It appears that Gibson has a tough battle ahead. Our sister blog Kotaku has been following this story since the litigation was announced a couple weeks ago, and they have posted statements from Activision and Harmonix, as well as Gibson's rebuttal, which claims that the guitar maker tried to negotiate a licensing deal with the game companies, but could not reach an agreement. Sure to make things awkward is the fact that Guitar Hero, as mentioned, features heavy Gibson product placement, in the form of controllers, purchasable guitars in the store, and in-game ads during play. Rock Band, on the other hand, uses guitars from rival company Fender, which might be able to snag licensing in the next version of Guitar Hero if this lawsuit is not easily resolved and instead, through the fire and the flames, carries on.

Gibson lawsuit stories [Kotaku]
(Photo: Alex Chasick)

Some examples:

I got a mailer from Activision and they said to send in your original gameand wait 3-4 weeks for a replacement DVD. I called the 800 number and got nowhere. I was told there was no other option. I offered to let them bill my credit card in case I never sent the DVD back.

It seems silly that I just spent $100 bucks to play one fun game, and I have to stop playing for a full month.

I just find it ridiculous that we have been forced to wait so long, with at least some of us even without any communication from the company to inform us of the correct process, and now we also will be forced to wait once again because we have to mail our own discs back in first before they will even send the replacement ones out. Something tells me this might stretch into 4 months without a resolution to this issue.

So, basically, because Activision decided to ship a faulty game (and the rumor mill says that they didknow it was faulty, but wanted to get the game out while Guitar Hero craze was still taking place), they are now going to take my game back for a full month. In a nutshell, I paid $79.95 for a defective game, and now Activision is going to keep my game for a month while they amble around replacing it. I have other games that I play on Wii, but my sister only plays GH3, so she'll be gameless (and Wii less) for a while. I realize their desire to make sure people actually have the game, but a 3 week turnaround time is pretty mind-boggling.

Guitar Hero® III Wii Replacement Disc Registration Website [Activision]

PREVIOUSLY: Guitar Hero III For Wii Is Mono?
Activision Acknowledges Guitar Hero III Wii Sound Issue, Will Offer Replacement Discs
Activision Accidentally Introduces 860 Customers To Each Other

We recently became aware that some consumers have not been able to enjoy the full audio output in the Nintendo Wii version of Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock. We are currently working with Nintendo and are planning to issue an improved audio experience in future versions of the game. We expect to have re-mastered discs available by early 2008 and we will be offering consumers replacement discs at no cost once they become available. We thank all of our customers for their support and patience.

Fixing Guitar Hero III's Mono Problem [NYT]
(Photo:danoxster)