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Activision has been dealing with the anger of Guitar Hero III owners, which culminated four months ago in a class action lawsuit. The plaintiff, Sam Livingston, filed the suit against Activision because of the company's "deceptive" conduct regarding the lack of Dolby Pro Logic II.

Instead of letting the case get to court, though, Activision decided to offer a settlement. The amount of cash that exchanged hands in the deal was not made public, but we bet a check will be more satisfying than a complimentary faceplate. Oh, and speaking of those? They were actually less of an act of kindness on Activision's part, and more of a required legal stipulation from the settlement.

Even though Activision probably lost a whole lot of pennies in order to settle, we're sure the company is happy that there's now one less lawsuit to worry about this year.

[Via Game|Life]

Next-Gen has compiled a fairly accurate list of some of the worst -- or at least, dumbest -- events to befall the industry this year. From Gerstmanngate to Jack Tretton offering to buy any PS3s hanging around on shelves (boy, that one was embarrassing), the year's greatest flubs are tied up here in one neat package. And success aside, even Nintendo is not immune.

Despite their banner year, Nintendo made a few miscalculations of their own -- namely, in their lack of Wii supply. While it seems that every effort was made to ramp up production, the shortages cost Iwata and co. a fair share of that giant pile o' cash they're lounging upon. But the real head-shaker came with the Wii's Guitar Hero III and the Case of the Missing Audio Necessities, which popped in at number three on the list. Thanks to a tipster, we first noticed the sound problems in late October, and while a fix has been promised, owners are still waiting on replacement discs, which will be available in "early 2008." Now that's a blunder.

We recently reported that Activision would be issuing re-mastered Guitar Hero III discs to fix the lack of stereo and surround sound in the game. For some people, however, this fix is seen as too little, too late, and now the company faces a class-action lawsuit.

The complaint, brought about by plaintiff Sam Livingston, states that Activision's conduct has been "deceptive" and "unlawful" because the game is not compatible with Dolby Pro Logic II, thereby counteracting the label on the game's box. Those behind the complaint feel that Activision needs to pay up for misrepresenting their product, and for continuing to sell the Wii version of the game without warning consumers about the sound issues. The aggregate claims of the plaintiff and the members of the class-action suit amount to $5,000,000, to which we can only say, ouch.

Activision refused to comment on the lawsuit, but did state that they were actively working to have the re-mastered discs ready by early 2008, which will be available to owners of the game at no cost.

[Via Game|Life]

People who bought the Wii version of Guitar Hero III have been (justifiably) annoyed by the lack of stereo and surround sound in Activision's popular music game. However, Wii owners can at least take some comfort in knowing that the problem will soon be fixed.

Activision's customer support has replied to many irate users with an email stating that re-mastered discs should be available by early 2008. This means that customers who buy the game after the re-mastered version is available should get the fixed copies, while those who already own the game can get replacement discs at no charge.

The last time we announced a disc swap for a glitched Wii game, many of you expressed your desires to have a simple downloadable patch instead. While we agree that a patch would be more convenient, we're still glad that there will be a fix available in the near future.

[Thanks, Langst!]

Wii owners likely heralded the coming of Guitar Hero III as a momentous event that demanded calendars be marked off and days away from work be cleared with bosses, where spiked leather bracelets were removed from hidden drawers and proudly displayed on wrists. It is likely a time when turning the volume up to 10 isn't enough. But, many might have found that the experience has been tainted by the lack of Dolby Pro Logic II.

News first burst on the scene thanks to users over at the official forums for Guitar Hero, where the title's lack of compatibility with Dolby Pro Logic II was reported by several Wii owners. The official response from tech support has been "We are looking in to right now. The time frame is still unknown at the moment we are still looking in to the problem."

Any of you out there experiencing the same issues? Care to chime in on any other issues with the game?

[Thanks, Langst!]