Activision: 'Love agreed Cobain for GH5'

Activision CEO Dan Rosensweig has claimed that Courtney Love has "cashed the cheque" after agreeing for her late husband Kurt Cobain to feature in Guitar Hero 5.

Love had previously threatened to sue the developer for sanctioning the appearance of the Nirvana frontman as an unlockable character. Cobain's former Nirvana bandmates Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic have also spoken out against the decision, demanding Activision redevelop the game so he only appears performing their songs.

However, Rosensweig has now suggested that Love was fully aware of the proceedings when she agreed to the contract and accepted the fee. He added that he is "disappointed" that Grohl and Novoselic objected, but that he would be happy to talk to them to try and resolve matters.

"I do know that there's absolutely a contract and we know that the cheque has been cashed," he told NME. "I can only deal with the facts. It's very clear what the terms are.

"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."

Rosensweig added that he is not opposed to opening talks again if it would help to resolve the issue. "We love engaging in dialogues with artists," he said. "We always want to hear from artists. In this circumstance there seems to be some confusion between the estate and we would love to clear that up. We're not avoiding any dialogue."

Jon Bon Jovi, whose music features in Guitar Hero 5, earlier sided with Grohl and Novoselic.

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