Aliens: Colonial Marines

[Spade]

http://kotaku.com/sega-cancels-aliens-colonial-marines-on-wii-u-470877248

We first heard a few months ago that the Wii U version of the disastrous shooter had been "indefinitely postponed," but Sega denied that. Since then, the publisher has refused to comment on this version of Aliens: Colonial Marines. Now it's official.

"We are constantly looking at all areas of our business and in this case have made the decision to not continue development of the Wii U version," a Sega rep told Kotaku. "Rest assured that we have some fantastic developments for Wii U in the pipeline which we will announce at a later date."

And with that comes a sad bookend to this story.

 

[TheVileOne]

So when do the lawsuits start?

 

[jacobed]

I think Sega is going to sue the pants off of Gearbox. Rightfully so

 

[Sparta*]

I told my friend not to buy this game lol what a waste of money!! he coulda saved that for bioshock infinite which he cant get now oh the hideous irony

 

[Mike_D202]

Anybody want my copy? $50

 

[KevanG]

What was that? I think your computer made a typo by adding an extra zero there.

 

[TheVileOne]

The thing is, didn't the game STILL sell well?

Well I mean, I'm sure they shipped a lot of copies, but did they actually sell a lot?

 

[ThePhantasm]

The thing is, didn't the game STILL sell well?

Well I mean, I'm sure they shipped a lot of copies, but did they actually sell a lot?

That was before the bad word had really gotten out. No one would buy a Wii release at this point.

 

[TheVileOne]

I realize that, but even with all the bad word, it still seemed to sell alright.

 

[Upset Spideyfan]

It had a strong opening and then sales plummeted.

 

[ChrisBaleBatman]

I don't know if there's enough for Sega to sue. If the leaks about what happened were true, then shipping the game was to avoid a lawsuit.

 

[jacobed]

If the rumors turn out to be true though, that they were using Sega's money for Borderlands. Oh man they are in serious trouble

 

[Spade]

Developers don't have to use monies from publishers for a project on that project alone. It only becomes a legal issue if said developer consistently fails to deliver product by the intended deadline. It's why Gearbox had to release the game in the state it was in. They exhausted Sega's goodwill to the point that they either had to ship what they had or face legal action over their dawdling. It's also why Demiurge, Nerve, TimeGate, and Darkside had to help them finish it. They were so under the gun, the lighting in the final game was confirmed by a level designer to have been outsourced to a Chinese company. That's why the dynamic lighting in the E3 demo is mysteriously unaccounted for in the retail version.

I'm not a lawyer, so your guess is as good as mine if Sega will sue. Pitchford claims he'll be losing a lot of money over this game, and Sega's been curiously quiet about the game. They could just interpret this as a RE6 situation, where they shipped and sold a ton of copies to cover production costs, without ultimately turning the profit they'd hoped. But nobody knows to what tune Sega pumped money into this game over the half-decade it floated in limbo. So maybe they've lost out more than any of us know. I can say for sure that it'll be a long time before the two work together again, if ever.

 

[Soapy]

It may not be illegal to use publisher money for other projects (I actually have to idea), but it seems very irresponsible and disrespectful to do so.

 

[Whiskey Tango]

Gearbox, SEGA Sued Over Aliens: Colonial Marines
Class action lawsuit alleges false advertising leading up to launch.

A class action lawsuit has been filed against SEGA and Gearbox regarding Aliens: Colonial Marines. In a lawsuit obtained by Polygon, plaintiff Damion Perrine claims “that Gearbox and Sega falsely advertised Aliens by showing demos at trade shows like PAX and E3 which didn't end up being accurate representations of the final product.”

The demos were advertised as “actual gameplay” at the time, yet portrayed a level of “graphical fidelity, AI behavior and even entire levels not featured in the game.” The suit explains that by having reviews under an embargo that lifted the day of release, consumers did not have time to learn from critics about the difference in quality in the final product compared to early footage.

"Each of the 'actual gameplay' demonstrations purported to show consumers exactly what they would be buying: a cutting edge video game with very specific features and qualities," the claim argues. "Unfortunately for their fans, Defendants never told anyone — consumers, industry critics, reviewers, or reporters — that their 'actual gameplay' demonstration advertising campaign bore little resemblance to the retail product that would eventually be sold to a large community of unwitting purchasers."

The suit also points to this tweet from Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford, which acknowledges that the difference between the original demo and final game is “understood and fair and we are looking at that. Lots of info to parse, lots of stake holders to respect.”

Earlier this month, SEGA agreed to add a disclaimer to trailers stating that they are not reflective of the final product. The Wii U version of the game was later canceled.

We’ve reached out to SEGA and Gearbox about the suit and will update this story with any comment we receive. For more on the differences between Colonial Marines demos and the final product, read our analysis of whether or not early screenshots lied to you.

 

[Iceman]

Haha, whether successful or not I hope various parties keep this kind of stuff going and it never quietens down.

 

[jacobed]

I don't know. Its a little ridiculous to sue over a bad game. I understand where theyre coming from but still. This isn't the first time this has happened. I guess this is a special case since Gearbox flat out lied about the game hardcore with trailers and what not but I hope this doesn't start a trend of suing every company because of a game you didn't like.

 

[Iceman]

If it was just a bad game there would be no big deal here dude. There are hundreds of bad games & plenty of new disappointments every year. This is only about the obvious & intentful huge lies about the game. And I hope there are court cases and mass publicity every time this level of deceit takes place. A game company are within their rights to produce a bad game with crap features and noone can sue over that.

 

[Nathan]

Well, like you said, with Gearbox it's a special case. It's not that they simply didn't live up to expectations, they pretty much deceived the gaming community. But yeah, I also hope it doesn't mean that people start suing over every trivial thing.

 

[Whiskey Tango]

Buying a crap game is one thing, outright deception is quite another. Highly doubtful an attempted lawsuit over a mere bad game would ever get off the ground. This however is a fairy well publicized matter of false advetisment.

 

[ThePhantasm]

I don't know. Its a little ridiculous to sue over a bad game. I understand where theyre coming from but still. This isn't the first time this has happened. I guess this is a special case since Gearbox flat out lied about the game hardcore with trailers and what not but I hope this doesn't start a trend of suing every company because of a game you didn't like.

They are suing because of false and misleading advertizing, not because the game was bad. And companies should be held accountable for the accuracy of their advertizing, in my opinion.

 

[jacobed]

Yeah I know that's why I said Gearbox is a special case with that bs they pulled and they deserve to get sued. I just hope this doesn't open the floodgates to everyone thinking they can sue just because a game is bad. Look at Ea they're getting sued because they release a Madden every year, that is just dumb and I can't believe its gone as far as it has.

 

[ThePhantasm]

The problem is that lots of companies use misleading advertizing, but are never called out on it. For example:

Spoiler

All advertizing idealizes the product, of course, but its interesting that companies seem to be losing the distinction between making the product look good and outright lying.

 

[jacobed]

Well those are at least similar to the advertising. This was blatantly and purposefully false

 

[Piper Maru]

Can't wait for the sequel!