Activision Face More Law Suits

[Hadrian]

From http://blog.wired.com/games/2007/12/activision-sued.html

"Activision is quickly finding out what it means to have the holiday season's top-selling video game: Lots of lawsuits.

Already faced with legal threats from a rock group over a cover of a song that appears in Guitar Hero, Activision has now been named in a class-action suit that alleges that the company engaged in "deceptive and unlawful" conduct by selling the Wii version of Guitar Hero III, which only outputs mono sound, not Dolby Pro Logic II surround sound as claimed on the box.

The class named in the suit includes all purchasers of the game who "would not have purchased the Guitar Hero III video game and/or paid as much for it had they known the truth about the product."

The suit, brought by plaintiff Samuel Livingston of San Diego and represented by the law firm KamberEdelson, LLC, "seeks actual damages, individual restitution, equitable relief, civil penalties, costs and expenses of litigation, including attorney's fees, and all further relief available."

The suit claims that Activision has not rectified the problem for "any purchaser" of Guitar Hero III, nor has it taken steps to point out the issue to future purchasers. By noting that the game is still on store shelves this holiday, the suit alleges that Activision is continuing to engage in deceptive practices.

Activision has said that it will voluntary replace the Wii discs with properly working versions, but not until 2008.

Activision did not immediately respond to Wired's request for comment.

UPDATE: Activision "cannot comment on any on-going litigation," says a representative for the company, who also provided Wired with this statement regarding the sound issues:

"We recently became aware that some consumers have not been able to enjoy the full audio output in the Wii version of Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock. We are currently working with Nintendo and are planning to issue an improved audio experience in future versions of the game. We expect to have re-mastered discs available by early 2008 and we will be offering consumers replacement discs at no cost once they become available. We thank all of our customers for their support and patience.""

 

[Pigwooly]

They didn't realize there was a problem when they released the game and now they're already promised they're going to replace the disks for free once they've fixed the problem, which obviously takes time. They have to restructure how the sound is output and then manufacture all those discs. This lawsuit is retarded. These laws are designed to prevent people from intentionally false advertising things, not punish companies for honest mistakes they plan to rectify.

 

[adgloride]

They didn't realize there was a problem when they released the game and now they're already promised they're going to replace the disks for free once they've fixed the problem, which obviously takes time. They have to restructure how the sound is output and then manufacture all those discs. This lawsuit is retarded. These laws are designed to prevent people from intentionally false advertising things, not punish companies for honest mistakes they plan to rectify.

You would think the beta testers of the game or even the programmers would have noticed that it output songs in mono before they released the game. Its activisions fault for not testing the game fully.

 

[Osaka]

At least they will replace the wii version.

 

[Lukeage]

They didn't realize there was a problem when they released the game and now they're already promised they're going to replace the disks for free once they've fixed the problem, which obviously takes time. They have to restructure how the sound is output and then manufacture all those discs. This lawsuit is retarded. These laws are designed to prevent people from intentionally false advertising things, not punish companies for honest mistakes they plan to rectify.

While I agree the lawsuit is stupid, the problem is that Activision are STILL selling a version which does not meet the advertised product. Either they need to remove all of these from the shelves (which would be the best thing for the consumer) or at least advertise the fact that the game is not as advertised on the box and make consumers aware before they make the purchase.

 

[Pigwooly]

They didn't realize there was a problem when they released the game and now they're already promised they're going to replace the disks for free once they've fixed the problem, which obviously takes time. They have to restructure how the sound is output and then manufacture all those discs. This lawsuit is retarded. These laws are designed to prevent people from intentionally false advertising things, not punish companies for honest mistakes they plan to rectify.


While I agree the lawsuit is stupid, the problem is that Activision are STILL selling a version which does not meet the advertised product. Either they need to remove all of these from the shelves (which would be the best thing for the consumer) or at least advertise the fact that the game is not as advertised on the box and make consumers aware before they make the purchase.

I don't know if they should stop selling it all together, I personally wouldn't have a problem buying it knowing I was going to get a free fix down the line, but you're right they should definitely stick a sticker on each box explaining the mono issue. There's no excuse for not at least doing that.

 

[VVoltz]

I would sue hadrian and God.

On topic: I think it's well deserved. You have to care about your fanbase and Guitar hero had a lot against them.
Why does the publishers think that a good brand can automatically sell without givin anything back?, well, OK, the game is really good, but weee aaaare not sheeeps right? beee, right?