Guitar Hero Live Class Action Filed After Shutdown Announcement

After Activision announced that Guitar Hero TV services would be stopped by December 2018, a Vermont man filed a class action lawsuit alleging that the company misled consumers about how long they could use Apple TV, iOS, and console versions of Guitar Hero Live.

Guitar Hero Live was released in late 2015 on a variety of platforms. Like its predecessor, Guitar Hero Live comes with a special guitar-shaped controller which can be used to “play” along with songs.

Consumers can play 484 tracks using Guitar Hero TV mode (which utilizes an online streaming service) and 42 tracks using Guitar Hero Live mode (which does not use a streaming service).

According to plaintiff Robert Fishel, Activision announced this past June that game servers for Guitar Hero TV would be shut down permanently on Dec. 1, 2018.

As of their announcement, iOS versions of Guitar Hero TV were also no longer available and updating the iOS system may make Guitar Hero Live products unusable. Additionally, any premium or exclusive content purchased by consumers will no longer be available once the servers are shut down.

Although Guitar Hero Live will still be available for playing, eliminating Guitar Hero TV in turn reduces the playable content available to consumer by 92 percent, the Guitar Hero class action states.

Fishel claims that he and other Class Members relied on Activision’s representations when purchasing Guitar Hero Live and Guitar Hero TV.

The Guitar Hero class action says consumers reasonably assumed that they would be able to play the game for an indefinite period of time or, at the very least, a reasonable amount of time following the game’s release.

The plaintiff also argues that he and other Class Members would not have paid as much for the product had they known that their usage of the game would be cut short.

The Guitar Hero class action alleges that Activision violated several laws including California’s False Advertising Law, California’s Unfair Competition Law, and Vermont’s Consumer Protection Act.

Fishel seeks to represent a Class of consumers who purchased Guitar Hero Live from October 2015 to the present.

He also seeks to represent a subclass of Vermont consumers who purchased Guitar Hero Live from October 2015 to the present.

The Guitar Hero class action lawsuit does not seek any monetary relief, and instead seeks injunctive relief, court costs, and attorneys’ fees.

Fishel is represented by Michael R. Reese and George V. Granade of Reese LLP; and Jason P. Sultzer, David R. Shoop, and Thomas S. Alch of The Sultzer Law Group PC.

The Guitar Hero Class Action Lawsuit is Fishel v. Activision Publishing Inc., Case No. 2:18-cv-08092-SJO-SK, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.