in GH5 or signed a bad contract, but does that mean Activision has to go this low? I mean, if a skeezy hooker walks up and offers you a blow job for five dollars, can't you just say "no"? Activision not only didn't say no, they said "Great idea. Let's go find some hobos to watch us."
Yuck.
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