guitar hero

For the last decade or so, every year the major record labels seem to bet on some single "magic bullet" to fix all that ails them.

They go through phases. There was their own crappy DRM'd and locked-down music stores. There were ringtones.

And... there were music video games like Guitar Hero and Rockband. And, of course, as soon as those games actually started helping the recording industry, the industry decided to suck them dry.

In the hallowed halls of video game greatness, there are works that stay with us — your Halos, your Legends of Zelda, your Barbie Horse Adventures (what?).

And then there are those games that, despite best efforts, don’t quite hit the marketplace with the same gravity.

How much does Guns 'N Roses singer Axl Rose hate former guitarist Slash? So much that he's suing Activision for $20 million because Activision included a virtual version of Slash in the latest version of Guitar Hero, despite claimed promises not to do so.

While the likelihood of success may depend on contract specifics, it does seem rather silly to care about this.

The claim that "This lawsuit is about protecting Guns N� Roses," is obviously bogus.

It's been pretty sad watching the major record labels chase desperately after each new music-related fad, hoping that this time it would represent the "magic bullet" that would replace CD sales as its main revenue generator.

For a while, there were ringtones, which the industry thought would save it, jacking up prices, and doing all sorts of annoying things, which eventually helped kill off that market.

You may recall that famed guitar maker Gibson started claiming that its patent (5,990,405) on a "simulated musical concert" system was being infringed upon by various musical video games.

As Steve Jobs takes to the Moscone stage, we repor

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