Activision Countersue No Doubt Over Band Hero Avatars

Sure, you can use Kurt Cobain's likeness to sing "Dancing With Myself" in Guitar Hero 5. And were he still alive, we'd be willing to bet he'd be plenty upset about that.

No Doubt aren't dead, though, so they've sued Activision for using their likenesses as avatars in Band Hero. Now Activision are, like, "Yo, nuts to that, we're gonna sue your ass, No Doubt."

Activision, which says it'll be too expensive to change the game as No Doubt have requested they do, have replied with a lawsuit citing a breach of contract and unjust enrichment.

"Activision admits that although it is possible to program a videogame whereby particular in-game characters can only be selected when certain songs are played, Plaintiff first requested this only after the Band Hero programming was finalized, had been submitted to all of the U.S. console manufacturers for approval and had been approved for manufacture by most console manufacturers," Activision said in a statement.

No Doubt say they initially agreed to have their likenesses used in the game, but only during No Doubt songs. Activision, on the other hand, made their avatars available for use with any band's songs in the game, like Hilary Duff's "So Yesterday" or Alphabeat's "Fascination."

According to an interview with Alternative Press, it's a decision that No Doubt's manager, Jim Guerinot says turned the group into "virtual karaoke circus act."

Activision's countersuit means the company will be looking for a return of all benefits and payments No Doubt have received from the game.