With Jon Bon Jovi laying into the Kurt Hero debate this week, the boss of the 'Guitar Hero' franchise has spoken out about the inclusion of the late Nirvana frontman in the latest incarnation of the pretend-to-play video game.
As previously reported, Courtney Love was the first to hit out at Cobain's appearance in the latest version of the 'Hero' game, saying he was appearing without her blessing, and basically blaming Kurt's former bandmate Dave Grohl for the whole thing. Then Grohl and fellow Nirvana man Krist Novoselic publicly criticised Cobain's appearance in the game, saying they could live with him singing Nirvana songs in the pretend-to-play franchise, but hated the fact his character could be 'unlocked' and made to sing any other songs available on the platform. That, they reckon, would not have gone down well with the Kurt-meister.
Jon Bon Jovi, who was quizzed on the matter because it's a video of the virtual version of Kurt singing one of his songs posted on YouTube that got this whole debate going, told the BBC that he sympathised with Grohl and Novoselic, admitting he'd not appreciate appearing in a game where players could make him sing any song. He told the Beeb: "I don't know that I would have wanted it either. To hear someone else's voice coming out of a cartoon version of me? I don't know. It sounds a little forced".
As previously reported, 'Guitar Hero' makers Activision have insisted from the start that Courtney Love was very much involved in the inclusion of Cobain in the game. One of their VP's told reporters last week: "Courtney supplied us with photos and videos. She picked the wardrobe and hairstyle, which turned out to be the 'Teen Spirit' look, then we went back and forth over changes - some subtle, some not so subtle. sort of athletic definition but not overly so".
Now the CEO of the gaming franchise, Dan Rosensweig, has again insisted his company had a deal with Love regarding the inclusion of Cobain in 'Guitar Hero 5', adding that the Hole lady has already taken the cash she was due from the agreement. Speaking to NME, he said: "I do know that there's absolutely a contract and we know that the cheque has been cashed. I can only deal with the facts. It's very clear what the terms are".
Admitting he was disappointed that Grohl and Novoselic had negative feelings about the game, he continued: "We care about the artists more than anyone else and we would like to make artists happy in every circumstance. I'm disappointed in this case that there seems to be confusion between the band and the estate. It's really not Guitar Hero's confusion. We went and spoke directly to the estate and made it crystal clear, got the rights, paid for the rights, and really we've done what we've always done. The fact that the rest of the band and the estate did not communicate - I'm not aware of those facts".
You'd have thought someone would have told Rosensweig that doing deals with Courtney isn't quite like doing deals with most other people, wouldn't you? Rosensweig said he would be happy to speak to Grohl and Novoselic about the matter, but it seems unlikely the game maker will 'lock' the Cobain character so that he only plays the Nirvana tracks, as some have suggested they should.