Gearbox (AND SEGA!) Sued for misrepresenting Aliens: Colonial Marines

[Recorderdude]

Hey, guys. Remember when SEGA got robbed for all they were worth when Gearbox stole the majority of the A:CM budget for borderlands 2 while outsourcing and quickly slapping together the game they were paid to make? Some guy decided to fight "for the consumers" and get everyone who bought that mess refunds.

Gearbox Software and Sega have both beennamed in a class action lawsuitalleging that the two companies knowingly misrepresentedAliens: Colonial Marinesin trade show demos.

After the game was released to negative reviews, some players and critics claimed the game's trailers and demonstrations didn't match up to the final product. The lawsuit's plaintiff, Damion Perrine, and the law firm of Edelson LLC have decided to take the matter to court for consumers.

The suit cites a tweet from Gearbox head Randy Pitchford, who called initial complaintsover the delta between demo and final game "understood and fair." The legal action also suggests demos were misleadingly labeled as "actual gameplay," and that Sega embargoed press reviews until the early morning of Colonial Marines' release date, preventing early buyers from discovering the differences. Accordingly, the suit asks for class action damages for anyone who pre-ordered the game or bought it on release day.

The next step in a class action suit like this will be for the courts to certify the class. Unless Sega and Gearbox fight for a settlement right away, Edelson will next need to figure out how many players were mislead in the way described in the lawsuit. Once determined, the class will be notified of the suit, and the case can move forward.

http://www.joystiq.com/2013/04/30/sega-and-gearbox-targeted-in-aliens-colonial-marines-lawsuit/
Hey, Damion. I know you care about consumer rights and I know you want to help, and I'm not saying SEGA was justified in holding back reviews, but could you maybe take your refund demands to the people that fucked up the game and not the publisher? SEGA's suffering enough already.

 

[Devin]

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[Maxternal]

At first I thought this was them being sued for saying they were going to release it for Wii U when they didn't .. instead I find it's them being sued because they said it was a good game when it sucked . Be careful what marketing claims you make, I guess.

 

[TyBlood13]

At first I thought this was them being sued for saying they were going to release it for Wii U when they didn't .. instead I find it's them being sued because they said it was a good game when it sucked . Be careful what marketing claims you make, I guess.

Nice to know I wasn't the only one thinking that exactly.

 

[Recorderdude]

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oog, sorry, taken care of.

 

[Gahars]

instead I find it's them being sued because they said it was a good game when it sucked .

It's less that and more that the "footage" they claimed was from the game... clearly wasn't. Also, they've used this fake footage in the game's advertisements, misrepresenting what the game actually is.

Here's a comparison.

 

[Xuphor]

Huh, interesting.....
They actually seem to have a decent case. Not what I expected, honestly.

The above video Gahars linked clearly shows drastic differences between "gameplay footage" from the demo and the final product.

 

[retKHAAAN]

This isn't going to go far... Imagine the precedent it would set...

 

[Maxternal]

If they can pull out a legit beta version of the game where those images ARE included, they're saved.
On the other hand, if they can't conjure up anything like that, the precedent is simply that false advertizing is bad for you.

 

[ShadowSoldier]

You know, I actually think this is justified.

 

[Taleweaver]

It's less that and more that the "footage" they claimed was from the game... clearly wasn't. Also, they've used this fake footage in the game's advertisements, misrepresenting what the game actually is.

Here's a comparison.

A nice video comparison. Makes it pretty clear that people were lied to with the gameplay demos.

However...I really don't think this stands even a snowball-in-hell chance in court. These demos aren't actual promises but commercials. And it's not like THOSE always deliver what they "promise" on the screen.
It's pretty much a given that developers change things between the demo and the final product, so unless you've got an actual, solid PROMISE that all that footage would be in the final game, I think any judge will judge laugh it out of the court.


And with good reason. I'm not much of a power gamer, and I had troubles seeing the difference at times. Yes, it looks less moody. So? Are you really going to sue someone because the ambient lighting of the level isn't to your liking?
No...as far as what I've heard, the terrible AI and other gameplay elements are what really break the game. And not only will that be much harder to prove before non-gamers, it most likely will be impossible to pinpoint someone from the team actually making promises on that field.

 

[McHaggis]

A nice video comparison. Makes it pretty clear that people were lied to with the gameplay demos.

However...I really don't think this stands even a snowball-in-hell chance in court. These demos aren't actual promises but commercials. And it's not like THOSE always deliver what they "promise" on the screen.
It's pretty much a given that developers change things between the demo and the final product, so unless you've got an actual, solid PROMISE that all that footage would be in the final game, I think any judge will judge laugh it out of the court.


And with good reason. I'm not much of a power gamer, and I had troubles seeing the difference at times. Yes, it looks less moody. So? Are you really going to sue someone because the ambient lighting of the level isn't to your liking?
No...as far as what I've heard, the terrible AI and other gameplay elements are what really break the game. And not only will that be much harder to prove before non-gamers, it most likely will be impossible to pinpoint someone from the team actually making promises on that field.

I agree, except they weren't commercials, but previews. Previews are always subject to change. I've seen scenes in cinematic movie trailers that were cut from the final production, but nobody has ever sued a film company because their film was funnier/sadder/gorier/etc in the cinematic preview than when they went to the cinema to see it. Admittedly, this is a tad more extreme because there are a lot of changes but, at the end of the day, if Gearbox's defence is "Yeah, that's how it looked when we were at that stage of development, we had to cut back a lot for the final release. What else are we supposed to show if the game's not finished?", then I don't see how anybody can argue with that. Who knows, those videos might have been from the Wii U version.

It's kind of sad that the plaintiffs are so hung up on graphics, to the point that they're suing for it. One possible saving grace for the lawsuit, though, is the embargo on the reviews. If it's apparent that SEGA blocked reviews because they knew they would adversely affect sales, then I could see the suit having a chance.

 

[Rizsparky]

It's less that and more that the "footage" they claimed was from the game... clearly wasn't. Also, they've used this fake footage in the game's advertisements, misrepresenting what the game actually is.

Here's a comparison.

"What do we get?, This wobbly dickhead"
:lol

 

[Arm73]

Actually, after the patch, ( and a little mod called sweetfx) the game looked a lot like the demo, included the crack on the window, dynamic lights in the hall, extremely aggressive aliens and so on.

I played the game on the PC after the patch, and I can't say I hated it.
It was quite enjoyable actually.
The ending could have used a nice cutscene or something, it was a little abrupt, but hey, I was in for the raid........

Anyway I keep on seeing that comparison video everywhere and I hate it.
So much whining over little details, like somebody robbed them or something......like I said, most of the little thing pointed out are actually fixed with the official patch, I just don't think that video is accurate anymore, and should be deleted.

 

[RupeeClock]

Whilst I certainly agree that Gearbox should be reprimanded for what they did, both betraying SEGA's and the consumer's trust in delivering a worthwhile Aliens game, I am concerned that SEGA are also being sued for what unfolded.

Unfortunately though, SEGA may be victims of Gearbox, but they are also responsible at the end of the day. :\

 

[Gahars]

I agree, except they weren't commercials, but previews.

They have used footage from this demo in commercials to falsely represent the game, though. That's blatantly misleading and sketchy as hell. Link here...

Is it enough to form a case over? I can't say for certain; I'll leave that up to the courts to decide. Still, blatantly misrepresenting your game to customers is shitty no matter how you cut it.

 

[Guild McCommunist]

I thought the demo was also a lot better than the final product? Like less glitchy and what not.

To be fair this is like showing trailers to Iron Man 3 and then the final product instead being the Asylum Pictures movie Steel Man 3. In this case it's rather clear false advertising unlike other shitty "consumer advocacy" cases like Mass Effect 3 (people actually tried to sue EA over the ending of the game which makes no fucking sense).

 

[RupeeClock]

I thought the demo was also a lot better than the final product? Like less glitchy and what not.

To be fair this is like showing trailers to Iron Man 3 and then the final product instead being the Asylum Pictures movie Steel Man 3. In this case it's rather clear false advertising unlike other shitty "consumer advocacy" cases like Mass Effect 3 (people actually tried to sue EA over the ending of the game which makes no fucking sense).

I can't remember which YouTube video this was, but I recall a fan looking forward to playing this new Aliens game and would attend previews with multiplayer gameplay sessions, for a chance to play the game.
One crucial thing that kept happening at each preview he attended was that the guests only played as the marines, for one round. They didn't get the chance to play as the Alien Xenomorphs, which the game design team would play.
They apparently only let players sample this much of the game, and they apparently did not show off more with each new preview at new events, it was pretty suspect.
Like I said though, I can't remember what YouTube video this was. :\

 

[emigre]

On the bright side, at least we got this:

 

[ferofax]

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If you have to beg users so you can comfortably read their posts, that nullifies any "master race" notions you may have on the matter, methinks.

They have used footage from this demo in commercials to falsely represent the game, though. That's blatantly misleading and sketchy as hell. Link here...

Is it enough to form a case over? I can't say for certain; I'll leave that up to the courts to decide. Still, blatantly misrepresenting your game to customers is shitty no matter how you cut it.

Lawsuits have been won and lost for pettier things (see Apple). This game basically promised Hollywood-scary Aliens but gave you Plants-versus-Zombie Aliens. I mean, seriously, they waddle around. All that's left is to put a traffic cone on their head and plants will shoot them out of spite.