4.30.2013

Lawsuit: Aliens Colonial Marines "False Advertisement"

It's all just a demo...
    It seems to be official, Sega and Gearbox are in legal trouble due to the demo's highly misleading advertising fiasco.  A class action suit, to be specific.  When I hear about this I laugh.  In my head I hear Bruce from Family Guy saying, "No Wa-a-a-a--a-y!"  Really, it was only a matter of time that this would happen.
     I was one of the many that preordered and got burned by a horrendous game.  It wouldn't be so bad if they patched and fixed it for those of us that stuck it out.  Something to show that Gearbox and Sega are working to repair the damage done to all of their faithful consumers.
  "We think the video game industry is no different than any other that deals with consumers: if companies like Sega and Gearbox promise their customers one thing but deliver something else, then they should be held accountable for that decision."
-Ben Thomassen (Edelson LLC)
     I fully understand the fact that there may be discrepancies between early forms of the game and the later changes that occur just before we actually receive the product, but this particular case is undeniably wrong.  Does anyone else remember the early Borderlands game VGA trailer? (Check it out here if you can't recall- http://youtu.be/WSvTqfmv3DE)  They definitely made some massive changes to the ENTIRE visual style.  BUT!  As previews kept coming, they REFLECTED those changes.  Aliens: Col. Marines did not.  They continually advertised the enhanced graphics and gameplay.
     I am curious to see how this plays out.  There is a part of me that hopes they are held accountable for such deceptions, but then again-  I sincerely hope the gaming industry isn't opening the door to petty and frivolous legal actions to come.  What kinds of marketing issues are we to look forward to now?

     Here's my previous Aliens: Col. Marines post with a better picture: A disclaimer- SUCKERS!

Source: Polygon

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