Activision Sued Over Guitar Hero III

Activision has been slapped with a class-action lawsuit over the mono sound output of the Wii version of Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock.

Wired reports that the suit claims Activision has engaged in “deceptive and unlawful” conduct with the Wii version of the game, which shortly after its release was discovered to only produce mono sound. The packaging claims the game uses Dolby Pro Logic II surround sound.

The lawsuit, brought by Samuel Livingstone, includes anyone who bought the game but “would not have purchased the Guitar Hero III videogame and-or paid as much for it had they known the truth about the product.” The suit claims that Activision has not taken steps to rectify the problem, and that by leaving the game on store shelves without making note of the problem, it is engaging in deceptive practices. Plaintiffs are seeking “actual damages, individual restitution, equitable relief, civil penalties, costs and expenses of litigation, including attorney’s fees, and all further relief.”

Activision has said it will offer replacement versions of the game with fully-functional audio in 2008 and issued the following statement:

“We recently became aware that some consumers have not been able to enjoy the full audio output in the 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.”