Guns n’ Roses frontman Axl Rose is a man who likes to take things slow. He’s probably the type of guy who will show up fashionably late to a party, arrive fifteen minutes in to a movie, and release his band’s highly-anticipated album over a decade after it was originally announced. Therefore, it makes perfect sense that he’s just now getting around to suing Activision over a breach of contract for Slash’s appearance in the 2007 game Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock.

Rose’s $20 million lawsuit claims that the publisher associated GNR’s music (through the use of “Welcome to the Jungle”) with former guitarist, Slash, and his new(er) band Velvet Revolver. The filed documents state that although Activision had permission to use “Welcome to the Jungle”, the company broke its contract with Rose when they included Slash’s likeness in the game and offered Velvet Revolver songs as DLC post-release, even though Activision promised that neither Slash nor Velvet Revolver would be included in the game.

“[Activision] began spinning a web of lies and deception to conceal its true intentions to not only feature Slash and [Velvet Revolver] prominently in GHIII, but also promote the game by emphasizing and reinforcing an association between Slash and Guns N’ Roses and the band’s song ‘Welcome to the Jungle,’” the court documents say.

Additionally, the court docs present a timeline of emails and pledges that Slash and Velvet Revolver wouldn’t be in the game. Activision Executive VP Tim Riley even addressed pre-release online rumors that Slash would be in the game, replying a licensing representative, “Come on… you can’t believe everything you read on the internet.”

If this is true, then Rose certainly has a case against Activision, albeit a late one. What do you guys think? Let us know in the comments!
via Gamasutra